Back in the late 50s, Wilhelm Karmann had the inside track in Wolfsburg. His Osnabrück company built the Beetle convertible and the Karmann Ghia (a.k.a. “Typ 14”) for Volkswagen. Rubbing shoulders with Volkswagen engineers and designers, Karmann knew early what others didn’t know: He knew the plans for the notchback VW 1500 “Typ 3”. Karmann shared the secret with the Ghia designers in Turin. Luigi Segre, head of the studio, could not control his excitement. Read More >
According to Porsche [via PistonHeads]
In 1900, Ferdinand Porsche, founding father of the present-day Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, entered unchartered territory. With the first functional, full hybrid car in the world, the Semper Vivus (‘always alive’). the principle of the serial hybrid drive had been born.
In a stunning four year project the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart has had the Semper Vivus recreated. Next week, 111 years after this ground breaking innovation by Ferdinand Porsche, the Semper Vivus will again drive into the limelight at the Geneva Motor Show 2011 followed by future appearances as part of the Porsche Museum collection in Stuttgart.
One of the first rumors to come out of the Fiat/Chrysler tie-up was that Alfa-Romeo would replace its expired 166 flagship with a large, RWD sedan based on Chrysler’s updated LX platform. But with Lancia getting its own rebadge of the new Chrysler 300, and a possibly LX/LC-based entry-level Maserati in development, it seems that Alfa’s opportunity for a flagship rear-drive sedan has passed. Auto Motor und Sport reports that, rather than developing a large Alfa flagship, the brand will top out (in sedan terms) with its forthcoming, 159-replacing Giulia front-drive D-segment effort. That might not come as terribly shocking news to the brand faithful, as Alfa’s have been almost exclusively front-drivers for some time… but the fact that no fizzy, crackling Alfa-typical V6 is planned for the brand’s midsized flagship might come as a letdown (instead, look for turbocharged four-bangers making between 120 and 235 HP). All of which is very interesting in light of CEO Sergio Marchionne’s recent diagnosis of Alfa’s woes, in which he argued
I mean it’s got this incredible appeal which goes back, you know, to the time they used to be on the racetrack, and it’s the embodiment of a lot of things which are typically Italian; sportiness, lightweight, and everything else. And what happened is that when Fiat bought them back in the end of ’86 we Fiatized Alfa. Fiat was front-wheel drive; Alfa was rear wheel drive. So now all the Alfas are front-wheel drive. And we put Fiat engines inside the Alfas, and Alfa started losing more and more of its DNA as a car company.
The launch of the new Golf Cabriolet reminded me of a piece of Volkswagen lore: The convertible that never was. A few calls to the Volkswagen History Department (now called “Volkswagen Classic”) later, here is the story: Read More >
Having penned the original Golf, possibly the most influential modern global compact car, Giorgetto Giugiaro and his Italdesign staff are revisiting the theme of forward-thinking, compact and subcompact hatchbacks for its new owner, Volkswagen. A sleek, C-segment three-door may hint at the look of future Golfs, but if so it’s a peek well into the future, as the Golf VII debuts later this year with a decidedly more evolutionary look. Ital’s designs shrink the front fascias of both cars to the width of their narrow headlights, improving aerodynamics and allowing a relatively open greenhouse… VW’s designs have been headed in this direction since the Duplo-block Golf III, and Giugiaro’s boys may be planning the stylistic endgame. Even the more upright subcompact concept has the same minimalist brow and unexpectedly curve-dependent, organic design language.
In any case, VW has not yet commented on the designs, so we don’t really know where they fit into the brand’s future. Still, it’s cool to see the house that penned the original Golf taking on the same design brief, decades after the original helped define a whole segment.
Given how far Audi has come in the last 20 years, you might think the Ingolstadt boys would be the last brand to start looking backwards. And yet, starting with its re-imagined ur-Quattro, Audi has begun to reference its past work more often, doubtless in an attempt to square its somewhat stodgy past with its fashion-forward present. But then, the ur-Quattro has always been a halo for the brand, in ways that the Audi 80 and its predecessor, sold in the US as the Fox (and later as the 4000), wasn’t always. Don’t get it wrong: the 80, which was sold in Europe from 1966-1996, was by no means a bad car… but the modern Audi era of success didn’t start until the 80 was replaced with the A4. Which is why it’s interesting that Audi’s plans for the next-generation of A3 explicitly reference the nameplate that defined Audi as a solid but decidedly unglamorous premium (rather than luxury) brand.
