Great Cars!

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by Eldon, Mar 23, 2016.

  1. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Have there been any great cars only manufactured in your country? Some crazy and/or super performers that could give the production sports cars a run for their money? And I'm not talking aftermarket "tuning" companies...
    Please share!

    Back in 1971 Ford South Africa introduced the Capri with 1.6 & 2.0 litre 4 cylinder engines. A man by the name of Basil Green decided that it could do with more power and fitted the 3.0 litre V6 Essex engine from Ford's Granada. The Capri Perana V6 was born. Ford SA's impression with the car led to Mr Green helping the company develope and produce it's own 3.0 litre V6 Capri... and the Perana V6 died.

    Mr Green then imported the Ford Mustang 5 litre V8 Windsor engine, along with the Mustang's 4-speed 'box. And the Capri Perana V8 was born. These cars where manufactured by Ford in Port Elizabeth (where else?), South Africa, and then shipped to Basil Green Motors where the engines and transmissions were fitted.
    0-60 MPH 6.1 sec.
    Top speed 142.2 MPH.
    It was 1971!

    http://www.perana.org/capriv8.asp
    http://www.africanmusclecars.com/index.php/ford/capri-perana

    But, another Basil had other plans...
     
    Eldon, Mar 23, 2016
    #1
    DavidGP likes this.
  2. joffa

    joffa Major Geek's Official Birthday Announcer

    The Robnell Cobra is a 60s AC Cobra lookalike with modern brakes and suspension etc. They were very popular in the 1990s although designed in the 1980s. Rob Darnell was the designer and original company owner and now I think it is run/owned by Darryl Newman if it is actually still going.......
    The Robnell factory used to be in Bayswater which is a couple of suburbs from where I live and we used to often see people going on a test drive. I nearly bought one in 1994 but with a young family it was too indulgent having an expensive two seater just for me to drive to work so I got an 80 Series Toyota Landcruiser instead ....... not as fast or classy but oh so practical.
    To be listed as a specialty manufacturer I think any model production run has to be less than 100 units. Robnell had three models and the differences related to the size of motor, whether it had a Jaguar rear end or a Ford 9" rear end, the size of the brakes and the type of clutch/gearbox that was used. The trim levels were pretty much all the same but there were options like air conditioning, different trim colours and also getting a radio fitted was an option. A radio was nearly useless as it could barely be heard over the noise of the engine and the exhaust burble coming from the side mounted twin 4" Thrush pipes.
    Here is an article from 2002 http://www.motoring.com.au/robnell-cobra-4175/
    and here are some better pictures of one that recently sold for AU$82000 http://australianmusclecarsales.com.au/muscle/143753-robnell-cobra
     
    joffa, Mar 23, 2016
    #2
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  3. Data Banks

    Data Banks Corporal

    My vote for the hottest cars manufactured in my country right now are:
    Ford GT :)
    http://media.caranddriver.com/images/15q1/654924/2017-ford-gt-official-photos-and-info-news-car-and-driver-photo-654994-s-original.jpg
    Chevy Corvette:
    http://www.conceptcarz.com/images/Chevrolet/2014-Chevy-Corvette-Image-016.jpg
    Dodge Viper, even though it just got the ax :(
    http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/750x422/quality/95/http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/248/291/5/S2482915/slug/l/01-2014-srt-viper-gts-review-1.jpg
    Chevy Camaro
    http://4hdwallpapers.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2014-Camaro-Zl1.jpg
    Tesla S:
    http://cdn.bmwblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/01-2012-tesla-model-s-fd-1347336745.jpg
     
    Data Banks, Mar 23, 2016
    #3
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  4. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    DavidGP, Mar 24, 2016
    #4
    Eldon likes this.
  5. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Data Banks & DavidGP, thanks for those great pictures!

    DavidGP, the greatest was the Noble M400... built in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. ;)

    I never liked TVR's but, Trevor Wilkinson was a great man. And apparently, next year, the company is introducing new cars in partnership with Gordon Murray and Cosworth!

