Car Automotive and Design

Showing posts with label Classics. Show all posts

Extinct Species: Remembering Five Former Italian Car Makers

Two weeks ago, while wandering around the brand new Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena, I came across a particular brand of automobile that is a rarity to find. Located in the lower half of the Jan Kaplický designed building’s modern showroom was a 1961 Stanguellini Junior.

As I studied the contours of its red bodywork, I couldn’t help but think about all of the once great Italian names that have faded into a distant memory.

In the spirit of the Enzo Ferrari Museum, which aims to educate visitors about Modena’s rich racing heritage, I decided to take a moment to write about some of the many Italian automobile brands that are now a part of the past.

Brabus Selling 6.5 Sports Sedan Based on the W124 Mercedes-Benz E500 with Just 252km on the Odo

The W124 is if not the best, one of the best mid-size models ever to be produced by Mercedes-Benz. It's subtle yet timeless styling remains fresh today, almost 30 years after its presentation back in 1985, and let's not forget that this Mercedes became famous for being built like a tank.

There was even a performance version named 500 E from 1990 to 1993 and E500 from 1994 to 1995, which was developed in close cooperation with Porsche. In fact, Porsche actually hand built the cars at its Rossle-Bau plant in Zuffenhausen, Germany.

The E500 was powered by a specially tuned 5.0-liter V8 engine rated at 322hp (326PS) at 5,700 rpm and 480Nm (354 lb-ft) at 3,900 rpm, allowing for a zero to 100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 260km/h (162mph).

Ayrton Senna's First F1 Racecar from 1984 Hits the Auction Block

We're no strangers to Ayrton Senna related items here on Carscoop but there's memorabilia and memorabilia, and this particular sale is one truly unique piece of motorsport history that you don’t often get the chance to see, let alone buy.

This is the Toleman TG184-2 Formula One car driven by Ayrton Senna in his debut F1 season in 1984 before moving to Lotus-Renault the following year, and it's up for grabs at The Spring Sale to be hosted by Silverstone Auctions in Britain on May 16.

It’s the same car with which Senna’s took second place driving in the rain-soaked 1984 Monaco GP, as well as 3rd in the British and 7th in the Canadian Grand Prix’s.

Three of a Kind: BMW Classic Returns with a New Short Film About the 3-Series

Bimmer Stories is back with a new short film entitled “Three of a kind” that celebrates its world premiere at this week's Techno Classica 2012 show in Essen, Germany.

The film adopts a similar style to last year's “A perfect match”, which followed the story of a man and his search for an appropriate replacement for his scruffy BMW 1602.

This time, however, the film revolves around the first three generations of the BMW 3-Series. The two-door E21 is owned by Zach Galifianakis lookalike dressed in 1970s gaucherie, while the E30 convertible is driven by a stereotypical yuppie holding an oversized mobile phone and the E36 coupe by a cool and relaxed female driver.

Sweden's Coolest Volvo, a 788-horsepower 1969 Amazon Kombi is up for Sale

Our regular readers will no doubt remember the highly customized 1969 Volvo Amazon Kombi that made a splash at the 2006 SEMA show in Las Vegas while it surprised us even further when it embarrassed a few Ferraris.

The car is the creation of Mattias Vöcks, an enlightened petrol head from Sweden who also happens to work for Koenigsegg.

The stylish Amazon Kombi started its life as a regular model but Vöcks swiftly turned it into a beast or as he calls it, "Sweden's Coolest Volvo".

It is powered by a heavily modified 2.8-liter turbocharged inline-six sourced from Volvo. Back in 2006, it produced 592hp (600PS), but further development from Vöcks pushed output to 788hp (799PS) and peak torque to 980Nm (723 lb-ft) when running on E85.

Celebrating Sixty Years of Ferrari in Australia

This past Saturday in Melbourne, the host city for the 2012 season's inaugural Formula 1 race, Australian spectators were treated to not only a very unpredictable qualifying session but also a variety of other events that aimed to dazzle those who were present in Albert Park.

Highlights included an aerial display from the PC9 aerobatics team known as “The Roulettes” and the third Australian V8 Supercars race of the weekend. For Ferrari enthusiasts, the day’s most eagerly anticipated track action, aside from the Formula 1, was a parade honoring Ferrari’s sixtieth anniversary in Australia.

At noon, sixty models from Maranello, one for every year that Ferrari has been in Australia, drove their way around Albert Park. The procession was led by the Ferrari 458 Spider, which made its Australian debut and is predicted to retail at around AU$590,000 when it goes on sale later this year.

