Motoring Con Brio

Please choose: Lamborghini Espada or Ferrari 400/412

•October 29, 2013 • 21 Comments

Given that one has now become a cult favorite and the other is still considered to be somewhat of an ugly duckling in classic car circles – can you guess which is which? – we expect this one to be a trouncing. Prove us wrong 🙂

The tale of the tape:

Ferrari 400/412

Offered 1976-1989
Production: 2384 (35% of them with manual transmission)
4.8-4.9 L V12 good for 310-340 bhp
~ 1800-1900kg (3900-4200 lbs)
Pininfarina design
Cost when new: ~ $45,000 (about $185,000 in 2013 dollars)
- Doesn’t include federalization, which more or less doubled the cost of the car (they were never officially sold in the US, meaning all examples in the US are gray imports)
Current value: ~ $20,000-$45,000
Tip: don’t forget the 365GT4 2+2 (1972–1976). Looks nearly identical to the 400 and cost is in the same ballpark (~ $38,000).
Open question: anecdotally, we’ve heard these transmissions (the manual) are terrible— possibly the reason why old man Enzo himself used an automatic 412i as his daily.

Lamborghini Espada

Offered 1968-1978
Production: 1217
4.0 L V12 good for 325-350 bhp
1,465 kg or 3,230 lbs (!), though one source cites 3,600 lbs
Bertone design (Gandini)
Cost when new: ~ $34,000 (about $228,500 in 2013 dollars)
Current value: ~ $23,000-$59,000

Make the jump for what you’re all here for, which is the eye candy.

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Posted in Moving images, Still images, What would you buy
Tags: 400, 400i, 412, 412i, bertone, espada, ferrari, gandini, gt, lamborghini, pininfarina, please choose

Assorted grab bag of stuff we like

•October 28, 2013 • 12 Comments

Getting right to it.

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Posted in Grab bag, Still images

Guest contributor: Skorj on the 50th Anniversary of Honda Sports

•October 23, 2013 • 9 Comments

MCB Japan correspondent and Honda S-car owner Skorj was on hand recently for the 50th Anniversary of Honda Sports— here is his report.

Starting with the 1963 Tokyo Motor Show S360 prototype, the subsequent release of the limited production S500, then the larger volume S600 and S800, the early Honda Sports cars were a clear manifestation of Soichiro Honda’s vision of fun merged with competition. A hard man known to hit his engineers, he was driven by spurts of engineering brilliance and a fierce desire to compete. His S-cars were a direct outcome, and Honda recently allocated a weekend to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Honda Sports with track laps, photographs, original engineering team members, period newsreels, and a remarkable range of food and drink for the two-day event.

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Posted in Circuits, Guest contributor, Still images
Tags: honda, honda sports, japan, motegi, motegi twin ring, soichiro honda

Luthe

•October 22, 2013 • 2 Comments

If you ever wondered who designed the E28 BMW 5-Series, the answer is Claus Luthe— though depending on who you ask, “designed” might be a bit strong, as the E28 was more of an evolution of the Gandini-designed E12 that preceded it:

Luthe… was tasked with developing a facelift for the aging E12 5-series within a budget of USD 100 million. Luthe solved the cost restraint problem by reusing the passenger compartment structure of the E12, but with new front and rear clips and a new interior. Significant technical developments, such as new front and rear axles as well as climate control, were also added, and eventually the project cost for the new model, the E28 reached USD 400 million. However, the BMW management was satisfied that the improvements in the E28 were well worth the costs (source).

And of course, the illustrious Italian members of our party need no introduction, but we’ll make them anyway for the benefit of the uninitiated: the Ferrari Dino GT4 is a Bertone design credited to Marcello Gandini (as with the aforementioned E12 5-Series); the Alfa Romeo GTV coupe is likewise a Bertone design, albeit credited to Giorgetto Giugiaro.

It was great seeing that particular car on the road after last having spotted it a little over a year ago in a barn with some assembly still required 🙂