Fiat Strada (Ritmo) Abarth (3rd Series) (1985-88) Engine 1995cc S4 Twin Cam Production 1,790,000 (all 3 Series)

Registration Number D 520 MVS (Luton)

FIAT SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623665060711...

 

The Fiat Ritmo was designed by Sergio Sartorelli at Centro Stile Fiat amd lainched in 1978 at the Turin Motorshow, as a small family car with avante garde styling. The export version for most English-speaking markets was badged Fiat Strada.Produced over three Series from 1978-88 with total sales of 1,790,000 and was replaced by the Fiat Tipo. Technologically, the biggest innovation of the Ritmo was not the car itself but the way in which it was manufactured at the Cassino plant. Fiat, in conjunction with its subsidiary Comau, developed the pioneering "Robogate" system which automated the entire bodyshell assembly and welding process using robots, earning the car the advertising slogan "Handbuilt by robots",

 

The 1st Series launched in 1978 was well received in the key Italian and German markets but was critiscised for its basic interior trim, which Fiat was quick to address.In May 1981, the first sports version, the Ritmo 105 TC, was launched. Available only as a 3-door, it was powered by a 105 PS (77 kW; 104 bhp) Fiat DOHC engine with a displacement of 1,585 cc, and a Bertone built Cabrio was launched the same year.In September 1981, Fiat displayed the Ritmo Abarth 125 TC at the Frankfurt Motorshow. This model was not available for right-hand export markets because the position of the exhaust downpipe did not allow for a relocated steering column and system.

 

The second series was launched In October 1982, the Ritmo was re-engineered and restyled to improve its competitiveness against rivals, such as the mk.3 Ford Escort and Vauxhall Astra. The chassis was lighter by 70 kg and noise levels and harsh handling improved. The facelift saw the Ritmo acquire a more conventional look.with the round headlights no longer intersected the bumper bar but were rectangular and now integrated in a separate grille, and the taillights were similarly integrated into the body instead of inset in the rear bumper.In addition, all models now featured Fiat's new corporate five-bar emblem at the centre of the grille, with base models featuring single round headlamps and all other, double round headlights (in Britain, all models of this generation featured twin headlamps). The bonnet no longer had an air scoop and the roof was now completely flat (with the upward sweep of the first series found to cause vortexes and contribute to dust and water over the rear window.

 

The Third series followed in 1985 with a less drastic facelift included restyled front & rear bumpers, and lower plastic panels on the doors the rear bumper now housed the number plate at low level, whilst the space between the rear lights was filled with a plastic panel. The 130 TC Abarth benefitted from the same external changes as the other models, in addition to new wheels and interior trim.

  

Many Thanks for a fan'dabi'dozi 25,414,100 views

 

Shot 09:06:2014 ar The Luton Classic Car Show, Stockwell Park, Luton REF 102-348

 

Audi 90(B3) Quattro Turbo Coupe (1987-91) Engine 2309cc S5 20v

Registration Number F 333 AOH (Birmingham)

AUDI SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/albums/72157623635550501

 

The Type 89 Audi 80 (1986-91) was joined by the in line five cylinder Audi 90 in 1986 as more luxurious variant of the 80. They were based on a new platform which broke away from Volkswagen B3 platforms of the Passat. It introduced a new aerodynamic look in a fully galvanised bodyshell. The zinc coated body encouraged Audi to offer a 12 year anti-perforation guarantee. The platform was re-designated Type 8A in 1990.

The Audi 90 differs from the 80 by its full width tail light panel, head lights which feature additional high beam lights, and a different grille. The side indicators are repositioned from being alongside the head light to a position in the bumpers alongside the fog lights. The 20 valve engine is the first offered by Audi since the Audi Quattro Sport.

The smaller 2.0ltr 115bhp ws joined by a larger 2.2ltr 136bhp in mid 1989 with the extr capacity making up for the power loss caused by the standard catalytic converter. At the same time Sport version of the two and four wheel drive 90s were added, the 20 valve version of the 2,3 ltr engine producing 170bhp with lowered suspension and fatter tyres to handle the extra performance

 

Many thanks for a fantabulous 35,721,200 views

 

3hot at the Enfield Pagaent N. London-25:05:2015 Ref 106-164

Chassis n° 404/2030

 

Bonhams : the Zoute Sale

Estimated : € 230.000 - 260.000

 

Zoute Grand Prix 2018

Knokke - Zoute

België - Belgium

October 2018

 

Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery; nevertheless it seems unlikely that BMW's engineers felt particularly gratified when the Bristol Car Company obtained the rights to their automotive designs as part of Germany's post-WW2 reparations. Thus it came about that the Bristol 400, which commenced production in 1947, was effectively a synthesis of three pre-war BMW designs, with a chassis derived from that of the 326, an engine from the 328 sports car, and an aerodynamic bodyshell similar to that of the 327 coupé. But Bristol did more than simply copy the work of its German counterparts; the application of aviation industry standards to its manufacture resulted in a car more refined and considerably better constructed than its Teutonic forbears.

 

With the 1953 introduction of the short-wheelbase 404 coupé, the Bristol line at last lost its resemblance to the pre-war BMW, swapping that distinctive two-piece radiator grille for an equally unmistakable, aeronautically inspired air intake. The body was still an ash-framed, aluminium-alloy panelled structure, but the bonnet was now forward-hinging and for the first time the spare wheel was accommodated in the near-side front wing. Bristol continued to use the BMW-based, 2.0-litre, six-cylinder engine with its ingeniously arranged, pushrod-operated inclined valves, and this was available in either 105bhp or 125bhp form in the 404. The gearbox remained a manual four-speed unit with first-gear freewheel. Famously dubbed the 'Businessman's Express', the 404 excelled at providing high-speed travel in comfort -the very definition of 'Gran Turismo'. The car's aircraft-industry standard of construction did not come cheap however, and only 52 examples found customers between 1953 and 1955.

 

Its accompanying Bristol Heritage Certificate confirms that this 404 was supplied new on 15th October 1954 to Mr Remy Mannes, the then Bristol dealer in Brussels, Belgium. The car was supplied in left-hand drive configuration for Europe with a rare km/h speedometer, green leather interior, and European dipping, all of which it retains today. The engine number quoted on the certificate is '100B/3534', whereas today a more desirable and later type B2 engine ('100B2/4070') is fitted. The car's original exterior colour is listed as black. Mannes had ordered this 404 for a client from Antwerp. Related documents on file include a copy of the original order from Établissements Remy Mannes to 'The Bristol Aeroplane Company Limited'; a copy of the sales invoice; copies of all transport papers; and some hand-written notes.

 

In July 1968, the Bristol returned to the UK having been purchased by one Michael Beardmore, and was registered in the UK with the number 'LGU 200', which it still carries today. The car was sold again in the early 1970s to a Mr Bradburn, who sold it and bought it back again in 1982 (see correspondence on file dated 1982). While in his ownership, 'LGU 200' was featured in an article in Thoroughbred & Classic Cars' June 1983 edition (article on file).

 

The Bristol moved to Oslo, Norway in 1985 (old title on file), returning to the UK in 1989. The previous owner registered the car in 1989 and the last owner in 2008. Today, 'LGU 200' is presented in lovely condition, with its believed original and well-preserved interior possessing a beautiful patina.

 

Adam arrives!

 

Arriving at the Brislington park and ride site for the 2016 Bristol rally was Adam Suttle in his preserved Bayline Ford Transit minibus, with Carlyle converted Dormobile bodyshell, new in February 1986. Adam had made the way up from his storage facility near Kingsbridge that morning.

 

Happened to be back in Newport Pagnell for the first time in years last month, and as I was taking pics of the old mill and bridge, just look what happened along. Silver, too.

Perfect timing and most fitting.

For anyone who doesn't know, Aston Martin used to be based at Newport Pagnell. I have fond boyhood memories of the bodyshells lined up by the side of the old workshops.

The Volkswagen Beetle (officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in Germany the Volkswagen Käfer, in Poland the Volkswagen Garbus and in the U.S. the Volkswagen Bug) is a two-door, four passenger, rear-engine economy car manufactured and marketed by German automaker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003.

 

The need for this kind of car, and its functional objectives, was formulated by the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, who wanted a cheap, simple car to be mass-produced for his country's new road network. Hitler contracted Ferdinand Porsche in 1934 to design and build it. Porsche and his team took until 1938 to finalise the design. The influence on Porsche's design of other contemporary cars, such as the Tatra V570 and the work of Josef Ganz remains a subject of dispute. The result was one of the first rear-engined cars since the Brass Era. With 21,529,464 produced, the Beetle is the longest-running and most-manufactured car of a single platform ever made.

 

Although designed in the 1930s, the Beetle was only produced in significant numbers from 1945 on (mass production had been put on hold during the Second World War) when the model was internally designated the Volkswagen Type 1, and marketed simply as the Volkswagen (or "People's Car"). Later models were designated Volkswagen 1200, 1300, 1500, 1302 or 1303, the former three indicating engine displacement, the latter two derived from the type number. The model became widely known in its home country as the Käfer (German for "beetle") and was later marketed as such in Germany, and as the Volkswagen in other countries. For example, in France it was known as the Coccinelle (French for ladybug).

 

The original 25 hp Beetle was designed for a top speed around 100 km/h, which would be a viable speed on the Reichsautobahn system. As Autobahn speeds increased in the postwar years, its output was boosted to 36, then 40 hp, the configuration that lasted through 1966 and became the "classic" Volkswagen motor. The Beetle ultimately gave rise to variants, including the Karmann Ghia, Type 2 and external coachbuilders. The Beetle marked a significant trend, led by Volkswagen, Fiat, and Renault, whereby the rear-engine, rear-wheel drive layout increased from 2.6 percent of continental Western Europe's car production in 1946 to 26.6 percent in 1956. The 1948 Citroën 2CV and other European models marked a later trend to front-wheel drive in the European small car market, a trend that would come to dominate that market. In 1974, Volkswagen's own front-wheel drive Golf model succeeded the Beetle. In 1994, Volkswagen unveiled the Concept One, a "retro"-themed concept car with a resemblance to the original Beetle, and in 1998 introduced the "New Beetle", built on the contemporary Golf platform with styling recalling the original Type 1. It remained in production through 2010, being succeeded in 2011 by the more aggressively styled Beetle (A5).

 

In the 1999 Car of the Century competition, to determine the world's most influential car in the 20th century, the Type 1 came fourth, after the Ford Model T, the Mini, and the Citroën DS.

 

HISTORY

THE PEOPLES CAR

In April 1934, Adolf Hitler gave the order to Ferdinand Porsche to develop a Volkswagen (literally, "people's car" in German, pronounced [ˈfɔlksvaːɡən]). The epithet Volks- literally, "people's-" had been applied to other Nazi-sponsored consumer goods such as the Volksempfänger ("people's radio").

 

In May 1934, at a meeting at Berlin’s Kaiserhof Hotel, Chancellor Hitler insisted on a basic vehicle that could transport two adults and three children at 100 km/h while not using more than 7 litres of fuel per 100 km (32 mpg US/39 mpg UK). The engine had to be powerful for sustained cruising on Germany’s new Autobahnen. Everything had to be designed to ensure parts could be quickly and inexpensively exchanged. The engine had to be air-cooled because, as Hitler explained, not every country doctor had his own garage (ethylene glycol antifreeze was only just beginning to be used in high-performance liquid-cooled aircraft engines. In general, radiators filled with water would freeze unless the vehicle was kept in a heated building overnight or drained and refilled each morning).

 

The "People's Car" would be available to citizens of Nazi Germany through a savings scheme, or Sparkarte (savings booklet), at 990 Reichsmark, about the price of a small motorcycle. (The average weekly income was then around 32RM.)

 

DEVELOPMENT

Ferdinand Porsche developed the Type 12, or "Auto für Jedermann" (car for everybody) for Zündapp in 1931. Porsche already preferred the flat-four engine, and selected a swing axle rear suspension (invented by Edmund Rumpler), while Zündapp insisted on a water-cooled five-cylinder radial engine. In 1932, three prototypes were running. All of those cars were lost during World War II, the last in a bombing raid in Stuttgart in 1945.

 

The Zündapp prototypes were followed by the Porsche Type 32, designed in 1933 for NSU Motorenwerke AG, another motorcycle company. The Type 32 was similar in design to the Type 12, but it had a flat-four engine. NSU's exit from car manufacturing resulted in the Type 32 being abandoned at the prototype stage.

 

Initially designated Type 60 by Porsche, the design team included Erwin Komenda and Karl Rabe. In October 1935, the first two Type 60 prototypes, known as the V1 and V2 (V for Versuchswagen, or "test car"), were ready. In 1936, testing began of three further V3 prototypes, built in Porsche's Stuttgart shop. A batch of thirty W30 development models, produced for Porsche by Daimler-Benz, underwent 2,900,000 km of further testing in 1937. All cars had the distinctive round shape and the air-cooled, rear-mounted engine. Included in this batch was a rollback soft top called the Cabrio Limousine. A further batch of 44 VW38 pre-production cars produced in 1938 introduced split rear windows; both the split window and the dash were retained on production Type 1s until 1953. The VW38 cars were followed by another batch of 50 VW39 cars, completed in July 1939.

 

The car was designed to be as simple as possible mechanically. The air-cooled 25 hp (19 kW) 995 cc motors' built-in oil cooler and flat-four engine configuration's superior performance was also effective for the German Afrika Korps in Africa's desert heat. The suspension design used compact torsion bars instead of coil or leaf springs. The Beetle is nearly airtight and will briefly float.

 

THE FACTORY

On 26 May 1938, Hitler laid the cornerstone for the Volkswagen factory in Fallersleben. He gave a speech, in which he named the car Kraft-durch-Freude-Wagen ("Strength Through Joy Car", usually abbreviated to KdF-Wagen). The name refers to Kraft durch Freude ('Strength Through Joy'), the official leisure organization of Nazi Germany. The model village of Stadt des KdF-Wagens was created near Fallersleben in Lower Saxony in 1938 for the benefit of the workers at the newly built factory.

 

The factory had only produced a handful of cars by the start of the war in 1939; the first volume-produced versions of the car's chassis were military vehicles, the Type 82 Kübelwagen (approximately 52,000 built) and the amphibious Type 166 Schwimmwagen (about 14,000 built).

 

The first Beetles were produced on a small scale in 1941.

 

WARTIME PRODUCTION

A handful of KdF-Wagen (Typ 60) were produced primarily for the Nazi elite from 1941 to 1944, but production figures were small because the factories were concentrating on production of the Kübelwagen (Typ 82), the beetle for the Wehrmacht (Typ 82 E), the Schwimmwagen (Typ 166), and a handful of other variants. The factory produced another wartime vehicle: the Kommandeurswagen (Typ 87); a Beetle body mounted on a 4WD Schwimmwagen chassis. The Kommandeurswagen had widened fenders to accommodate its Kronprinz all-terrain tires. 564 Kommandeurswagen were produced up to 1944, when all production was halted because of heavy damage to the factory by Allied air raids. Much of the essential equipment had already been moved to underground bunkers for protection, which let production resume quickly after hostilities ended. Due to gasoline shortages late in the war, a few "Holzbrenner" Beetles were built powered by pyrolysis gas producers located under the front hood.

 

POST-WAR PRODUCTION AND BOOM

In occupied Germany, the Allies followed the Morgenthau plan to remove all German war potential by complete or partial pastoralization. As part of this, in the Industrial plans for Germany, the rules for which industry Germany was to be allowed to retain were set out. German car production was set at a maximum of 10% of the 1936 car production numbers.

 

Mass production of civilian VW cars did not start until post-war occupation. The Volkswagen factory was handed over by the Americans to British control in 1945; it was to be dismantled and shipped to Britain. Thankfully for Volkswagen, no British car manufacturer was interested in the factory; an official report included the phrases "the vehicle does not meet the fundamental technical requirement of a motor-car ... it is quite unattractive to the average buyer ... To build the car commercially would be a completely uneconomic enterprise." The factory survived by producing cars for the British Army instead. Allied dismantling policy changed in late 1946 to mid-1947, although heavy industry continued to be dismantled until 1951. In March 1947, Herbert Hoover helped change policy by stating

 

There is the illusion that the New Germany left after the annexations can be reduced to a "pastoral state". It cannot be done unless we exterminate or move 25,000,000 people out of it.

 

The re-opening of the factory is largely accredited to British Army officer Major Ivan Hirst. Hirst was ordered to take control of the heavily bombed factory, which the Americans had captured. His first task was to remove an unexploded bomb that had fallen through the roof and lodged itself between some pieces of irreplaceable production equipment; if the bomb had exploded, the Beetle's fate would have been sealed. Knowing Germany needed jobs and the British Army needed vehicles. Hirst persuaded the British military to order 20,000 cars, and by March 1946 the factory was producing 1,000 cars a month (in Army khaki, under the name Volkswagen Type 1), which Hirst said "was the limit set by the availability of materials". During this period, the car reverted to its original name of Volkswagen and the town was renamed Wolfsburg. The first 1,785 Type 1s were made in 1945.

After World War II, it was officially designated the Volkswagen Type 1, but was more commonly known as the Beetle.Following the British Army-led restart of production and Hirst's establishment of sales network and exports to Netherlands, former Opel manager (and formerly a detractor of the Volkswagen) Heinz Nordhoff was appointed director of the Volkswagen factory in 1949. Under Nordhoff, production increased dramatically over the following decade, with the one-millionth car coming off the assembly line by 1955. During this post-war period, the Beetle had superior performance in its category with a top speed of 115 km/h and 0–100 km/h in 27.5 seconds with fuel consumption of 6.7 l/100 km (36 mpg) for the standard 25 kW (34 hp) engine. This was far superior to the Citroën 2CV, which was aimed at a low speed/poor road rural peasant market, and Morris Minor, designed for a market with no motorways / freeways; it was even competitive with more advanced small city cars like the Austin Mini.

 

In Small Wonder, Walter Henry Nelson wrote:

"The engine fires up immediately without a choke. It has tolerable road-handling and is economical to maintain. Although a small car, the engine has great elasticity and gave the feeling of better output than its small nominal size."

 

There were other, less-numerous models, as well. The Hebmüller cabriolet (officially Type 14A), a sporty two-seater, was built between 1949 and 1953; it numbered 696. The Type 18A, a fixed-top cabriolet, was produced by Austro-Tatra as a police and fire unit; 203 were assembled between January 1950 and March 1953.

 

The chassis became a technological and parts donor to Volkswagen Type 2 (also known as Bulli) and external coachbuilders like Rometsch, Dannenhauer & Stauss, Wilhelm Karmann, Enzmann, Beutler, Ghia-Aigle, Hebmüller & Söhne, Drews, Wendler.

 

On 17 February 1972, when Beetle No. 15,007,034 was produced, Beetle production surpassed that of the previous record holder, the Ford Model T. By 1973, total production was over 16 million, and by 23 June 1992, over 21 million had been produced.

 

DECLINE

Though extremely successful in the 1960s, the Beetle was increasingly faced with stiff competition from more modern designs globally. The Japanese had refined rear-wheel-drive, water-cooled, front-engine small cars including the Datsun 510 and Toyota Corona, whose sales in the North American market grew rapidly at the expense of Volkswagen in the late 1960s. Honda introduced the N600, based on the space-efficient transverse-engine, front-wheel-drive layout of the original Austin Mini, to the North American market in late 1969, and upgraded the model to the Honda Civic in 1972. The Japanese "big three" would soon dominate compact auto sales in North America. In 1971 Ford introduced its Pinto, which had some market impact as a low cost alternative. As the 1960s came to a close, Volkswagen faced increasingly stiff competition from European cars as well. The Beetle was faced with competition from new designs like the Fiat 127 and Renault 5, and more robust designs based on the Austin Mini layout such as the Superminis. German competitors, Ford and Opel also enjoyed strong sales of modern smaller cars like the Ford Escort and Opel Kadett. Volkswagen's attempts to boost the power of their air-cooled motor to meet the demands of higher highway speeds in the late 1960s, then comply with new pollution control regulations, caused problems for reliability and fuel efficiency that impaired the reputation of the aging design. Safety issues with the Beetle came under increasing scrutiny, culminating in the 1972 release of a rather scathing report. During the early 1970s, sales of the Beetle in Europe and North America plummeted.

 

There were other models introduced to supplement the Beetle in the VW product line throughout the 1960s; the Type 3, Type 4, and the NSU-based and larger K70. None of these models, aimed at more upscale markets, achieved the level of success as the Beetle. The over-reliance on a single model, now in decline, meant that Volkswagen was in financial crisis by 1974. It needed German government funding to produce the Beetle's replacement.

 

Production lines at Wolfsburg switched to the new water-cooled, front-engined, front-wheel drive Golf designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro in 1974, sold in North America at the time as the "Rabbit". The Golf would eventually become Volkswagen's most successful model since the Beetle. The Golf would be periodically redesigned over its lifetime, entering its seventh generation in 2012, with only a few components carried over between generations, while the Beetle had only minor refinements of its original design.

