61 replies to this topic

[Sebastian Tombs]

From "Pistonheads" and sundry other places:

Sir Stirling Moss. F1 legend, driving god, OBE, knight of the realm, and now…car. That’s right, Mercedes has unveiled the new SLR Stirling Moss, perhaps one of its wildest road cars ever. There is no roof or windscreen to separate the driver and passenger from the elements as they hit the 217mph top speed. The 650bhp SLR Stirling Moss accelerates from 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds and will cost a whopping 750,000 euros. Production will be limited to 75 units and although production of the SLR Roadster will cease at the end of May 2009 as planned, production of the Stirling Moss will commence in June 2009.

Any other suggestions for driver-related retro-supercars!??

[byrkus]

Bugatti Veyron?

[Sebastian Tombs]

At the risk of starting a "What did the Romans do for us?" Python-esque exchange..........apart from the Bugatti Veyron!!

[Vitesse2]

The Audi Rosemeyer:

[Vitesse2]

And the Audi Nuvolari. I never really got the connection to Tazio ....

[D-Type]

SAAB Carlsson

[Peter Leversedge]

I have an idea that in NZ Chris Amon and a Toyota had a link, some thing like Toyota Amon ??

[uechtel]

Ferrari Enzo...

[MPea3]

The Chevrolet.

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by MPea3
The Chevrolet.

I like it!

[jimclark]

I see an XKE....

[David Birchall]

Originally posted by jimclark
I see an XKE....

Gonna need some help with that one....

[Derek Pitt]

In a world where, GM, Chrylser and Ford are about to be the recipients of creeping socialism in order to survive, where Toyota reels from a $1.7 billion loss, where Tata is begging the invisible man, Gordon Brown, to bail-out Jaguar, we see Mercedes produce a monstrosity of these proportions !!

One is forced to wonder how far out of touch with reality MB is and therefore, how long it will be before we see the German company begging for government support for its survival?

Who was it who said.... "Privatise all profits and socialise all losses"?

Well i hope Sir Stirling gets some reward at least !

Derek

[stuartbrs]

Not exactly supercars, well, I guess they are, but there was the Brock Group A Commodore, and then the one known as the Walkinshaw ( although I wouldn`t really trust one if I had it sitting in the garage ).. although perhaps they are just nicknames for them, cant remember.
There was also the Goss XC Falcons, and the Dick Johnson special XD Falcon`s ( or maybe they were XE`s ).

[Arjan de Roos]

Ascari Cars

Bugatti Chiron

[Allan Lupton]

Singer "Kaye Don"

(before he went to prison . . . )

[Henri Greuter]

Toyota once released a special version of the Celica Gp A, the "Carlos Sainz"

Henri

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by stuartbrs
Not exactly supercars, well, I guess they are, but there was the Brock Group A Commodore, and then the one known as the Walkinshaw ( although I wouldn`t really trust one if I had it sitting in the garage ).. although perhaps they are just nicknames for them, cant remember.
There was also the Goss XC Falcons, and the Dick Johnson special XD Falcon`s ( or maybe they were XE`s ).

Brock Specials were kitted by an organisation run by Brock... but funded by GM-H...

The 'Walkinshaw' Holdens were actually HSVs, the Walkinshaw name being more of a nickname. 'Goss Specials' was an official title from Ford, I have no idea about the Dick Johnson things.

[fines]

Originally posted by Derek Pitt
In a world where, GM, Chrylser and Ford are about to be the recipients of creeping socialism in order to survive, where Toyota reels from a $1.7 billion loss, where Tata is begging the invisible man, Gordon Brown, to bail-out Jaguar, we see Mercedes produce a monstrosity of these proportions !!

One is forced to wonder how far out of touch with reality MB is and therefore, how long it will be before we see the German company begging for government support for its survival?

Who was it who said.... "Privatise all profits and socialise all losses"?

Well i hope Sir Stirling gets some reward at least !

Derek

Relax...

New cars are in the pipeline for several years usually, depending on complexity of design/innovation. What were they going to do, can a multi-million Euro project before it got any chance to turn a profit?

[Vitesse2]

Given that this a limited edition of 75, I doubt they'll have trouble shifting them. Even the Jaguar XJ220 sold 281, despite recession, all the controversy, litigation etc etc ....

[jimclark]

Originally posted by David Birchall


Gonna need some help with that one....

Okay...

[stuartbrs]

I have such a struggle convincing my younger friends that the E type is a fabulous looking car... in modern terms, it really isnt.. And before I get hung, I think the roadster is lovely, but I think the coupe is actually hideous...

