1967 Renault Caravelle Convertible

Own this charming little French roadster today, presented by Blue Marlin Motors.

The Renault Caravelle is one of the most interesting small roadsters to ever hit American shores. Designed by Pietro Frua while working for world-famous Ghia, the Caravelle is a good looking example of European design.

Powered by a 4-cylinder engine with just 1108 cc of displacement, this little red ragtop is definitely a cruiser. When the Caravelle was new, its closest competition was the Triumph Spitfire. Instead of envisioning a powerful street and strip car, imagine this Caravelle as the ultimate weekend cruiser. You will likely never see another one in the parking lot, at the local cruise in, or anywhere else. The rarity alone will garner attention and looks, and you can drive happily knowing that you"re able to get over 30 miles per gallon and enjoy rowing your own gears with the 4-speed manual transmission.

Fortunately, the Caravelle is also quite attractive. Finished in fire engine red with a black interior, this car is a looker. All of the emblems are present, as is all of the trim. Another interesting bit about this small convertible, is that it is a four-seater. While it may be small, you could easily enjoy the open road with your kids and teach them a thing or two about classic cars in the process. This car will make a nice restoration project for someone. The engine is currently not running.

Despite the non-running engine, the body is straight and solid. All of the panels appear to be rust free. It is unknown whether or not this car was repainted, however all evidence points to the fact that this Caravelle has always been a fun red convertible.

The black convertible top is in great shape, and the boot is present and also in excellent condition. We believe the odometer to be accurate. It is currently displaying 54,388 miles.

Come to Blue Marlin Motors USA today and pick up this unique, efficient, and fun French roadster for a restoration project!

Classic adverts dodge charger 2 2 & shelby charger advert retro and classic cars

Back in the 80s the foxbody chassis from Ford was shared with Dodge to create 2.2 Charger.

Biting the four door wagon lamborghini estoque retro and classic cars

It’s been 29 years since we last saw a four-door of sorts from Lamborghini. This was the Lamborghini LM001, which was to be the prototype of an up and coming off road vehicle, its closest competition as it were was to the be the Range Rover.

In 1981, the LM001 was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show alongside the new Jalpa.  The LM001 project was known as ‘Cheetah’ and very much needed all of the help it could get from investors.  The prototype had  a 5.9L AMC-V8, but if production was to go ahead the V12 from the Countach would be transferred.

The LM001 concept was discontinued due to having handling issues when accelerating, this then saw the LM002 take shape.

Lamborghini LM001 ‘Cheetah’ (LamboCars.com)

So, Lamborghini has decided to take the rash decision of bringing another four door wagon to the drawing board and put it into the production.

The Estoque was launched in 2008 and the Paris Motor Show, but Lamborghini pulled out of putting it into production due to the financial climate.  According to the Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann, now is the time “a third model would fit Lamborghini very well, and a four-door car would be a very feasible approach”.

Lamborghini are hoping that the Estoque will provide a leap in sales, but it will have fierce competition from the Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera.

The concepts specification:

• 5.2-litre V10 engine


• 55:45 weight distribution front to rear


• 560Nm and 500bhp


• seven-speed double clutch sequential gearbox

The car could go on sale in 2012 for around ?150,000.

We wish you luck Lamborghini, don’t pull this one again though.

What’s the broader perspective? retro and classic cars

We were all young once surrounded by friends in our school years chatting about cars, whether you were playing top trumps, micro machines or Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars being exchanged during lunchtime breaks. While you were in your youth the bad stigma attached to certain cars you aspire to one day own wasn’t there, naivety meant that while you didn’t know it all you would happily discuss Nissan Skyline R33 GTRs amongst Ford Escort Mk3s. The world we now live in means that we’re flooded with information about the latest crazes from Japan to America, to a small Hot Rod meet in a village in the UK.

There have been various car cultures established as early as the 1940s, where the early days of Hot Rodding established itself along with Rat Rods, which has now transformed into the ‘Rat Look’ where individuality plus the flavour of fun and hints back to well known days. The cultures soon developed and saw the development of roof chopping in the 1970s and 80s, Vannin, Jack up Kits, Gassers and Customs. Given my youth I missed many of those well known trends, and we’re now surrounded by the likes of ‘Slamming’, the ‘Euro look’ and ‘Stancing’, and many more.