 

The Golf did not kill Beetle production, nor did the smaller Polo which was launched a year later. Production of the Beetle continued in smaller numbers at other German factories until 19 January 1978, when mainstream production shifted to Brazil and Mexico: markets where low operating cost was an important factor. However, this shift in production did not completely end sales of the Beetle in Europe, although after this date sales of the Beetle in Europe were very low. Beetle sedans were produced for U.S. markets until July 1977 and for European markets until 1985, with private companies continuing to import cars produced in Mexico after 1985. The Beetle convertible/Cabriolet ended production (as 1979 models) as of January 31, 1980.

 

The last Beetle was produced in Puebla, Mexico, in July 2003. The final batch of 3,000 Beetles were sold as 2004 models and badged as the Última Edición, with whitewall tires, a host of previously discontinued chrome trim, and the choice of two special paint colors taken from the New Beetle. Production in Brazil ended in 1986, then started again in 1993 and continued until 1996.

 

The Beetle outlasted most other cars which had adopted the rear air-cooled engine layout such as those by Subaru, Fiat, and General Motors. Porsche's 356 series which originally used some Volkswagen sourced parts, continued to use the classic rear engine layout (which later became water-cooled) in the Porsche 911 996 series, which remains competitive in the second decade of the 21st century.

 

WORLDWIDE END OF PRODUCTION

By 2002, over 21 million Type 1s had been produced, but by 2003, annual production had dropped to 30,000 from a peak of 1.3 million in 1971. VW announced the end of production in June 2003, citing decreasing demand, and the final original Type 1 VW Beetle (No. 21,529,464) rolled off the production line at Puebla, Mexico, on 30 July 2003 65 years after its original launch. This last Beetle, nicknamed El Rey (Spanish for "The King" after a legendary Mexican song by José Alfredo Jiménez) was delivered to the company's museum in Wolfsburg, Germany.

 

To celebrate the occasion, Volkswagen marketed a final special series of 3,000 Beetles marketed as "Última Edición" (Final Edition) in light blue (Aquarius Blue) or beige (Harvest Moon Beige). Each car included the 1.6 engine, whitewall tires, a CD player with four speakers, chrome bumpers, trim, hub caps and exterior mirrors, a Wolfsburg emblem above the front trunk's handle, chrome glove box badge, body coloured wheels, tinted glass, a rear parcel shelf, and VW Última Edición plaque.

 

A mariachi band serenaded production of the last car. In Mexico, there was an advertising campaign as a goodbye for the Beetle. In one of the ads was a very small parking space on the street, and many big cars tried to use it, but could not. After a while, a sign appears in that parking space saying: "Es increíble que un auto tan pequeño deje un vacío tan grande" (It is incredible that a car so small can leave such a large void). Another depicted the rear end of a 1954 Beetle (the year Volkswagen was established in Mexico) in the left side of the ad, reading "Erase una vez..." (Once upon a time...) and the last 2003 Beetle in the right side, reading "Fin" (The end). There were other ads with the same nostalgic tone.

 

- Engine: Fuel-injected (Bosch Digifant) four-cylinder horizontally opposed, 1,584 cc, 50 hp (37 kW), 98.1 N·m (72.4 lb·ft) @ 2,200 rpm, three-way catalytic converter

- Rated fuel mileage: 32.5 mpg-US (7.2 L/100 km; 39.0 mpg-imp)

- Max cruising speed: 130 km/h

- Brakes: front disc, rear drum

- Passengers: Five

- Tank: 40 L (11 US gal; 9 imp gal)

- Colours: Aquarius blue, Harvest Moon beige.

 

PROTOTYPES

DIESEL

In 1951, Volkswagen prototyped a 1.3 L diesel engine. Volkswagen made only two of these air-cooled boxer diesel engines (not turbocharged), and installed one engine in a Type 1 and another in a Type 2. The diesel Beetle was time tested on the Nürburgring and achieved 0–100 km/h in 60 seconds.

 

DESIGN

The Beetle featured a rear-located, rear-wheel drive, air-cooled four-cylinder, boxer engine in a two-door bodywork featuring a flat front windscreen, accommodating four passengers and providing luggage storage under the front bonnet and behind the rear seat – and offering a coefficient of drag of 0.41; to this relatively good CD, the also streamlined rear of car was of help. The bodywork attached with eighteen bolts to its nearly flat chassis which featured a central structural tunnel. Front and rear suspension featured torsion bars along with front stabilizer bar – providing independent suspension at all wheels. Certain initial features were subsequently revised, including mechanical drum brakes, split-window rear windows, mechanical direction-indicators and the non-synchronized gearbox. Other features, including its distinctive overall shape, endured.

 

Its engine, transmission, and cylinder heads were constructed of light alloy. An engine oil cooler (located in the engine fan's shroud) ensured optimal engine operating temperature and long engine life, optimized by a thermostat that bypassed the oil cooler when the engine was cold. Later models of the carburetor featured an automatic choke. Engine intake air passed through a metallic filter, while heavier particles were captured by an oil bath. After 1960, steering featured a hydraulic damper that absorbed steering irregularities.

 

Indicative of the car's utilitarian design, the interior featured painted metal surfaces, a metal dash consolidating instruments in a single, circular binnacle, adjustable front seats, a fold-down rear seat, optional swing-out rear windows, front windows with pivoting vent windows, heating via air-to-air exchange manifolds operating off the engine's heat, and a windshield washer system that eschewed the complexity and cost of an additional electric pump and instead received its pressurization from the car's spare tire (located in the front luggage compartment) which was accordingly overinflated to accommodate the washer function.

 

Throughout its production, VW marketed the Beetle with a four-speed manual transmission. From 1961 (and almost exclusively in Europe), VW offered an optional version of the Saxomat semi-automatic transmission: a regular 4-speed manual transaxle coupled to an electromagnetic clutch with a centrifugal clutch used for idle. Subsequently (beginning in 1967 in Europe and 1968 in the United States), VW offered an optional semi-automatic transmission (marketed as Automatic Stick Shift and also called AutoStick[citation needed]), which was a 3-speed manual coupled to an electro-pneumatic clutch and torque converter.

 

While the overall appearance of the Beetle changed little over its life span, it received over 78,000 incremental changes during its production.

 

EVOLUTION AND DESIGN CHANGES

BEETLE CABRIOLET

It was in 1948 that Wilhelm Karmann first bought a VW Beetle sedan and converted it into a four-seated convertible. The Beetle Cabriolet began production in 1949 by Karmann in Osnabrück. After successfully presenting it at VW in Wolfsburg, production started in 1949.

 

The convertible was more than a Beetle with a folding top. To compensate for the strength lost in removing the roof, the sills were reinforced with welded U-channel rails, a transverse beam was fitted below the front edge of the rear seat cushion, and the side cowl-panels below the instrument panel were double-wall. In addition, the lower corners of the door apertures had welded-in curved gussets, and the doors had secondary alignment wedges at the B-pillar.

 

The top was cabriolet-style with a full inner headliner hiding the folding mechanism and crossbars. In between the two top layers was 25 mm of insulation. The rear window was tempered safety glass, and after 1968, heated. Due to the thickness of the top, it remained quite tall when folded. To enable the driver to see over the lowered top, the inside rearview was mounted on an offset pivot. By twisting the mirror 180 degrees on a longitudinal axis, the mirror glass would raise approximately 5.1 cm.

 

The convertible was generally more lavishly equipped than the sedan with dual rear ashtrays, twin map pockets, a visor vanity mirror on the passenger side, rear stone shields, and through 1969, wheel trim rings. Many of these items did not become available on other Beetles until the advent of the optional "L" (Luxus) Package of 1970.

 

After a number of stylistic and technical alterations made to the Karmann cabriolet, (corresponding to the many changes VW made to the Beetle throughout its history), the last of 331,847 cabriolets came off the production line on 10 January 1980.

 

1950–1959 MODELS

During this period, a myriad of changes were made throughout the vehicle beginning with the availability of hydraulic brakes and a folding fabric sunroof in 1950. The rear window of the VW Beetle evolved from a divided or "split" oval, to a singular oval. The change occurred between October 1952 and March 1953. Beetles built during this time were known as a "Zwitter", or "hybrid", as they used the split-window bodyshell with oval-model chrome trim, vent windows and dashboard.

 

1953 models received a redesigned instrument panel. The one-piece “Pope's Nose” combination license plate/brake light was replaced by a smaller flat-bottomed license plate light. The brake light function was transferred to new heart-shaped lamps located in the top of the taillight housings.

 

In 1954, Volkswagen added 2 mm to the cylinder bore, increasing the displacement from 1,131 (1100) cc to 1,192 (1200) cc. This coincided with upgrades to various key components including a redesign of the crankshaft. This increased power from 30 hp (22 kW; 30 PS) to 36 hp (27 kW; 36 PS) and improved the engine's free revving abilities without compromising torque at lower engine speeds. At the same time, compression ratios were progressively raised as, little by little, the octane ratings of available fuel was raised in major markets during the 1950s and 1960s.

 

In 1955, the separate brake lights were discontinued and were combined into a new larger taillight housing. The traditional VW semaphore turn signals were replaced by conventional flashing directional indicator lamps for North America.

 

For 1956, the Beetle received what would become one of its more distinctive features, a set of twin chrome tailpipes. Models for North America gained taller bumper guards and tubular overrider bars.

 

For 1958, the Beetle received a revised instrument panel, and a larger rectangular rear window replaced the previous oval design.

 

1960–1969 MODELS

1960 models received a front sway bar along with a hydraulic steering damper.

 

For 1961, significant technical advances occurred in the form of a new engine and transmission. The engine remained at 1200cc but the power increased to 40 hp (30 kW; 41 PS) primarily due to an increase in compression ratio to 7.1:1. The carburetor received an electric automatic choke and the transmission was now synchronized on all forward gears. The traditional semaphore turns signals were replaced by conventional flashing directional indicators worldwide.

 

For 1962, the Beetle received a mechanical fuel level gauge in place of the former fuel tap. At the rear, larger tail lights were introduced incorporating a separate amber turn signal section to meet new European standards (these turn signals remained red in the US market until 1973). The former hand-pump style windscreen washer was replaced by a new design using compressed air. A Schrader valve located on the washer fluid tank allowed the system to be charged at a filling station to the recommended 35 psi (2.4 bar).

 

1964 models could be identified by a widened light housing on the engine lid over the rear license plate.

 

The largest change to date for the Beetle was in 1965: the majority of the body stampings were revised, which allowed for significantly larger windows. The windshield increased in area by 11% and was now slightly curved, rather than flat. Door windows increased accordingly by 6% (and door vent window edges were canted slightly back), rear side windows 17.5%, and the rear window 19.5%. The result was a more open, airy, modern look.

 

For 1966, the big news was an optional new 1300cc 50 hp (37 kW; 51 PS) engine in lieu of the previous 1200cc engine that had been the sole engine since 1954. Models so equipped carried a "1300" badge on the engine lid. The 1300cc engine was standard for North America.

 

For 1967, a yet-again larger-displacement engine was made available: 1500cc, 53 hp (40 kW; 54 PS) at 4,200 rpm. 1200 and 1300 engines continued to be available, as many markets based their taxation on engine size. 1500cc Beetles were equipped with front disc brakes and were identified with a "VW 1500" badge on the engine lid. North America received the 1500 engine as standard equipment, but did not receive front disc brakes. These models were identified by a "Volkswagen" badge on the engine lid.

 

The rear suspension was significantly revised including a widened track, softer torsion bars and the addition of a unique Z-configuration equalizing torsion spring. On US, UK and Ireland models, the generator output was increased from 180 to 360 watts, and the entire electrical system was upgraded from 6 volts to 12 volts. The clutch disc also increased in size and changes were made to the flywheel. New equipment included a driver's armrest on the door and locking buttons on both doors. Safety improvements included two-speed windscreen wipers, reversing lights (in some markets), and a driver's side mirror. In accord with the newly enacted US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108, North American models received a dual-circuit brake system, the clear glass headlamp covers were deleted; the headlamps were brought forward to the leading edge of the front fenders, and the sealed-beam units were exposed and surrounded by chrome bezels.

 

1968 was a year of major change. The most noticeable of which were the new larger, higher mounted C-section bumpers. At the rear, new larger taillamps were adopted and were able to accommodate backup lamps, which were previously separate bumper-mounted units. Beetles worldwide received the '67 North American style vertical headlamp placement, but with replaceable-bulb headlamps compliant with ECE regulations rather than the US sealed beams. Other improvements were a new outside gas filler with spring-loaded flap, eliminating the need to open the trunk to refuel. The fuel gauge was integrated with the speedometer and was now electrically-actuated rather than cable-operated. The windscreen washer was now pressured by the spare tire, which was to be maintained at a pressure of 42 psi (2.9 bar). A pressure valve in the connecting hose closed airflow to the fluid reservoir if spare tire pressure fell below 30 psi (2.1 bar), which was above the recommended pressures for the road tires. A ventilation system was introduced, which drew fresh air into the cabin from louvres on the front decklid. For improved shifting, the shift lever was shortened, stiffened and moved rearward by

78 mm.

 

A number of safety improvements were made in order to comply with new American safety regulations: these included trigger-operated outside door handles, a secondary front hood latch, collapsing steering column, soft vent window latches, rotary glove compartment latch and instrument panel knobs labeled with pictographs. US models received a padded instrument panel that was optional in other markets. To meet North American head restraint requirements, VW developed the industry's first high-back bucket seat.

 

A new 3-speed semi-automatic gear box with torque converter and vacuum-operated clutch became available mid-production year. The semi-automatic models received a vastly improved semi-trailing-arm rear suspension (also known as "Independent Rear Suspension" although the earlier swing axle Beetles were also independent) and eliminated the need for the equalizing torsion spring. This new rear suspension layout would eventually become an option on later models. Beetles equipped with the automatic were identified with a "VW Automatic" badge on the engine lid and a matching decal in the rear window. In North America, the badging and decal were later revised to read, "Automatic Stick Shift".

 

For 1969, the only exterior change was the fuel filler flap no longer had a finger indentation due to a new interior-mounted fuel door release. For North America, the Beetle received a heated rear window, day/night mirror and the semi-trailing, independent rear-arm suspension as standard equipment.

 

1970–1979 MODELS

In 1970, A new "L" (Luxus) Package was introduced including, among other items, twin map pockets, dual rear ashtrays, full carpeting, a passenger-side visor vanity mirror, and rubber bumper moldings. The optional 1500 cc engine now came with an engine lid having two rows of cooling louvers, while the convertible's engine lid gained two additional sets for a total of four. For North America, the 1500 cc engine was enlarged to 1600 cc engine and produced 57 hp (43 kW; 58 PS)

 

For 1971, for the first time there were two Beetles, the familiar standard Beetle and a new larger version that was different from the windscreen forward. All Beetles received an engine upgrade: the optional 1500 cc engine was replaced by a 1600 cc version with twin-port cylinder heads and a larger, relocated oil cooler. The new engine produced 60 hp (45 kW; 61 PS). The ventilation system was improved with the original dash-top vents augmented by a second pair aimed directly at the driver and passenger. For the first time the system was a flow-through design with crescent-shaped air exits fitted behind the rear quarter windows. Airflow could be increased via an optional 2-speed fan. The standard Beetle was now badged as the VW 1300; when equipped with the 1600 engine, it was badged 1300 S, to avoided confusion with the Type 3, which wore VW 1600 badges.

 

The new larger Beetle was sold as the 1302/1302 S, offering nearly 50% increased luggage capacity. A new MacPherson strut front suspension was incorporated, similar to what was used in the Type 4, and the front track was widened. The new suspension layout allowed the spare tire to be positioned flat under the trunk floor, although the car had to be lengthened slightly to accomplish this. This also allowed a reduction in turning radius. To gain additional trunk volume, the under-dash panel was lowered, allowing the fuel tank to be shifted rearward. From the windscreen back the big Beetle was identical to its smaller progenitor, except for having the semi-trailing arm rear suspension as standard equipment. Overall, the big Beetle was 50 mm longer in length and 35 mm wider and rode on a 20 mm longer wheelbase than the standard model. Both Beetles were available with or without the L Package. The convertible was now based on the 1302 body. In North America, the 1302 was marketed as the Super Beetle and came only with the L Package and 1600 cc engine. While it lacked the front disc brakes that normally accompanied the larger motor, it was fitted with brake drums that were slightly larger than the standard Beetle. With the Super Beetle being sold as the premium model in North America, the standard Beetle, while retaining the same 1600 cc engine, was stripped of many of its earlier features in order to reduce the selling price. Bright window and running board moldings disappeared, along with the day/night mirror, horn ring, map pocket, locking glove box and miscellaneous other items.

 

1972 models had an 11% larger rear window 40 mm taller, larger front brakes[citation needed] and the convertible engine lid with four rows of louvres was now used on all Beetles. Inside the vehicle, a four-spoke energy-absorbing steering wheel was introduced, the windshield wiper/washer knob was replaced in favor of a steering column stalk, and intermittent wipers were a new option available in selected markets. An engine compartment socket for the proprietary VW Diagnosis system was also introduced. The rear luggage area was fitted with a folding parcel shelf. A limited-edition Commemorative model was launched in celebration of the Beetle's passing the record of the Ford Model T as the world's most-produced automobile. The Commemorative Beetle was a 1302 LS finished in a special Marathon Blue Metallic paint and unique 4.5 x 15 styled steel wheels. In the U.S., it was marketed as the Super Beetle Baja Champion SE.

 

1973 models featured significantly-enlarged "elephant foot" taillamps mounted in reshaped rear fenders. In the engine bay, the oil-bath air cleaner gave way to a dry element filter, and the generator was replaced with an alternator. The 1302/Super became the 1303 with a new taller wrap-around windscreen. The changes to the cowl and windshield resulted in slight redesign of the front hood. The instrument panel, formerly shared with the standard Beetle, was all-new and incorporated a raised speedometer pod, rocker-style switches and side-window defrosters. The limited-edition GSR (Gelb-Schwarz Rennen) was a 1303 S available only in Saturn Yellow paint equipped with special 140 mm wide sport wheels fitted with 175/70-15 Pirelli Cinturato CN36 high-performance radial tires. Front and rear deck lids were finished in matte black, as was all exterior trim with the exception of the chrome headlamp bezels. Inside were corduroy and leatherette high-bolstered sport seats and a small diameter three-spoke steering wheel with padded leather rim and a small red VW logo on the bottom spoke. In North America, the GSR was sold as the Super Beetle Sports Bug. The North American model had body-color deck lids and was available in Marathon Blue Metallic in addition to Saturn Yellow. In some markets, the sport wheels (in both 4.5-inch and 5.5-inch widths), sport steering wheel and sport seats became available as stand-alone options.

 

For 1974, North American models received newly required 8.0 km/h impact bumpers mounted on self-restoring energy absorbers, which added approximately 25 mm to the car's overall length. On the Super Beetle, the steering knuckle, and consequently the lower attachment point of the strut, was redesigned to improve handling and stability in the event of a tire blowout. A limited-edition Big Beetle was introduced based on the 1303 LS. Available in unique metallic paint colors, the car featured styled-steel 5.5 in (140 mm) wide sport wheels wrapped in 175/70-15 tires, corduroy seat inserts, upgraded loop-pile carpet, wood-look instrument panel trim and a padded steering wheel with bright accents. In the North American market, a limited-edition Sun Bug was introduced as a standard Beetle or Super Beetle. Both were finished in metallic gold and featured styled-steel 4.5 in (110 mm)-wide sport wheels. Inside were brown corduroy and leatherette seats, loop-pile carpet, and padded four-spoke deluxe steering wheel. The Super Beetle Sun Bug included a sliding-steel sunroof.

 

In 1975, front turn indicators were moved from the top of the front fenders down into the bumper. At the rear, the license plate light housing was now molded of plastic with a ribbed top surface. To comply with tightening emission standards, the 1600 cc engine in Japanese and North American markets received Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection, a derivative of the Bosch D-Jetronic system formerly used in the VW Type 3 and Type 4. The injected engine received a new muffler and in California a catalytic converter. This necessitated a bulge in the rear apron under the rear bumper and replaced the distinctive twin "pea shooter" tailpipes with a single offset pipe, making injected models identifiable at a glance. 5 mph (8.0 km/h) bumper-equipped North American models retained fender-top front indicators. The 1303 received rack and pinion steering. In North America, the 1303/Super Beetle sedan was moved upmarket and was now christened La Grande Bug. Similar to the Big Beetle of 1974, La Grande Bug was available in blue or green metallic paint in the U.S. and blue, green or gold metallic in Canada and was equipped with the same features as the 1974 Sun Bug. Mid-year, the Love Bug was introduced for North America: based on the standard Beetle, it was available only in Phoenix Red or Ravenna Green (both colors shared with the VW-Porsche 914) with all exterior trim finished in matte black. A price leader, the Love Bug retailed for less than a standard Beetle. The "Volkswagen" script on the engine lid of all North American Beetles was replaced with a "Fuel Injection" badge.