Horses for courses.. I also think Kylie Minogue, and Angelina Jolie look really really wonderful... oh, and also that girl from the film Grand Prix?? Have any of you seen it?? :-)

[Terry Walker]

Isn't that strange - I think the coupe is just right, the roadster a bit off, specially around the tail. In the coupe, the underside of the bum, and the rear of the roofline, are mirror curves. In the roadster the rear deck was flattened, so the car looks a touch bum-in-the-air. If I had the brass, and wanted to buy an E-type, it would be a coupe, preferably a late covered-headlight model. I only ever sat in a Series 1 once, and even though I am not tall (okay, I'm short) I was horribly cramped for legroom. It put me off E-types ever since. I believe a little later they cut scoops out of the rear parcel shelf so the seats could move back another 3 or 4 inches.

[Lee Nicolle]

I am with you terry, the coupe is the prettier one, a classic shape. They were very cramped though, even the later ones which is the only one i have driven. Headroom was just ok for my 6'1.
An XJS has less headroom but more legroom.
Both attractive cars but I do not aspire to own any classic Jaguar. I dont like oil leaks and Lucas electricals!!

[stuartbrs]

Now, I think the XJS has a presence... a car that just squats so well on the road, but the interior, is just so tacky, completly not what you expect in a Jag.

Its funny how our tastes differ isnt it?

[Giraffe]

I have a 1993 XJS 4 litre Sports Coupe (facelift model) on a manual box in pearlescent red, and have owned it for 8 years now. It's never missed a beat, and get's more admiring comments than any modern day Jag, almost on a daily basis. It's lines were considered somewhat unflattering in period, but as modern cars are designed more and more with safety in mind they have become rather bulky, it now looks svelte by comparison.
It replaced a 1990 3.6 XJS, which was a shed, but that's another story! I'm 6ft 1in tall, and the Jag is ideally suited to my height. I'd love a series 1. 1/2 E-Type Roadster or Coupe, but having tried to sit in one, I am simply unable to drive it, and it was unsafe for me to even attempt a test in it! I've driven a V12 Roadster which I fit in ok, but I actually prefer my XJS to it's bulky looks.

[Ralliart]

In '78, Alfa Romeo came out with the "Niki (Lauda)" Spyder. It debuted, I believe, at that year's LBGP (at least Lauda was pictured with one there) but I never saw one on the road. That Rosemeyer Audi looks fantastic. The connection with the Nuvolari Audi was that Tazio once raced Auto Unions. So does the SLR Stirling Moss, for that matter. Doubt MB will have any trouble selling all 75 of 'em.

[stuartbrs]

Dont get me wrong, I love the shape of the XJS, its almost as good as a 928...

[D-Type]

I disagree. The XJS soft top is fine, but the flattened butresses on the coupé do nothing for me. It looks as if an elephant has sat on it or someone left a wax model too near the fire.

As to the E-Type - leaving aside the practicalities of getting into it, give me the early coupé every time. The roadster has the bum-in-the-air look as Terry so eloquently put it. The proportions of the later coupés using the 2+2 shell are wrong it looks hunchbacked. And it must have covered headlamps. They should have thought about the vertical lens problem before the built it that way.

I must admit I don't know what today's youngsters make of it - I'll have to ask my [totally disinterested in cars] son for his opinion.


But, given the title of this thread, I should concede that a white 300SL Gullwing looks better than either.

[ralt12]

How about the "Tommi Makinen Edition Mitsubishi Ralliart Evolution VI"? (but updated appropriately...)
http://www.apmg.com....liart/99014.htm

[Todd]

Originally posted by stuartbrs
I have such a struggle convincing my younger friends that the E type is a fabulous looking car... in modern terms, it really isnt..

Well, the E types that were so admired were the early ones, with the grill opening so small that the engine overheated, with the bumpers so close to the fender lines that they merely increased repair costs, with headlights hidden in the fenders so that little light escaped. If the series 1 is no longer admired, is the younger generation suffering penis enmity?

[Kop Alonso]

The BMW E30 M3 was producced in Cecotto & Ravaglia Ltd editions....

[Huw Jadvantich]

Subaru did limited editions of the Impreza named for Colin McRae and Richard Burns (RB300)

also Brabham Viva

There was a Senna Ducati I think

I think Fiat did a Cincecento Schumacher (might have been a Punto)

Clio Williams

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by Ralliart
The connection with the Nuvolari Audi was that Tazio once raced Auto Unions.

Well, yes - I was ever so slightly aware of that But I can't connect Nuvolari to a slightly tarted up Audi. The Audi Rosemeyer was an obvious - and very well executed - homage to both the GP Auto Unions and Bernd, but the Audi Nuvolari doesn't seem to have any of that spirit. You might as well call it an Audi Hasse or an Audi Meier, considering how much it reflects of Tazio.

