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| October WOC; this months nominations | |
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| Topic Started: 16 Oct 2009, 10:54 PM (78 Views) | |
| mr creosote | 16 Oct 2009, 10:54 PM Post #1 |
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The classic Ford Capri "The car you always promised yourself" In development the Capri was known as the Colt, however Ford were forced to change this due to trademark held by Mitsibushi. In searching for a new name Ford settled on Capri which they lent from an earlier, unsuccessful model of their's, the Ford Consul Capri 335. The first Capri proper, the Ford Capri Mk1, was released in 1969 and was intended to emulate the success Ford had enjoyed in North America with their Ford Mustang, hence the somewhat 'muscle car' image of the Capri's design. Based mechanically on the Cortina and produced in the UK at the famous Dagenham plant, the Capri was intended to be an afforbable car with the inital range including 1.3L and 16L engine derivatives. Ford did also include some m or exotic versions though, with the Ford Capri 3000GT powered by a 138hp Essex V8, and the range topping 2.0L Cologne V6.  my personal favourite, and the car i aspired to have for years, was.. the Tickford.. Based on the 2.8 Injection, the Tickford produced 205hp and had an extremely luxurious interior designed by Simon Saunders (who later went onto design the Ariel Atom) which included details such as Wilton Carpet on the floors and roof lining. Despite the Tickford Capri struggling to sell at the time due to it's huge cost (almost double the price of a standard Capri Injection), it is now arguably the most collectable Ford Capri you can buy.    of coarse i must mention the Brooklands 280 beautiful piece of kit ..   Toward the end of it's run the Capri struggled and was only sold in Britain. The range was shrunk, with the 1.6L and 2.0L variants replaced by the 'Laser'. As a last ditch attempt to increase sales a limited edition Brooklands 280 Capri was released, featuring a Recaro interior. When the last Ford Capri rolled off the production line in December 1986 nearly 2 million had been produced, with over half of these sales coming from the Mk1 Capri. |
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| mr creosote | 19 Oct 2009, 11:47 PM Post #2 |
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my second nomination is the Audi Quattro, a car i always secretly admired a mate had one and it sounded awesome pulling hard in second.. The Audi Quattro was the first rally car to take advantage of the then-recently changed rules which allowed the use of four-wheel drive in competition racing. It won competition after competition for the next two years. To commemorate the success of the original vehicle, all subsequent Audis with their trademark quattro four wheel drive system were badged "quattro" with a lower case "q". The original car with the upper case "Q" in the Quattro name is a collector's piece. 
Edited by mr creosote, 19 Oct 2009, 11:47 PM.
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| jbh | 20 Oct 2009, 01:13 AM Post #3 |
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my all time favourite the legendary MK2 Escort ( the car i would have if i could afford one ) January 1975 the MK2 Escort was announced. The basic layout and concept stayed the same as the MK1 Escort, but the MK2 provided a little more space and provided more luggage room. The body was overall narrower then the MK1 Escort but had more glass area. This was actually increased by 23%. The mechanical layout also remained the same as the earlier MK1. Front engine driving the rear wheels. Basic models continued with the same gearbox although there was an option to go for the new Bordeaux built three speed auto box. There were 19 different variations of the MK2 available at launch. These consisted of the base 1100 cc 1300 cc then followed the L, GL versions. Then came two sporty versions the 1300 Sport and the 1600 Sport. Within the range were two luxury models, instead of being known as the E like the MK1 these were badged as the Ghia and available in 1300 cc and 1600 cc. At this stage the models could be ordered with either two or four doors apart from the Sport models. The four door versions of these would be available at a later date. Three door estate models up to GL finished of the model range. there was also the rs2000 and numerous other models released through the MK2 Escorts life span    also a good exscuse to show my brothers freshly rebuilt 1600 sport off 
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| grantfk10 | 21 Oct 2009, 10:45 AM Post #4 |