Let’s get something perfectly clear: if you’re spending good money to bring back a legendary Italian sports car brand like DeTomaso without aiming to capture the essence of the photograph above, you’re doing it wrong. Period. If, on the other hand, you’re bringing back the DeTomaso name in order to sell
a premium large crossover, dubbed SLC (sport luxury car) that would be a rival to cars such as the BMW 5-series GT and Lexus RX-450h,
you need to go rethink your entire perspective on life. Or at least find a new business. Tragically, this is exactly what former Fiat marketing executive Gian Mario Rossignolo is doing. DeTomaso. Crossover. DeTomaso. RX450h. DeTomaso. Luxury CUV. Haven’t lost your mind yet? Hit the jump for more claw-your-eyes-out details.
Rather than bringing back the long-running Z28 label for its new top-of-the-line Camaro, GM has reached back even further into the history books for an even more prestigious heritage label: ZL1. GM’s presser (more here) for the 6.2 liter supercharged, 550+ HP, Brembo- and Magnetic Ride Control-equipped ZL1 explains:
When the muscle car war was at its peak in the ’60s, enterprising and racing-minded dealers did everything they could to get more powerful cars from the factory. Some Chevrolet dealers discovered that the company’s special order system known as COPO – the acronym for Central Office Production Order – could be used for higher-performance powertrains. It was intended for dealers to place custom orders for things like special paint packages for fleet vehicles, not building factory hot rods. Nevertheless, Camaro-hungry dealers used the system to request larger, 427-cubic-inch engines and other equipment that wasn’t available in regular-production models.
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125 years ago yesterday, Carl Benz was granted the first patent for his Motorwagen, marking the birth of the automotive industry, as well as the company that would become Mercedes-Benz. Both have come a long way in the last century and a quarter, and the mind boggles at what might be in store for the next 125 years. Especially if they keep building the kinds of cars that outshine everything else on the road for decades after they’re built.
IGA Automobile, a new closed-end partnership fund, is planning on investing $150m into “a collection of 20 to 40 trophy marque vehicles with distinguished race or ownership histories” which it claims will appreciate some 15 percent over the next seven years, according to the Detroit News. Though collective buying of super-exotic cars is not new in itself, IGA Automobile fund Director Lancaster claims
This is the first classic-car fund that’s purely for financial returns, rather than passion
The fund, which is advised by Pink Floyd drummer and car nut Nick Mason, has identified several “potential acquisition targets” including the Ferrari 250 GTO, Aston Martin DB4 Zagato, Ford GT40, McLaren F1, Shelby Daytona Coupe and Porsche 917. And, since investors in the fund will be shelling out a minimum of half a million dollars to buy cars that they won’t even be able to keep in their own garage, the investment had better have a chance of making some money. And the fund’s managers think they can make that pitch, as
The Hagerty’s Cars That Matter “Blue Chip” Index, based on the values of the 25 most collectable postwar vehicles, has increased 67 percent from September 2006 to the end of 2010… The Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI) Top 50 index of exceptional classic-car prices was up 6.6 percent in 2010, lower than its average annual growth of more than 12 percent from 2003-08.
That’s better than plenty of investments did over a similar time period… but luxury-goods speculation still has a shaky track record. Besides, doesn’t it seem just a little bit wrong to treat these epic classics like a bond certificate, keeping them stashed away in a vault somewhere? Here’s hoping there’s room in the business plan for some kind of museum.