 

In 1976, the 1303/La Grande Bug was discontinued, with the larger body continuing only in convertible form. To make up for the loss in North American markets, the standard Beetle was upgraded, regaining some of the features that were removed in 1971. In addition, the 2-speed ventilation fan was included, previously available in North America only on the larger Beetle. The automatic stickshift option was discontinued as well.

 

1977 models received new front seats with separate head restraints. This was the final model year for the Beetle sedan in North America. The convertible was offered in a Champagne Edition in triple white with the padded deluxe steering wheel, burled elm-grain dash trim and (110 mm wide sport wheels. Approximately 1,000 Champagne Editions were produced.

 

WIKIPEDIA

For 1961, Mercury underwent a major transformation of its model line. In a transition from 1957 to 1960, Mercury again shared a bodyshell with a divisional counterpart, shifting from Edsel to Ford, with the Monterey becoming the equivalent of the Ford Galaxie. The Montclair and Park Lane were discontinued, shifting the Monterey from the base-trim Mercury sedan to its flagship, slotted above the newly introduced Mercury Meteor (as with the Comet, intended as an Edsel before the discontinuation of the division). One of the first examples of downsizing, by adopting a common chassis and body with Ford, the Monterey lost six inches of wheelbase, nearly two inches of width, and over 4 inches of length; dependent on powertrain, the 1961 Monterey shed over 300 pounds of curb weight. At 120 inches, the Monterey was given a 1-inch longer wheelbase than the Galaxie.

 

The Monterey was offered in four bodystyles, including two and four-door hardtops, a four-door sedan, and a two-door convertible. Sharing its roofline with the Galaxie (except for the Starliner fastback), the Monterey differed primarily by its grille; in place of two large taillamps, Mercury used six small taillamps. While slightly more adorned than its Galaxie counterpart, the Monterey continued to adopt more subdued styling, shifting chrome trim nearly entirely to the front and rear fascias and the roofline.

 

Shared with the Ford Galaxie, the Monterey again received the 292 cubic-inch Y-block V8 (175 hp), with the option of 352 and 390 cubic-inch FE V8s (220 hp and 300/330 hp, respectively). As before, 3-speed manual and 3-speed automatics were offered, with a 4-speed manual becoming an option.

In 1955 the FC Antofagasta & Bolivia railway ordered two all steel saloon coaches from the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co, Smethwick.

 

The end came for one of these coaches in some sort of accident with the bodyshell abandoned in the scrapyard at Uyuni.

 

A little piece of Birmingham awaits its fate on the Altiplano, joined by remnants of relics from several European locomotive builders. Interestingly the FCA diesel fleet in use at the time of this visit was mostly of Japanese origins.

Fiat 126 (1972-80) Engine 704cc S2 Production 4,673,655

Registration Number F 716 RFA (Burton-on-Trent)

FIAT SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623665060711...

 

Designed by Sergio Sartorelli as a replacement for the Fiat 500, the 126 used a simular layout to its predecessor retained the rear engine layout and keeping the same wheelbase, but with an all new bodyshell and improved passenger safety.

The engine capacity increased from 594cc to 652cc by the end of 1977 and a claimed output of 23 bhp, though 594cc engines remained available until early 1983

In Italy, the car was produced in the plants of Cassino and Termini Imerese until 1979. By this time 1,352,912 of the cars had been produced in Italy.

A subsequent increase took the engine size to 704 cc in new "restyling" model Fiat 126 Bis (1987–1991), with 26 hp

In Poland, the car was produced under licence by Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych (FSM) in Bielsko-Biała and Tychy under the brand Polski Fiat 126p (literally in English: Polish Fiat 126p) between 1973 and 2000.

 

The car continued however to be manufactured by FSM in Poland, where it was produced from 1973 to 2000 as the Polski Fiat 126p.

 

This car was offered for auction sale at the Historics at Brooklands Sale 6th June 2015 (when the picture was shot). Described as having one lady from new and a documented mileage of just 14,000 miles, with retrimmed red interior. Offered with an auction guide price of £ 6,000 to £ 8,000, the car remained unsold

 

Many thanks for a fantabulous 36,423,700 views (recalculated by Flickr)

 

Shot at Brooklands Museum, H+H Auction 06:06:2015 Ref 106-559

  

Ford Escort RS2000 (5th Gen) 3 door Hatch (1990-97) Engine 1998cc N7A DOHC S4 148bhp

Registration Number K 666 ESC (Cherished vehicle related number first issued from Edinburgh)

FORD (UK) SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623665118181...

 

The Escort Mark V Hatch and Estate and sibling the Ford Orion Mark III Saloon arrived in September 1990 with an all-new bodyshell and a simplified torsion beam rear suspension. Initially the 1.3 L HCS, 1.4 L and 1.6 L CVH petrol and 1.8 L diesel units carried over from the earlier models. The new car was not well received by the Motoring Press critised for its mediocre handling and poor refinement.

In early 1992, an all new Zetec 16-valve engine was launched bringing improved driveability, while also marking the return of the XR3i Specifications were improved and the Escort was now available with items such as power steering, electric windows, central locking, electronic antilock brakes, and air conditioning..

 

Stung by the critiscm of the original Mk.V Ford facelifted the Escort and Orion in September 1992, giving the revised cars a new grille, bonnet and, in the Escort hatchback's case, a new rear end. A new 1.6 L 16-valve 90 bhp (66 kW) Zetec engine was introduced, replacing the previous CVH. Fuel injection was now standard on all petrol models, Also new for 1993 were 1.3 L and 1.4 L CFi petrol engines and 1.8 L diesel engines. Ford introduced a four-wheel-drive variant of the RS2000, offering much improved handling over its front-wheel-drive cousins. A first for the Escort also saw the introduction of all disc brakes on all four wheels as standard on all RS2000 and XR3i models.

The crash structure was also improved, featuring side impact bars, a reinforced safety cage, improved crumple zones, front seat-belt pretensioners and airbags..

 

In September 1993, the Orion name was dropped, with the saloon taking on the Escort badge. The XR3i was discontinued a few months later.

 

Diolch yn fawr am 67,391,869 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mwynhewch ac arhoswch yn ddiogel

 

Thank you 67,391,869 amazing views, enjoy and stay safe

 

Shot 02.09.2018 at Himley Hall, Wolverhampton Ref 136-091

       

Coachwork by Henri Chapron

 

The Chantilly Sale - Bonhams

Sold for € 184.000

 

Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille

Château de Chantilly

Chantilly

France - Frankrijk

September 2017

 

Just as it had done 21 years previously with the revolutionary 'Traction Avant', Citroën stunned the world again in 1955 with the launch of the strikingly styled 'DS'. Beneath the shark-like newcomer's aerodynamically efficient, low-drag bodyshell there was all-independent, self-levelling, hydro-pneumatic suspension; plus power-operated brakes, clutch, and steering. No European car would match the DS's ride quality for several years, the fundamental soundness of Citroën's ahead-of-its-time hydro-pneumatic suspension being demonstrated by its survival in top-of-the-range models until earlier this year. The DS's original 1.911 cc, overhead-valve, long-stroke engine was replaced in 1966 by a short-stroke 1,985cc unit, also available in 2.175 cc and 2.347 cc versions, while other DS developments included swivelling headlights, fuel injection and a five-speed gearbox.

 

Other models offered alongside the original DS were the ID (a simplified, cheaper version), the cavernous Safari estate and the two-door Décapotable (convertible), the latter boasting coachwork by Henri Chapron. (Chapron's first convertibles had been produced independently of Citroën, but the factory eventually gave the project its blessing). Henri Chapron started his career in the motor industry as an upholsterer's apprentice, working for various coachbuilders in the Paris area. In 1919 he started his own business in the well-to-do Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine where his main activity was re-bodying cars that had been requisitioned in wartime by the French Government. Chapron moved to larger premises in Levallois-Perret in 1923 and became the official builder of coach and convertible models for Delage and Delahaye, going on to body many of the most elegant French and European automobiles of the inter-war period.

Despite a much-reduced demand for bespoke coachwork after WW2, Chapron survived thanks to his exemplary creations for Delahaye, Talbot and Salmson, switching to offering bespoke versions of unitary construction models when motor manufacturers began to abandon the traditional separate chassis frame. The arrival of the Citroën DS in 1955 presented Chapron with a fresh opportunity that would result in his name being forever linked with this remarkable car.

 

Le cabriolet Citroën « usine » était construit sur le châssis allongé et plus robuste du break ID. but the model was never produced in England, where Citroën's right-hand drive cars were assembled at its Slough factory up to 1966. Au total, 1 365 cabriolets « usines » furent construits, soit avec moteur DS 19 ou un moteur DS 21 entre 1960 et 1971, tandis que Chapron en construisait 389 autres de son côté, le dernier en 1973.

 

A 1970 model built late in 1969, this beautiful DS21 has the late-type dashboard, seats, and rear lights, and is equipped with the semi-automatic transmission. It is estimated that fewer than 100 were built in this specification. The car carries Chapron body number '9347' and was delivered new in Germany in 1970. In 1971, the German owner moved to Rotterdam in Holland where he obtained the Dutch licence plates that are still on the car ('95-76-TE').

In 1979, the original owner sold the Citroën to the second owner, Mr Anton Lauwaars, another Rotterdam resident, by which time it had covered circa 34.000 km. A well-known property developer, Mr Lauwaars owned the car until he died in 2016 : it was always kept in his garage and only driven in summer months. The DS was serviced regularly and subjected to Classic Data appraisals throughout Mr Lauwaars' ownership; these are all on file, testifying to the fact that the car was always in very good condition, never rusty or damaged.

 

As one would expect of a car that has had only two owners and has always been well maintained, it is outstandingly original, retaining the original chassis, body, engine, and interior. Trimmed in black leather, the interior has a delightful patina and benefits from new carpets (replaced in 2015).

 

Jensen Interceptor III (1971-73) Engine 440cu (7212cc)

Production 3419

Registration Number CRY 44 K (Leicester)

JENSEN ALBUM

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157624203748256...

 

The Jensen Interceptor is a sporting GT class car, hand built at West Bromwich, England with the body designed by Carrozzeria, Touring in Italy and powered by a US Chrysler V8.

The Interceptor broke with Jensen tradition by having a steel bodyshell rather than one of GRP.

The original specification included electric windows, reclining front seats, a wood rimmed steering wheel, radio with twin speakers, reversing lights and an electric clock. Power steering was included as standard from September 1968.

The Mark II (1969-71) shared the same Chrysler engine as the original Interceptor but offered revised front styling and ventilated disc brakes

The Mark III had a larger 440cu (7212cc) Chrysler V8 with four barrel carburettor. The Interceptor sold well until sales were hit by the OPEC oil crisis of 1974.

 

Diolch am 91,501,773 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mae pob un yn cael ei werthfawrogi'n fawr.

 

Thanks for 91,501,773 amazing views, every one is greatly appreciated.

 

Shot 17.04.2022 Weston Park (Classic Car Show), Weston-under-Lizard, Salop 157-177

  

Ford Lotus Cortina Mk.1 (1963-66) Engine 1558cc S4 DOC Production 4012

Race Number 4 Howard Wise + John Young

 

FORD UK SET

 

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623665118181...

 

The history of the Cortina Lotus began in 1961. Colin Chapman had been wishing to build his own engines for Lotus, mainly because the Coventry Climax unit was so expensive. Colin Chapman's chance came when he commissioned Harry Mundy (a close friend and designer of the Coventry Climax engine and technical editor for Autocar) to design a twin-cam version of the Ford Kent engine. Most of the development of the engine was done on the 997cc and 1,340cc bottom end, but in 1962 Ford released the 116E five bearing 1,499 cc engine and work centred on this. Keith Duckworth, from Cosworth, played an important part in tuning of the engine The engine's first appearance was in 1962 at the Nürburgring in a Lotus 23 driven by Jim Clark. Almost as soon as the engine appeared in production cars (Lotus Elan), it was replaced with a larger capacity unit of 1557cc

 

Whilst the engine was being developed, Walter Hayes (Ford) asked Colin Chapman if he would fit the engine to 1,000 Ford saloons for Group 2 homologation. The Type 28 or Lotus Cortina or Cortina Lotus (as Ford liked to call it) was duly launched. Ford supplied the 2-door Cortina bodyshells and took care of all the marketing and selling of the cars, whilst Lotus did all the mechanical and cosmetic changes. The major changes involved installing the 1,557 cc engine together with an Elan close ratio gearbox, he rear suspension was drastically altered and lightweight alloy panels were used for doors, bonnet and boot. Lightweight casings were fitted to gearbox and differential. All the Lotus factory cars were painted white with a green stripe (although Ford built some for racing in red, and one customer had a dark blue stripe due to being superstitious about green). The cars also received front quarter bumpers and round Lotus badges were fitted to rear wings and to the right side of the radiator grille.

 

Initially, the engines were built by J. A Prestwich of Tottenham and then Villiers of Wolverhampton. In 1966, Lotus moved to Hethel in Norwich where they had their own engine building facilities

 

To homologate the car for Group 2, 1000 were required to be built in 1963, and the car was duly homologated in September 1963. In the same month, in the car's first outing, in the Oulton Park Gold Cup, the car finished 3rd and 4th behind two Ford Galaxies, but beat the 3.8-litre Jaguars which had been dominant in saloon car racing for so long. Soon Ford were running cars in Britain, Europe, and the USA, with Team Lotus running cars in Britain for Ford, and Alan Mann Racing running cars in Europe, also on behalf of Ford. The Cortina Lotus was able to beat almost anything except the 7-litre V8 Ford Galaxies, and later, Ford Mustangs.

 

This car raced at Donington in the HRDC Celebration of the BTCC race for Touring Cars

 

A Big thankyou for an incredible 24 Million views

 

Shot 04:05:2014 at the Donington Historic Festival REF 102-147

Lancia Fulvia 1.35 Sport Zagato (first series) (1965-69) Engine 1298cc V4 DOC

Registration Number BHY 103 H (Bristol)

LANCIA SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623795824232...

 

The Fulvia Sport was a fastback 2-seater based on Coupé mechanicals, built for Lancia by Zagato—where it had been designed by Ercole Spada. The Sport was commissioned by Lancia to Zagato as more aerodynamic and sportier version of the coupé, which could be used in road and track competitions.

 

The Series 1 was launched at the 1965 Turin Motorshow. Three peculiarities of the Sport body were the engine bonnet hinged to the right hand side, the rear hatch, which could be lifted electrically by an handful of centimetres to aid cabin ventilation, and the spare wheel, housed in a separate compartment, accessed from a rotating panel which held the rear number plate. The first Series ran from 1965-69, consisting of three models.

Sport (Tipo 818.132/133): 1965–1967. Introduced at the 1965 Turin Motor Show, the first Sport had an all-aluminium alloy bodyshell and used the coupé's 1.2-litre (1,216 cc) engine 1nside it reprised the wood-trimmed dashboard of the coupé, and featured two small bucket seats of Zagato's own design. 202 were built

Sport 1.3 (Tipo 818.332/333): 1966–1969. In 1966 Sport was upgraded to a 1298cc engine from the Rallye 1.3, producing 87 hp. Early versions still had all aluminium bodyshells (700 were produced with both 1,216 cc & 1,298 cc engines), but later ones were fitted with steel bodyshells with aluminium bonnet, doors, and spare wheel hatch. Whereas the first Sport was homologated as a two-seater, the car was now classified as a three-seater—or 2+1. The 1.3 can be distinguished from the 1.2 for its silver- instead of ivory-painted steel wheels, and the side mirror on the driver's side front wing.

Sport 1.3 S (Tipo 818.362/363): 1968–1969. An updated Sport 1.3 with 1,298 cc now producing 92 bhp These Sports were normally fitted with brake servos. It is recognizable by its larger hubcaps, decorated with Lancia flag logos instead of being plain

  

The second series Fulvia Sport was launched at the 1970 Turin Motor Show. Changes included a 5-speed gearbox, revised suspension geometry, taller ride height, an alternator in place of the previous dynamo, a taller final drive compared to coupés, and wider tyres. The body was now all-steel, and seated 2+2 passengers. Some of the Zagato's most unusual features were lost: the bonnet was now hinged at the front, and the spare wheel compartment hatch was deleted. Several other changes set the second series apart from the first: new driving lights, side mirror moved from the wing to the door, larger bullet-shaped tail lights from the Peugeot 204, and stamped steel wheels without hubcaps

The Series II 1.3S (1970-73) shared the same engine as the Series I but with five speed transmission. Very early versions of these Series 2 cars were fitted with Series I bodyshells with a separate spare wheel-hatch and smaller rear lights and aluminium bonnet and doors. Later versions have all-steel bodyshells, no spare wheel hatch, and larger rear lights.

The Sport 1600 (1971-72) was the range topping Sport with 1,584 cc engine from the HF, producing 115 hp and a top speed of 118mph this version was the fastest production Fulvia ever produced. The 1600 was distinguished by a matte black radiator grille with chrome edges, black rubber over-riders on the bumpers, a matte black band on the engine bonnet, and new flush door handles. Some of these new fixtures—like the black grille and door handles—found their way on late 1.3 S examples.

 

Many thanks for a fantabulous 32,612,400 views

 

Shot on 01.01.2015 at Brooklands New Years Day Classic Car Gathering Ref 104-167

  

We are at the Moulton Bicycle Club annual weekend meeting at The Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire. The home of the late Alex Moulton and the Moulton Bicycle Company.

 

In a break from tradition, some cars that were either owned by Alex or had Moulton suspension systems were invited and displayed.

 

After Alex's death in 2012, his motor vehicles were offered for sale via auction. This is one of them.

 

Description from the auction website: www.bonhams.com/auctions/21274/lot/351/

 

First registered on 10th October 1966, this Mini Cooper S is the most important of all the vehicles owned by Alex Moulton and was his personal favourite. It is of great historical significance and has not been seen in public for many years. 'GMR 135D' has been extensively modified and reworked by several acknowledged Mini experts and comes with a large file of supporting paperwork, some of which is highly desirable in its own right and certain to be of immense interest to Mini historians.

 

From 1965 Alex began thinking about buying a Mini Cooper. He was well acquainted with several of the racing and tuning experts who had been up-rating the Mini for competition purposes, in particular the legendary Daniel Richmond and his wife, Bunty, who owned and ran Downton Engineering in the village of Downton near Salisbury. In the accompanying history file there is correspondence between Alex and Downton Engineering, firstly enquiring after a special tuning kit for a Morris 1100 (this letter was replied to personally and signed by 'Bunty') and then, dating from August 1966, an order with Downton for a new Mini Cooper 'S' to be supplied 'with Alec's (Alec Issigonis) acquiescence, with an automatic gearbox'. This was obviously not approved of by 'Issi' as the car was delivered with manual transmission! The original sales invoice for 'GMR 135D' is dated 22nd September 1966 for a total (after discount and the addition of delivery charges, etc) of £784 5s 10d. Some of Alex's paperwork is addressed personally to 'Daniel' (Richmond). More letters refer to tuning and other modifications carried out by Downton Engineering shortly after Alex took delivery and also to his subsequent delight at the car's performance once it was returned to Bradford-on-Avon.

 

Over the following dozen-or-so years, 'GMR 135D' underwent many modifications, some of which are referred to in the file. Around 1968 the car was stripped down and rebuilt using a new Mark 2 bodyshell, the floor being specially stiffened with glassfibre, increasing the rigidity and weight for better roadholding. A Webasto fabric sunroof was fitted at this time and roof itself covered in black vinyl. The bodyshell was painted in the original colour scheme of Island Blue by Colour Developments Ltd (Arthur H Meaden, Coachworks, Ltd) of Frome Road, Bradford-on-Avon. The suspension was refined and a Hydragas system fitted. This was an early experiment and helped pave the way for the introduction of Hydragas to mainstream production, starting with the Austin Allegro in 1973. The front passenger seat was removed and a Rolls-Royce Shadow style passenger seat installed at the nearside rear to enable Alex to be driven in style! The driver's seat was modified to Alex's own specification and the interior re-trimmed in black.

 

In 1980 the Mini was retired for several years, re-emerging in the early 1990s. In 1994 Richard Longman & Co of Christchurch, Dorset, fitted a Jack Knight five-speed manual gearbox at a cost of £2,800. (Longman was a former championship rally driver who had worked for Daniel Richmond at Downton Engineering before starting his own specialist business). The engine has been modified and tuned by Longman more than once, and in 2002 this included the fitting of an electronic distributor. (It has not been modified to accept unleaded petrol). Twin electric fuel pumps are installed, also a Kenlowe electric cooling fan. In 1995 a new VIN plate had to be fitted for MoT identification purposes. Presumably this had been overlooked when the new bodyshell was fitted. Somerford Minis of Great Somerford, Wiltshire fitted a new rear sub-frame in 2006.

