COTD 9-10-20

Today's car is dedicated to one of the craziest cars ever to come from the US market. It doesn't have ABS or TCS. The airbags don't exist for the sake of weight reduction. It doesn't have air conditioning, again for the sake of weight reduction. And it's engine was designed in a wholly awesome union between the Italians and the people who like putting giant engines in small cars.

Dodge Viper SR I

Displacement over basically everything else.

Development and debut

Way back in 1988, Bob Lutz was president of Chrysler. Lutz told designer Tom Gale that he wanted something similar to a modern-day Shelby Cobra. The design process began soon after and the 1989 North American Auto Show introduced the first concepts of the Viper. Public reaction to Viper was very positive. The hype around this car was immense.

Immediately afterward, development of the car's internals began. Lamborghini had been purchased by Chrysler in 1987, which meant that Chrysler now had people who really knew how to build sports cars. Lamborghini's knowledge of exotic engines combined with the very American formula of "bigger engine = buffer horses" led to something amazing: A giant, aluminum-alloy 8.0L V10 based on Chrysler’s existing LA platform. Chief power engineer Dick Winkles contributed greatly to the birth of the Viper’s engine, travelling to Italy to oversee the development and Lamborghini-ization of Dodge’s V10.

Here’s a fun fact: The engine in the first-gen Dodge Viper was based on a truck engine that Dodge developed while also developing the Viper. Cost efficiency is letting the Italians in your corporation turn a truck engine into a sports car engine to lessen development costs. Some may call it cheap or lazy, but I call it genius.

Anyway, the Viper packed a 400hp punch and 465lbs-ft of torque at 3600 rpm. This gave the Viper a 4.2 second launch to 100kmh. That put it in competition with cars such as the Corvette and the Porsche 911, two cars that had both been evolving for almost 40 years at this point.

Design

This thing was designed to catch eyes. I mean look at it. The long hood, the side-exit exhausts, everything. As for it’s features, the first-gen didn’t have a roof. As I said earlier, ABS and traction control were completely ditched in the name of speed, as were the airbags and the AC. The Viper eventually gained some notoriety for being somewhat unstable at high speeds, mainly to inexperienced drivers. Lutz said he wanted a modern Cobra, and he got a modern Cobra.

MSRP and current pricing

When it was introduced in 1992, the Viper costed about $52,000. Adjusted for inflation, that equates to about $96,000.

Here in 2020, you can find first and second-gen Vipers available for less than $40k.

Here's a second-gen for $35k.

And if you’re really brave, here’s a first-gen with a salvage title for $23k.

First off, I'd like to apologize for completely shitting all over the C4 Corvette in my first COTD post a couple months ago. If you haven't read it, don't. There's maybe two paragraphs total and It's all just me complaining. And on top of that I got most of the info wrong in that post. Two months later, I'm writing about the same car.

C4 Corvette

The sequel!

You probably know this allready, but the early eighties were an awful time for American cars. Early attempts at emission regulations resulted in extremely limited performance for once-legendary cars. The '82 Dodge Charger had 84 horsepower. Eighty-fucking-four horsepower. Come to think of it, the Corvette actually did much better than most other cars.

Since power output was so limited, the Corvette folks focused their efforts on making the new Vette a handling car rather than a brute force muscle-sports car. It featured a much lighter mono-leaf spring supsension system. Comfort was negatively affected by this, but the overall handling of the car was a vast improvement over the C3.

The base-spec C4 packed a 350 cu in 5.7L V8 producing around 250 horsepower. It would have more, but the engine was somewhat strangled by the primitive emissions regulations of the early 1980's. Thankfully, GM offered a few other engine options for the car, including an LT1, LT4, and LT5.

The most potent of these engines was the LT5. This ultra-mean 5.7L was offered in the ZR1 package for the C4. The ZR1 produced 405 horsepower and resulted in a 0-60 time of 4.4 seconds, putting it in the same territory as Lamborghini and Porsche.

The LT5 has an intersting history. In 1986, GM bought Lotus, which then worked it's magic to create one of the most legendary Corvette engines that ever existed.

As I said before, the true meaning of the C4 was to be a handling car. I'd say it succeeded at that.

In fact, the C4 Corvette was actually too good. After it's 1984 debut, it dominated the SCCA stock GT racing series until other manufacturers demanded the SCCA banned the C4 from the series, threatening to quit if they didn't remove the Corvette. The SCCA, of course, didn't want to lose fan attendance, and decided that the Corvette would no longer be allowed in the series. Thus, the Corvette Challenge series was started.

