Now we can officially put all the talk to rest. The New Lancia Stratos, a one-off supercar that was built and designed by Pininfarina as a tribute vehicle to the legendary car of the 70’s, will remain a one-off. And we have Ferrari to thank - or blame - for that.
After the immense popularity generated by the New Stratos when it was unveiled a year ago, there was talk that Pininfarina was looking into building a limited run of the supercar for interested customers. But since the project hinged on Ferrari allowing the company to use the 430 Scuderia as the car’s platform, they had to receive the green light from the Italian automaker to proceed with the program.
Unfortunately, those folks from Ferrari have refused to allow a limited production run of the New Stratos with Ferrari CEO Dr. Amadeo Felisa seemingly content with the one-off project that was built for Michael Stoschek.
We’re pretty disappointed to see the Stratos’ renaissance end even before it actually began, but if there’s a silver lining in all of this, it’s that instead of the New Stratos, Koscheck and his people have set their sights on building a modern version of another old-time classic: the Renault Alpine A110 Berlinette. Talks with the French automaker are already in progress so we’re crossing our fingers that the Alpine will come back to our lives the way the New Stratos should have.
We got pretty excited when we saw Ford has brought back the Boss 302 name, but the car has been originally produced in 1969 and 1970. And as the classic version usually is much more appreciated than the current version, RK Motors has brought to our attention a tuning kit based on a 1970 Boss 302. The car went through a full restoration process and now can be yours for $89,900.
If you remember a few months ago RK Motors has unveiled a similar treatment for a 1967 Shelby Supercharged GT500, so we guess the tuner really likes classic cars. For the 1970 Boss 302 kept its completely original, rust-free body panels everywhere except its front fenders. The car is painted in a very cool Grabber Blue paint combined with a trademark flat black rear decklid and spoiler and of course a set of Boss side stripes. The car sits on a new set of 15" chrome Magnum 500 wheels.
Under the hood the tuner has placed a completely rebuilt 302 V8 that delivers a total of 290 HP combined with a 4-speed gearbox. The engine treatment includes a heavy duty block design, original, large port, large valve, free flowing Cleveland heads, a race prepped crank, a solid lifter cam, heavy duty connecting rods, forged pistons and an aluminum intake.
If you ask why is a 1934 model featured in the Jay Leno Garage show the answer is very simple: the 1934 Avions Voisin C-25 Aerodyne is the winner of this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
The car was built by Avions Voisin - an automobile brand founded by aeronautical engineer Gabriel Voisin - so is no surprise why the Aerodyne is part car part plane. The car’s exterior design language is inspired by the Art Deco and streamlining movements so that it offers a sense of motion even standing still. The Voisin’s streamlined aluminum coachwork features a number of extraordinary details, including the marque’s striking signature bird-in-flight hood ornament, flowing skirted pontoon fenders and massive retractable arched roof.
This particular car belongs to Peter and Merle Mullin, founders of the world renowned Mullin Automotive Museum. There were only seven Avions Voisin C-25 Aerodyne and just four of them still exist today.
The Morgan 4/4 is a car that has been around longer than a lot of us have been alive. Unless you lived through the second World War, there’s a good chance that you still weren’t around when the 4/4 was first introduced back in 1936. 75 years later, Morgan is rolling out a special edition model of the 4/4, appropriately called the "75th Anniversary Edition."
With an overall weight of just 920 kg/2028 lbs, the Morgan 4/4 75th Anniversary Edition is as light as a feather, which bodes well for it considering that it’s powertrain is a relatively subdued 2.0-liter Ford Duratec engine that only produces 145 horsepower. It doesn’t sound like a record-setter, but when you combine the output with its lightweight, then you have a car that can hit 0-62 mph in just 7.2 seconds and boasts a top speed of 118 mph.