A more traditional Jack up Kit Custom Ford Cortina

A brief background of the ‘Euro look’, it was established within the VW scene and then rippled through to other cultures that now do their own interpretations. This also has a similarity to ‘Sticker Bombing’, but I’ll savour that for another day. Whereas the ‘Rat Look’ is seen more laid back where personal flair and the touch of rust of bonnets harps back to the original Rods. Slamming is another scene with VW connections and usually sees the likes of classic Beetles lowered to the ground on coil-overs. Stancing is a close relation, but tends to focus on negative camber and a lowering.

De-seemed and Sebring look MGB GT

These cultures all have their own world, community and forums as when you had your matchbox cars. There is, one difference that these current times see compared to the days of old, an almost disrespectful attitude towards others cultures. As social media becomes more prominent, some enthusiasts from their own respected culture feel the need to pick holes in others to the extent you almost feel unwelcome within the wider automotive community. So next time you see an enthusiast with car from a different culture, appreciate his choice as much you expect yours to be.

Nissan powered Ford Escort Mk1

That’s my rant over.

Thrust ssc (supersonic car) the final run retro and classic cars

An outstanding achievement, which could well be matched or even better by the Bloodhound SSC.

Autogym classic festival ford prefect retro and classic cars

Picture Perfect.

Classifield hunting rover sd1 2600 retro and classic cars

At Retro and Classic Cars we enjoy these classic bargains, ones that involve a bit of work to get them roadworthy again.  We’ll admit at the time, when launched the Rover SD1 wasn’t the best in class in terms of it’s build quality,  nor was it’s flaky paint and the poor image which went with it.

The 2600 came with a 6-cyclinder with either the 5-speed gearbox or the three speed automatic.  It won’t set the world alight that’s for sure, but you’re looking at a car here that has history within the British Saloon Car Championship and the German Touring Championship.  Okay, this particular spec wasn’t raced, but you get the idea.

We’ll admit there are a few niggles with this one, but for the small sum of ?295 she’s a bit of steel.  The Rover does come with the rare feature of the Webasto sunroof; she has been wax oiled from new and comes with a delightful caramel leather interior.

There is the need for some welding in places, but all manageable. The 2600 is need of a clean up, but I’m sure for that small sum you certainly get a lot of British History.

The Rover 2600 is currently for sale on CarandClassic

Jaguar mk10 fitted with a big block chevy v8 retro and classic cars

Theres something about custom Jaguars that is rather cool.

The forgotten classics of yesteryear retro and classic cars

When you hear the phrase ‘classic car’ images immediately come to mind: MK1 Escorts, Capris, Land Rover Series 1s, Rolls Royse Ghosts, Mustangs, Californias, Imps, Minis, the list is endless. Most of these models are highly desirable, and therefore come with an enormous price tag, but what about the forgotten models. Those cars that sometimes have huge ‘claims to fame’ but are widely unremembered, and just left to rot in lonely corners. Well I’m here to bring back some of those names, and maybe, just maybe, inspire someone to rescue one of these poor forgotten models.

The Fiat 131 with its geometric shapes, quad headlights and velour interior it is the epitome of seventies styling.  The car was originally fitted with a 1.6 litre engine producing 75bhp, but this was then upgrade to a 2 litre twin cam producing 140bhp. Then Abarth, Fiats tuning branch got their hands on the engine, fitted gigantic wheel-arches and air vents to car, and put it into the world rally championships which it won 3 times, beating Datsun 240z’s and Ford Escort mk2s! Unfortunately this reign was taken over by the Audi Quattro, driven by Walter Rohrl, Fiats winning driver. Personally I think that the 131 was one of the best cars to leave Turin, with rear wheel drive it was had great handling. It is amazing how with such a great history a car can be forgotten so quickly? Well, this was probably due to the 131s only problem. In the seventies and eighties Fiat was notorious for its use of poor quality metal, which nearly caused the death of the company, and this led to the demise of most of its cars, making them undesirable, and causing real greats to be forgotten!