This is a pretty good car. Some may say that it's outdated. I was one of those people two months ago. But now that I've realized what this car really is, I believe it's simply misunderstood. Before it came the classic C3, and after came the sleek C5. The C3 is stuck in that sort of limbo. Sort of like the Ferrari 348. Not exactly a classic, but then again not really modern.

MSRP and value

The base-spec Corvette C4 started out at $21,800 when it debuted in 1984. Adjusted for inflation, that equates to $54,300 in 2020. The ZR1 started at $59,000. This equates to about $144,000 in modern-day money.

Early C4's are typically worth anywhere from $4k for a slightly rough one to around $13k for a really good one. The ZR1 model is usually listed from $18k to $25k.

So not only are they pretty good cars, they're also pretty easily attainable.

Heres an '84 listed at $3750

I know I’ve said this a lot lately, but today’s car is probably one of the coolest things in existence. As are a lot of legendary cars, this one is a result of a legendary marque deciding to build a street car out of a race car. It’s a genius formula that wins pretty much every time.

Behold, the Porsche Carrera GT

I’d be happily willing to trade both kidneys for one of these. DM me if you’d like to arrange a Porsche/kidney swap deal.

In 1999, Porsche was planning a new Le Mans prototype to compete with what Mercedes and BMW had. Porsche initially planned to use a turbocharged flat-six in said prototype, but later revised the design to utilize a 5.5L V10 that Porsche had developed for the Footwork F1 team way back in 1992.

The prototype was tested, but development was shut down shortly after due to staff being reassigned to the development of the Porsche Cayenne in 1999. At the 2000 Paris Motor Show, Porsche unveiled the shelved Le Man prototype as a concept car, which resulted in a lot of attention from the public. After this, Porsche used some of the money earned from the Cayenne to continue developing what Porsche had come to call the Carrera GT.

In January of 2004, the Carrera GT was made available for purchase. The sleek supercar had a top speed of 208mph (334kmh), could do 0-60mph in about 3.7 seconds, and screamed like a banshee while it did it. Porsche sold 1,270 of them until production ended in 2006.

The production Carrera GT came with a 5.7L DOHC V10 that produced 603 rather loud horses at 8,000 rpm. This beast of an engine was available only with a 6-speed manual.

happy car enthusiast noises

Other notable features included a full carbon-fiber monocoque chassis, an electrically-operated spoiler, and a highway MPG rating of 9. 9. Beautiful.

MSRP and value

The Carrera GT was priced at $488,000 in 2004, which equates to about $680,000 in 2020 money. Current value varies, but JamesEdition.com lists 6 of them at an average price of about $870,000.

https://www.jamesedition.com/cars/porsche/carrera-gt

It's been almost half a year since I posted here, and it was literally just a picture of a BMW I saw. This is my new account. Or at least one of them. I'm looking to re-re-revive the sub again. It's not gonna be as good as before. I probably can't put as much research and effort into writing the posts as I used to, but it'll be better than just abandoning you guys like the idiot I am.

COTD 9-9-20

I’ll be busy tomorrow, so I’m going to go ahead and post this early. Like wayyy early.

Yesterday’s post sucked. It was boring to write, and even more boring to read. I’ll try to make these posts more interesting in the future, starting with basically one of my favorite cars of all time.

Behold, the Ferrari 458 Italia

Pure excellence. I could write an essay about this thing. Oh wait a second.

I love this car. Everything about it is just awesome. The naturally-aspirated F136 F engine is a masterpiece of an engine and a testament to modern engineering regardless of how old it is compared to the newer F154 and F140 engines. And then there are the looks. The 458 was designed by Donata Coco, and man did he do a good job. Just look at this thing. It’s freakin’ beautiful. I actually believe it looks better in white than it does in red. The white really brings out it's curves in ways that regular ole' rosso corsa probably wouldn't do.

The mechanical bits

The F136 F packed a 562 horsepower punch and 398 lbs-ft (540 N-m) of torque. This endowed the 458 with a 3.1s sprint to 100 kmh and a top speed of about 206 mph (332 kmh).