Amongst the cars featured were fan favorites such as the 360 Challenge, the Ferrari California and the F40. The country’s very first Ferrari, the Ferrari 212 Export Coupe, hit Australian shores in Melbourne all the way back in 1952 and since then, Australia grew to become Ferrari’s tenth most important market in 2011.

A 1974 Ford Falcon XB Ute found for Sale in America

If you consider the distance between Australia and America and even more so the country's right-hand drive (RHD) policy, it's not hard to see why classic Aussie vehicles are a rarer site than special edition Lamborghinis in the States.

But once in a blue moon you'll find an imported model from Down Under available for grabs in the classifieds like this 1974 Ford Falcon XB Ute.

The Ute is an Australian conception that dates back to 1934 with its creation credited to Ford engineer and designer Lew Bandt who came up with the idea of combining the front cabin of a sedan with the back of a small truck.

The most popular Utes in the country are made by local carmakers Holden and Ford. The one you see in these pictures is a 1974 model based on the third generation Falcon and it comes with a 302 cubic inch (4.9-liters) Cleveland V8 matched to a four-speed automatic transmission driving the rear wheels.

It Came from Germany: Felge's 2005 Ford Mustang Konquistador

Who names a customized Ford Mustang "Konquistador"? Why, a German tuner, of course, silly! Now, what the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors (Konquistador in German) have to do with a tuned Mustang is another story entirely…

Using a fifth generation Ford Mustang from 2005 as its canvas, or so to speak, Felge came up with this cosmetics package that bundles bits and pieces from various shops such as the €8,000 (US$10,500) Cervini-Bodykit loosely inspired from the Eleanor that played in the 2000 blockbuster film, Gone in 60 Seconds.

eBay Find: 1975 Datsun 620 Pickup Truck with Buick Small Block V8

While not on the radar of most collectors, vintage Japanese automobiles are slowly gaining followers in the States.

Found on eBay is this 1975 Datsun 620 pickup truck that has been restored but not to its original condition - at least not mechanically.

The owner of the relatively rare today 620 fitted the small truck with a 215 c.i. (3.5-liters) Buick small block V8 linked to a new all-wheel drive system, while he also jacked up the suspension.

New Enzo Ferrari Museum Opens its Doors in Modena

One of the most prominent personalities in the automobile and racing car industry of the 20th century, the legendary Enzo Ferrari, finally has his own museum.

Built next to Enzo's birth town in Modena Italy, the new Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari is not affiliated with the brand itself that has its own established Museo Ferrari at Maranello.

The project cost some €18 million (US$23.6 million) and was mostly financed by local authorities that hope it will draw up to 200,000 visitors a year boosting the regional economy.

1964 Volkswagen Hippie Bus is a Blast from the Past

You may know it by different names such as the Type 2, Transporter, Bulli, Kombi and Hippie bus, but Volkswagen's classic van is one vehicle that you will never confuse with something else.

Found for sale on eBay is a meticulously restored example of the Volkswagen Dormobile Kombi Deluxe Model Micro Split Window Screen Bus (try saying that twice) from 1964.

Touring Superleggera Dances to the Tunes of the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante in Geneva [Photos + Video]

Felice Bianchi Anderloni, the man who founded the Milan-based Carozzeria Touring, had once said that “Weight is the enemy, air is the obstacle”. With a brief to design a car that would be “insensitive to the wind”, Touring’s designers created the now famous, Alfa Romeo 1900-based C52 Disco Volante racing concept back in 1952.

Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the impressive concept, Touring Superleggera unveiled the Disco Volante 2012 at the 82nd Geneva Motor Show which will be produced in a limited number.

It’s a two-seater coupe with a front-central (i.e. placed behind the front axle) engine and a transaxle drivetrain.

The new Disco Volante features an integrated front bonnet and wings and a distinctive rear end, while at the same time borrowing some details from the 1952 original like the partly covered front wheels and the pronounced waistline.

Citroën DS5 Testers Meet the Original DS

Citroën may have re-energized its DS moniker through a brand-new lineup of cars, but few will disagree with us when we say that its fresh batch of DS products need a long way to go before they achieve the status and the respect that the original "Déesse" (goddess) commands today.

But marketing is marketing and Citroën hopes that by showing off the original DS alongside its newer creations like DS5 can have a positive effect on buyers.

How to Turn a Beaten up Chevrolet Chevelle into a Respectable Ride in Less than Six Hours

Granted, no one is expecting miracles in less than six hours when you're working on a beater 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle you just picked up from Craigslist, but Doug Glad and the Car Craft crew proved that that it is possible to turn it into what they describe as a "respectable street machine" in this new episode of Hot Road Unlimited.

You can watch the video for yourself right after the break.

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