 

From 1989 until 2005 routine maintenance and repairs were carried out by Bradford-on-Avon Rover specialist E W Stone Ltd of Station Garage, St Margaret's Street. This was a former BMC/BL/Austin Rover dealership favoured by Alex for many years. Stone's closed in 2006 but their repair record cards were copied and are included in the history file. In addition there are miscellaneous papers such as MoT and licensing documents, magazine articles, technical literature, photographs, catalogues and other items too numerous to mention. The most recent MoT certificate expired in August 2011. Currently SORN'd, 'GMR 135D' comes with V5C registration document and will require re-commissioning before returning to the road.

 

Over many years Alex demonstrated this car to many influential design engineers and motor industry executives, and some of these demonstrations featured in magazine and newspaper articles. The Mini Cooper also appears in Alex's autobiography, published in 2009. In short: this is a very important vehicle that is being offered for sale for the first time ever on the open market and is certain to attract worldwide attention.

Collection Freddy Deklerck

 

Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais

Bonhams

Parijs - Paris

Frankrijk - France

February 2019

 

Estimated : € 15.000 - 20.000

Sold for € 23.000

 

Mercedes-Benz introduced its new medium-sized, S-Class range at the International Motor Show, Frankfurt in 1979, there being no fewer than seven models with the new W126 body style. Launched at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 1985, the 560 SEC coupé was an addition to the line-up and the most powerful of the three luxury coupés then on offer. This new model retained the existing bodyshell virtually unchanged but was powered by the new 5.547cc version of the M117 all-alloy V8 engine producing 300bhp (DIN), though customers resident in the USA had to make do with a considerably less powerful version. As befitted one of Mercedes-Benz's flagships, the 560 SEC came standard with a host of desirable features while customers could choose from an equally lengthy list of options. Despite its elevated price, the 560 SEC would turn out to be the most popular of the W126 coupés.

 

First registered on 4th May 1988, this 560 SEC is believed to have been delivered new to France and thus is one of the rarer European-specification 300 horsepower models. Accompanying documentation includes with the Étoile booklet from Mercedes-Benz France giving six months warranty on a used vehicle and recording that this car had recorded only 32.000 kilometres in September 1990 when it was sold by Mercedes-Benz International Garage SA. Bought by the current owner to form part of his collection in 2007, this beautiful modern Mercedes is offered with French Carte Grise.

Slowing for a stop at Teignmouth with the 2T15 Exmouth to Paignton is Great Western Railway Class 150, 150120, in the company of former London Midland Class 153, 153333.

 

The Class 150 and its derivatives are now a major part of Britain's commuter network, and also play an integral role in many of the rural branch lines and railway dependent settlements in connecting them to the rest of the country. Efficient, plucky and flexible, the Class 150's have always been a reliable instrument in the British Rail scene.

 

The planning of the Class 150 goes back to the early 1980's, where by this point many of the elderly Derby Lightweights and other 'Heritage' DMU's of the 1950's and 60's were in desperate need of replacement. The first consideration was the low cost Pacer units built by British Leyland that made their debut in 1984, but these units proved both unpopular and unreliable. As such, in addition to developing the Pacer, British Rail chose to build a more permanent unit based on the bodyshell of the MkIII carriage that had been used to form HST sets. The intention of the Class 150's was a unit that could provide both short distance commuter services as well as some longer distance trains. Areas of influence would be primarily outside of London, with commuter services connecting the cities of the North and the West Midlands, whilst more regional operations would connect the remote regions of Wales and Scotland to their nearest towns and cities.

 

By 1984, two prototypes had been built, consisting of three carriages and being fitted with two different engines for testing. 150001 was fitted with a Cummins powerplant with Voith Hydraulic Transmission, whilst 150002 was fitted with a Rolls Royce/Perkins engine and Self-Changing mechanical Transmission. These original units consisted of open plan interiors but no connecting gangways between units. After much testing primarily on the Midland Region around the Derby Test Centre, 150001's powerplant was chosen in favour of the Rolls Royce engine, which proved unreliable.

 

In competition with BREL was Metro-Cammell, who designed a pair of 3-car prototypes numbered Class 151. Although a very futuristic and space age looking machine, the Class 151's had troublesome gearboxes, resulting in violent gear shifts. Eventually, BREL's Class 150 was chosen for widespread production, and the Class 151's were withdrawn in 1989, languishing in Crewe before being scrapped in 2004 after suffering heavy vandalism. An advanced version of the Class 151 gearbox was however fitted to one of the Class 150 prototypes as a test for better design, this unit being dubbed Class 154. By this point however the gearbox design was outdated, and thus the unit was reverted back to its original specification.

 

From 1985, the first production Class 150/1's were released onto British Railways, working for the regional commuter sector known as Regional Railways. Their first points of influence were in Manchester and the West Midlands, operating on a wide variety of operations from longer distance services between Manchester, Blackpool, Liverpool, Barrow and Leeds, and in the Midlands from Birmingham to Kidderminster, Wolverhampton, Stratford-on-Avon and Shrewsbury. In total, 50 of these original units were built, distinguished by their lack of front gangway and non-sliding doors for the Driver's Cab.

 

To compliment this original fleet, a redesigned version of these units known as the Class 150/2 were built from 1986, and included a front-end gangway and all sliding doors. At the same time, the Class 150 bodyshell was used as a template for the Class 450 of Northern Ireland, a set of 9 nearly identical units with differing cab ends, one with a gangway, and one without. These units plied their trade across Northern Ireland until 2013 when they were all withdrawn, one unit preserved, and another in storage.

 

85 of the Class 150/2's were built, and began life working on almost the entire length and breadth of the network excluding London and the South East. These trains worked in Cornwall and Devon, the Highlands of Scotland, the Welsh Vallies, Trans-Pennine services between Manchester and Leeds, as well as along the East Coast of England from Newcastle to Lincoln and into Anglia. Both 150/1's and 150/2's differ from the original prototype by lack of a third intermediate trailer, although many Class 150/2's have been split to create hybrid 3-car units for extra capacity.

 

The only other member of the class to be built was the unique Class 180, a departmental track measurement unit fitted with computers and cameras to check the condition of the railway. It was redesignated Class 950 in 2000 following the introduction of the Class 180 Adalante units. This unit is still a common sight working for Network Rail.

 

Today all members of the fleet remain in service, but their original patterns have changed greatly. Class 150's no longer work in Scotland, but remain in heavy use around Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and other locations in the North of England with Northern Rail. London Midland, operating around the West Midlands on what was Central Trains' network have sold off many of their units to other operators following the introduction of Class 172 units, although the company retains 3 units for the Bletchley to Bedford service. Formerly, the Class 150's operated for what was Silverlink on the Barking to Gospel Oak line in North London, the only instance these units have been used regularly in the capital, but have since been withdrawn by London Overground in place of Class 172's.

 

Today, First Great Western and Arriva Trains Wales hold a sizeable fleet to operate trains in and around the South of Wales and England, working from Penzance and Plymouth to Great Malvern, Brighton, Salisbury, and along the Welsh coast to Fishguard, Pembroke and Swansea, with operations being based between Bristol and Cardiff. Arriva does however have a wider influence with its units, operating also to Manchester (on some occasions), Chester, Aberystwyth, Holyhead, and along the north Welsh coast.

VGT 386R displayed at the Festival of Steam and Transport 2019. Historic Dockyard Chatham.

From this angle looking very much like the earlier Triumph Toledo. However the Dolomite 1500 has a good size boot, whereas the Toledo using the bodyshell from the even earlier Triumph 1300 had a small boot.

A bold (or may be desperate) move from Triumph to go from front drive on the Triumph 1300 and Triumph 1500 to use rear wheel drive on the similar later range of Triumph Dolomites.

Coachwork by Chapron

Chassis n° 4251058

 

Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais

Bonhams

Parijs - Paris

Frankrijk - France

February 2019

 

Estimated : € 150.000 - 200.000

 

Just as it had done 21 years previously with the revolutionary 'Traction Avant', Citroën stunned the world again in 1955 with the launch of the strikingly styled 'DS'. Beneath the shark-like newcomer's aerodynamically efficient, low-drag bodyshell there was all-independent, self-levelling, hydro-pneumatic suspension; plus power-operated brakes, clutch and steering.

 

The project had been initiated in the 1930s by the company's managing director, Pierre-Jules Boulanger, and would be brought to fruition by designers Andre Lefebvre, previously with Voisin and Renault, and Flaminio Bertoni, who had worked on the styling of the pre-war Traction Avant. Part of Boulanger's brief had been that the proposed 'VGD' (Voiture de Grand Diffusion or Mass Market Car) should be capable of affording a comfortable ride over sub-standard rural roads while remaining stable at sustained high speeds on the Autoroutes. The solution to these seemingly incompatible requirements was the famous hydro-pneumatic suspension, suggested by Citroën engineer Paul Mages. No European car would match the DS's ride quality for several years, the fundamental soundness of Citroën's ahead-of-its-time hydro-pneumatic suspension being demonstrated by its survival in present-day top-of-the-range models.

 

In September 1965 the DS's original 1,911cc, overhead-valve, long-stroke engine – inherited from the Traction Avant - was replaced by a short-stroke 1,985cc unit, also available in 2,175cc and 2,347cc versions, while other DS developments included swivelling headlights, fuel injection, and a five-speed gearbox. Other models offered alongside the original DS were the ID (a simplified, cheaper version), the cavernous Safari estate and the two-door Décapotable (convertible), the latter boasting coachwork by Henri Chapron.

 

Chapron's first convertibles had been produced independently of Citroën but the factory eventually gave the project its blessing and bought the rights to his design. Still made by Chapron, the Usine (factory) convertibles were built on the longer, stronger chassis of the ID Break (Estate) and could only be sold via the Citroën dealer network. Chapron continued to build his own range of bespoke designs on the DS platform, which were always different from the Usine. It is estimated that some 1,700 Usine convertibles were made between 1960 and 1975, while Chapron built a further 389 of his own, the last in 1973.

 

One of 241 Usine convertibles built in 1963, this car was delivered on 4th July of that year and was acquired by the current vendor on 19th August 1981 in Niort, France. It is believed that the vendor is only the second owner. Used sparingly over the course of the last 37-plus years, the car has been partially restored, the soft-top being renewed in 1981, the paintwork redone in 1982, and the front seats re-trimmed in 1995, while in 2000 the engine was changed (original engine plate available).

 

Overall, the car is in very good original condition while noteworthy features include a stainless steel exhaust, Continental Edison radio, anti-fog system, Robergel wheels, central armrest, and very rare Chapron leather-trimmed headrests. The car has been regularly maintained by a DS specialist located near Bordeaux, France, and almost all the hydraulics parts have been replaced.

Finished in Blanc Carrare (white) with black leather interior, this beautiful Décapotable is offered with French Carte Grise, certification from Conservatoire Citroën, and all invoices for the work carried out.

Arriving at Bristol Parkway with the 08:27 Southampton – Gloucester First Great Western service is class 150 DMU 150233, 17th April 2010.

 

Unit History

150233 is one of the final batch of 85 two-car class 150 units which were built in 1986/87 with front-end gangway connections and numbered in the range 150201-285. They had different interiors to the earlier class 150/1 units and were used on longer-distance services. The end gangways make them very similar in appearance to later batches of the electric class 317 units, also based on the Mark III bodyshell. 150233 was initially allocated to Newton Heath before migrating to Laira in the mid 1990’s and is currently allocated to Bristol St Phillips Marsh.. 150233 is currently one of sixteen class 150 units operated by First Great Western for local duties.

Vauxhall Victor (FE) 2300 (FE) (1972-76) Engine 2279cc S4 OC Production 25,185 (incl. VX1800)

 

Registration Number VNK 977 M (Hertfordshire)

 

VAUXHALL SET

 

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623863172810...

 

The FE Series was the last of the Victors, launched in March 1972 with the marketing slogan - The New Victor, the Transcontinental. Appearing much larger than its predeccesor the car was in fact no wider and only two inches longer with most of that from the new bumpers. But internally the car was both higher and gave an extra four inches of rear legroom. Originally launched with a front bench seat, it was uprated in 1973 to feature separate bucket seats and a repositioned handbrake.

The new Victor shared its floorpan with the Opel Rekord but retained a distinct bodyshell, its own suspension and rack-and-pinion steering as opposed to the Rekord's recirculating ball unit. The front end incorporated the then advanced detail of having the slim bumper bisect the grille, with a third of the grille and the side-lights (on quad headlamp models) below the bumper line. The FE Victor was the last Vauxhall to be designed independently of Opel. The engines were carried over from the FD range although enlarged to 1759 cc and 2279 cc. For a short period, the straight-six engine was used in the Ventora and 3300 SL models

 

Many thanks for a fantabulous

48,868,423 views

 

Shot at the NEC Classic Car Show 13:11:2015 Ref. 112-563

  

G-Model

 

Bonhams : the Zoute Sale

Estimated : € 120.000 - 160.000

Sold for € 138.000

 

Zoute Grand Prix 2018

Knokke - Zoute

België - Belgium

October 2018

 

The legendary Porsche 911 Carrera RS resulted from the Zuffenhausen factory's realisation that the excess weight of its top-of-the-range 2.4-litre 911S production model restricted its development potential for racing. It was therefor decided to produced and homologate a special lightweight production variant for competition purposes, which would also incorporate, as standard, specific performance enhancements forbidden as post-production modifications. The result was the Carrera RS (RennSport) of 1972, which featured thinner-gauge metal in its doors, roof, boot lid, floors and even in the gearchange platform. Thinner window glass was provided by Glaverbel and most of the standard sound proofing was removed, while performance modifications included enlarged rear wheel arches to accommodate 7" wide wheel rims, the first of the famous 'duck's tail' spoilers, and the newly enlarged, 2.7-litre, 210 bhp engine.

 

These alterations resulted in the RS having a top speed of around 150 mph while ensuring that it remained stable and controllable right up to the limit. The homologation regulations required that cars had be built to the lightweight, racing specification; customers wishing to purchase a Carrera RS for the road had to specify the Touring package (order number '472') which cost an extra DM 2.500 (£ 430) and offered the greater comfort of the 911S's trimmed and upholstered interior.

 

When the homologation targets had been met, the lightweight RS was discontinued but the Carrera name continued on Porsche's top-of-the-range model, which in its new, series-production form mounted the 210 bhp engine in a full-weight, fully trimmed bodyshell; the tail spoiler was an option. Porsche had first used Bosch's K-Jetronic mechanical fuel injection ('MFI') on 911T models destined for the USA, and this cleaner-running system was adopted for the 2.7-litre cars in 1974. As well as reducing emissions, the Bosch injection made the engine more flexible, with better power delivery at low revs.

 

This Porsche 911 Carrera was delivered new to Barcelona, Spain in March 1975 finished in Grand Prix White with dark red leatherette interior, and left the factory equipped with the following options: tinted windows; rear window with anti-fog system; engine compartment light; and rear fog light. The car was first registered in September 1975 in Barcelona by its first owner, Antonio Giminez Rodriguez, who kept it until 1993, nearly 20 years. It was then sold to Mr Jose Luis Brandes Calvo from Zaragoza. The Carrera stayed in Spain until 2012 and then went to Belgium where it was registered in March 2012. It was last registered in Belgium in February 2014 by Mr Pierre Mélotte.

 

Although it still presented beautifully, in 2016 the current owner decided to re-spray the car completely from bare metal to the highest standard because of a minor crack in the front left wing paintwork and the fact that the paintwork generally was beginning to show signs of age (invoices on file). At the same time the engine, which had only minor oil leaks, was removed for a complete overhaul; the owner, being a perfectionist, wanted his car to be 100%!

 

Service records track the odometer readings from February 1993 at 99,614 kilometres to April 2016 at 56.246 kilometres (actually 156.246 kilometres from new). Additional documentation consists of old Spanish registration papers showing technical inspections from 2000-2011; technical inspection 2014; Porsche Certificate of Authenticity; Porsche 111-point check carried out in 2016; Belgian registration papers; and a Classic Data report confirming the car's condition (before restoration) and its estimated value in 2016 of € 190.000. The car also comes with its original pouch with instruction manuals and service booklet; spare key; and the original spare wheel.

 

Retaining its original dark red interior, beautifully preserved, this Carrera is described by the vendor as in generally excellent condition, ready to enjoy. We have had the pleasure of test-driving the car and can confirm that it performed flawlessly, with a very responsive throttle. This car is worthy of a place in any important collection as direct successor or 'little brother' of the Carrera RS at less than half the price.

New, spare bodyshell fitted onto the floorpan of a kit I first built back in the 1990s. The aim was to try and do a better job and get it back on the display shelf again.

MG YB (1952-53) Engine 1250 cc S4 OHV Production 1201

Registration Number JDM 622

MG SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623797586658...

 

Developed pre-war and designed by Gerald Palmer, the new MG small Y Type Saloon was based on Morris Eight Series E four-door bodyshell in pressed steel, with added a swept tail and rear wings, and also a front-end MG identity in the shape of their well-known upright grille. The MG 1 1/4 Litre Saloon would retain the traditional feature of separately mounted headlights at a time when Morris was integrating headlamps into the front wing and it was also to have a separate chassis under this pressed-steel bodywork, even though the trend in the industry was towards ‘unitary construction’. The power unit was a single carburettor version of the 1,250 cc engine used in the latest MG-TB. This engine, the XPAG, went on to power both the MG-TC and MG-TD series. The MG Y Type saloon developed 46 bhp at 4,800 rpm, with 58.5 lb ft of torque at 2,400 rpm, the YT Tourer (with the higher lift camshaft and twin carburettors) develop 54 bhp.

The new MG YA was launched in 1947

.

The MG YB launched in 1952 strongly resembling the YA. The "YB" had a completely new Lockheed twin leading shoe braking system, 15 inch wheels and a much more modern hypoid type of back axle. Road holding was also improved by the introduction of smaller 15-inch wheels and the use of an anti-roll bar fitted to the front of the car and stronger shock absorbers, or dampers, Little else was changed about the car, which soldiered on until the end of 1953 and the MG ZA Magnette was introduced in 1954.

 

Many Thanks for a fan'dabi'dozi 25,765,900 views

 

Shot 09:06:2014 ar The Luton Classic Car Show, Stockwell Park, Luton REF 102-508

 

The remains of a circa early 1970s British-built Austin-Morris EA public service ambulance w/ bodywork by ‘Wadham Stringer’ coachbuilders, sitting abandoned and neglected in the woods on a country lane near Darlington, County Durham, U.K. The body was made entirely of fibreglass, and every other non-plastic component on this vehicle has long since been removed. All that remains is this bare cracked bodyshell, which after being decommissioned as an ambulance used to be painted light blue (as a mobile grocer shop), and has now deteriorated to “hearing aid beige” bare exposed fibreglass. The vehicle has been siting in this exact same spot for decades.

 

Examples of abandoned classic vehicles in the wilderness such as this one have become an increasingly rare sight in the United Kingdom nowadays. However, as these pictures prove, they still exist out there in the year 2025.

Departing Bristol Temple Meads with a train towards Great Malvern is First Great Western Class 150, 150238.

 

The Class 150 and its derivatives are now a major part of Britain's commuter network, and also play an integral role in many of the rural branch lines and railway dependent settlements in connecting them to the rest of the country. Efficient, plucky and flexible, the Class 150's have always been a reliable instrument in the British Rail scene.

 

The planning of the Class 150 goes back to the early 1980's, where by this point many of the elderly Derby Lightweights and other 'Heritage' DMU's of the 1950's and 60's were in desperate need of replacement. The first consideration was the low cost Pacer units built by British Leyland that made their debut in 1984, but these units proved both unpopular and unreliable. As such, in addition to developing the Pacer, British Rail chose to build a more permanent unit based on the bodyshell of the MkIII carriage that had been used to form HST sets. The intention of the Class 150's was a unit that could provide both short distance commuter services as well as some longer distance trains. Areas of influence would be primarily outside of London, with commuter services connecting the cities of the North and the West Midlands, whilst more regional operations would connect the remote regions of Wales and Scotland to their nearest towns and cities.

 

By 1984, two prototypes had been built, consisting of three carriages and being fitted with two different engines for testing. 150001 was fitted with a Cummins powerplant with Voith Hydraulic Transmission, whilst 150002 was fitted with a Rolls Royce/Perkins engine and Self-Changing mechanical Transmission. These original units consisted of open plan interiors but no connecting gangways between units. After much testing primarily on the Midland Region around the Derby Test Centre, 150001's powerplant was chosen in favour of the Rolls Royce engine, which proved unreliable.