The rallying legend that didn’t make it to the top.

Skoda is a brand with a, shall we say, awful reputation. People scoff when they hear words! Skoda’s of many years passed are actually hidden gems, especially the 110R. With its coupe styling and large rear vents, it’s certainly a good-looking car. Its real asset is the rear engine, it only packs a sixty-five brake-horsepower punch, but due to fact it is all over the rear wheels the small chassis is very prone to slide, making it great to drive. Much like the 131 the Skoda 110R also has a rich rallying heritage, leading Skoda throughout rally championships of the seventies. The 110R has sadly been forgotten due to Skoda’s reputation of being a communist made car, similar to Lada, so many shy away from such makes, leaving models like the 110 to rot in corners of gardens, rather than being enjoyed.

Quirky matters with the Skoda 110R

You may be asking ‘what’s a Volkswagen doing in this list?!’ I believe the mk1 Polo should be included because when anyone thinks of an old VW they instantly think Beetle, Golf and Scirocco, leaving the Polo widely forgotten. The Polo and Golf share many styling cues, for example the swallow-tail rear, but due to the Polo’s smaller dimensions I think it’s actually a better looking car (sorry Golf lovers out there)!  The Polo is really quite a sad story as it was only forgotten as it was overshadowed by the greats, the seventies really was a brilliant decade for VW!

Audi 50 shared the same chassis as the VW Polo Mk1

Now, you are probably asking ‘what is the reason for my rant about these forgotten cars?.’ I fell we need to see the bigger picture in the motoring world, and not just love the well-known, but give some others a chance to before there is nothing left. One shining example of this is the tweeter @OneCarefulOwner, who has a passion for Allegros. Without people like him we would probably lose such cars! The selection of cars here is only a drop in an ocean of classics, there are so many more to be remembered.

So next time you’re trawling the classifieds, maybe think about looking further down the list at something you may never have thought of before.

Saab 93 viggen takes on pikes peak retro and classic cars

We might be pushing the bar to call this retro, but my god do the Swedes know how to make a car.

Peter griffiths (dawning of a) new era retro and classic cars

There are an awesome amount of vehicles on our roads today. Even when you narrow it down to personal vehicles from commercial you find that 39% of households in the UK have two cars and a lot have even more than that. I’d not realised the extent to which this is true until I took a job at a vehicle rental company four years ago. This company had roughly 3,000 cars on its fleet in the Midlands alone which is amazing again once you realise that the branch at Los Angeles airport alone has this amount of cars at its disposal at any one time.

So we have a lot of choice which serves us well because everyone has their different needs, tastes and, beyond taste, budget. Now I’ve owned (two) and driven (countless) enough crappy cars in my time to be able to discern what is and what is not a quality product and a good drive. Rarely do the two meet but I am lucky to have found my beau in the E30 model range of 1980′s BMWs. Before we come to that, however, you must suffer a brief history so that you might understand.

The Rover 213i ‘Cheesewedge’ which I ran for several years was a 50/50 car in that the running gear was Honda and so the gearbox and engine were great for an ‘E’ reg but it was clothed and built by Rover – so it dissolved into ruin. I loved the precise short-throw gearbox and the responsive (if small) engine and that it did indeed take the two of us, a house tent, and attendant home comforts to the top of Scotland around and down again in brilliant style. However the Rovery-ness of the thing was its downfall and we scrapped it with 55k on the clock.

Then came a ’92 Toyota Carina E which was good for a naughty top speed, economy like you wouldn’t believe, total invisibility to thieves, genuine comfort and reliability. I loved and hated it as I did the Rover but for the simple fact that it was a nothing car. It was a waste of money and time for me because I love driving and the sensation of a great car under my seat. This was sold to some gentlemen on the doorstep after failing an MOT and is currently trolling around the Black Country somewhere, resurrected in the name of a quick quid.

