Motoring Con Brio

Giulia Giardinetta (“Promiscua”)

•February 3, 2011 • 3 Comments

Not great quality photos, but a terrific-looking little car, especially with the red interior on white exterior. And a California car, obviously. Really, could it be anything but?

Owner’s story:

“I run a restoration shop, and I bought my first Alfa in 1975, a Spider Veloce. Being a mechanical engineer gives you a great base when it comes to doing restorations; how to weld, how metals react, thermal dynamics. But a lot of what I’ve learned about these cars has come from my customers. One thing I really like about Alfa Romeos is the size of the car. They’re small, light cars, very exciting to drive. Let’s face it, Enzo Ferrari started with this company. Their controls feel really good, precise and balanced, and the chassis are excellent. I think that’s because the Giuliettas and Giulias were designed and built by the guys at Alfa who had worked on the pre-war cars.”

More over at Hemmings, from whence this story comes. This particular turbocharged example happens to pack 240 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque, running to 60 in six flat on its way to a top speed of 140 mph! Not only astoundingly fast for a car its age, but respectably quick even by modern standards. Weighing what it does (i.e., next to nothing), the car must run like an absolute top.

Posted in Mods, Still images
Tags: alfa romeo, estate, giardinetta, giulia, promiscua, station wagon, touring, wagon

Four perennial ’80s cult favorites

•February 2, 2011 • 5 Comments

And we don’t mean the Smtihs, the Cure, etc. Neat cars across these two clips, the kind that are right up our alley. As is often the case with Fifth Gear, though, we also get treated to some cringeworthy in-studio banter by a couple of the presenters (conspicuously playing up their assigned roles of ‘regular car guys’), but mercifully it’s brief. Even Fifth Gear is smart enough to let Tiff and Jason do most of the talking.

And some ‘pure engine sounds’ to clear your head:

So in order of preference, which would you choose? As much as we love the E30 M3, for the sheer sake of specialness/’differentness’, we would go as follows:

Lancia
Mercedes
BMW
Sierra

The Ford rounds out the bottom because unlike, say, the Escort RS Cosworth, we have always liked but never quite loved the Sierra. The same can’t be said about the other three cars that appear here, however.

Posted in Moving images, What would you buy
Tags: 190e, 2.3-16, bmw, cosworth, delta, e30, ford, integrale, lancia, m3, mercedes-benz, rs, sierra

Ever see a Ford Mustang on BBS LMs?

•February 2, 2011 • 2 Comments

Yeah, neither have we. Surprisingly, it’s not too bad. In fact, we might even go so far as to say we kinda like it. The size of the meat is just right— kudos to whoever put the car together for exercising restraint and not slapping on the biggest damn wheels they could find.

Bit of ‘restomod’ action going on with this car, sure – it was one of Ford’s display models from the 2003 SEMA, after all – but we think it hits mostly the right notes. If we had to guess, we’d bet the car probably comes across a lot better in the metal than it does in these sanitized in-studio press photos, where it’s undoubtedly impressive but still comes off as slightly precious.

Posted in Mods, Still images
Tags: 1965, 2003 sema, bbs, bbs lm, cammer, fastback, ford, itb, lm, mustang, sema, velocity stacks

Skyline GT-R in the wild

•February 1, 2011 • 1 Comment

May as well make it a day of vintage Japanese— this one comes to us courtesy of our man Skorj. We don’t love gold or bronze cars (or variations thereof), but we could easily make an exception for this one! Sweet.

(photo by Skorj)

Posted in Still images
Tags: スカイライン, gt-r, gtr, japan, japanese, jdm, nissan, pgc-10, pgc10, prince, skyline, sukairain, vintage

Jim B’s latest hotness

•February 1, 2011 • 17 Comments

Guest contributor Jim Bauer recently picked up this flat army green beauty, which we think captures his ethos perfectly:

So now his garage looks like this:

So indescribably badass. We hope to have more on this (and of this) in the near future.

(photos by Jim)

Posted in Guest contributor, Readers' rides, Still images, What would you buy
Tags: 240, 240 z, 240z, datsun, drab, fairlady, green, japanese, jdm, nissan, olive, s30, vintage, watanabe, z

Probably the most amazing thing we have seen all week

•January 31, 2011 • 6 Comments

(that is to say, counting back the past seven or so days)

Absolutely frenetic bit of driving on display here. No words needed, just watch.

Update (Feb 4): Jalopnik is cock-blocking the video.

Oh well.

Posted in Moving images, Racing
Tags: delta, hill climb, hillclimb, lancia, s4

Assorted grab bag of stuff we like

•January 31, 2011 • 7 Comments

Larger-than-usual percentage of Porsche shots this week (which sometimes happens unintentionally), so if you aren’t a fan, you may want to skip this one. You have been warned!

On to pics…

Posted in Grab bag, Still images
Tags: alfa romeo, audi, datsun, ferrari, ford, jaguar, lamborghini, land rover, lotus, maserati, mercedes-benz, porsche, saab, subaru, volkswagen, volvo, vw

Cinematic cars: Porsche 911 Targa and Alfa Romeo Montreal in “The Marseilles Contract” (1974)

•January 30, 2011 • 4 Comments

The greatest segment of Cinematic Cars ever? Unfortunately, despite featuring some big names (Anthony Quinn, Michael Caine), the film itself doesn’t appear to be widely or easily available for rent (though it is only able to muster a 5.7/10 rating from IMDb users, so maybe it’s not without good reason). No matter— we may have already caught the best part: a lively pas de deux between Caine in a Montreal and some chick in a Targa, complete with a grating pseudo-Gallic Roy Budd score.

Great cinematography.

From a 1975 New York Times synopsis:

“The Destructors,” once reportedly titled “The Marseilles Connection,” involves Anthony Quinn, as the harried American narcotics chief in Paris, in a variety of murderous machinations to eliminate James Mason, as the Marseilles kingpin of the international dope traffic. Mr. Mason, it turns out in a highly convoluted plot, has knocked off our hero’s best agents, thus driving him to Maurice Ronet, as a seemingly helpful Parisian police inspector, and Michael Caine, as a professional hit man, womanizer and old friend, and others, to do the job.

If Paris’s streets, bridges and Metro and the Marseilles waterfront never were lovelier, the script by Judd Bernard, who also produced, rarely delves deeply into the characters of his cast. Speed is the essence of director Robert Parrish’s approach, which includes shootings, stabbings, car chases, pay-offs and wisps of amour and sex between our hero and Alexandra Stewart and Mr. Caine and Maureen Kerwin, as our villain’s pretty daughter, and even a brief appearance by former Presidential aide Pierre Salinger as a top embassy official.

It’s ungallant to reveal who finally does the deed, but Mr. Mason is more casual than sinister. And Mr. Quinn is simply as muscular and disheveled as the film’s complicated plot (source).

Posted in Film, Moving images
Tags: 1974, 911, aircooled, alfa romeo, marseilles contract, michael caine, montreal, porsche, targa, the destructors, the marseilles contract

Guest contributor: Dara Gannon on his 1991 Alfa Romeo 164

•January 28, 2011 • 8 Comments

I first came across the Alfa Romeo 164 while I was still in college. The first female president of Ireland had broken with tradition and refused a Mercedes-Benz as her official car. The presidential everyday ‘limo’ she chose was the Alfa Romeo 164 3.0L, back in 1990. I thought it a beautiful car, but as a student it was way beyond my financial capabilities.

Posted in Guest contributor, Still images
Tags: 164, 2.0, 2.0l, alfa romeo, éire, ireland, pininfarina, ts, twin spark, twinspark