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My nomination this month is the Triumph Dolomite Sprint! The 127bhp 16 Valve Dolomite Sprint may have looked handsomely understated, but it proved to be a very effective sports saloon. The car was a testament to the ingenuity of the Triumph design team, at that time, led by Spen King. Despite the ageing body (which continued to do so very gracefully indeed), the Dolomite Sprint was soon carving a niche for itself in the sports saloon sector - thanks in no small part to its 0-60mph time of 8.7 seconds and a healthy 116mph maximum speed. Unlike most other sporting saloons of the day, this was married to a luxurious wood-lined interior, featuring very deep carpeting, and a dashboard with very full instrumentation. Overall, the Dolomite Sprint proved to be an irresistable package for many.  The Sprint possessed a complex engine, and because BLMC were cost cutting wherever they could at the time, components used for its internals were skimped on. Overall build quality also slacked off, as the work force increasingly fell prey to their militant leaders. It was all very sad, because the poor fortunes of BLMC as a whole were rapidly dragging the reputation of Triumph down with it. The company that were seen as technological pacesetters, producing appealing cars, during the 1960s was beginning to look a little jaded. Had it not been for the Sprint's glamour and the loyal army of Dolomite fans (that seemed to stick with it duing the dark years), it could have been a lot worse for Triumph. |
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| jbh | 22 Oct 2009, 04:18 PM Post #5 |
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well heres my second nomination .. The Volkswagen Type 1 ( VW Bettle ) The Volkswagen Type 1 is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003. It used an air cooled rear engined rear wheel drive (RR layout). In the 1950s it was more comfortable and powerful than most European small cars, having been designed for sustained high speed on the Autobahn, and ultimately became the longest-running and most-produced automobile of a single design. It remained a top seller in the US, even as rear-wheel drive conventional subcompacts were refined, and eventually replaced by front-wheel drive models. Its success owed much to its extremely high build quality, and innovative and eye catching advertising. The Beetle car was the benchmark for both generations of American compact cars such as the Chevrolet Corvair, and subcompact cars such as the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto. It was a German equivalent and counterpart to the Morris Minor, Renault 4CV, Citroen 2CV, Fiat 600, Saab 92, and Volvo PV444 immediate post war European economy cars. The 1948 Citroen 2CV was the beginning of a switch to front wheel drive by European manufacturers in the 1960s and 1970s, Volkswagen were among the last to change with the Golf, after nearly going bankrupt. The Beetle was thirteen feet long and the Mini was only ten feet, but they had similar interior space. The car was originally known as Käfer, the German word for "beetle", from which the popular English nickname originates. It was not until August 1967 that the Volkswagen corporation itself began using the name Beetle in marketing materials in the US. In Britain, VW never used the name Beetle officially. It had only been known as either the "Type I" or as the 1100, 1200, 1300, 1500, or 1600 which had been the names under which the vehicle was marketed in Europe; the numbers denoted the vehicle's approximate engine size in cubic centimetres. In 1998, many years after the original model had been dropped from the lineup in most of the world (production continued in Mexico until discontinued, officially on 9 July 2003), VW introduced the "New Beetle" (built on a Volkswagen Golf Mk4 platform) which bore a cosmetic resemblance to the original.  
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| grantfk10 | 28 Oct 2009, 10:42 AM Post #6 |
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Ok, here's my late entry for this month....... The Avenger Tiger  Named to evoke memories of the Sunbeam Tiger, the Avenger Tiger concept began as a publicity exercise. Modifications included the 1500 GT engine with an improved cylinder head with enlarged valves, twin Weber carburettors and a compression ratio of 9.4:1. The engine now developed 92.5 DIN bhp at 6100 rpm. Suspension is also uprated, whilst brakes, rear axle, and gearbox are from the GT. A distinctive orange colour scheme (although described as "yellow") with a bonnet bulge, rear panel and side stripes was standard, set off with "Avenger Tiger" lettering on the rear quarters. Road test figures demonstrated a 0-60 mph time of 8.9 seconds and a top speed of 108 mph (174 km/h). These figures beat the rival Ford Escort Mexico, but fuel consumption was heavy. All Avenger Tigers were assembled by the Chrysler Competitions Centre and production figures are vague but around 200 of the initial Mark 1 seems likely. In October 1972 Chrysler unveiled the more "productionised" Mark 2 Tiger. The Avenger GL bodyshell with 4 round headlights was used. Mechanically identical to the earlier cars, the bonnet bulge was lost although the bonnet turned matt black, and there were changes to wheels and seats. These cars went on at £1350. Production was around 400. Red was now available as well as yellow, with black detailing.  |
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3:48 AM Nov 28