Aesthetically, the Morgan 4/4 75th Anniversary Edition comes in a choice of three color options - Black Sport, Sport Red, and Old Español White - with a matte black longitudinal stripe and a "4/4 75th" inscribed on it. Other unique details of the 4/4 75th Anniversary Edition include chrome mirrors, a set of black 15" spoke wheels, black leather seats, and wood details on the steering wheel and the dashboard courtesy of Moto Lita.
Ownership of the Morgan 4/4 75th Anniversary Edition will cost you £38,750, which is around $60,000 based on current exchange rates. For a car that’s clearly long in the tooth, special edition models come few and far in between. That’s what has made the Morgan 4/4 75th Anniversary Edition such a compelling model for numerous generations.
Ford tossed out a bone at the 2011 SEMA Auto Show in the form of a body shell for the 1965 Mustang Convertible, undoubtedly gauging interest for such a product. Turns out, the response was just what Ford wanted. Capitalizing on the avid interest, Ford has revealed yet another body shell for their favored muscle car, but this time, it’s for the 1967 Mustang Convertible. The price for the beginning part of someone’s 1967 Mustang rebuild project stands at $15,995.
The ’67 Convertible body shell was manufactured by Dynacorn International who worked not only to replicate the original ’67 convertible, but make it better. For this, the body panels were made from modern automotive-grade virgin steel and, for better strength, the panels were assembled using modern welding techniques. There are also newly engineered reinforcements in known stress areas to add strength and rigidity to the body.
"These days, the chances are fairly slim of finding a restorable, rust-free ’67 Mustang that has never been wrecked,’ said Dennis Mondrach, Ford Restoration Parts licensing manager. "As the value of classic Mustangs has increased over the years, garages, barns and scrapyards have been picked clean.’
There are few Volvos in this world that you can consider iconic cars, but if there ever was one, the old P1800 definitely tops that list. Unfortunately, the classic Swedish coupe has been lost in time, discontinued long ago with only memories serving proof of its existence.
This year, the P1800 is celebrating what would have been its 50th anniversary, and even if there’s no direct successor to the model, Volvo’s chief designer at its Monitoring and Concept Center, Chris Benjamin, has produced a visual sketch of what a modern-day P1800 could look like.
As a reminder of what-could-have-been, the "new" P1800 is certainly a car that would look pretty darn good in today’s world, but seeing as the Swedish company is currently in flux with drastic changes expected to be made in the coming months, there’s no telling if this sketch will even see the light of day - even as a concept.
Then again, the auto industry has proven time and again that you can never count out anything. If a modern-day P1800 is to be developed, we certainly wouldn’t hold back Volvo - and Geely, for that matter - from attempting to do so.
After all, it wasn’t that long ago when a couple of Korean brands were considered as mere afterthoughts. Now, Hyundai and Kia have become two of the biggest brands in the world.
So yeah, if there’s a model that deserves to have it’s silver anniversary celebrated, it’s the Volvo P1800. Cross your fingers that this "new-look" sketch comes to life in the near future.
One of the cars that really stood out to us at the 2011 SEMA Auto Show was this particular Porsche 911 (964) that was jointly built by two industry heavyweights, Mark Arcenal of Fatlace and RWB’s very own, Nakai-san.
The creation, called the RWB Porsche 911 Pandora One, is a testament to the highly influential skills of the two car builders. Before any modifications took place, RWB and Fatlace stripped down the car and all of its road equipment to give way for a new racing set-up, including a new full roll-cage. After that, two Recaro Pro-Racer SPG seats were installed and fitted along with Stack gauges. In addition, the 964’s exterior was treated to a full compliment of aerodynamic parts courtesy of Rauh-Welt Begriff, highlighted by the enormous wing on the rear of the sports race car. Other touches done on the 964 include a satin green paint finish by TNT, new KW V3 coilovers to replace the car’s standard springs and shocks, and a new set of 18" RWB wheels built by Rotiform wrapped in Falken tires on the front and Azenis tires on the back.
One unique feature of the Pandora One is a special remote-operated hydraulic lift system built by KW called the HLS System. The set-up allows the Porsche to create as much as 1.75" of additional ground clearance with just a push of a button.
