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30/03/2020

When you can’t head out...
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We will fight this together by staying home
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Such apt photo for the moment from
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04/03/2020

Lightweight engineering has a long tradition at Mazda, dating back to its very first passenger car. A loveable little coupe launched 60 years ago, the Mazda R360 instantly set a new benchmark for microcars in Japan, outshining the competition from day one.

Little known outside of Japan, the R360 was a smash hit at home. The company’s first passenger car sold 4,500 units on the day it was launched in May 1960 and captured almost two-thirds of Japan’s burgeoning “kei car” (microcar) segment by the end of that year, not to mention more than 15% of the entire domestic car market.

It was a watershed moment for Toyo Kogyo, as Mazda Motor Corporation was called at the time. For the truck manufacturer, it was the beginning of a new era producing unconventional cars.
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@ Fuchu, Hiroshima

03/03/2020

In 1976, as Jaguar faced tepid sales for its new XJS model, sales VP Michael Dale reached out to Bob Tullius, whose Group 44 team made major strides in Trans-Am competition under the Quaker State sponsorship. Tullius’s team accepted an XJS for the 1977 season, and after significant modifications followed by some keen driving, Tullius emerged with the Drivers’ Championship for the Category 1 division.

For 1978 the relationship continued, and the body for the offered car, chassis no. 78-44, received a factory-conducted acid dip to shave weight before being submitted to Group 44 for race preparation. The coachwork was then mounted on a special tube-frame chassis with a 32-gallon fuel cell and fitted with a 5.3-liter Jaguar V-12 equipped with six Weber carburetors. Tullius drove this lighter, more purpose-built car to great success, finishing 2nd at Westwood, British Columbia, in early June 1978, and 3rd at Portland, Oregon, a week later.

On 25 June 1978, the Jaguar roared to its first win, emerging triumphant at Mont Tremblant in the first of seven consecutive victories that closed out the season. A 1st-place finish at Road America in early September sealed another Drivers’ Championship for Tullius, while a win at the season-ending contest in Mexico City in early November earned the Manufacturers’ title.
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1978 Jaguar XJS Group 44 Trans-Am heads to sale at Amelia Island sale. 📷: for RM Sotheby’s
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@ Amelia Island

28/02/2020

Step on it like it’s Friday!

*Note for Monday: Get Trans-Am rally car.
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🎥:
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25/02/2020

This article is presented by Viking Cycles. Check out the clearance sale currently going on their website

A new decade is upon us and what better way to start it than with new motorcycle attachments? Just like new apparel is introduced and constantly updated at department stores for every season, the same thing can be said and done with motorcycles.

This article is presented by Viking Cycles. Check out the clearance sale currently going on their website A new decade is upon us and what better way to star

25/02/2020

Car racing hasn’t always attracted the most upstanding characters. For Chicago mobster George “Babe” Tuffanelli, who kept things in check, so to speak, for Al Capone on the city’s south side, racing was a nice place to tuck away some money. The competition was also a thrill for Tuffanelli, who campaigned nearly half a dozen cars on his team at one point.

Tuffanelli commissioned Milwaukee race-car builder Fred Tomshe to build this 1951 Indianapolis race car, which Ray Knepper used in his attempt to qualify at the famous 2.5-mile speedway. Unfortunately, the car did not qualify for the big race, but did nearly finish in the top 10 at the Milwaukee Mile and also competed at Langhorne, Pennsylvania, that year.

Under its long hood sits a 270-cubic-inch Offenhauser fuel-injected engine equipped with a Joe Hunt magneto that sends power to the wheels through an Offenhauser two-speed high-low transmission. A Halibrand quick-change rear end sends power to original magnesium wheels by the same manufacturer. Inside, the car is predictably spartan, and it retains a desirable Jones chronometric mechanical tachometer.
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1951 Silnes-Offenhauser Tomshe Indianapolis heads to Amelia Island sale, March 6-7, 2020
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@ Amelia Island

25/02/2020

Ferrari’s V-12 coupes represent perhaps
the most romantic notion of continental grand touring, but they can also
make for impressive track machines. Their basic theme can be traced to
the 250 GT, with its legendary Colombo V-12 power and race-honed design.
With the 250, Ferrari had both breadth and depth for every definition
of a performance car.

Ferrari’s V-12 coupes represent perhaps the most romantic notion of continental grand touring, but they can also make for impressive track machines. Their b

24/02/2020

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Aston Martin’s incredible 1959 victory at Le Mans, the marque built just 40 exclusive supercharged versions of their V8 Vantage. Unveiled next to the race-winning DBR1/2 at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show, the so-named Vantage Le Mans was not just a “paint and trim” special—it was a fully enhanced and upgraded model.

The Vantage Le Mans specification included a special front spoiler with larger cooling ducts added to improve downforce. The side vents in the Le Mans were reshaped, while the fuel caps were redesigned to look like fuel valves—all elements to hint at the DBR1. Inside, the sporting treatment continued, with perforated foot pedals, aluminum gear-lever k**b, and brushed metal panels replacing the traditional wood veneers. This exclusive model was sold as a spectacularly expensive Works Service conversion post-production to avoid the thorny issue of homologation.

For those who wanted even more out of the Vantage Le Mans, the V590 engine could be uprated to V600 specification. With a genuine top speed of 200 mph, power output of 600 bhp, and a big-bore exhaust, this was the most powerful Aston Martin road-car engine until the One-77 arrived. Although most Le Mans were upgraded post-delivery, this Le Mans is one of just a handful upgraded to V600 specification when new.
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2000 Aston Martin Vantage Le Mans V600 specially ordered by Sheikh Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al Thani, the eldest son of the eighth Emir of Qatar heads to Amelia Island sale.
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@ Amelia Island

24/02/2020

When your car is Monday-proof, but you are not!

21/02/2020

Wunderbar, Wunderbar, Wunderbar!!!
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Clip from ... full video on YouTube... check it out!
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#991 #9912

20/02/2020

Honda cemented its reputation as a reliable engine builder by the late 1980s, based largely on its economy cars. A gradual shift upmarket saw the Honda launch the first dedicated Japanese luxury division when Acura debuted. Honda had a lot more in mind than leather-lined sedans and sporty little coupes. Few outside its Tokyo headquarters had any idea just how ambitious its next project would be, even though a 1984 Pininfarina-designed concept provided a major hint.

Honda targeted Ferrari’s mid-engined 328, but the NSX that would debut as an Acura for the American market at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show was far more than a Ferrari competitor. The car was characteristically Honda in that it was a remarkably approachable and usable sports car. That it happened to possess almost uncanny balance and precise handling was no accident, either. Honda enlisted Ayrton Senna to develop the NSX, and they incorporated a number of changes the Brazilian Formula 1 legend suggested, such as significant chassis stiffening.

The NSX was treated to several updates during its initial 15-year run, and the 2004 example here comes from the second-to-last year of production and thus benefits from many of those enhancements. Its 3.2-liter V-6 boasts 290 horsepower and is paired with a six-speed manual gearbox, which featured a new gear lever for 2004. Additionally, Acura specified a new gear k**b that would be emulated in the later S2000 sports roadster.
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2004 Acura NSX-T heading to Amelia Island Sale
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@ Amelia Island