A match made in old world engineering heaven— one Swedish, the other German.
Images by none other than Otis Blank.
(Above shots obviously not made with the ‘blad— no matter, they’re still awesome.)
See more from the shoot as well as Otis’ brief writeup here.
Not really an article, but you get the idea:
Taking a closer look at that grousing one-liner:
Has to be what— at least 25, 30 years old? More? (The image itself dates back to 1960, which is probably quite a bit older than the article, but not nearly as old as the car photographed therein would suggest.)
Regardless of when it was published, they were complaining about the same thing then that racing enthusiasts often complain about today, which is pretty amazing if you think about it. If you happen to share this sentiment (that the excitement of racing essentially peaked over half a century ago), then the future of racing must look pretty bleak, indeed— that is, if you don’t consider it to already be dead.
(Image via the car lounge)
What a blast from the past. This thing looks more awesome than we remember it being— although this particular owner’s choice of modifications could have something to do with it:
And here’s an amusing Japanese promo video from the era:
The Subaru XT, XT6, Vortex, and Alcyone is a 2-door coupé that sold from 1985 to 1991. The name Alcyone was used in Japan, the Vortex name was used in Australia and New Zealand, and the name XT (with the four-cylinder EA-82 engine) or XT6 (using the ER-27 six-cylinder engine), was sold in North America and Europe. All were available in front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, depending on the year.
The Subaru XT was launched in February 1985 in the American market, followed by a June debut in Japan.
The Alcyone name comes from the brightest star in the Pleiades star cluster, on which the Subaru logo is based.
The XT range was replaced by the Subaru SVX in 1992 (source).
(Image via Speedhunters)
We’re not alone in our love of the classic Alfa Romeo GT (Bertone) coupe, but not many probably took the road that owner Alastair Campbell took to get to his. Can a motoring enthusiast really eschew the engineering advancements and high horsepower figures of modern day sports cars (blue chip examples at that) to step into a comparatively underpowered 1960s Italian sports coupé? Read on to find out.
MCB: Why the GT coupe?
AC: I recall the time I first saw a step front Alfa, we were on holiday in Sorrento and waiting to be picked up by minibus. I was around 15 at the time and eager to learn to drive. We were staying in the hills surrounded by great switchback roads. I heard the Alfa before I saw it, that rorty twin cam noise and metallic exhaust note, and from one of the hairpins came a white step front Alfa with a curly-haired Italian at the wheel. I thought the car was such a pretty, pure design and in this setting it was the epitome of cool. I put the Alfa on my list of realistic dream cars in the back of my mind, where it’d remain for awhile.
A few years later I had the opportunity to visit the Goodwood Revival— this was before it became so popular. You could get up close to so many of the fantastic ’40s through ’60s racing cars, and the ambiance, smells, sounds, and sights were truly captivating. I realised an ambition of watching several 250 GTOs race competitively, which was amazing. In another race there were three or four Alfa GTAs battling it out. Seeing those cars drifting around the bends ignited the passion in Alfas again. But I’d have to wait another few years before I could realistically start looking.
We loved the BBS’d Merak from last week so much that we went searching for more, eventually coming across this incredible photoshoot featuring a Merak and its bigger brother. It’s too bad the Merak appears to be saddled with inelegant US regulation impact bumpers, though— typical of the era.
Images by Ron Dell’Aquila
And if you’ve ever wondered how the two are different:
The Maserati Bora had been launched in 1971 and represented the typical Maserati GT concept, with its big classic 4.7-litre V8 and the beautiful line sculptored by Giorgetto Giugiaro.
A year later, in 1972, Maserati introduced what could be considered a Bora ‘Junior’: the Merak, not named after a wind this time but after a star from the constellation ‘Ursa Major’.
The Merak utilised a great part of the structure of the chassis of the Bora and the body design was placed once more in the hands of Giugiaro who cleverly maintained the Bora’s overall shape; but the new car was powered by a 3-litre V6 directly derived from the Maserati engine already in use in the Citroën SM.
Consequently the price of the Merak was substantialy lower than that of the prestigious Bora; the new model being aimed at a potentially larger market (source).
Forget the engine differences for a moment— which look do you prefer, the Bora’s fully glassed rear or the Merak’s open buttresses?
Route Napoléon is the route taken by Napoléon in 1815 on his return from Elba. It is now a 325-kilometre section of the Route nationale 85.
The route begins at Golfe-Juan, where Napoleon disembarked 1 March 1815, beginning the Hundred Days that ended at Waterloo. The road was inaugurated in 1932; it leads from the French Riviera to the southern Pre-Alps. It is marked along the way by statues of the flying eagle symbol (source).
One of these days!
Hat tip to B!
Not the typical Chris Harris test vehicle, and for that we think we enjoy this video even more.
We love road trips, so to drive from Wales to Switzerland – heck, in any car – must be a dream (even if it’s mostly motorways and in the tight confines of a Morgan Plus 8— an exercise in character-building we’re sure).
Back in January, we asked you, our readers, if there was any interest in meeting up with likeminded enthusiasts in your respective areas to go on spirited drives and do other fun car-related things. You said yes (well, some of you did).
Now, just in time for spring, the Motoring Con Brio Google Group attempts to address that request. In order to participate, you will need to create a Google account (if you don’t already have one) and sign up for the group, which may be mildly irritating to some but is basically necessary to filter out spammers and other bad apples. Hey, at least we’re not constantly begging you to add us on Facebook or Twitter 🙂
So please join the group for camaraderie and conversation, online as well as off— after all, this is for you! If you are a regular here, then you have something in common with us, and more to the point, with one another. Hopefully a great backroads blast with a local Alfista, Bimmerphile, or other driving enthusiast will come out of it in an area near you.
Motoring Con Brio 