    1973...
    A racecar driver/engineer/inventor decided he can beat the Ford Capri Perana. And he did!
    He chose the Vauxhall Firenza - a 2-door variant of the Vauxhall Viva. Both were sold in SA as the Chevrolet Firenza. He fitted the 5.0 litre V8 engine from the Chev Camaro complete with a race ready 4-speed Muncie gearbox.
    How does 80 MPH in first gear sound?
    Only 100 were built.
    0-60 MPH 5.4 sec.
    Top speed 142.3 MPH.
    It was 1973!

    http://www.africanmusclecars.com/index.php/chevrolet-holden-opel/chev-firenza-canam
    http://www.cartorque.co.za/0318.htm

    DavidGP, wait for episode 3... The Ford Sierra XR8. :)
     
    Eldon, Mar 24, 2016
    #5
    DavidGP likes this.
  6. Imandy Mann

    Imandy Mann MajorGeekolicious

    Do oldie but goodies count?

    Mid 30's Bently.jpg

    Mid '30's Bentley. "It's just a good car!"
     
    Imandy Mann, Mar 24, 2016
    #6
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  7. LauraR

    LauraR MajorGeeks Super-Duper Administrator Staff Member

    LauraR, Mar 25, 2016
    #7
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  8. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Indeed on TVR and to be built in Wales http://tvr.co.uk/

    XR8 looks great, better than the boring Mondeo, love the Chevy Firenza, just is the classic Vauxhall Viva (I know the Viva name has been revived in the UK but in something not as stylish) remember my dad having the original Viva in a metallic blue,

    Original Viva
    http://s29.postimg.org/ns35dx8xj/vauxhall_viva3.jpg

    New Viva (not so nice looking)
    http://s9.postimg.org/wt1fh58hb/Vauxhall_Viva_Blue_Front_Dynamic.jpg
     
    DavidGP, Mar 25, 2016
    #8
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  9. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Any car counts, anything goes... it's the Great Cars! thread. :D :)

    For DavidGP... and everyone else. :)
    The Ford Escorts & Cortinas were hugely popular in South Africa. While the Cortina's demise was a sad occasion, the Sierra quickly became popular. Instead of the 3-door XR4i, we had the 5-door XR6 - fitted with the 3.0 L V6 Essex engine. But Ford needed something for the race track. Remembering what Basil Green did, Ford SA imported the 5.0 L V8 engine that was used in the Mustang.

    The Ford Sierra XR8 was born.
    Only 250 were built.
    http://www.africanmusclecars.com/index.php/ford/sierra-xr8
    https://www.facebook.com/sierra.xr8

    This was a 5-door family car!

    Original Viva
    http://s29.postimg.org/ns35dx8xj/vauxhall_viva3.jpg My sister had the 1900 model. It could wheelspin when hooking third gear...
     
    Eldon, Mar 25, 2016
    #9
    DavidGP likes this.
  10. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    I agree the Escort RS series and the Sierra XR series where great and practical cars that packed a punch, the little XR2 was a pocket rocket.

    Oh now I just found my next car, been wanting from a pic I noticed on a website with wallpapers to find this one and thought it was a mockup, but Triton Nemesis RR ohell..yes

    Nemesis RR (can also get a Black Ops Edition for all you special forces folk)
    2000 hp twin turbo charged V8 engine
    http://s21.postimg.org/5huxocm6v/Nemesis_RR.jpg

    Koenigsegg have long had some great cars such as the CCX and Agera but now One:1 Hybrid is a corker
    http://s14.postimg.org/gwis28wnl/koenigseggone1_26.jpg

    The Nissan GTR has always been a fav of mine and Japanese drifters!

    Great thread Eldon.
     
    DavidGP, Mar 25, 2016
    #10
    Eldon likes this.
  11. Data Banks

    Data Banks Corporal

    At least this thread is still alive. You can't post a damn thing here now without the over zealous moderators locking it. Those people are so uptight they really need to see a shrink.
     