 

In competition with BREL was Metro-Cammell, who designed a pair of 3-car prototypes numbered Class 151. Although a very futuristic and space age looking machine, the Class 151's had troublesome gearboxes, resulting in violent gear shifts. Eventually, BREL's Class 150 was chosen for widespread production, and the Class 151's were withdrawn in 1989, languishing in Crewe before being scrapped in 2004 after suffering heavy vandalism. An advanced version of the Class 151 gearbox was however fitted to one of the Class 150 prototypes as a test for better design, this unit being dubbed Class 154. By this point however the gearbox design was outdated, and thus the unit was reverted back to its original specification.

 

From 1985, the first production Class 150/1's were released onto British Railways, working for the regional commuter sector known as Regional Railways. Their first points of influence were in Manchester and the West Midlands, operating on a wide variety of operations from longer distance services between Manchester, Blackpool, Liverpool, Barrow and Leeds, and in the Midlands from Birmingham to Kidderminster, Wolverhampton, Stratford-on-Avon and Shrewsbury. In total, 50 of these original units were built, distinguished by their lack of front gangway and non-sliding doors for the Driver's Cab.

 

To compliment this original fleet, a redesigned version of these units known as the Class 150/2 were built from 1986, and included a front-end gangway and all sliding doors. At the same time, the Class 150 bodyshell was used as a template for the Class 450 of Northern Ireland, a set of 9 nearly identical units with differing cab ends, one with a gangway, and one without. These units plied their trade across Northern Ireland until 2013 when they were all withdrawn, one unit preserved, and another in storage.

 

85 of the Class 150/2's were built, and began life working on almost the entire length and breadth of the network excluding London and the South East. These trains worked in Cornwall and Devon, the Highlands of Scotland, the Welsh Vallies, Trans-Pennine services between Manchester and Leeds, as well as along the East Coast of England from Newcastle to Lincoln and into Anglia. Both 150/1's and 150/2's differ from the original prototype by lack of a third intermediate trailer, although many Class 150/2's have been split to create hybrid 3-car units for extra capacity.

 

The only other member of the class to be built was the unique Class 180, a departmental track measurement unit fitted with computers and cameras to check the condition of the railway. It was redesignated Class 950 in 2000 following the introduction of the Class 180 Adalante units. This unit is still a common sight working for Network Rail.

 

Today all members of the fleet remain in service, but their original patterns have changed greatly. Class 150's no longer work in Scotland, but remain in heavy use around Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and other locations in the North of England with Northern Rail. London Midland, operating around the West Midlands on what was Central Trains' network have sold off many of their units to other operators following the introduction of Class 172 units, although the company retains 3 units for the Bletchley to Bedford service. Formerly, the Class 150's operated for what was Silverlink on the Barking to Gospel Oak line in North London, the only instance these units have been used regularly in the capital, but have since been withdrawn by London Overground in place of Class 172's.

 

Today, First Great Western and Arriva Trains Wales hold a sizeable fleet to operate trains in and around the South of Wales and England, working from Penzance and Plymouth to Great Malvern, Brighton, Salisbury, and along the Welsh coast to Fishguard, Pembroke and Swansea, with operations being based between Bristol and Cardiff. Arriva does however have a wider influence with its units, operating also to Manchester (on some occasions), Chester, Aberystwyth, Holyhead, and along the north Welsh coast.

Working a light engine movement from Felixstowe to Peterborough North Yard are GBRf Class 66's, 66711 'Sense' and 66742 'Port of Immingham', stopping for a red light at Peterborough.

 

One of Britain's, and indeed Europe's, most numerous diesel locomotives, the Class 66 has become the face of nearly every freight operating rail company on the UK network, a simple, utilitarian design with an enormous, powerful engine. But with it's popularity among rail companies came a price, as it is often listed as one of the most hated locomotives ever to hit the UK rails, largely because of the slew of older BR classic locomotives it replaced from the late 1990's onward.

 

But is it really deserving of such a bum rap?

 

By the mid-1990's it was apparent that a majority of the ex-British Rail locomotives were well beyond their bloom of youth. Aside from the Class 58's of 1983, the Class 60's of 1989, and the American built Class 59's of 1985, most locomotives in the service of freight companies were coming up to 30 or 40 years old, and reliability was a major issue. Years of under-investment in the BR freight sector Railfreight Distribution, had resulted in a fleet comprised of decrepit diesels such as the Class 37's and Class 47's, being worked into the ground to keep the company rolling. Although the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 was a catalyst to investments for freight trains working those particular trunk routes to the South East, with the construction of the Class 92's and the refurbishment of Wembley based Class 47's, the remainder of the freight operators, by this time led by shadow franchises Loadhaul, Transrail and Mainline, were left with a fleet that was slowly dying before their eyes. Class 47's, especially, needed a major overhaul every seven years, costing £400,000; yet had an average daily availability of less than 65% with only 16 days between major failures.

 

Enter Wisconsin Central, who, in 1996, bought the three franchises together with Railfreight Distribution and mail operator Rail Express Systems to create EWS, or English, Welsh & Scottish Railways. As part of the franchise commitment, the intention was to replace the ageing diesel fleet with a standard design that would reduce maintenance and operating costs substantially, with higher levels of reliability and efficiency. Looking at the fleet of diesels in general, it was noted that among the most reliable classes in the UK were the small fleet of 15 Class 59's, built by General Motors between 1985 and 1995 for private Aggregate operators such as Foster Yeoman and Hanson, as well as energy company National Power for the haulage of their coal trains between Collieries and Power Stations. These engines were, for the most part, substantially younger than the likes of the Class 20's, 31's, 37's and 47's, and more reliable than the early built Class 56's from Romania, which were infamous for their poor build quality.

 

Seeing their success, EWS placed an order in 1997 for 250 locomotives based on similar principles to that of the Class 59, often dubbed one of the biggest locomotive orders since the age of Steam. Locomotives were built at GM's factory in London, Ontario, and externally the bodyshell and design shared that with the Class 59. Internally though, the engines took many of GM's previous developments and updated the engine and traction motors to enable higher speeds. The new locomotive was fitted with the 20 year old design of the EMD 710 12-cylinder diesel engine, found originally in the GP60 freight locomotives of North America. However, some of GM's newer creations also made it into the mix, such as updated cab-control systems, the kind found in the Irish Railways Class 201 of 1994.

 

Originally designated Class 61, the first of these new locomotives arrived by boat at Immingham in June 1998, prior to proving tests at Derby. The locomotives then shipped at a rate of 11 per month into the UK via Newport Docks, until the order was completed in December 2001. After unloading, EWS engineers then simply took off the tarpaulin, unblocked the suspension, and finally as each was shipped with water and fuel, hooked up the batteries, before starting the engine and handing the locomotive into service. Almost immediately, other UK freight operators took interest in the Class, and companies such as Freightliner, GB Railfreight and Direct Rail Services also placed orders.

 

Upon their introduction, reliability levels for EWS's operations improved substantially. Each locomotive is specified and guaranteed to 95% availability, aiming for a minimum of 180 days mean time between failures. It is designed to cover 1·6million km between major rebuilds, equivalent to 18 years' service, with each major rebuild costed at £200,000. But with their success came the sad reality that the much loved classes of yesteryear were going to be given the push, and this is where a majority of the Class 66's unpopularity comes from. It could have been understood the replacement of the 40 year old Class 20's, 31's, 37's and 47's, as it was quite clear they were past their prime, the same could equally be said for some of the earlier Class 56's of the late 1970's. However, the line was stepped across with the withdrawal of the Class 58's and Class 60's, as the desire of EWS to have a standardised fleet, resulted in the removal of locomotives that were nowhere near life-expired. The large-scale retirement of these extremely reliable and powerful locomotives that weren't even 20 years old was seen as a travesty, and whilst some Class 60's have seen a revival with other operators as of late, the Class 58's are all but extinct, whilst many Class 60's continue to languish in yards across the UK, mostly at Toton in the East Midlands.

 

Nevertheless, the class continued to grow over the years, and, upon the conclusion of Class 66 production in the UK in 2014, 446 of the class were eventually built. But we can't forget also that the class has seen major success across Europe as well, with dozens of engines in operation in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, and Poland, with certification pending in the Czech Republic and Italy.

 

Today, a majority of the class is still in service with a variety of operators. DB Schenker, the successor to EWS, continues to operate the largest fleet of 249 locomotives. Freightliner operates 141, DRS operates 19, GBRf operates 72 and Colas Rail operates 5. Not all of the locomotives however remain with us, as three have been written off.

 

The first was 66521 on the 28th February, 2001, where after hitting a Land Rover that had fallen down an embankment from the M62 motorway, a southbound GNER InterCity 225 set led by lightweight Class 82 DVT, 82221, derailed and ran straight into the path of the oncoming Class 66 which was working a northbound coal train. With an estimated closing speed of 142mph, the DVT was obliterated upon hitting the Class 66, and the freight locomotive was mangled and distorted as it was crushed between its loaded coal train behind and the passenger coaches in front. In the disaster, 10 people were killed, including 66521's driver Stephen Dunn, although his instructor Andrew Hill, who was also riding in the cab, was able to survive. The locomotive however was for the most part destroyed, and scrapped later that year.

 

The second was on the 4th January, 2010 involving 66048, which derailed at Carrbridge in snowy weather. Coming down the Highland Mainline with a loaded container train, it passed a signal at danger and was derailed at trap points, subsequently falling down an embankment into trees and injuring the two crew members.

 

The third was on the 28th June 2012, where GBRf 66734 derailed at Loch Treig whilst working Alcan Tanks. The inability of recovery crews to access the highly remote and dangerous location resulted in the engine being cut-up on site.

 

Additionally, many Class 66's have suffered low-speed collisions and derailments, either through faults in the track, driver error, or faults with the rolling stock.

 

However, despite the criticism, and often being dubbed as bland and utilitarian, the Class 66 is still a major part of the UK freight network, working behind the scenes without need of major attention so as to get the job done. Indeed it may find a home among rail enthusiasts, and perhaps one day it'll be dubbed a classic like the Class 37's and 47's it replaced, but at the moment it's the UK networks humble hero, plying its trade the best way it knows how.

56097 moved up to make room for the bodyshell off 56312

An incredibly busy 10 minutes at Nuneaton. While changing trains I was treated to not one, not two, not three, but four intermodal freights passing on each of the stations lines.

 

First to appear we have Freightliner Class 66, 66596, approaching Nuneaton from the Coleshill direction with the late running Southampton M.C.T. to Daventry intermodal freight.

 

One of Britain's, and indeed Europe's, most numerous diesel locomotives, the Class 66 has become the face of nearly every freight operating rail company on the UK network, a simple, utilitarian design with an enormous, powerful engine. But with it's popularity among rail companies came a price, as it is often listed as one of the most hated locomotives ever to hit the UK rails, largely because of the slew of older BR classic locomotives it replaced from the late 1990's onward.

 

But is it really deserving of such a bum rap?

 

By the mid-1990's it was apparent that a majority of the ex-British Rail locomotives were well beyond their bloom of youth. Aside from the Class 58's of 1983, the Class 60's of 1989, and the American built Class 59's of 1985, most locomotives in the service of freight companies were coming up to 30 or 40 years old, and reliability was a major issue. Years of under-investment in the BR freight sector Railfreight Distribution, had resulted in a fleet comprised of decrepit diesels such as the Class 37's and Class 47's, being worked into the ground to keep the company rolling. Although the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 was a catalyst to investments for freight trains working those particular trunk routes to the South East, with the construction of the Class 92's and the refurbishment of Wembley based Class 47's, the remainder of the freight operators, by this time led by shadow franchises Loadhaul, Transrail and Mainline, were left with a fleet that was slowly dying before their eyes. Class 47's, especially, needed a major overhaul every seven years, costing £400,000; yet had an average daily availability of less than 65% with only 16 days between major failures.

 

Enter Wisconsin Central, who, in 1996, bought the three franchises together with Railfreight Distribution and mail operator Rail Express Systems to create EWS, or English, Welsh & Scottish Railways. As part of the franchise commitment, the intention was to replace the ageing diesel fleet with a standard design that would reduce maintenance and operating costs substantially, with higher levels of reliability and efficiency. Looking at the fleet of diesels in general, it was noted that among the most reliable classes in the UK were the small fleet of 15 Class 59's, built by General Motors between 1985 and 1995 for private Aggregate operators such as Foster Yeoman and Hanson, as well as energy company National Power for the haulage of their coal trains between Collieries and Power Stations. These engines were, for the most part, substantially younger than the likes of the Class 20's, 31's, 37's and 47's, and more reliable than the early built Class 56's from Romania, which were infamous for their poor build quality.

 

Seeing their success, EWS placed an order in 1997 for 250 locomotives based on similar principles to that of the Class 59, often dubbed one of the biggest locomotive orders since the age of Steam. Locomotives were built at GM's factory in London, Ontario, and externally the bodyshell and design shared that with the Class 59. Internally though, the engines took many of GM's previous developments and updated the engine and traction motors to enable higher speeds. The new locomotive was fitted with the 20 year old design of the EMD 710 12-cylinder diesel engine, found originally in the GP60 freight locomotives of North America. However, some of GM's newer creations also made it into the mix, such as updated cab-control systems, the kind found in the Irish Railways Class 201 of 1994.

 

Originally designated Class 61, the first of these new locomotives arrived by boat at Immingham in June 1998, prior to proving tests at Derby. The locomotives then shipped at a rate of 11 per month into the UK via Newport Docks, until the order was completed in December 2001. After unloading, EWS engineers then simply took off the tarpaulin, unblocked the suspension, and finally as each was shipped with water and fuel, hooked up the batteries, before starting the engine and handing the locomotive into service. Almost immediately, other UK freight operators took interest in the Class, and companies such as Freightliner, GB Railfreight and Direct Rail Services also placed orders.

 

Upon their introduction, reliability levels for EWS's operations improved substantially. Each locomotive is specified and guaranteed to 95% availability, aiming for a minimum of 180 days mean time between failures. It is designed to cover 1·6million km between major rebuilds, equivalent to 18 years' service, with each major rebuild costed at £200,000. But with their success came the sad reality that the much loved classes of yesteryear were going to be given the push, and this is where a majority of the Class 66's unpopularity comes from. It could have been understood the replacement of the 40 year old Class 20's, 31's, 37's and 47's, as it was quite clear they were past their prime, the same could equally be said for some of the earlier Class 56's of the late 1970's. However, the line was stepped across with the withdrawal of the Class 58's and Class 60's, as the desire of EWS to have a standardised fleet, resulted in the removal of locomotives that were nowhere near life-expired. The large-scale retirement of these extremely reliable and powerful locomotives that weren't even 20 years old was seen as a travesty, and whilst some Class 60's have seen a revival with other operators as of late, the Class 58's are all but extinct, whilst many Class 60's continue to languish in yards across the UK, mostly at Toton in the East Midlands.

 

Nevertheless, the class continued to grow over the years, and, upon the conclusion of Class 66 production in the UK in 2014, 446 of the class were eventually built. But we can't forget also that the class has seen major success across Europe as well, with dozens of engines in operation in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, and Poland, with certification pending in the Czech Republic and Italy.

 

Today, a majority of the class is still in service with a variety of operators. DB Schenker, the successor to EWS, continues to operate the largest fleet of 249 locomotives. Freightliner operates 141, DRS operates 19, GBRf operates 72 and Colas Rail operates 5. Not all of the locomotives however remain with us, as three have been written off.

 

The first was 66521 on the 28th February, 2001, where after hitting a Land Rover that had fallen down an embankment from the M62 motorway, a southbound GNER InterCity 225 set led by lightweight Class 82 DVT, 82221, derailed and ran straight into the path of the oncoming Class 66 which was working a northbound coal train. With an estimated closing speed of 142mph, the DVT was obliterated upon hitting the Class 66, and the freight locomotive was mangled and distorted as it was crushed between its loaded coal train behind and the passenger coaches in front. In the disaster, 10 people were killed, including 66521's driver Stephen Dunn, although his instructor Andrew Hill, who was also riding in the cab, was able to survive. The locomotive however was for the most part destroyed, and scrapped later that year.

 

The second was on the 4th January, 2010 involving 66048, which derailed at Carrbridge in snowy weather. Coming down the Highland Mainline with a loaded container train, it passed a signal at danger and was derailed at trap points, subsequently falling down an embankment into trees and injuring the two crew members.

 

The third was on the 28th June 2012, where GBRf 66734 derailed at Loch Treig whilst working Alcan Tanks. The inability of recovery crews to access the highly remote and dangerous location resulted in the engine being cut-up on site.

 

Additionally, many Class 66's have suffered low-speed collisions and derailments, either through faults in the track, driver error, or faults with the rolling stock.

 

However, despite the criticism, and often being dubbed as bland and utilitarian, the Class 66 is still a major part of the UK freight network, working behind the scenes without need of major attention so as to get the job done. Indeed it may find a home among rail enthusiasts, and perhaps one day it'll be dubbed a classic like the Class 37's and 47's it replaced, but at the moment it's the UK networks humble hero, plying its trade the best way it knows how.

Not quite what it seems: it may look like a common-or-garden Mini but this one was built in Venezuela by a firm called Facorca and has a fibreglass body. Rover supplied the mechanical parts from the UK but the bodyshell had to be produced locally and steel fabrication was deemed too costly and impractical. Only 1309 were built between 1991 and 1995 in two forms, the standard SB and deluxe FA.

Fiat Abarth 1000 Bialbero, Solido #124 by Solijouets, France September 1962. I bought a scrapped model in 2009 and restored it: Primed with FHG 7255-0400-9020, then painted with Dupli Color VW/Audi silver metallic (I p7Y - 347016) and provided with decals from the reserve box. The box is a reproduction.

A white version of this model is now re-released by Club Solido / Z Models Distribution.

The Abarth cars> They were probably the most successful vehicles on the race tracks of their time. The cars of the Carlo Abarth had to be beaten in the small classes and this rarely enough succeeded. Beside the touring cars, which leaned in technology and appearance against the Fiat 500 D and 600 D, it was particularly also the Granturismo sports cars developed after own conceptions, to which Carlo Abarth owed a substantial part of his victory cups.

They were expensive with prices at the level of luxury limousines, but above all light and fast, the sports cars from Abarth. And they existed in a confusing variety (see also the table at the end of this article). Most show the handwriting of the bodywork company Zagato, which manufactured then also an important part of the vehicles.

In 1956 the Abarth coupe was presented on the Paris salon, equipped with a descendant of the Fiat 600 engine brought on 747 cm3 and with 47 HP nevertheless 150 km/h fast.

The success on the racetracks and in sales was so great that Zagato's production capacities were soon no longer sufficient and the production of the bodyshells was transferred to Carozzeria Corna. Only the final assembly remained with Zagato for the time being, but then finally went over to Abarth itself.

The form developed in that time continuously further, Abarth engineer Mario Colucci contributed here a weighty portion and the cars became more elegant and aerodynamic.

Ugo Zagato, however, received recognition for his design signature in 1960 with the "Compasso d'Oro".

The engines became more and more sophisticated and grew in displacement and performance. An important step was taken with the double camshaft cylinder head, which made it possible to produce 61 hp from 747 cm3 at 7,000 revolutions. Other versions of the engine called the Bialbero played on the piano of racing formulas and had 703, but also 847 cm3.

But the big breakthrough came with the 982 cm3 version of the Fiat 600 engine (767 cm3) that appeared in 1960. 91/93 bhp at 7,000 rpm was enough to take the small record-breaking Monza coupe to an incredible 210 km/h and more. The Abarth racer completed the kilometre with a standing start in 28 to 30 seconds, depending on the driver. In Monza the Abarth 1000 circled the circuit faster than a Porsche Carrera!

Until 1964 the power output was steadily increased, until finally more than 100 HP resulted as a yield. Also the shape followed the dictates of aerodynamics and became smoother and more elongated. And more and more the pilots preferred to transport the Abarth by trailer instead of on its own axle to the race track, because with racing clutch and comfort minimalism the cars were less and less suitable for everyday traffic.

But for people without racing ambitions there were also road offshoots, for example the monomille versions, which did without a camshaft, but were nevertheless equipped with the pretty sheet metal dress of the racing versions.

On the race tracks, however, the Abarth Coupés were practically unbeatable in their class and in many races it was even enough for overall victory. The Abarth were not only on the circuit, but also on the mountain, in slalom and at road rallies

successful.

[From www.zwischengas.com/de/HR/rennwagenberichte/Fiat-Abarth-1...]

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Very early Fanfare resin bodyshell with OOC 'Queen Mary' interior.

Hillman (Zagato) Zimp (1966) Engine 875cc S4 OC

Production 3

Registration Number CUD 180 (Oxford)

 

Italian styling house Zagato saw the possibility of building a car the British market, in a simular vein of their own take on the Lancia Fulvia.

Their chosen model was the Hillman Imp, The body was styled by Ercole Spada of Aston Martin DB4 and Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato fame, and the car had Imp Imp mechanicals and on an aluminium Coupe bodyshell A gentlemans agreement was reached with Lord Rootes to supply Imps.