Meanwhile, the car’s race-spec engine was handled by FFTEC Motorsports, which in turn took the turbo engine and tuned it to produce 6psi of boost and 398 horsepower. While that number is what’s underneath the hood of the 911 for now, the car is expected to back into FFTEC’s Mustang dyno, where the company is looking into pulling out 15psi of boost. Figure that out and you’ll probably get an output that’s near the 550-horsepower area.
The 1957 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing is without question one of the most iconic vehicles in auto history so when you’re in the presence of one, it’s important to treat the car with utmost care and delicacy.
At the 2011 SEMA Auto Show, we saw a 300SL Gullwing at the BASF Booth, except that this particular one was fine-tuned by no less than Chip Foose/Foose Design in collaboration with the world leader in automotive OEM and refinish technologies. Before being sent off to Foose Design for the cursory aerodynamic improvements, BASF was already familiar with the 300SL, having spearheaded a restoration project that was actually featured in a 2008 episode of Dream Car Garage.
As far as Foose’s responsibility on the car was concerned, the man with the tuning Midas touch was tasked to give it some subtle, yet significant styling cues. To begin his work, Foose removed the 300SL’s front and rear bumpers, replacing them with custom fabricated units that have been redesigned to offer slimmer and more elegant trim. The company also took time to make enhancements on the rear bulge just above the rear wheel, making it symmetrical to the front wheel house bulge. The car’s grille and shell, together with the nose emblem, were all treated to minor modifications while the car’s new side trim was machined, milled, filed, and polished, just before undergoing final chrome plating. New headlights were also installed while the bezels were machined out of billet aluminum before being fit back to the front fenders. And finally, Foose outfitted the 300SL Gullwing with a clean set of Foose wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Nero tires.
The Ring Brothers are staples of SEMA in large part to the many classic and restored Ford Mustangs they’ve shown over the past years. This year, the dynamic tuning company is back with a 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback called the "Producer".
Dressed in a BASF Glasurit 90 Line Waterborne Paint BASF paint finish, the "Producer" was restyled with a number of Ring Brothers’ own accessories, including the hood pins, the door handles, and the taillight bezels. The classic Mustang comes with a full steel chassis with tubular A-arms working as front suspension and Watts-link suspension on the rear.
Aesthetically, the "Producer" also makes use of a new, fully custom wide-body kit that comprises of a carbon fiber roof, a carbon fiber hood, extended rockers, a 4130 full roll cage, and a set of 18" (front) and 19" (rear) Forgeline 3-piece wheels wrapped in Michelin tires. Inside, the "Producer" is treated to a one-off dash with a custom interior, details of which have yet to be revealed.
The biggest deal about the ’Producer’, though, is what’s sleeping under its hood: a Keith Craft 351/427 stroker engine mated to a Tremec T56 six-speed transmission and capable of producing a metal-bending 740 horsepower.
The return of classic auto brand Morgan is coming with the rebirth of some of its classic vehicles. We’ve already touched on reincarnated versions for some of their old model line-up, including the highly-anticipated Three-Wheeler.
Fast forward to today and we just got word that another old-school Morgan will be making a comeback at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, after a brief hiatus in the retirement block. Discontinued in 2004 after being born in 1968, the Plus 8 has an enduring appeal that very few cars can boast of, further emphasizing the car’s stature as one of Morgan’s all-time classics.
Details behind the reincarnated Plus 8 are still being kept under wraps, but a few details about the car have already leaked out, including the addition of modern components to go with the retro-futuristic styling and a choice of eight exterior finishes as well as an interior that will carry a multitude of wood-finished options. But the most important piece of news surrounding the new Plus 8 is the expected price tag its going to carry. In this case, the facelifted Plus 8 will cost £71,000, which is around $112,000 based on current exchange rates.
It’s not exactly the most affordable option out on the market, but if the new Plus 8 is being touted as a modern-day version of the classic machine, then the price may very well be justified.