    Data Banks, Apr 1, 2016
    #11
  12. MaxTurner

    MaxTurner Banned

    The Triumph Stag from 1970 - British engineering with styling by the Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti, and immortalised by Sean Connery in 'Diamonds are Forever'
    Diamonds_Are_Forever_924-7002.jpg
     
    MaxTurner, Apr 1, 2016
    #12
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  13. Major Attitude

    Major Attitude Co-Owner MajorGeeks.Com Staff Member

    We're a support forum first and foremost. Those who help here mean the most to us.

    Those who only post in the lounge are, of course, more than welcome here but people who can't play nice, like you, have their posts deleted. We're busy helping people, not wasting or time babysitting.

     
    Major Attitude, Apr 2, 2016
    #13
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  14. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    If this is what the Tesla Model 3 is finally going to look like, for $35K if its that in £'s then its going to be a contender for Mondeo "person" (being non sexist)! and a car I would seriously think of getting, although currently city driving and parking for me has me more in the Fiat 500 guise as I have a TA 500S, love a 500 Electric but those are USA only.

    http://s9.postimg.org/3tleogzlr/Tesla_Model_3.jpg

    Fiat 500e as to be the best eco take on a classic car.
    http://s22.postimg.org/733tkrt0h/Fiat_500_Electric_front_side.jpg

    http://www.fiatusa.com/en/500e/
    Dont know if any of your folks in the US have seen these, likely more in California?
     
    DavidGP, Apr 2, 2016
    #14
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  15. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Great pictures and great cars! Thanks to all. :)

    But let's turn back time... o_O

    The eighties was an incredible time in SA's motoring history.
    We didn't get the iconic BMW M3. But BMW SA had other plans. The 3.2 litre engine from the 733i was fitted to the 3-series BMW, and the only BMW 333i was born.
    It's topspeed of 231 Km/h was on par with the Ford Sierra XR8.
    It was 1985!
    http://classicandvintagebmw.tumblr.com/e30333i
    http://www.bmwblog.com/2015/10/19/three-of-the-best-e30-m3-versus-e30-333i-and-e30-325is/

    The European BMW 745i was a turbocharged 735i. Again BMW SA did their own thing and fitted the M88 engine from the BMW M1. To watch a BMW 7-series being 'thrown' around a race track is a sight for sore eyes.
    http://www.africanmusclecars.com/index.php/bmw/745i-e23
     
    Eldon, Apr 2, 2016
    #15
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  16. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Dunno why Cher song entered my head!!!

    BMW M series do make some awesome cars but I just get the feeling and dont know whether you do Eldon that new M series are a bit boring looks and style wise, they may go like stink but just do nto inspire me like as you say the likes of the older cars?

    and turning back time to a classic the Lotus Cortina info HERE
    http://s22.postimg.org/svqk50wip/Lotus_Cortina.jpg
     
    DavidGP, Apr 2, 2016
    #16
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  17. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Eldon, Apr 2, 2016
    #17
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  18. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Oh meant to post pics of my old Abarth Stilo it was the manual version as most where the sequential type, its a 2.4ltr 20v 5cyl engine normally aspirated (should have fitted a turbo to this TBH) these were the homogenisation models for the racing series, cool car and really went like crap off a shovel but ate gas like mad.

    This is my actual car I used to have
    http://s23.postimg.org/88x5oueyj/DSCF0014.jpg

    http://s10.postimg.org/py6joq74p/DSCF0001_E.jpg

    really dont know how they shoehorned the 2.4 into the bay but I know the servicing garage I went too hated servicing as the oil change was a PITA as oil filter was in a bad position. Really loved to have kept that car now as I know how it was perfect to drive, stiff as hell in suspension but you live with it.
     
    DavidGP, Apr 2, 2016
    #18
  19. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Now were talking! :)
    The memories... Those were the days. :cool::cool::cool:
    Thanks David. I'll be back with news about the SA racing version.
     
    Eldon, Apr 2, 2016
    #19
    DavidGP likes this.
  20. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Thought you like that Eldon, halcyon days or what! the other Lotus that was a corker was the Lotus Carlton based off the Vauxhall Carlton.
     