And a practicalitly assesment was carried out on the design at Ryton that declared that the building of such a car would top the £ 1,000 mark and the target demographic would be ladies with quite sufficient spending money, comparable to Lancia Fulva coupé's.

One problem to overcome was the British import duties imposed on foreign built cars.

 

A plan was devised to a company to build the car in the UK and British Zagato was formed, based in Kingston-on-Thames, headed by Peter Thomas and Anthony Charles

 

Peter Thomas purchased two Imps from an Oxford dealership CUD 180B, a white Deluxe and CUD 181B, a red one. and he and his wife drove them to the Zagato design studios in Milan, where work was already underway on a red Imp Deluxe 9053 PG, which had been bought second hand in the U.K. The cars were transformed into Zimps in just nine months, so Zagato could exhibit its Zimp on the 1964 Earl's Court Motor Show

 

But problems were on the horizon, in 1964 Chrysler had secured a share of Rootes and had three directors placed on the Roots board. They combined to veto the Zimp and the project died

 

British Zagato Ltd. were planning to tune the Imp engine from 39 hp. to 46 hp. and the cars weigh in at 630kg, significantly lighter than the Imp so would have been pretty lively,

 

Today all three of the prototypes still exist,

9053 PG was restored in 2011and was sold in February 2015 on eBay, Monte Carlo. for £8,865.

CUD 181 B has now been modified and has twin headlamps

CUD 190 B is the seen here. It was bought by Peter Thomas in 1980 who passed it on to Anthony Charles in 1984 who sold it in 1987 to Mike Hanna. and has not suffered the problems of electrolytic corosion visited on the other two, largely because the panels were only crimped onto the the Imp floorpan with a handful of rivets.

 

Many Thanks for a fan'dabi'dozi 31,372,600 views

 

Shot 16.11.2014 at The National Exhibition Centre, Classic and Sportscar Show Ref 103-611.

Renault 5 GT Turbo (1986-91) Engine 1397cc S4 OHV

Chassis No: VF1C4050501453391

Registration Number G 817 LGH (London SW)

RENAULT SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623690632985...

 

The second generation R5, marketed as the Renault 5 (or "Superfive"), was launched in the SuperMini category October 1984 The bodyshell and platform were completely new (the platform was based on that of the larger Renault 9 and 11), and R5 aesthetic remained; styling was by Marcello Gandini. The new body was wider and longer with 20 percent more glass area, more interior space, and a lower drag coefficient (0.35). The biggest changes were adoption of a transversely-mounted powertrain from the 9 and 11 and MacPherson strut front suspension. The five-door version arrived in May 1985.

 

The Renault 5 GT Turbo was introduced as a hot hatch version in Februar 1985. t used a modified four cylinder, eight-valve Cléon 1397 cc engine, a pushrod unit dating back to the 1962 original (in 1108 cc form). It was turbocharged with an air-cooled Garrett T2 turbocharger. Weighing a mere 850 kg (1,874 lb), and producing 113bhp (115 PS) permitting it to accelerate from a standstill to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 7.5 seconds. To differentiate it from the standard 5, it came with blocky plastic side skirts. Turbo lag was an issue, along with poor hot starting, and was considered rather difficult to control. The same engine was used, with similar issues, in the Renault 9 and 11 Turbos. The regular 43-litre (9.5 imp gal) fuel tank was considered too small for the thirstier Turbo and so a 7-litre (1.5 imp gal) supplementary tank was installed at the rear left of the car, and the 5 GT Turbo also received an oil cooler, suspension upgrades contributed tp a lower ride height

 

In 1987, the facelifted Phase II was launched changes included water cooling for the Turbo extending the life of the Turbo, a new ignition system which increased the engines RPM boosting output to 118bhp 120 PS.

 

In late 1991 the Renault 5 GT Turbo was discontinued, superseded by the Clio 16V and the Clio Williams.

 

This car was offered for auction described as having a - Mechanically uprated by its previous keeper with a double capacity alloy intercooler, uprated head gasket, new turbo, high-flow race radiator and Wossner forged pistons etc

 

This car was offered for sale at the H and H Buxton Pavilion Gardens sale of 10th April 2019, selling for £ 6,975 inc. buyers premium

 

Diolch yn fawr am 69,983,824 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mwynhewch ac arhoswch yn ddiogel

 

Thank you 69,983,824 amazing views, enjoy and stay safe

 

Shot 10.04.2019 at The Pavilion Gardens, Buxton, Derbyshire Ref 138-279

   

Racing south with the 1M11 Glasgow Central to London Euston is an unidentified Class 390 Pendolino.

 

Since their introduction in 2002, the Class 390 tilting Pendolino sets have revolutionised services on the West Coast Mainline, bringing about an entirely new level of speed onto a route notorious for its laboriously winding route. But with such a technological leap, the Class 390 has sadly paid the price for its image due to what it was replacing.

 

The idea of a tilting train on the West Coast Mainline was however not a new one to Alstom when they developed the Pendolino sets in the late 1990's, with the concept being toyed way back in the early 1970's. British Rail first pioneered the concept of the tilting train with the ill-fated Advanced Passenger Train or APT of the mid-1970's. The idea was to create a train that could shift its centre of gravity whilst moving around sharp bends at high speeds, similar to how a motorcyclist leans into corners. This was to not only allow the train to travel at higher speeds on winding track without fear of it falling over, but also to improve passenger comfort levels and stop people being pressed against the windows when taking corners!

 

The original APT was a Gas-Turbine unit that operated on the Midland Region out of London St Pancras, and was later followed by the Class 370 electric multiple unit that began trials on the West Coast Mainline from 1980. A truly brilliant concept, the APT showed the world that the idea of a tilting train could be possible, that is, when it worked. The Class 370 was marred by teething problems and reliability issues, mostly consisting of the fact that the tilting mechanism wouldn't work properly or there would be just general train faults. Coupled with the winter of 1981, the worst winter for many years, and the train's image was damaged beyond repair. Even while developments were looking promising, and with only a few million Pounds required to complete the project, the British Government pulled the plug and the APT was axed in 1986, with only one complete set remaining as a rather sorry museum piece. The train of the future had become a thing of the past.

 

But the developments of the APT were picked up by none-other than Fiat Ferroviaria, who, following the failure of their British rival, developed their own and much more successful tilting train, the ETR-401 Pendolino, which began operations in 1988. This was later translated into a fleet of 15 ETR 450 production units which became the first revenue earning tilting trains.

 

In 2000, Fiat Ferroviaria was acquired by Alstom, who has been building their legendary tilting trains ever since. This coincided with the formation of Virgin Trains following privatisation of British Rail in 1994. As part of Virgin Trains' franchise requirements in 1997, the company intended the replacement of the ageing BR stock of the 1960's with a new fleet of high speed trains that would reduce journey times and up travel quality. As such, Virgin turned to Fiat Ferroviaria and later successor Alstom to provide them with a derivative version of the company's latest tilting Pendolino, the ETR 460.

 

Fiat Ferroviaria supplied much of the content of the Class 390 units, including the bodyshell and the bogies, while final assembly was carried out at Washwood Heath. The tilting technology was developed by SIG Switzerland (later Fiat-SIG, today Alstom). Two electromechanical actuators are used per car to achieve the desired tilting angle on curved stretches of track. The train can tilt to a maximum of eight degrees, at which point one side of the cabin train is 380 mm higher above the track than the other. In contrast to other Fiat Ferroviaria tilting trains which use hydraulic tilting actuators, the electromechanical systems offers lower maintenance cost and higher efficiency.

 

The new trains were intended to run at 140mph, but the West Coast Main Line modernisation programme, which was an upgrade to the infrastructure to allow faster line speeds, ran over budget. Consequently, plans were scaled back, and in a manner reminiscent of the introduction of the InterCity 225, the lack of signalling upgrades resulted in the maximum line speed being restricted to 125mph. Although this (and 140mph) are well below BR's hopes for APT of 155mph, it does match the maximum speed of 125mph for the APT in passenger service (although one APT set reached 162mph in testing).

 

The fleet was introduced into passenger services from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly on 23rd July, 2002, to coincide with the opening of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Over the next few months they took over the Manchester services, and were soon introduced on routes from London to Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton and Preston.

 

With the start of Class 390 operations, the writing was very much on the wall for the ageing sets of trains it was replacing, and thus the Class 390's image began to be somewhat tarnished amongst the railway purists. First to go were the Class 86's of the 1960's, proud high-speed locomotives that were once the mainstay of the WCML, withdrawn from service in 2003 following both the introduction of the Class 390's, and the Class 220/221 Voyager units on Cross-Country services. Next were the newer Class 90's of 1989, replaced in 2004 once Class 390's had been allocated to routes north of Preston. The final locomotive hauled trains were provided by the Class 87's of the 1970's, which held strong until final replacement in 2005, bringing an end to locomotive hauled services on the West Coast Mainline. From then on, the Class 86's have mostly been scrapped, whilst Class 90's were transferred to Anglia to replace their Class 86 fleet. Class 87's on the other hand have since been exported largely to Bulgaria, the few remaining here in the UK either being scrapped, placed in storage, or made into museum pieces. This left a great deal of animosity towards the Class 390's by the railway enthusiast community, who, even after 10 years, still have a strong hatred towards these trains.

 

The service improvements however are something that can't be taken away from the Class 390's as these trains have taken the original and comparatively sluggish 110mph top speed and translated it into the extremely fast 125mph running speed that BR had dreamt of for years. In September 2006, the Pendolino set a new speed record, completing the 401 mile length of the West Coast Main Line from Glasgow Central to London Euston in 3 hours, 55 minutes, beating the 4-hour-14-minute record for the southbound run previously set in 1981 by the Class 370 APT. The APT however retains the ultimate speed record for this route, having completed the northbound journey between London Euston and Glasgow Central in 3 hours 52 minutes in 1984 which included a 5-minute delay due to a signal fault.

 

Since then the Pendolino has become very much a staple of high speed train travel in the UK, and still looks good even 15 years after the first ones hit the test tracks back in 2001.

 

The Class 390 was put to the test however with 390033 'City of Glasgow', which was written off after the Grayrigg derailment of February 23rd, 2007. The accident had been caused by a points malfunction, which, after a failure to inspect by Network Rail, changed the direction of travel from normal and thus resulted in the entire set derailing and plummeting down an embankment at 95mph. The sturdy design and robust nature of the Class 390 has been attributed to the fact that only one person, an elderly lady, was killed in the disaster, whereas if the previous MkII carriages had been involved, the death-toll could have been much higher. As said, the unit was written off, and the less damaged rear carriages of the set now reside at the Crewe Training Centre and are used for the instruction of drivers and train crew. The subsequent destruction of one of the units led to Virgin Trains reinstating a loco-hauled service to cover its diagrams, this being in the form of a hired Class 90 (usually from Freightliner), a set of 9 MkIII coaches, and a Driving Van Trailer. This train operated covering diagrams until November 2014, when it was retired and transferred to Greater Anglia.

 

Since 2007 the Class 390's have had their fleet enhanced from the original 53 sets to 57 with the addition of 4 new units between 2011 and 2012. The introduction of these new sets coincided with the extension of 31 sets to 11-cars, with new carriages built and imported from Alstom's factory in Italy, the first routine 11-car InterCity train to operate in the UK since the 1970's.

 

Today the Class 390's continue to ply their merry trade, and remain vital parts of the UK's high speed network, bringing Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and London closer together than they've ever been before.

Ref. 26-1611.

Audi 80 GL (1972-1976).

Escala 1/43.

Testauftrag >S<.

Schuco.

Made in Germany.

Production year: 1976.

 

"Schuco no. 26-1611 Test order S, from the 1976 series "For test drivers". Apart from actuality, what was special about these modellautos, that they could be divided into about 15 to 20 individual parts and thus the slogan test assignment got a special significance! (...)"

  

Source: www.autostadt.de/de/eshops/audi-80-gl.html

(original text in german language)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

AUDI 80 (B1)

 

"The Audi 80 was developed by Ludwig Kraus and was presented in 1972.

It quickly became the bestseller in the lower middle class.

 

With a facelift in September 1976, the style of the Audi 80 was aligned towards that of the Audi 100, which had just been launched.

 

The Audi 80 GL was the top model in the series. Front-wheel drive, negative steering scrub radius and diagonal brake circuit distribution provided for driving safety even in adverse conditions."

 

Engine: 4-cylinder inline engine

 

Displacement: 1,297 cc to 1,588 cc

 

Power: from 55 hp at 5,500 rpm to 110 hp at 6,000 rpm

 

Series: 07/1972-09/1978

 

Production: 932,403 cars (without US models)

 

Source:

www.audi-me.com/me/brand/en/company/audi_history/Evolutio...

www.audi-me.com/me/brand/en/company/audi_history/Evolutio...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Audi 80 (B1) (1972-1978)

 

"This model debuted in Europe in 1972 as the Audi 80, and in 1973 in Australia and North America (Canada and the USA) as the Audi Fox, and was available as either a two-door or a four-door saloon (sedan).

It effectively took the place of several models that Audi had discontinued (the F103 series, which included the first model designated as an "Audi 80"), and provided the company with a viable rival to the Opel Ascona and the Ford Taunus (Ford Cortina in the UK), as well as more upmarket offerings including the Alfa Romeo Alfetta and Triumph Dolomite."

 

"The Audi 80 B1 was only the second modern-era Audi product to be developed entirely under Volkswagen ownership - Audi chief engineer Ludwig Kraus had famously been disparaging about the outgoing F103 series, referring to it as the "bastard", owing to its Auto Union/DKW bodyshell and Mercedes-Benz engine.

The B1 was a clean break from the Auto Union era, being equipped with.a range of brand new 1.3- and 1.5-litre SOHC inline-four petrol engines - the first appearance of the now legendary EA827 series of engines, whose descendants are still used in VW Group vehicles to the present day."

(...)

 

"On the home market, two- and four- door saloons were available in base trim (55 or 60 PS, called simply Audi 80 and 80 S, respectively), as L models (LS with 75 PS engine) or as a more luxurious GL (85 PS only).

In September 1973, Audi added the sporty 80 GT (two-door only) featuring a carburettor 1.6 litre engine (code: XX) rated at 100 PS (74 kW; 99 bhp)."

(...)

 

"Audi's design and development efforts paid off during the 1973 European Car of the Year competition where the 80 won ahead of the Renault 5 and the Alfa Romeo Alfetta.

 

A facelift in autumn 1976 brought about a revised front end in the style of the newly introduced Audi 100 C2 with square instead of round headlights, 1.6- instead of 1.5 litre engines (still of 75/85 PS) and a new 80 GTE model with a fuel-injected version of the 1.6-litre (110 PS (81 kW; 108 bhp)) replacing the former 80 GT."

(...)

 

"The B1 platform was dropped from the European market in 1978, although it was sold into the 1979 model year in North America."

(...)

 

---------------------------

Audi 80 B1 (80/82)

 

Also called

Audi Fox

 

Production

1972–1978

1,103,766 built

 

Body style

2/4-door sedan

5-door wagon

 

Layout

Front-engine, front-wheel-drive

 

Platform

Volkswagen Group B1 platform

 

Engine

1.3 L I4

1.5 L I4

1.6 L I4

 

Transmission

4-speed manual

3-speed automatic

 

Dimensions

Wheelbase

2,470 mm (97.2 in)

Length

4,175 mm (164.4 in)

Width

1,600 mm (63.0 in)

Height

1,362 mm (53.6 in)

 

Chronology

 

Predecessor

Audi 72

 

Successor

Audi 80 (B2)

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_80

 

More info:

www.speeddoctor.net/2012/audi-80-b1-1972-78/

Ford Lotus Cortina Mk.1 (1963-66) Engine 1558cc S4 DOC Production 4012

Registration Number KPU 396 C

FORD UK SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623665118181...

The history of the Cortina Lotus began in 1961. Colin Chapman had been wishing to build his own engines for Lotus, mainly because the Coventry Climax unit was so expensive. Colin Chapman's chance came when he commissioned Harry Mundy (a close friend and designer of the Coventry Climax engine and technical editor for Autocar) to design a twin-cam version of the Ford Kent engine. Most of the development of the engine was done on the 997cc and 1,340cc bottom end, but in 1962 Ford released the 116E five bearing 1,499 cc engine and work centred on this. Keith Duckworth, from Cosworth, played an important part in tuning of the engine The engine's first appearance was in 1962 at the Nürburgring in a Lotus 23 driven by Jim Clark. Almost as soon as the engine appeared in production cars (Lotus Elan), it was replaced with a larger capacity unit of 1557cc

Whilst the engine was being developed, Walter Hayes (Ford) asked Colin Chapman if he would fit the engine to 1,000 Ford saloons for Group 2 homologation. The Type 28 or Lotus Cortina or Cortina Lotus (as Ford liked to call it) was duly launched. Ford supplied the 2-door Cortina bodyshells and took care of all the marketing and selling of the cars, whilst Lotus did all the mechanical and cosmetic changes. The major changes involved installing the 1,557 cc engine together with an Elan close ratio gearbox, he rear suspension was drastically altered and lightweight alloy panels were used for doors, bonnet and boot. Lightweight casings were fitted to gearbox and differential. All the Lotus factory cars were painted white with a green stripe (although Ford built some for racing in red, and one customer had a dark blue stripe due to being superstitious about green). The cars also received front quarter bumpers and round Lotus badges were fitted to rear wings and to the right side of the radiator grille.

Initially, the engines were built by J. A Prestwich of Tottenham and then Villiers of Wolverhampton. In 1966, Lotus moved to Hethel in Norwich where they had their own engine building facilities

To homologate the car for Group 2, 1000 were required to be built in 1963, and the car was duly homologated in September 1963. In the same month, in the car's first outing, in the Oulton Park Gold Cup, the car finished 3rd and 4th behind two Ford Galaxies, but beat the 3.8-litre Jaguars which had been dominant in saloon car racing for so long. Soon Ford were running cars in Britain, Europe, and the USA, with Team Lotus running cars in Britain for Ford, and Alan Mann Racing running cars in Europe, also on behalf of Ford. The Cortina Lotus was able to beat almost anything except the 7-litre V8 Ford Galaxies, and later, Ford Mustangs.

 

A big thankyou for 20.9 million views

 

Shot 18:03:2014 at the BTCC launch Donington Park, Leicestershire Ref: 99-019

  

Chassis n° 904-061

 

RM Sotheby's

Place Vauban

Parijs - Paris

Frankrijk - France

February 2020

 

Estimated : € 1.600.000 - 1.800.000

Sold for € 1.917.500

 

While Ferdinand ‘Butzi’ Porsche is best known for his landmark 901/911 design, he also penned the beautiful 904 GTS coupe. This stunning two-seat, dual-purpose sports car was the first Porsche to wear an aerodynamic and lightweight glass-fibre bodyshell. Its powerplant was the sophisticated quad-cam, air-cooled, opposed four-cylinder engine carried over from the 356 Carrera, mounted amidships. A small number of late-production cars were fitted with six-cylinder engines from the 906. A total of 108 chassis were constructed by the factory, plus a few more later from spare parts.

 

The Kardex of chassis no 904-061 states that it was completed 4 March 1964 and delivered to its first owner through Glöckler of Frankfurt on 8 April. Finished in Signal Red with a blue cloth interior, this chassis was fitted with engine number P99045 (Type 587/3) and gearbox number 904061 (Type 904/0). Its Kardex indicates the car was retained by Glöckler until at least September, by then having accrued 6,500 km. Historical records show the car being sold to a Portuguese enthusiast, believed to be a Mr Dos Santos, who drove the car on a tour of Portugal. Around 1969 the car was acquired by noted French driver Raymond Touroul.

 

According to Rolf Sprenger and Steve Heinrichs’s Porsche Carrera: The 4-Cam Motor and the Early Years of Porsche Motorsport, Touroul raced with this 904 at a handful of events in period, including with co-driver Pierre Pagani at the 1969 Tour de France, where the car retired. Touroul appeared at the Coupes de Vitesse at Montlhéry in May of 1971, finishing 4th overall. He raced twice at Albi, finishing 3rd overall in 1971 and 3rd in class in 1972, which was his final listed event in the car.

 

Circa 1980 the car was restored and repainted in its original Signal Red and trimmed in cream leather. By 1988 the car reportedly had accrued barely 13,000 km. By the late 1990s, the car had been purchased by enthusiast and collector Alain Salat. In 2000 it was entrusted to a marque specialist, who repainted the car Silver Metallic and installed a new black interior. The original four-cam engine was found to have been damaged and was replaced by a period-correct, magnesium-cased, twin plug, Type 906 two-liter, six-cylinder engine. In 2007 it was purchased by the current owner. He decided to restore the original engine to its former glory, yet did not fit it to the car in an effort to preserve it for future use. This engine is now out of the car, has been dyno tested, and is offered complete with flywheel, cooling turbine, carburettors, and ignition system. Following the restoration, the car appeared at the 2010 Le Mans Classic.