The Toyota couldn’t match the E30, even on its merit of ecomomy

At this point my luck changed and a friend’s parents were moving back to Africa and were scrapping their two BMWs, an E34 518i and an E30 318i. The E34 was a genuine write-off but the E30 had tax and a test on it and was offered to me to drive away! I couldn’t believe my luck. These things I knew were cool and above all had the legendary M3 at the top of the model line-up so there must be something good in the base models, right? Obviously the car ended up on the driveway with my name on it and a eureka moment brought itself to bear: finally, a car that drives like I want it to, it pivots around your hips when you turn, the pedal box has room and a hinge on the floor for the throttle, the gearbox knew what it was doing and the rear wheels did the talking. Sweet relief!

This happened just after I took the job at the rental company and the world of brand new cars was opened to me for the first time ever. Now there are good cars and bad cars whichever way you turn on the roads and after a year working there it was clear that my 20 year old Beemer was only beaten in terms of general quality by vehicles which were similarly German but cost twenty grand at the least. This sounds crazy because the 318i kind of did stutter every now and then, there were dents combining with rust, and a steering wheel from the Cutty Sark - but it’s true.

Next on the scene is my current 1988 E30 325i Touring with 171k miles which I actually bought with my own money for once. I’ve had this car for 2 years now and have done roughly 20k in it since, taking it on a tour of the Scottish Highlands, through the Yorkshire Dales, through a deer at 70mph in Wiltshire (and getting it fixed up nicely by a talented lad in Stourbridge) and moving house with it twice. Every time I walk away from it after parking I take a peek back at it, having parked it in such a way as if it were in a photo-shoot. I’ve never done this with any car previously. It still has the majority of the 171bhp it was born with, looks great in a rich malachite green, has the correct wheels, fog light pack and headlamp wash-wipe system which all adds up to a classy look, it also sounds amazing, handles better than so many modern cars and is nicely fast.

The drama here is that the ongoing cash crisis which is unfortunately affecting more than 90% of the people of this country, let alone the rest of the world, did in fact cause me to list my current baby on a popular classifieds website for vehicles. The intention was indeed to downsize and economise with the interests of being able to keep food on the table and I breathed a huge sigh of resignation as the advert went live. My dad said ‘You’re doing the right thing, son.’ (or something equally Hollywood) and was kind of smiling at me with a distinct hint of Schadenfreude in his eyes. That was unpleasant. Anyway, there it was – listed, ready to go, it was a shoe-in to get the asking price, and I was gutted. Constantly reminding myself of why I was selling it. ‘You’re going to get a nice little Fiesta with one of those little typewriter engines, or a lovely little Renault 5! Yes, a Campus! That’ll be fun to tootle about in! Maybe pop a motorbike engine in when you get a bit more money…’

This sense of sacrifice gave me an immense feeling of pride which was compounded by the interest which the advert was generating. The first my wife knew of the E30′s impending sale was when I got telephone calls and I was describing it to the inquirer. She was silently impressed and kept her cool when submitting her own inquiries as to why I had decided to sell it. After turning down a couple of idiots who had either misread the advert or were trying to offer me ’500 nicker’ there was one candidate and he just needed a couple more pictures which I couldn’t do as the car was in Stourbridge once again with another genius of a man who was sorting an oil seal.

Build quality beats the flaws of such humble Rovers

During the week it was away my Dad loaned me his Mistubishi Carisma, the car they deliberately misspelled in order to give it some but actually accentuated its inherent worthlessness. This was exactly the kind of non-car I was considering replacing the E30 with. The seat brought pain into my body, the gearbox was a soul-crushing guessing game, and the handling required clairvoyance and the general feel of the car literally depressed me. It was a relief to be able to deliver it back to the parent’s house knowing I was to return to the driving seat of a real car. A car designed and built properly in the first place, with no pretence to charisma or anything else for that matter. The only cloud to this silver lining was that it was still for sale in the public domain. So I returned home to sunny Berkshire.

Have you ever had a scales-fell-from-your-eyes moment? A moment where your shoulders slump in relief while your heart simultaneously leaps for joy? A moment of pure reward and relief which you will not forget and in fact be able to tell where you were when you felt it? Well I have, and it was when my wife said: ‘You don’t have to sell it you know, you love it, it makes you happy! It’s worth it.’

