caapa

Ford Mustang Mach III Concept 1993 It was the first major redesign of the Mustang in fifteen years. The concept car was a forerunner of the fourth generation which was released a year later. The open-air two-seat roadster had a carbon-fiber body, cutdown windshield, 19-inch chrome five-spoke wheels, tri-bar rearlamps, side scoops, and classic grille pony badge. In addition to the inspired styling, the Mach III was equipped with a 450 horsepower, 4.6-liter V8 engine, connected to a six-speed transmission. The car accelerated 0 – 100 km/h in less than 4,5 sec and reached a top speed of nearly 290 km/h. The development of the car was not in vain because the fourth generation Mustang inherited several styling elements from the concept. Not to mention that one of the Mach III was sold for $491,500 at Christie’s Auction in 2002! The model is made by a NoName/China manufacturer in 1:24 scale. Enjoy the pictures.

Auto Union 1000 SP Cabriolet 1961 The SP Cabriolet became the late child of the family of 1000. The open car has a sleek, low-slung body with tail fins - drawing inspiration from the Ford Thunderbird - hence the "baby Thunderbird" nickname. The engine is the same 981 cc, two-stroke, three-cylinder like in the other 1000 members but with an increased compression ratio and a claimed output of 55 PS. The two-stroke engine required the addition of oil to the gasoline, which was a common practice in Europe at the time. but the produced blue-smoke was not very nice. The gearbox is a four-speed manual with gear lever on the steering column. The car arrived a 140 km/h topspeed and was very comfortable even on bad roads. The interior was well finished with a variety of chrome accents, an almost monumental steering wheel in ivory or black colored plastic, full carpetting and adjustable front seats. A small rear bench was included as well, but could only be occupied by very small children. A nice aesthetic touch of the 1000 SP Roadster was that its hood completely folded away into the bodywork. If you look at the detailing and finishing of this car its quite clear that it couldn't have been a cheap car to produce. The price was right too. Only 1,640 were produced. The model is made by Grell in 1:64 scale. Enjoy the pictures.

Ferrari 330 P3/4 Daytona 1967 In 1966 Ford crushed the Prancing Horse by winning the Triple Crown of endurance racing – 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring. But Ferrari was determined to make a comeback. Mauro Forghieri, Ferrari’s Technical Director at the time, was given full freedom by Enzo Ferrari to develop an engine and car that would absolutely surprise the folks at Ford. The result was a marvellous 4.0 litre, longitudinal, 60°, V12 engine pushing out 450 bhp - derived from the 3 litre F1 engine . A 5-speed transmission was developed in-house and used new wheels and wider tires. Top speed was 320 km/h. When the green flag dropped in Daytona, Phil Hill’s Chaparral 2F overtook Dan Gurney in the Mark II GT40 and extended his lead continuously. Ferrari fans in the grandstands hoped to see Prancing Horses challenge the Fords and Chaparrals. However, the teams decided to focus on their own lap times and not challenge the others unless they had at least a 5-lap lead. As the race progressed, more and more Mark II GT40s had to make unplanned pit stops. Ferrari dominated and they led for almost 20 hours in the race – a great victory for the company and Enzo Ferrari in particular. Only two 330 P3/4 cars were produced – one Berlinetta Coupe and one Spider. The model is made by Bburago in 1:24 scale. Enjoy the pictures.

Buick Super Dyna Flow 1950 A personal memento: 1950 (or 1951?) in Budapest, we little guys were always looking at cars and trying to figure out what make. Suddenly a big black bulbous car came along with the "teeth" of the grille hanging down and embraced the front bumper. - HEY ! One Rolls Royce !!! – cried the crowd. I told them it wasn't, because a Rolls Royce is much taller and very angular. (I had just been in the Swedish Ambassador's Rolls Royce with my father for a short trip) They didn`t accepted my interjection screamed only: - Rolls Royce, Rolls Royce, . . . . In reality it was a Buick with the that time new Dynaflow automatic transmission featuring a multi-element torque converter and a planetary gearset. It became known for its smooth, albeit less powerful, operation compared to other automatics of the time. But it made popular for some applications, such as the moving horse race starting gate, where a smooth, gearless acceleration was desired. The 1950 Super came with a single two-barrel carburetor on a new 4.3 L Fireball I8 which produced 112 hp. Top speed about 140 km/h, the acceleration 0 – 100 km/h 14,5 sec due to the languid nature of the Dynaflow transmission. Despite this the Super set an all time record of 251,883 sold. The model is made by Yatming in 3” size. I was happy to find one on Ebay newly and purchased immediatelly. Enjoy the pictures.