[David Shaw]

Originally posted by stuartbrs
There was also the Goss XC Falcons, and the Dick Johnson special XD Falcon`s ( or maybe they were XE`s ).

IIRC the Goss Specials were XB Hardtops, produced after his 1974 Bathurst win in an XA Hardtop!?! It must have been shortly after his 1977 win that Ford put out an Allan Moffat Special which was an XC sedan.

[Rob G]

Not retro, but:

There was an Acura NSX Alex Zanardi Edition in 1999.

Chevy did a Ron Fellows Edition Corvette in 2007.

There was talk of a Hulme supercar a few years back. Details here.

[canon1753]

Originally posted by Derek Pitt
In a world where, GM, Chrylser and Ford are about to be the recipients of creeping socialism in order to survive, where Toyota reels from a $1.7 billion loss, where Tata is begging the invisible man, Gordon Brown, to bail-out Jaguar, we see Mercedes produce a monstrosity of these proportions !!

One is forced to wonder how far out of touch with reality MB is and therefore, how long it will be before we see the German company begging for government support for its survival?

Who was it who said.... "Privatise all profits and socialise all losses"?

Well i hope Sir Stirling gets some reward at least !

Derek

Nothing new for Mercedes... The SSK and SSKLs were all built in the teeth of the great depression.

[Formula 1r]

I like this one

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by David Shaw
IIRC the Goss Specials were XB Hardtops, produced after his 1974 Bathurst win in an XA Hardtop!?! It must have been shortly after his 1977 win that Ford put out an Allan Moffat Special which was an XC sedan.

Actually, the year after Moffat's clean sweep at Bathurst he ran the Goss Special colours...

Want to guess why? I think they might have been XCs.

[Roger Clark]

Does the Hillman Segrave count?

[David Shaw]

http://www.uniquecar...b_john_goss.htm

http://www.fordmuscl...asp?itemID=1556

[stuartbrs]

Found this on the Dick Johnson Special

http://www.australia...scle_view/92090

But, its not the car I remember, there used to be a green one getting around Southern Tasmania, and it sounded very much like a V8.. but thinking about it, I dont think XE Falcons were made with V8`s?? Perhaps they were just made up cars with Dick Johnson splashed on the side of them?? Who knows, there was also a black JPS liveried 320i road car getting around tas, the 1982ish model, gorgeous looking car it was to. And now that I think about it, there were some JPS bikes as well.

[David Shaw]

Both of the V8s, the 5.8 and 5.0 were available in the XE, but I think the V8s were dropped before the end of the model run. If you scroll down here, you can see an XE Fairmont Ghia ESP with the 5.8:
http://www.aussiemus...-section1.shtml

When I saw mention of the DJS, I thought that they had the Turbo 6.

[Tom Glowacki]

There is a Sam Posey version of the new Dodge Challenger:

http://www.g5challengers.blogspot.com/

Back in the day, there were the Mark Donohue Javelin, and Dan Gurney and Cale Yaroborough versions of the Mercury Cylcone

[Frank S]

More recently, the Parnelli Jones Edition Mustang GT

Followed by the Gurney Signature Edition

--
Frank Sheffield
San Diego CA
USA

[Bernd Rosemeyer]

Originally posted by MPea3
The Chevrolet.

Corvette?

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by Bernd Rosemeyer
Corvette?

Ahh... the innocence of youth...

One hopes Louis would forgive you.

[Bernd Rosemeyer]

Originally posted by Ray Bell


Ahh... the innocence of youth...

One hopes Louis would forgive you.

The founder? Then you may as well name Citroen. Wasn't Andre a racer as well?

[David McKinney]

Not so, BR
First André Citroen was a constructor (but AFAIK never a racer)
Louis Chevrolet had nothing to do with the car that bears his name. The manufacturer chose the name because it was so well-known in racing at that time

[Ray Bell]

Originally posted by David McKinney
.....Louis Chevrolet had nothing to do with the car that bears his name. The manufacturer chose the name because it was so well-known in racing at that time

As summed up by Nick Baldwin:

Louis moved on to the Pope empire and spent time with Pope-Toledo, Rambler and Waverley. He became a successful racing driver and built a Buick-based racer which brought him to the attention of William C. Durant. Arthur Chevrolet became Durant's chauffeur and both he and Louis raced in the Buick team.

Louis interested Durant in French-inspired four- and six-cylinder cars which he had designed in 1909-10 and after Durant lost control of General Motors the two men collaborated on a prototype car, the Chevrolet. The name appealed to Durant because of its foreign but easily Americanized sound and the fact that its designer was well-known to the public through racing.

So Chevrolet did have some input into the car bearing his name, but it bore his name because of his racing exploits.