Wow. I pulled over to the side of the road, pulled out my generic smartphone device to access the Interwebs, promptly deleted the advert and continued our journey with a warm feeling around the Tech-1 steering wheel and a spring in the pedal-box. All six cylinders rang out a tuneful round in celebration.

Last weekend it rewarded us with a 33mpg average on a 600 mile trip including an hour and a half of hot and dry Dales-driving.

The future is now bright. The vast selection of cars to choose from is ‘limited’ now to ones which are dynamically better than average and thankfully there are people out there who do not care about what they drive which leaves my conscience clear to keep pursuing my interest in proper motor cars.

You can’t beat an icon?

Renault caravelle retro and classic cars

Spotted at the Little Gransden Air and Car Display 2010, by James Morris.

Welcome to retro and classic cars retro and classic cars

Hello all,

I’ve had this idea for a quite while, and I’m glad I’ve finally managed to bring the idea the alive. There have been some up’s and down’s on the way, but we’ve got there.

The blog as it were has three different area’s, all of which will keep you up-to-date with both scenes, events, and show you hidden automotive gems.

I hope you enjoy the content, and will stay along for the journey.

Retro and Classic Cars

British muscle aston martin v8 vantage retro and classic cars

Not strictly Retro or Classic I’ll admit. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage isn’t a common sight in Kent, it doesn’t half have a lovely V8 rumble.

New meets old sunbeam alpine drives through tunbridge wells retro and classic cars

With thanks to Marc Crooks for the image

British bulldog aston martin v8 vantage x pack retro and classic cars

Thanks to Kieren Goldup for taking us back to old England

The 2012 british motor show is cancelled retro and classic cars

It has been revealed that there will no Motor Show for the UK for the coming year.

The Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders said that the decision had been following a consolation within the UK motor industry.

The 2010 Motor Show which was meant to be held this year, was called off due to the change of the economic climate in March 2009. This led to many manufactures pulling out of the show and a lack of interest.

“In recent years the show has played a less important role in influencing new car buyers and vehicle manufacturers are focusing their limited resources on events and activities that have a more direct impact on brand awareness and consumer decisions,” said SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt.

Paul also mentioned that the UK had a highly competitive motor industry with products that are admired around the world.

“Both SMMT and the industry are committed to displaying the achievements of the sector and providing our customers with an opportunity to experience the full breadth of models available in the UK.”

The replacement for this years show was shown at the Goodwood Moving Motor Show.

Peter griffiths everything in moderation retro and classic cars

Houses are huge and expensive things which I do not yet fully understand. Having lived in a very old house for most of my life, and which my parents still inhabit, I’ve an idea of the kinds of problems which can arise. Damp is an issue, creaks and leaks in the roof, and more recent subsidence which is fairly inexplicable given the one-hundred-and-thirty years it’s been stood in the same place. It’s a lovely old place though; pretty plain, square and bold to look at but chimneyed up to the maximum, excellent sash windows and a big-stone exterior.

The place’s in which we live decay and develop knocks and rattles in the same way as we know our old cars do but with very much more expensive repair bills. You do repair them though, and you certainly do not look back to the technology of the time and replace (unless dictated to by listed status) like for like. You don’t replace the roof structures with the same flimsy arrangements, and you don’t put lead guttering back up (mainly because the Horsefair will just nick it) because it’s stupidly heavy, poisonous, and just plain out-dated.

So this week it’s all about what I’ve found to be a touchy subject. Or is it just a touchy subject depending on who you talk to? Modification. Upgrading. Speccing-up. The process of changing parts on your car from cosmetic to infrastructural is something that everyone considers at one point or another. There are of course two paths to go down if you’ve any sense. The third, which requires no sense, involves lexus-lights, chrome gearstick knobs, stupid alloy wheels, and mock-metal plastic petrol filler flaps. If you like that sort of thing then please feel free to get back to your microwave dinner and can of throw-away lager.