Koenigsegg Gemera 2020 This is the first four-seater car built by Koenigsegg. It is a limited production four-seat plug-in hybrid grand tourer. The planned 300 units being made worldwide sold out in Nov. 2024 soon. The Gemera has pioneered a revolutionary new vehicle category - the Mega GT. Although it will initially be powered by a two-litre, three-cylinder, twin-turbo petrol engine with 600 bhp and 3 electric motors achieving a combined output of 1700 bhp. But later announced that it will also be available with Jesko's five-litre V8, which together with an electric motor called Dark Matter is capable of 2300 hp. And this seemed to be such a popular option with pre-orderers that the three-cylinder version is not yet available. The more powerful version arrived 0 – 100 km/h in 1,9 sec and the top speed is 400 km/h. Koenigsegg now has the fastest accelerating production car in history. Costs more than $1.7 million. The model is made by LJX/China manufacturer in 1:24 scale. Enjoy the pictures.

Super two models ! Thank you for sharing.

Ferrari 512 Testarossa Coupe 1984 Every car-loving child of the 1980s knowd the Ferrari Testarossa is an automotive pin-up royalty. The flat nose and extremely wide tail gave it a completely new look compared to its predecessor, the Ferrari 512 BB. The forfather had a front cooler with the hot waterpipes runnig trough the passenger compartment and „heated” it. The radiators were side-mounted, in front of the rear wheels both sides but this made the car much wider – nearly 150mm than the 512 BB. The Testarossa’s characteristic side strakes were only added to satisfying markets where the big inlet openings were outlawed. The exterior styling of the Testarossa was overseen by Leonardo Fioravanti in the Pininfarina studio. The car is powered by a 4.9-liter flat-12 engine, now tuned to 380 hp in U.S. spec., rear-mounted with five-speed manual transmission. The top speed was 290 km/h and the acceleration 0-100 km/h in the low five-second range. The 512 Testarossa was described as “a 300km/h living room”, the Testarossa’s leather-lined cabin offered a perfectly judged mix of sporty elegance and comfort. Ferrari’s new supercar was revealed to the press in the Lido cabaret club on the Champs Élysées in Paris on Okt.1, 1984, and to the public the following day at the Paris Motor Show. Ferrari made almost 7200 Red Heads, making the model by far the most desirable supercar of its era. The model is made by Majorette de Luxe in 1:64 scale. The car isn`t a metal alloy one but made from any new plastic cast. Majorette had high hopes for the new material but the market did not react in the same way. I could buy almost all kind of the models at a discount. Enjoy the pictures.

Crysler Atlantic Concept 1995 The Crysler Atlantic concept was one of the most popular concept of Chrysler and is making apperences still today. The idea – as in some other cases too – was born on a napkin by company`s then-president Bob Lutz and design chief Tom Gale during on flight to home from the Frankfurt Motor Show 1993. The design was inspired by the Bugatti Type 57S Atlantic. Echoing the French original, the Atlantic concept featured a straight-eight engine with a capacity of four litres. This was achieved by joining a pair of Chrysler Neon 2.0-litre 16-valve four-cylinder engines with a total of 360 bhp It wasn`t very much but according that time professional opinion for any show car that could be driven at 80 kmh is enough. The transmission to the rear wheels was by a four speed automatic transaxle-gearbox. The interieur was trimmed in cream leather. When John McCormick drove the Atlantic for Autocar in 1995, he wrote: „. . . the engine sounds suitably potent at idle, but as soon the revs rise a horrible barking cacophony takes over.” Well, the car was designed for auto-shows and the sound was good for this enviroment. The model is made by Guiloy in 1:24 scale. Enjoy the pictures.

Lamborghini Countach LP-400 1973 Creating this second ever built Countach was an immense work till the last minute before the car had to be shown on the Geneva Motor Show of 1973. It was presented in red. The engine derived from the Espada and was modified for higher performance. The 4-liter engine with new camshaft, powered by six Weber twin-body carburetors, developed 375 hp to reach a top speed close to 300 km/h. Instead of the steel chassis of the prototype they constructed a Formula 1 like tube frame, which weighted 90 kg, 17 less than the prototypes. The completed chassis was sent to Bertone where the bodywork and interior was to be completed. This time they used aluminum alloy of 1.2mm (later production 1,5 mm) thickness to work out the body, whereas the prototype was made of steel. Later as Lamborghini was in a lack on money they rebuilt the first LP400 to the specification of the second and sold it also. Nearly 20 years after it's birth in 2000 in a Yahoo-Auction it was sold to a new owner. In 2001 the factory bought back the first ever built LP400 Countach and now it is a part of the factory museum. The model is made by Suntory Boss about 1:64. Enjoy the pictures.