    DavidGP, Apr 2, 2016
    #20
  21. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Rather late than never... :oops:
    DavidGP, you brought back some memories.
    The UK and South Africa shared many cars, race cars, and racing experiences. Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart raced in SA on numerous occasions. And the SA race car drivers did the same in the UK.

    The Lotus Cortina was in a class of it's own. SA had a brilliant automotive engineer by the name of Willie Meissner. He re-engineered the car. By the time he was finished... it could rev to 9,000 rpm! It produced 185 horsepower.
    CAR tested the Meissner-developed Lotus Cortina in March 1965...
    Top speed 142 mph / 229 km/h.
    1965?
    Yes, it was a race car. But it was a family sedan, with a modified 1.6 litre push-rod engine...
     
    Eldon, Apr 13, 2016
    #21
  22. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Yeah a lot of SA drivers did do racing in the UK and in Jodi Schectker we had a great.

    I find we have a serious amount of custom tuning companies that may not build cars but they tweak them and Hennessey are one of them as the Venom is a model based off a Louts Exige
     
    DavidGP, Apr 16, 2016
    #22
  23. bethlehem

    bethlehem Private E-2

    bethlehem, Apr 22, 2016
    #23
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  24. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Eldon, Apr 22, 2016
    #24
  25. bethlehem

    bethlehem Private E-2

    It was so sick in the XXX movie with V Diesel :D
     
    bethlehem, Apr 22, 2016
    #25
  26. bethlehem

    bethlehem Private E-2

    Really like the 1970 Pontiac Firebird lately...
     
    bethlehem, Apr 29, 2016
    #26
  27. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    DavidGP, Apr 30, 2016
    #27
    Eldon likes this.
  28. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    DavidGP
    It's a Mazda Miata/MX5 in another suite! :eek:

    Totally agree.
    The original M3 and second-generation M5 where the cars.

    And here's something especially for you...
    Ford Cortina GT. :D
    http://i1381.photobucket.com/albums/ah206/laurarMG/Cortina_1_zpsatbzswcs.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited by a moderator: May 1, 2016
    Eldon, Apr 30, 2016
    #28
  29. 8bit

    8bit Private E-2

    Try this custom buggy, The Surfite, by the late great Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. Based on the British Mini!!:cool:

    The Surfite
     
    8bit, May 2, 2016
    #29
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  30. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    I couldn't figure out the 'high roof' and then it hit me. He must have been psychic! :p
    Three years later Tammy Wynette and Billy Sherrill recorded "Stand by Your Man". :rolleyes:
     
    Eldon, May 3, 2016
    #30
  31. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Yeah think Mazda and Fiat did a deal on floorplan to save costs as many Fiat floorplans are in Mazda's even the Ford Focus is a Mazda 3 basically.
     
    DavidGP, May 14, 2016
    #31
  32. Martien

    Martien Private E-2

    Martien, May 16, 2016
    #32
    DavidGP and Eldon like this.
  33. the mekanic

    the mekanic Major Mekanical Geek

    trans-am1.jpg


    1973 Pontiac TransAm, SD-455

    The big block Super Duty 455 had some extras like dry sump lubrication, just in case you wanted to take it racing. The EPA throttled the engine, but any good gearhead made a car like this sing...
     
    the mekanic, May 16, 2016
    #33
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  34. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Last edited: Jun 9, 2016
    Eldon, Jun 9, 2016
    #34
    DavidGP likes this.
  35. the mekanic

    the mekanic Major Mekanical Geek

    The power to weight ratio on that smart car is just psych!!!
     
    the mekanic, Jun 10, 2016
    #35
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  36. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Electric cars are the way to go, juts need the damn battery to last longer and charge quicker and they will be a winner, I was thinking of the electric Fiat 500 (dont sell in the UK only USA) or BMW i3 only issue for me is they are on rental agreement over outright purchase, I know the batteries maybe on rental and that's ok but renting is more expensive than buying the whole car outright.
     
    DavidGP, Jun 11, 2016
    #36
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  37. Eldon

    Eldon Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Isn't it amazing! It pops a wheely and then stays ahead of the Mustang for most of the distance.
     
    Eldon, Jun 11, 2016
    #37

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