No, to my mind there are only two courses of action: OEM or upgrade and this may or may not be a dilemma to the classic car owner depending on how sentimental you feel about the thing. I am torn, personally, and would ideally prefer to have two examples of the model to work with so that one could be restored to concours condition and the other to upgrade with current tech. That way covers the best of both worlds but not many people’s budgets or interest would stretch to that course of action. I’m a realistic purist.

Do you wonder, as I do, how your old car which you love would have felt to drive as new? You imagine the engine would sound so smooth and sweet, that the ride would be that more secure and comfortable, and that the tailgate wouldn’t quite squeak as much as a mouse under interrogation for cheesy terrorism. It is entirely possible that they were not as perfect as we imagine them to have been when new but they’d have been at least a little nicer than they are now.

There are of course cars which you would modify and improve and cars which would be totally sacrosanct. In the course of thinking about this article the Triumph GT6 cropped up over and over as an example of a possible point of division. It’s quite an old car now and a fine example of great British style which is only going to increase in value now since prices were quite low in the mid-Noughties. It is very much a child of the E-Type Jaguar which is firmly in the concours camp as far as this writer is concerned – keep them original and preserved.

The GT6 is also a great example of a car which would greatly benefit from modern upgrades such as an appropriate suspension set-up to replace the ridiculous leaf-springs in the mk1 at least, modern brakes, and perhaps some modifications to the engine although I would advocate keeping the drivetrain pure. Purity is a tricky word in this context though.

The way to differentiate between the drivetrain and the suspension and braking set-ups on these old cars is to think about it in terms of what their designers may have thought of them during their inception. Did they prioritise the engine and drivetrain in the development while the unsprung and suspension bits were not? Were these old Triumphs the pinnacle of technology at the time or not? I think not. Which is why I would advocate looking at the engine and what would be appropriate and subtle in terms of fettling. No carbon air-boxes or luminous hoses.

Frankly I don’t care about the underpinnings of the Triumph GT6 because they’re old, heavy, and under-designed. The thing is that it isn’t hard to imagine the original designers agreeing with that point if they were alive today and this is the point. Even the original designers of the E-Type might wonder… might. So I’d have no hesitation in retaining the looks of the GT6 with the squat rear over some period wheels with modern tyres, even the chrome highlights look good behind that bonnet and the arches leaping towards the next horizon with all the assurance which the modern underpinnings provide. It’d look like an original GT6 but it would be sensitively upgraded to be what it always should have been, a great British sportscar.

The GT6 sticks out as a classic with an opportunity to become much more

When you think of your own car now, whatever it is, would you replace the engine with the same sort of engine but with lower mileage, would you put a more recent iteration in but still from the same manufacturer, or would you bust your imagination out and use an engine from a completely different manufacturer? Personally my old BMW would see as up-to-date engine as possible and other mechanicals completely replaced, given the chance and the budget, but I have received some criticism along the lines of being too obvious. I say keep it in the family and recoil at the thought of anything other than a BMW powerplant in there despite lusting after a motorbike engine in the rear of an original Mini. Humans are weird, eh?

Everyone is different in this respect and what you would do perhaps might illicit curses from others lips. Rest assured that a lottery win would see my trusty Touring go to BMW Classic for a ground-up restoration and a second Touring bought for the full S85 treatment. That V10 has some sort of primal pull for me which is indescribable.

To bring it back to the good old boys such as the aforementioned GT6 and its like it’d be great to see these things going around with the modern gubbins occupying the spaces underneath but only acting as a support to the good old stuff which makes it what it is. If you imagine these mods as being the opposite of celebrities getting plastic surgery then it makes a bit more sense. It is obvious to all but the celebrity in question that the boobs will end up looking like they’ve a salt-block stuck in there, their faces will end up looking like they’ve been embalmed while still alive, and they will not just look old – they will look undead.

If done properly then, any decent update of a cracking old motor will not be obvious it will be respectfully done, and it will be indistinguishable from the original and it will help the old thing to last for many many more years onwards. There are companies which will refresh your XJS, your E-Type, and your DB5 but they all cost a mint, including the incredible Singer Concept 911. There must be a more realistic way to do things and there are some enterprising and extremely able souls out there who are doing just that.