 

The car is supplied with its FIA Historic Technical Passport issued in 2008, a significant history file, and a second set of wheels. Presently showing 24,000 km, believed to be original, and benefitting from a clear ownership history, this 904 is one of the most original examples RM Sotheby’s has had the pleasure of offering. It is ready for vintage touring and rallying, with its amazing Type 906 six-cylinder engine, or, should its fortunate next owner desire, it could be restored to factory original specification with its original four-cylinder engine, offering truly the best of both worlds.

The empty bodyshell of 31006 awaits cutting up at Doncaster Works on 29th November 1980.

 

The locomotive would be diced a few days later, having been withdrawn from service in January that year.

 

Zenit EM f/8 500th/sec Ektachrome 400

Ref. 26-1611.

Audi 80 GL (1972-1976).

Escala 1/43.

Testauftrag >S<.

Schuco.

Made in Germany.

Production year: 1976.

 

"Schuco no. 26-1611 Test order S, from the 1976 series "For test drivers". Apart from actuality, what was special about these modellautos, that they could be divided into about 15 to 20 individual parts and thus the slogan test assignment got a special significance! (...)"

  

Source: www.autostadt.de/de/eshops/audi-80-gl.html

(original text in german language)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

AUDI 80 (B1)

 

"The Audi 80 was developed by Ludwig Kraus and was presented in 1972.

It quickly became the bestseller in the lower middle class.

 

With a facelift in September 1976, the style of the Audi 80 was aligned towards that of the Audi 100, which had just been launched.

 

The Audi 80 GL was the top model in the series. Front-wheel drive, negative steering scrub radius and diagonal brake circuit distribution provided for driving safety even in adverse conditions."

 

Engine: 4-cylinder inline engine

 

Displacement: 1,297 cc to 1,588 cc

 

Power: from 55 hp at 5,500 rpm to 110 hp at 6,000 rpm

 

Series: 07/1972-09/1978

 

Production: 932,403 cars (without US models)

 

Source:

www.audi-me.com/me/brand/en/company/audi_history/Evolutio...

www.audi-me.com/me/brand/en/company/audi_history/Evolutio...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Audi 80 (B1) (1972-1978)

 

"This model debuted in Europe in 1972 as the Audi 80, and in 1973 in Australia and North America (Canada and the USA) as the Audi Fox, and was available as either a two-door or a four-door saloon (sedan).

It effectively took the place of several models that Audi had discontinued (the F103 series, which included the first model designated as an "Audi 80"), and provided the company with a viable rival to the Opel Ascona and the Ford Taunus (Ford Cortina in the UK), as well as more upmarket offerings including the Alfa Romeo Alfetta and Triumph Dolomite."

 

"The Audi 80 B1 was only the second modern-era Audi product to be developed entirely under Volkswagen ownership - Audi chief engineer Ludwig Kraus had famously been disparaging about the outgoing F103 series, referring to it as the "bastard", owing to its Auto Union/DKW bodyshell and Mercedes-Benz engine.

The B1 was a clean break from the Auto Union era, being equipped with.a range of brand new 1.3- and 1.5-litre SOHC inline-four petrol engines - the first appearance of the now legendary EA827 series of engines, whose descendants are still used in VW Group vehicles to the present day."

(...)

 

"On the home market, two- and four- door saloons were available in base trim (55 or 60 PS, called simply Audi 80 and 80 S, respectively), as L models (LS with 75 PS engine) or as a more luxurious GL (85 PS only).

In September 1973, Audi added the sporty 80 GT (two-door only) featuring a carburettor 1.6 litre engine (code: XX) rated at 100 PS (74 kW; 99 bhp)."

(...)

 

"Audi's design and development efforts paid off during the 1973 European Car of the Year competition where the 80 won ahead of the Renault 5 and the Alfa Romeo Alfetta.

 

A facelift in autumn 1976 brought about a revised front end in the style of the newly introduced Audi 100 C2 with square instead of round headlights, 1.6- instead of 1.5 litre engines (still of 75/85 PS) and a new 80 GTE model with a fuel-injected version of the 1.6-litre (110 PS (81 kW; 108 bhp)) replacing the former 80 GT."

(...)

 

"The B1 platform was dropped from the European market in 1978, although it was sold into the 1979 model year in North America."

(...)

 

---------------------------

Audi 80 B1 (80/82)

 

Also called

Audi Fox

 

Production

1972–1978

1,103,766 built

 

Body style

2/4-door sedan

5-door wagon

 

Layout

Front-engine, front-wheel-drive

 

Platform

Volkswagen Group B1 platform

 

Engine

1.3 L I4

1.5 L I4

1.6 L I4

 

Transmission

4-speed manual

3-speed automatic

 

Dimensions

Wheelbase

2,470 mm (97.2 in)

Length

4,175 mm (164.4 in)

Width

1,600 mm (63.0 in)

Height

1,362 mm (53.6 in)

 

Chronology

 

Predecessor

Audi 72

 

Successor

Audi 80 (B2)

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_80

 

More info:

www.speeddoctor.net/2012/audi-80-b1-1972-78/

In glorious summer evening sky, we see two Virgin Trains Class 390 Pendolinos passing each other at Lichfield Trent Valley. Speeding north, an unidentified unit works the 1H73 London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly, whilst awaiting departure with the 1A76 Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston is 390119.

 

Since their introduction in 2002, the Class 390 tilting Pendolino sets have revolutionised services on the West Coast Mainline, bringing about an entirely new level of speed onto a route notorious for its laboriously winding route. But with such a technological leap, the Class 390 has sadly paid the price for its image due to what it was replacing.

 

The idea of a tilting train on the West Coast Mainline was however not a new one to Alstom when they developed the Pendolino sets in the late 1990's, with the concept being toyed way back in the early 1970's. British Rail first pioneered the concept of the tilting train with the ill-fated Advanced Passenger Train or APT of the mid-1970's. The idea was to create a train that could shift its centre of gravity whilst moving around sharp bends at high speeds, similar to how a motorcyclist leans into corners. This was to not only allow the train to travel at higher speeds on winding track without fear of it falling over, but also to improve passenger comfort levels and stop people being pressed against the windows when taking corners!

 

The original APT was a Gas-Turbine unit that operated on the Midland Region out of London St Pancras, and was later followed by the Class 370 electric multiple unit that began trials on the West Coast Mainline from 1980. A truly brilliant concept, the APT showed the world that the idea of a tilting train could be possible, that is, when it worked. The Class 370 was marred by teething problems and reliability issues, mostly consisting of the fact that the tilting mechanism wouldn't work properly or there would be just general train faults. Coupled with the winter of 1981, the worst winter for many years, and the train's image was damaged beyond repair. Even while developments were looking promising, and with only a few million Pounds required to complete the project, the British Government pulled the plug and the APT was axed in 1986, with only one complete set remaining as a rather sorry museum piece. The train of the future had become a thing of the past.

 

But the developments of the APT were picked up by none-other than Fiat Ferroviaria, who, following the failure of their British rival, developed their own and much more successful tilting train, the ETR-401 Pendolino, which began operations in 1988. This was later translated into a fleet of 15 ETR 450 production units which became the first revenue earning tilting trains.

 

In 2000, Fiat Ferroviaria was acquired by Alstom, who has been building their legendary tilting trains ever since. This coincided with the formation of Virgin Trains following privatisation of British Rail in 1994. As part of Virgin Trains' franchise requirements in 1997, the company intended the replacement of the ageing BR stock of the 1960's with a new fleet of high speed trains that would reduce journey times and up travel quality. As such, Virgin turned to Fiat Ferroviaria and later successor Alstom to provide them with a derivative version of the company's latest tilting Pendolino, the ETR 460.

 

Fiat Ferroviaria supplied much of the content of the Class 390 units, including the bodyshell and the bogies, while final assembly was carried out at Washwood Heath. The tilting technology was developed by SIG Switzerland (later Fiat-SIG, today Alstom). Two electromechanical actuators are used per car to achieve the desired tilting angle on curved stretches of track. The train can tilt to a maximum of eight degrees, at which point one side of the cabin train is 380 mm higher above the track than the other. In contrast to other Fiat Ferroviaria tilting trains which use hydraulic tilting actuators, the electromechanical systems offers lower maintenance cost and higher efficiency.

 

The new trains were intended to run at 140mph, but the West Coast Main Line modernisation programme, which was an upgrade to the infrastructure to allow faster line speeds, ran over budget. Consequently, plans were scaled back, and in a manner reminiscent of the introduction of the InterCity 225, the lack of signalling upgrades resulted in the maximum line speed being restricted to 125mph. Although this (and 140mph) are well below BR's hopes for APT of 155mph, it does match the maximum speed of 125mph for the APT in passenger service (although one APT set reached 162mph in testing).

 

The fleet was introduced into passenger services from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly on 23rd July, 2002, to coincide with the opening of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Over the next few months they took over the Manchester services, and were soon introduced on routes from London to Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton and Preston.

 

With the start of Class 390 operations, the writing was very much on the wall for the ageing sets of trains it was replacing, and thus the Class 390's image began to be somewhat tarnished amongst the railway purists. First to go were the Class 86's of the 1960's, proud high-speed locomotives that were once the mainstay of the WCML, withdrawn from service in 2003 following both the introduction of the Class 390's, and the Class 220/221 Voyager units on Cross-Country services. Next were the newer Class 90's of 1989, replaced in 2004 once Class 390's had been allocated to routes north of Preston. The final locomotive hauled trains were provided by the Class 87's of the 1970's, which held strong until final replacement in 2005, bringing an end to locomotive hauled services on the West Coast Mainline. From then on, the Class 86's have mostly been scrapped, whilst Class 90's were transferred to Anglia to replace their Class 86 fleet. Class 87's on the other hand have since been exported largely to Bulgaria, the few remaining here in the UK either being scrapped, placed in storage, or made into museum pieces. This left a great deal of animosity towards the Class 390's by the railway enthusiast community, who, even after 10 years, still have a strong hatred towards these trains.

 

The service improvements however are something that can't be taken away from the Class 390's as these trains have taken the original and comparatively sluggish 110mph top speed and translated it into the extremely fast 125mph running speed that BR had dreamt of for years. In September 2006, the Pendolino set a new speed record, completing the 401 mile length of the West Coast Main Line from Glasgow Central to London Euston in 3 hours, 55 minutes, beating the 4-hour-14-minute record for the southbound run previously set in 1981 by the Class 370 APT. The APT however retains the ultimate speed record for this route, having completed the northbound journey between London Euston and Glasgow Central in 3 hours 52 minutes in 1984 which included a 5-minute delay due to a signal fault.

 

Since then the Pendolino has become very much a staple of high speed train travel in the UK, and still looks good even 15 years after the first ones hit the test tracks back in 2001.

 

The Class 390 was put to the test however with 390033 'City of Glasgow', which was written off after the Grayrigg derailment of February 23rd, 2007. The accident had been caused by a points malfunction, which, after a failure to inspect by Network Rail, changed the direction of travel from normal and thus resulted in the entire set derailing and plummeting down an embankment at 95mph. The sturdy design and robust nature of the Class 390 has been attributed to the fact that only one person, an elderly lady, was killed in the disaster, whereas if the previous MkII carriages had been involved, the death-toll could have been much higher. As said, the unit was written off, and the less damaged rear carriages of the set now reside at the Crewe Training Centre and are used for the instruction of drivers and train crew. The subsequent destruction of one of the units led to Virgin Trains reinstating a loco-hauled service to cover its diagrams, this being in the form of a hired Class 90 (usually from Freightliner), a set of 9 MkIII coaches, and a Driving Van Trailer. This train operated covering diagrams until November 2014, when it was retired and transferred to Greater Anglia.

 

Since 2007 the Class 390's have had their fleet enhanced from the original 53 sets to 57 with the addition of 4 new units between 2011 and 2012. The introduction of these new sets coincided with the extension of 31 sets to 11-cars, with new carriages built and imported from Alstom's factory in Italy, the first routine 11-car InterCity train to operate in the UK since the 1970's.

 

Today the Class 390's continue to ply their merry trade, and remain vital parts of the UK's high speed network, bringing Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and London closer together than they've ever been before.

Ford Lotus Cortina Mk.1 (1963-66) Engine 1558cc S4 DOC Production 4012

Registration Number HTT 678 D (Devon)

FORD UK SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623665118181...

 

The history of the Cortina Lotus began in 1961. Colin Chapman had been wishing to build his own engines for Lotus, mainly because the Coventry Climax unit was so expensive. Colin Chapman's chance came when he commissioned Harry Mundy (a close friend and designer of the Coventry Climax engine and technical editor for Autocar) to design a twin-cam version of the Ford Kent engine. Most of the development of the engine was done on the 997cc and 1,340cc bottom end, but in 1962 Ford released the 116E five bearing 1,499 cc engine and work centred on this. Keith Duckworth, from Cosworth, played an important part in tuning of the engine The engine's first appearance was in 1962 at the Nürburgring in a Lotus 23 driven by Jim Clark. Almost as soon as the engine appeared in production cars (Lotus Elan), it was replaced with a larger capacity unit of 1558cc

Whilst the engine was being developed, Walter Hayes (Ford) asked Colin Chapman if he would fit the engine to 1,000 Ford saloons for Group 2 homologation. The Type 28 or Lotus Cortina or Cortina Lotus (as Ford liked to call it) was duly launched. Ford supplied the 2-door Cortina bodyshells and took care of all the marketing and selling of the cars, whilst Lotus did all the mechanical and cosmetic changes. The major changes involved installing the 1,557 cc engine together with an Elan close ratio gearbox, he rear suspension was drastically altered and lightweight alloy panels were used for doors, bonnet and boot. Lightweight casings were fitted to gearbox and differential. All the Lotus factory cars were painted white with a green stripe (although Ford built some for racing in red, and one customer had a dark blue stripe due to being superstitious about green). The cars also received front quarter bumpers and round Lotus badges were fitted to rear wings and to the right side of the radiator grille.

Initially, the engines were built by J. A Prestwich of Tottenham and then Villiers of Wolverhampton. In 1966, Lotus moved to Hethel in Norwich where they had their own engine building facilities

To homologate the car for Group 2, 1000 were required to be built in 1963, and the car was duly homologated in September 1963. In the same month, in the car's first outing, in the Oulton Park Gold Cup, the car finished 3rd and 4th behind two Ford Galaxies, but beat the 3.8-litre Jaguars which had been dominant in saloon car racing for so long. Soon Ford were running cars in Britain, Europe, and the USA, with Team Lotus running cars in Britain for Ford, and Alan Mann Racing running cars in Europe, also on behalf of Ford. The Cortina Lotus was able to beat almost anything except the 7-litre V8 Ford Galaxies, and later, Ford Mustangs.

 

Diolch am 98,629,774 o olygiadau gwych, mae pob un ohonynt yn cael eu gwerthfawrogi'n fawr.

 

Thanks for 98,629,774 amazing views, every one is greatly appreciated.

 

Shot 09.10.2022, at Bicester Heritage, Autumn Scramble, Bicester Aerodrome, Bicester, Oxon 166-159

   

Austin Allegro 3 (1979-82) Engine 1275cc S4 A Series Tr. Production 642350 (all models)

Registration Number RPH 977 X

AUSTIN SET

www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623759808208...

The Austin Allegro was introduced in 1973, designed by Sir Alec Issigonis as a replacement for the popular 1100/1300 models. The Allegro used front-wheel drive, and was powered by the trusty BMC A Series engines with sump mounted transmission. The higher-specification models used the SOHC E-Series engine (from the Maxi), in 1500 cc and 1750 cc displacements. Its rounded shape bucked the trend of the more fashionable sharp edged designs of the time, that were becoming fashionable (largely led by Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro).

 

The Allegro was updated as the Allegro 2 and debuted at the 1975 London Motor Show as the Allegro 2 with the same bodyshell but featuring a new grille, reversing lights on most models and some interior changes to increase rear seat room. The Estate gained a new coachline running over the wing top lip and window edges. Changes were also made to the suspension, braking, engine mounts and drive shafts.

 

The Allegro 2 was replaced by the Allegro 3 in 1979, cosmetically refreshed with a new grille and revised Leyland badging, mechanically as before, but with the new 1 litre A Plus engine, developed for the forthcoming Metro added to the range .

 

Many Thanks for a fan'dabi'dozi 25,287,400 views

 

Shot 09:06:2014 ar The Luton Classic Car Show, Stockwell Park, Luton REF 102-249

  

Bonhams : the Zoute Sale

Sold for € 195.500

 

Zoute Grand Prix 2017

Knokke - Zoute

België - Belgium

October 2017

 

'The new engine turned out to have enormous marketing power. It became a real status symbol to have that little word 'turbo' on your rear deck, and this fashion spread right across the motor industry.' - Peter Morgan, 'Original Porsche 911'.

 

A 'modern classic' if ever there was one, Porsche's long-running 911 sports car first appeared at the 1963 Frankfurt Show as the '901' but shortly after production proper commenced in 1964 had become the '911' following Peugeot's complaints about the use of '0' model numbers. The preceding Type 356's rear-engined layout was retained but the 911 switched to unitary construction for the bodyshell and dropped the 356's VW-based suspension in favour of a more modern McPherson strut and trailing arm arrangement. In its first incarnation, Porsche's single-overhead-camshaft, air-cooled flat six engine displaced 1,991cc and produced 130bhp; progressively enlarged and developed, it would eventually grow to more than 3,0 litres and, in turbo-charged form, put out well over 300 horsepower.

 

Much of the Porsche 911's development had resulted from the factory's racing programme, and it was the then Group 4 homologation rules, which required 400 road cars to be built, which spurred the development of 'Project 930': the legendary 911 Turbo. In production from April 1975, the Type 930 Turbo married a KKK turbocharger to the 3,0-litre RSR engine, in road trim a combination that delivered 260bhp for a top speed of 250km/h. But the Turbo wasn't just about top speed, it was also the best-equipped 911 and amazingly flexible - hence only four speeds in the gearbox - being capable of racing from a standstill to 162 km/h in 14 seconds.

The Turbo's characteristic flared wheelarches and 'tea tray' rear spoiler had already been seen on the Carrera model while the interior was the most luxurious yet seen in a 911, featuring leather upholstery, air conditioning and electric windows. The Turbo's engine was enlarged to 3,3 litres for 1978, gaining an inter-cooler in the process; power increased to 300 bhp and the top speed of what was the fastest-accelerating road car of its day went up to 257 km/h. Originally sold only as a closed coupé, the Turbo became available for the first time in both Targa and cabriolet forms in 1988.

 

More refined than hitherto yet retaining its high performance edge, the Turbo sold in the thousands, becoming the definitive sports car of its age. When Porsche revealed that the original 911 would be replaced by the new Type 964 in 1990, dealer stocks of the existing Turbo model sold out overnight. Production of the Type 930 ceased in September 1989, and there would not be another 911 Turbo until the Type 964 version was launched in September 1990. In total between 1975 and 1977 only 1.625 EU-examples of the 3.0 litre Turbo were built which makes this series almost as rare as the 911 2.7 Carrera RS with 1590 examples built.

 

This Type 930 Turbo was built for the German market and delivered to Porsche dealer Otto Glocker in Frankfurt where it was purchased by its first (Belgian) owner, Mme Padevain-Dupont in 1976. Incidentally, 'Dupont' was her husband's name, and - apparently - at that time a wife needed her husband's authorisation to buy a car! Madame Padevain was born in 1911 so she was already 65 years old when she bought the 911. The car was taken straight to Belgium and has belonged to the first owner's family ever since. The accompanying Porsche Certificate of Authenticity confirms that the engine and colour scheme of Sienna Metallic over 'Brown-Beige' leather are matching. Moreover, it lists the purchase price of 66.500 DM.

 

Always well looked after by its lady owner, the car was taken to Monaco in 1993 by Madame Padevain and registered there as 'L106', which we can still find on the windscreen. The history file contains a map of Cannes and a parking card from Monaco where the Porsche was kept for many years by Madame Padevain's family.

 

Sadly, in 2000 Madame Padevain died and the car's ownership passed to her son; documentation on file shows that the Porsche had 122.000 km recorded at that time. While in Madame Padevain's son's possession, the car was treated to a complete overhaul, which was carried out by D'Ieteren Porsche in Belgium. At the same time the 911 was repainted in its original colour and the interior re-trimmed. The restoration was carried out between 2000 and 2009; expenditure on mechanical work alone amounted to over 600.000 Belgian Francs (all invoices on file).