With the recent arrival of the latest Evo Magazine at “TTAC Towers,” it seems that all hope for productivity today has gone out the window. Evo, the classiest car porn mag in the game (the lady and I enjoy reading it together, honest), has got its high-gloss gloves on both the reborn Lancia Stratos and the new Audi Quattro Concept… as well as the classic models that inspired them. So, while I’m desperately trying to ignore the British buff book’s retro-future write-up, riddle me this: if you could demand a born-again version of any classic car, what would it be and how would you bring it back to life? But before you answer, ponder for a moment these words from the definitive literary work on re-animation:
Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos; the materials must, in the first place, be afforded: it can give form to dark, shapeless substances, but cannot bring into being the substance itself. In all matters of discovery and invention, even of those that appertain to the imagination, we are continually reminded of the story of Columbus and his egg. Invention consists in the capacity of seizing on the capabilities of a subject, and in the power of moulding and fashioning ideas suggested to it.
Hyundai’s Azera has long flown under the radar in this country, offering a near-luxury option that’s (at least) as stolid as it is solid. But because the Azera has never connected with America’s love of flamboyance, few know that the Grandeur, as it’s known in Korea, has a long, proud history full of grandiose names. Did you know the Grandeur was originally a rebadged Mitsubishi Debonair, and that these two suave nameplates were jointly developed for at least one generation? Only the second domestically-produced front-drive sedan on the Korean market, the first generation had to be made from Mitsubishi knock-down kits so the Korean automaker would have a luxury car ready to transport dignitaries in time for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. It unseated the Daewoo Royale (an Opel Rekord/Senator mash-up) as Korea’s top luxury car, and eventually became the country’s best-selling car.
Yes, the “Azera” has had a more storied history than its near-invisible styling, marketing and name in this country seem to suggest… but back in Korea it’s making waves again. The latest Grandeur launched last Thursday, and our man in Korea, Walter Foreman, has sent us the latest production-model press shots, which give a far better sense of the car than the last set of spy shots and renderings. And though Hyundai says it expects to sell 100k Grandeurs in 2011, Reuters reports that a US launch is not going to happen until 2012. In light of the new design direction, perhaps they’re taking the time to rethink the “Azera” nameplate…
The tuning house Gull Wing America have a huge thing for vintage Mercedes models, resulting in such bizarre creations as a re-interpreted W-121 and a retro-fied SLS. But for its latest project, GWA has taken on the most ambitious gullwing Mercedes ever, the “forgotten gullwing” known as the C111. Based on a tubular steel chassis, and sporting a 400 HP Mercedes V12, the “Ciento Once” is more of a re-interpretation than a strict replica. Still, it’s heartening to see such an influential yet forgotten car re-appear on the automotive scene, if only as a one-off prototype.Perhaps it will even inspire the the boys in Stuttgart to come up with their own “take two” on the great gullwing C111.
Forget how many angels can fit on the head of a pin, the original automotive spiritual exercise has always been “how many people can fit into a Volkswagen Beetle.” And now there’s apparently a new answer: 20. Kentucky.com reports that the Asbury University’s Emancipation Project, a human trafficking awareness group, is awaiting final confirmation from the Guinness Book Of World Records for its attempt at the old record of 17 people in a Bug. According to the report, the key question is whether the students fit Guinness’s size guidelines, as
Published guidelines called for the students to be at least 5 feet tall and at least 18 years of age.
GM’s famed Willow Run plant closed for good at the close of business yesterday, reports Automotive News [sub], and will revert to a Motors Liquidation trust unless it finds a buyer in the next week. To memorialize the closing of one of Michigan’s most iconic assembly plants, and a symbol of the “Arsenal of Democracy” we present the following passage from Michael Elliott’s book “The Day Before Yesterday” [via Time]:
Did unions, management, civic leaders and just about everyone else in Michigan mismanage the postwar years? Of course. But the real point about Detroit is not that it fell so far, but that it once rose so high. Its economic success during World War II and the immediate aftermath was a freak of geopolitics. With most of the rest of the world (including some regions that were as technologically advanced as Michigan) consumed by war, only the U.S. and Canada were able to develop the high-tech industries of scale that were needed to fight the Axis powers. So successful were those North American industries in developing a mass middle-class standard of living that three generations of Americans were seduced into assuming that the prosperity of Detroit’s golden age was normal and how America should be. It was nothing of the sort. It was an accident of world war, and the sooner we recognize its transitory, contingent nature, the shorter will be our mourning for its passing.
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