This Bristol 411 was restored from the ground up and was kept faithful to the original

What would you do though? No-one can tell. It’s your car, your money, and your mood which dictates your decision. From me you’d get one of each, but realistically it’s only metal in the end and you’re more likely to get the updated model which you would struggle to differentiate from the original. The British man is not prone to showing off or enquiring about wealth and status which means we look to the Q-Car for our pleasure, the car which looks either quaint and old like the GT6 or just plain and nice like the Rover 600ti or the Lotus Carlton.

Q car pleasure from the Lotus Carlton is certainly one choice

Whichever way it comes it would be great to drive around in an unassuming car in the knowledge of its capability while the pretenders are screaming around in their trash. Whichever way you modify your car, either back to original or subtly updating to new greatness, the most important thing is that you have done it your way. Just don’t do the original bit to your house unless you live in a castle, thatched cottage, you want it to fall down or just destroy your resale values.

Lancia stratos on the cards for limited production retro and classic cars

The motoring press have finally got up close to the long awaited reborn Lancia Stratos, an original Stratos also came along and made an appearance.

The meeting between car and the journalistic world happened at the Alfa Romeo test track, Balocco. This was the same place which was the test cars stomping ground, and where those first scoop pictures were taken.

Lancia also took opportunity to name the man who funded the whole project, he was a businessman called Michael Stoschell. The car that was at the meet is Stoschell’s personal car. The car was intended to be purely a one off for Stoschell, however, the company has admitted that small scale production may happen. After all, the Morgan Aeromax was originally conceived as a one off for a Swiss banker, but the Morgan  entered production as did the Aero Supersports, Morgan are bursting at the seems to cater for demand. Lancia could potentially capitalise on this niche small scale market.

Now as I am sure you are aware, the Stratos shares its underpinnings with the Ferrari F430 Scuderia. Lancia takes the basic architecture of that car and fettles with it to produce a platform for the Stratos. The aluminum space frame is shortened to bring the character of the previous Stratos back into the new one. The Scuderias V8 unit is also tweaked to produce more power, albeit slightly more that the Ferrari. The newly released horsepower coupled together with the Stratos low kerb weight means that the new car should have an astonishing turn of speed. The Stratos  kerb weight is lower than the Scuderia due to extensive use of carbon fibre in the body panels and aluminum within the chassis and main parts of the space frame.

To put that into context, the Scuderia is the result of Ferraris engineers taking a not to portly supercar and taking it to the gym, pumping it full of steroids and striping out the interior and being completely obsessed with weight saving. The result is a power to weight ratio of 1220kg, but the Stratos will have a power to weight ratio of 1200kg! By using the F430 Scuderia as a base Lancia is playing a deadly game in terms of pricing. Lancia would to like to make the Stratos project profitable. In order to do that the list price for the Stratos may run into hypercar territory. This is the result of Lancia buying Scuderias base, in which is shared between the two cars.

However, if the car does make small scale production, I think Lancia shouldn’t worry about the pricing, look at Sypker for example, small dutch outfit, only makes a few cars a year and the ones that they do produce are hugely expensive, but somehow they survive, and even more surprisingly, they bought Saab!

It shows you that exclusivity DOES sell!

By Cameron Gibson

Auburn collector car auction 2nd5th september rm auctions retro and classic cars

The latest auction held by RM Auctions, which has a selection of American Muscle and vintage.  Unfortunetly, we won’t be able to give you the estimates this time round, but here are the main highlights.

This will the best first sale at Auburn Auction Park in Auburn, Indiana on Labor Day weekend. RM Auctions is hoping that will become one of the largest collector car auctions in the world.

Lot No. W703: 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Pace Car Convertible

Lot No. W758: 1970 Plymouth Superbird Hard Top

Lot No. W733: 1964 Plymouth Fury Super Stock Stage III Max Wedge

If you’re in Auburn, Indiana and attending the auction please let us know.