 

Once the restoration had been finished, the son, who by this time was approaching old age, hardly drove the car. It was then registered in his name and taken back to the South of France where it stayed until last year. Today, this beautiful car is presented in its original specification and in unmolested condition - the latter a rare attribute among early 911 Turbos - with only some 148.000 km recorded on the odometer. The last service was carried out in September 2017. The car is offered with an extensive history file containing the aforementioned restoration invoices including all invoices since 1976 up to now; Porsche Certificate of Authenticity and Certificate of Conformity; and the original service booklet, the latter stamped on six occasions between 1976 (1.319 km) and 1994 (98.417km). All books and tools come with this exceptional Type 930 Turbo, together with the original Porsche pouch and the 2 original keys.

Slowing for a stop at Lichfield Trent Valley with the evening 1S87 London Euston to Glasgow Central stopping service is Virgin Trains Class 390, 390123.

 

Since their introduction in 2002, the Class 390 tilting Pendolino sets have revolutionised services on the West Coast Mainline, bringing about an entirely new level of speed onto a route notorious for its laboriously winding route. But with such a technological leap, the Class 390 has sadly paid the price for its image due to what it was replacing.

 

The idea of a tilting train on the West Coast Mainline was however not a new one to Alstom when they developed the Pendolino sets in the late 1990's, with the concept being toyed way back in the early 1970's. British Rail first pioneered the concept of the tilting train with the ill-fated Advanced Passenger Train or APT of the mid-1970's. The idea was to create a train that could shift its centre of gravity whilst moving around sharp bends at high speeds, similar to how a motorcyclist leans into corners. This was to not only allow the train to travel at higher speeds on winding track without fear of it falling over, but also to improve passenger comfort levels and stop people being pressed against the windows when taking corners!

 

The original APT was a Gas-Turbine unit that operated on the Midland Region out of London St Pancras, and was later followed by the Class 370 electric multiple unit that began trials on the West Coast Mainline from 1980. A truly brilliant concept, the APT showed the world that the idea of a tilting train could be possible, that is, when it worked. The Class 370 was marred by teething problems and reliability issues, mostly consisting of the fact that the tilting mechanism wouldn't work properly or there would be just general train faults. Coupled with the winter of 1981, the worst winter for many years, and the train's image was damaged beyond repair. Even while developments were looking promising, and with only a few million Pounds required to complete the project, the British Government pulled the plug and the APT was axed in 1986, with only one complete set remaining as a rather sorry museum piece. The train of the future had become a thing of the past.

 

But the developments of the APT were picked up by none-other than Fiat Ferroviaria, who, following the failure of their British rival, developed their own and much more successful tilting train, the ETR-401 Pendolino, which began operations in 1988. This was later translated into a fleet of 15 ETR 450 production units which became the first revenue earning tilting trains.

 

In 2000, Fiat Ferroviaria was acquired by Alstom, who has been building their legendary tilting trains ever since. This coincided with the formation of Virgin Trains following privatisation of British Rail in 1994. As part of Virgin Trains' franchise requirements in 1997, the company intended the replacement of the ageing BR stock of the 1960's with a new fleet of high speed trains that would reduce journey times and up travel quality. As such, Virgin turned to Fiat Ferroviaria and later successor Alstom to provide them with a derivative version of the company's latest tilting Pendolino, the ETR 460.

 

Fiat Ferroviaria supplied much of the content of the Class 390 units, including the bodyshell and the bogies, while final assembly was carried out at Washwood Heath. The tilting technology was developed by SIG Switzerland (later Fiat-SIG, today Alstom). Two electromechanical actuators are used per car to achieve the desired tilting angle on curved stretches of track. The train can tilt to a maximum of eight degrees, at which point one side of the cabin train is 380 mm higher above the track than the other. In contrast to other Fiat Ferroviaria tilting trains which use hydraulic tilting actuators, the electromechanical systems offers lower maintenance cost and higher efficiency.

 

The new trains were intended to run at 140mph, but the West Coast Main Line modernisation programme, which was an upgrade to the infrastructure to allow faster line speeds, ran over budget. Consequently, plans were scaled back, and in a manner reminiscent of the introduction of the InterCity 225, the lack of signalling upgrades resulted in the maximum line speed being restricted to 125mph. Although this (and 140mph) are well below BR's hopes for APT of 155mph, it does match the maximum speed of 125mph for the APT in passenger service (although one APT set reached 162mph in testing).

 

The fleet was introduced into passenger services from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly on 23rd July, 2002, to coincide with the opening of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Over the next few months they took over the Manchester services, and were soon introduced on routes from London to Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton and Preston.

 

With the start of Class 390 operations, the writing was very much on the wall for the ageing sets of trains it was replacing, and thus the Class 390's image began to be somewhat tarnished amongst the railway purists. First to go were the Class 86's of the 1960's, proud high-speed locomotives that were once the mainstay of the WCML, withdrawn from service in 2003 following both the introduction of the Class 390's, and the Class 220/221 Voyager units on Cross-Country services. Next were the newer Class 90's of 1989, replaced in 2004 once Class 390's had been allocated to routes north of Preston. The final locomotive hauled trains were provided by the Class 87's of the 1970's, which held strong until final replacement in 2005, bringing an end to locomotive hauled services on the West Coast Mainline. From then on, the Class 86's have mostly been scrapped, whilst Class 90's were transferred to Anglia to replace their Class 86 fleet. Class 87's on the other hand have since been exported largely to Bulgaria, the few remaining here in the UK either being scrapped, placed in storage, or made into museum pieces. This left a great deal of animosity towards the Class 390's by the railway enthusiast community, who, even after 10 years, still have a strong hatred towards these trains.

 

The service improvements however are something that can't be taken away from the Class 390's as these trains have taken the original and comparatively sluggish 110mph top speed and translated it into the extremely fast 125mph running speed that BR had dreamt of for years. In September 2006, the Pendolino set a new speed record, completing the 401 mile length of the West Coast Main Line from Glasgow Central to London Euston in 3 hours, 55 minutes, beating the 4-hour-14-minute record for the southbound run previously set in 1981 by the Class 370 APT. The APT however retains the ultimate speed record for this route, having completed the northbound journey between London Euston and Glasgow Central in 3 hours 52 minutes in 1984 which included a 5-minute delay due to a signal fault.

 

Since then the Pendolino has become very much a staple of high speed train travel in the UK, and still looks good even 15 years after the first ones hit the test tracks back in 2001.

 

The Class 390 was put to the test however with 390033 'City of Glasgow', which was written off after the Grayrigg derailment of February 23rd, 2007. The accident had been caused by a points malfunction, which, after a failure to inspect by Network Rail, changed the direction of travel from normal and thus resulted in the entire set derailing and plummeting down an embankment at 95mph. The sturdy design and robust nature of the Class 390 has been attributed to the fact that only one person, an elderly lady, was killed in the disaster, whereas if the previous MkII carriages had been involved, the death-toll could have been much higher. As said, the unit was written off, and the less damaged rear carriages of the set now reside at the Crewe Training Centre and are used for the instruction of drivers and train crew. The subsequent destruction of one of the units led to Virgin Trains reinstating a loco-hauled service to cover its diagrams, this being in the form of a hired Class 90 (usually from Freightliner), a set of 9 MkIII coaches, and a Driving Van Trailer. This train operated covering diagrams until November 2014, when it was retired and transferred to Greater Anglia.

 

Since 2007 the Class 390's have had their fleet enhanced from the original 53 sets to 57 with the addition of 4 new units between 2011 and 2012. The introduction of these new sets coincided with the extension of 31 sets to 11-cars, with new carriages built and imported from Alstom's factory in Italy, the first routine 11-car InterCity train to operate in the UK since the 1970's.

 

Today the Class 390's continue to ply their merry trade, and remain vital parts of the UK's high speed network, bringing Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and London closer together than they've ever been before.

Coachwork by Zagato

Chassis n° 000590

 

Zoute Sale - Bonhams

Estimated : € 60.000 - 90.000

Sold for € 93.150

 

Zoute Grand Prix 2021

Knokke - Zoute

België - Belgium

October 2021

 

"With little in the range of much performance intent, out of nowhere Alfa Romeo showed something called the ES30 design study at the 1987 Geneva motor show. The Alfa Romeo SZ was born. Those of a younger disposition might know Alfa Romeo products to be attractive, but underwhelming to drive. Well, the SZ was the other way around. Affectionately nicknamed 'Il Mostro', Alfa Romeo's Frankenstein shocked for many reasons, not least its brutalist styling." – evo magazine.

 

Reviving its tradition of building special-bodied Alfa Romeos, including the original SZ (Sprint Zagato) competition coupé of the late 1950s and early 1960s, Carrozzeria Zagato unveiled the outrageous new SZ at the Geneva Salon in March 1989. Under development for the preceding 19 months, the SZ was a joint project that also involved the styling departments of both Alfa Romeo and its parent company, FIAT, whose Robert Opron, formerly with Citroën, was responsible for the initial sketches. There are examples of other Opron-inspired masterpieces – the Citroën SM and Citroën CX – in this very sale. Opron's colleague Antonio Castellana was largely responsible for the final styling details and interior. The SZ lacked Zagato's characteristic 'double bubble' roof, while it has been suggested that its controversial styling resulted from early experiments with CAD/CAM (computer-aided) design. The SZ was built at Zagato's factory at Terrazano di Rho.

 

Originally typed 'ES 30' (Experimental Sports 3.0-litre) but known popularly as 'Il Mostro' (The Monster) the aggressive-looking two-seater coupé eschewed the rounded styling and aluminium-alloy coachwork hitherto associated with Zagato's high-performance Alfas in favour of an angular bodyshell crafted in lightweight moulded plastic - alloy roof excepted - which was bonded to the floor pan of the existing Alfa 75. Nowadays, smaller multiple light sources are relatively commonplace, which makes the controversial SZ, with its two clusters of three small headlights, recessed into the wide front grille, a design was ahead of its time.

Lessons learned from the latter's IMSA racing programme influenced the SZ's suspension, which endowed the car with superlative handling and roadholding, some drivers recording lateral cornering forces of up to 1.4G during testing. Suspension development was overseen by engineer Giorgio Pianta, formerly team manager of the FIAT and Lancia works rallying teams. There were Koni adjustable hydraulic dampers all round and power assisted steering, but no ABS.

 

Powering the SZ to its highly respectable 245km/h top speed was a 210bhp version of Alfa's superb 3.0-litre four-cam V6. Designed by Giuseppe Busso, Alfa's V6 is widely recognised as one of the finest power plants of recent times, and it is certainly one of the most glorious sounding sixes ever.

The SZ's excellent performance was achieved thanks partly to the body's exceptionally low drag coefficient of 0.30 Cd, the product of many hours spent in FIAT's wind tunnel. The engine was mounted longitudinally and drove the rear wheels via five-speed manual transaxle transmission.

Demand for the 1,000-or-so SZs scheduled for series production greatly exceeded supply. There was also an even rarer open spyder version: the RZ. By the time production ceased, Zagato had built only 1,036 SZ coupés, and today this rare and highly individual supercar is much sought after

  

The limited edition Alfa Romeo SZ was only manufactured in left-hand drive form, and this pristine example was delivered new in its native Italy and first registered in 1994. It has covered fewer than 1,300 kilometres from new. As such, it is presented in wonderful condition both inside and out. Importantly, it is accompanied by a set of original owner's manuals, car cover and Italian registration papers. A wonderful opportunity to acquire one of these ultra-rare Zagato-built Alfa Romeos that can only become increasingly collectible.

Another day, another E-Type, and this example is one of what many consider the better cars, being the stylish and flamboyant Series I fitted with the powerful and reliable 4.2L Straight Six engine!

 

One of the most revolutionary cars in all of motoring history, a car that has often been declared as the Space Shuttle in the Middle Ages! Beauty, style and performance all harnessed in one simple bodyshell. It can't be anything other than the Jaguar E-Type!

 

When it was launched in 1961, Britain was still very much an antiquated Victorian country, and transport was not much better. Steam Trains still had another 7 years to go and the most you could get out of the Motor Industry were flaky BMC products such as the humble Austin Cambridge and the Morris Minor. Unbeknownst to this very slow moving world of modesty, the entire picture was about to be turned on its head. In music, the Beatles rocked their way into everlasting legacy, the De Havilland Comet brought nations closer together, and Jaguar launched the E-Type, a car that set the motoring world ablaze!

 

Designed by Malcolm Sayer and powered by a 3.8L Straight Six engine, the Jaguar E-Type could now whisk people to 150mph, and with there being no speed limits back then, that was not too much of a stretch to imagine. You just had to look at it to see nothing but speed, everything about it was designed to go as fast as possible!

 

In spirit, the E-Type can trace its roots back to the race ready D-Type, also designed by Malcolm Sayer and notable for raking home victory after victory at Le Mans, being credited with being one of the most advanced sports cars of all time. A limited edition road going version, the XKSS, made the idea of a D-Type on the public highway possible, and parts developed in this often forgotten little gem helped to culminate in the final and superb E-Type.

 

On March 16th 1961, the E-Type was released upon the unsuspecting public at the Geneva Motor Show to an absolute roar of applause and acclaim. It made the front page of pretty much every newspaper in Europe, and orders absolutely rolled in by the thousand! The thing that made the E-Type so desirable was the fact that it was fun on a budget, a high performance 150mph capable machine for an affordable price of just £2,000, the equivalent of about £40,000 today. Now you may think that's a lot of money, but when you consider that a car of comparable beauty and performance was double that price, you'd know it was something truly special.

 

However, this proved to be a problem for the comparatively small company, who simply couldn't turn out the cars fast enough to supply the demand. Millions and Millions of Pounds worth of orders were being placed, with some owners even going so far as to place deposits at 10 to 15 Jaguar dealers hoping that one of them could give them a car! The biggest problem was trying to supply differing markets, especially if you were British because in order to appease the desperate American buyers, cars would be built in LHD for 6 month periods at a time, which meant if you were someone wishing to buy a car here in the UK, you'd be stuck for the best part of a year!

 

But it was obvious why, these cars were unrealistically fast! Tap the pedal and you'd be at 60mph in 7.1 seconds, press it further and you'd be over 100, and if you pressed it further, the bonnet would rise and with blood gushing from your eyes and every fibre of your body telling you to stop, you'd be hitting 150mph! That doesn't sound like much today considering the Aston Martins and Ferrari's we're so used to, but in 1961 this was absolutely unheard of.

 

Not that your E-Type would ever make 150mph because Jaguar had been a tad naughty. As it turns out the initial test cars that had been leant to the Press had been tuned to reach that golden 150, but the rest of the flock would barely go that fast. This was further compounded by a troublesome gearbox, hopeless brakes, cramped interior and uncomfortable seats. Jaguar's con had only been done to bless their car with the initial fame that would sell the production models, but in 1965 Jaguar chose to redress the issue by fitting the car with a much larger and much better 4.2L Straight Six engine.

 

But once the novelty had worn off the E-Type was starting to become maligned. Much like owning a topping Rolls Royce, seeing one being driven in the street opened the wounds of jealousy that continued to divide the social classes, and if you were very lucky you'd only get away with a disapproving look or a nasty name, if you weren't expect a brick, a can of paint or a rock to be hurtled in your direction! At the same time because so many cars had been built, the Second Hand market became saturated which meant that people could pick up early ones for a song, which removed the exclusivity that these vehicles had once commanded. Again, much like a Rolls Royce these owners only saw them as ways to get women to take off their clothes for you, and thus didn't exactly give them the love that such cars required.

 

However, this was before we got to the biggest problem of them all, America.

 

Actually I take it back, America can't be blamed for everything, in fact the stringent safety legislation and rules on car manufacturing can be credited to the increased safety of modern motor vehicles, the people to be blamed though are in fact the car manufacturers themselves for not being able to incorporate the compulsory safety features whilst still keeping the car stylish.

 

But still, throughout the 1960's the death of James Dean had resulted in a gradual increase in safety legislation on US Highways, and in order to have a market there, cars had to conform. The height of the headlights, the bumpers, the smoke emissions, the recess of the switches, all of these things were scrutinised and had to be taken into account by car builders. The E-Type became a shameful victim as its looks were compromised with changes to the lights, and body profile. To be honest the Series II was not that bad a car, still retaining much of its charm, especially when you compare it to 1971's Series III which was formulated by British Leyland. With the cabin looking like it had sunk, the lights being stretched and contorted, and sporting a massive 5.3L V12 engine. By this point many of the cars former buyers saw the E-Type as damaged beyond repair and thus sales began to tumble. British Leyland however had been planning to replace the car since the late 1960's, and after much deliberation its replacement, the Jaguar XJS, was launched in 1975, bringing an end to the increasingly hard to sell E-Type. Although very well performing, in terms of looks, the XJS was considered by many classic Jag fans to be absolute heresy, but would go on to have a much longer life that the E-Type, being built until 1996.

 

However, even before the last E-Type left the production line the originals were already being hailed as classical heroes. In total well over 70,000 of these cars had been sold, and a large number of them remain on the roads. During the late 70's and 80's the car continued to be a major pin-up, often ending up rather oddly, and to my mind a bit shamefully, in erotic films and porn movies (I sure hope they washed thoroughly afterwards). But when you look at the E-Type you can understand why, it is a seriously sexy looking car!

 

So iconic and so stylish were these cars that over the years many different replica models have also been made. Throughout the 1990's the company Eagle GB built the Eagle E-Type, brand new cars built to exactly the same specifications as the original Series I versions, whilst in 2011 the Eagle Speedster was produced, revising the bodyshape but attempting to maintain the charm of the original, and in 2014 several remaining chassis from the original production run that had been kept in storage are intended to be built into fully functioning cars.

 

The E-Type may have died a long time ago, but its reputation isn't letting up! :D

1967 Daimler Sovereign 4.2

Lot 1 (Kempton Park Racecourse, 18th October 2006)

 

Sold for £5,738

 

(including buyers premium)

  

Lot details

Registration No: PGV102E

Chassis No: 1A32348DN

Mot Expiry: April 2007

 

Introduced in 1966, the Daimler Sovereign was a more luxurious version of the contemporaneous Jaguar 420. Differentiated from its badge-engineered sibling by means of a different grille and better standard equipment, it otherwise shared the same four-door monocoque bodyshell equipped with all-round independent coil-sprung suspension, disc brakes and a detuned version (245bhp vs. 265bhp) of the Jaguar MKX's 4235cc DOHC straight-six engine. In many ways a testbed for the forthcoming Jaguar XJ6's styling and mechanical layout, the Daimler Sovereign remained in production until 1969 by which time some 5,829 are thought to have been made. Among the rarest of the Browns Lane designed Daimlers, the Sovereign is a highly underrated motorcar.

Finished in British Racing Green with suede green leather upholstery, this particular example is described by the vendor as being in "very good" overall condition. Reportedly "a very rare manual (overdrive) matching numbers original colour car with Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Certificate", 'PGV 102E' is further understood to have been begun life in the Channel Islands where it was used for "diplomatic service until returning to the UK during 1976". Apparently treated to refurbished front / rear subframes (new mountings, suspension bushes, bearings, universal joints, wheel bearings etc), an overhauled steering box, rebuilt differential, reconditioned callipers and new brake discs by its previous keeper, the Daimler has also benefited from replacement carpets / headlining and dashboard relacquering. Indeed, the car is thought to have had "some £4,000 recently spent on it". Though, we are informed that "no receipts are available as the owner purchased parts at Jaguar Spares Days and carried out the work himself". Boasting "new wire wheel hubs / spinners, tyres that have done less than 2,000 miles, power steering and a period Motorola radio (in working order)", 'PGV 102E' is said to "drive well with good oil pressure". Believed but not warranted to have covered 59,000 miles from new, this pampered Daimler is offered for sale with MOT certificate valid until April 2007 and historic class (free) road tax until March 2007.

 

www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/1-1967-daimler-sovereign-42/?...

The units are both comfortable

and quiet no matter what speed.

 

Fiat Ferroviaria supplied much of the content of the Class 390 units, including the bodyshell and the bogies, while final assembly was carried out at Washwood Heath. The tilting technology was developed by SIG Switzerland (later Fiat-SIG, today Alstom). Two electromechanical actuators are used per car to achieve the desired tilting angle on curved stretches of track. The train can tilt to a maximum of eight degrees, at which point one side of the cabin train is 380 mm higher above the track than the other. In contrast to other Fiat Ferroviaria tilting trains which use hydraulic tilting actuators, the electromechanical systems offers lower maintenance cost and higher efficiency.

In 1970 Ford Australia hand built two Super Falcons , at a cost of about $125,000 each , as a response to Norm Beechey's Monaro . They wanted to compete against it in a locally built car .

It was powered by a NASCAR 351 ci V8 with Lucas fuel injection producing 600bhp. and had a lightweight bodyshell , the overall weight of the vehicle being 1185 kg compared with the GT HO Ph III 1500kg.

They were quite unreliable and although they practised both the Super Falcon and their respective Mustangs Geoghegan and Moffat usually elected to race the still faster and more reliable Mustang , however at the 1972 Easter Bathurst meet Geoghegans Super Falcon beat Moffats Mustang by 6/10ths of a second with the lead changing 6 times in 13 laps !