Yes, the original car was painted Bordeaux red but unfortunately the manufacturer did not do so. The prototype featured a longitudinally, rear-mounted 2.0-liter V6 engine, derived from the Dino 206 S. While the engine bay of the prototype was designed to showcase the engine and its components, the actual engine was not fully functional in the prototype. The prototype's engine bay included elements like the engine block (without internal moving parts), carburettors, distributors, ignition coils, exhaust, cooling system with radiator, and expansion vessel, but was essentially a display piece only. And sorry, my infos were not complet: in 2017 the club’s museum needed funds to keep their spirit alive. They offered the car during the Rétromobile Auction in Paris and the car sold for around €4.4 million.

Ferrari Dino Berlinetta Speciale Prototype 1965 Ferrari has been racing mid-engined cars for 5 years but has never had a sports car with such layout in its production programme. The Dino Berlinetta Speciale prototype is not only one of the most extraordinarily pretty cars to grace the planet but Ferrari’s first mid-engined design study. Ferrari gave a chassis of the compatition Dino 206S with its V6 mid-engine, 1986 cc, 227 PS, enought for a 270 km/h top speed. Aldo Brovarone at Pininfarina began to draft a concept for a compact mid-engined GT. His form language has all the hallmarks of that time in Italian automotive design. This was the last Ferrari with input from the design house’s founder, Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina, before his death in 1966 and among the first overseen by his son Sergio. Its overwhelmingly positive reaction in the Paris Motor Show convinced Enzo Ferrari to build his first mid-engined production sports cars: the V6-powered Dino 206 GT and 246 GT/GTS. And it was the start of a model series that continues to this days with the newest model, the 488 GTB. The prototype is in the Museum in Le Mans of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest. The model is made by Politoys 1:43 scale. Enjoy the pictures.

It seems that all the driver training was useless !

Rernault Wind Concept 2004 One of the designer of the car described the idea of the new roadster as follows: „we wanted to design an ode to the simple joy of a summer drive with a loved one.” During an in-house competition the sketches of Erde Tungaa from Mongolia was the best and the designer team worked out the Wind Concept from this. The roadster has become streamlined and elegant in addition to being compact in size but also dynamic. The interior –all in leather – included two front seats and one rear seat, situated in the middle. The car is powered by an inline-4 engine with about 136 hp. Although top speed and acceleration are not publicly known but the little car was reportedly fast. The model is made by Norev in 1:64 scale. Enjoy the pictures.

Mercedes CLK GTR Coupe Street Version 1997 The CLK GTR was not only an excelent race car but symbolizes a significant milestone in motorsport history: Mercedes’ return to racing. It was a result of Mercedes and AMG pulling off nothing short of a miracle: to conceive and produce a fully-built racing car ready for the then-new FIA GT Championship in just 128 days. The total production of the GTR was 20 coupés and 5 roadsters, correspondent the FIA series’ requirements meant at least 25 road car versions of the racing car had to exist. The engine was 6,898 cc by Ilmor, resulting in a power bump to 622 hp. This gave the GTR a 0–100 km/h of 3.8 seconds, and a claimed top speed of over 320 km/h, depending on gearing. The power was routed through a six-speed sequential transaxle with Paddle Shifters and Clutch. The interior decidedly minimalist, with all elements designed more for function as luxury. However, it doesn’t completely miss luxury; the cabin features leather bucket seats which is rare in racing cars. Except one of the cars with a chequered seat cover shown in the Audrian Automobile Museum. The GTRs have amenities such as air conditioning and an audio system. Ironically, it was at 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999 that Mercedes was again forced to withdraw from the race - after the race car went airborne three times at high speed and flipped over. Fortunately no one was seriously injured this time. The model is made by Maisto in 1:26 scale. The model has a chequered seat cover and I've accentuated the panel lines and the turn signals/tail lights with some transparent paint only. Enjoy the pictures.

Chevrolet Mako Shark II. 1965 Bill Mitchell gave the following task to his team for the XP-830 project: "a narrow, slim, center section and coupe body, a tapered tail, an all-of-a-piece blending of the upper and lower portions of the body through the center (avoiding the look of a roof added to a body), and prominent wheels with their protective fenders distinctly separate from the main body, yet grafted organically to it." Chevrolet created two copies - only one of which was fully functional. The non-running show car debuted at the 1965 New York Auto Show and the functional one at the Paris Motor Show same year. This latter car was powered by 7 litre V8 engine with Turbohydramatic 3-Speed Auto transmission. The car arrived 200 km/h top speed and accelerated 0 – 100 km/h in 5 sec with its 425 bhp engine. The running car got a new opportunity in showcar life and returned to the show-circuit in modified form as the Manta Ray in 1969 while the non-running has been dismantled. The Manta Ray is now a part of the GM Heritage Center. But in 2013 an evenings and weekends project was started by a swiss enthusiast. He replicated the non-running concept car fully functional . The model is made by Johnny Lightning in 1:64. The last picture is a plastic model from a MPC kit 1:24 modified to the non-running design Enjoy the pictures.