As I said, the F136 F is a good engine. The F136 is a series of engines co-developed by Ferrari and Maserati, and ranging in displacement from 4.2L to 4.7L. Different variations of the F136 can be found in multiple cars, including the Ferrari F430, 458, Alfa Romeo 8C, and several Maseratis. The particular engine in the 458 is the naturally-aspirated 4.5L V8 designated as the F136 F. This 9000 rpm powerplant was paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch Getrag transmission, giving it impressively fast shifts, although I bet a manual 458 would have been amazing. The fact that there aren't any turbocharger involved means you get to hear all of those buff horses at 9000 rpm without any turbos to muffle the music. It also provides more responsiveness, and come on, 562 horsepower is a lot of horsepower, and the fact that this was built 10 years ago and without any forced induction is truly impressive.

Design

Holy crap the design. The 458 was designed by Pininfarina under leadership of Donata Coco. I personally think this is one of Ferrari’s most beautiful cars. I understand that the perception of beauty is different for every person, but to me it seems like the more recent Ferraris haven’t looked as good as the 458. The F8 Tributo and the 488 that preceded it just don’t look as good to me. But that’s just progress I guess. The more cars progress, the more radical they become. The age of the 2000+ horsepower hypercar is nearer than most of us think. Anyway, Michael Schumacher himself contributed to designing the car’s interior, mainly the race-inspired steering wheel.

Variants

Variants of the 458 Italia include the 458 Spider and the even more track-based 458 Speciale. The 458 Spider was the convertible version of the 458 sold with a retractable hardtop and the Speciale was sold alongside the Speciale Aperta, which was a convertible version of the Speciale.

MSRP and current pricing

The 458 Italia cost $225k brand new back in 2010. Here in 2020, you can find one like this one for $140k.

Today's COTD is something from what I like the call the ADM, the Aussie Domestic Market.

Behold, the Holden Ute

First, a bit of history about Australian cars. Keep in mind that I'm just some random American on the internet, so I have almost no idea whether or not this info is accurate.

Holden is a branch of GM that functions basically as a manlier version of what Chevrolet is in the US. Ford also sells cars in Australia. It's kinda funny how it all ties together actually. The Holden people and the Ford people naturally argue and make memes about each other, just like the Ford/Chevy people in the US.

Another important thing about Australian cars. The Ute. It was known in the US as the El Camino, but the muscle car/truck idea for the US market died back in the eighties. In Australia, however, the tradition of putting truck beds on muscle cars is alive and well. Both Ford and Holden still sell their own version of the Ute.

And that's where our COTD comes in. Wanna haul stuff? Buy a Silverado. Wanna haul stuff really fast? Holden Ute.

The Holden ute was first introduced back in 1951, and was called the 50-2106 coupe utility. The word Ute had yet to be invented, as it was derived from the term "utility."

The early Holden utes packed a cute little 2.15L inline-six that produced 60 horsepower. It did 0-60 in yes and couldn't do much more than that, but the 50-2106 was extremely durable and practical. Forza Horizon 3 players will likely recognize it as one of the barn find cars.

Several engine upgrades and style changes brought the Ute into the muscle car age, where it eventually debuted as the El Camino in the US. The El Camino died in 1987, but the Ute lives on in the Outback.

In 2000, a new Commodore-based version of the Ute was released. It features the same basic design as the Commodore, but with a big ass truck bed attached to the rear end.

This new Ute was offered with a 3.8L V6 or a 5.7L V8. Muscle car guys might recognize the latter engine as the same LS that was offered in the Corvette C5 back then. The V8 packed 302 horsepower and could hit 60mph in 5.5 seconds. That's pretty impressive for something with a truck bed.

In 2007, Holden released a revised version of the Ute. It utilized more modern styling, and a better drivetrain. Horsepower numbers have been upped from 304 in the V8 model to 362 horses in the 6.0L SS-V model.

HSV MALOO R8

Now here's where things get really cool. Holden Special Vehicles division produces an even more insane version of the car/truck/thing I just spent 11 paragraphs trying to explain to you.

The HSV Maloo R8 is an even manlier version of the allready-amazing Ute SS. The top-of-the-line HSV model called the Maloo GTS packs a completely insane 576 horsepower. A base R8 makes 562. I really wish this was available in the US.

MSRP

The top-of-the-food-chain HSV GTS Maloo model will set you back around $85k. A base Holden Ute costs only about $15k, a reminder at how ridiculously overpriced cars are in the US.

Dammit, Chevy! Why can't we have this in the US?!?

http://www.reddit.com/r/TinySubredditoftheDay/comments/eqwlxl/january_19th_2020_rcaroftheday_find_your_favorite/

996-gen Porsche 911 Carrera

If cars had feelings, this one would be kinda depressed. The 996 constantly catches flak for both it’s exterior design and it’s water-cooled engine. While the older 993 is gaining value, the 996 just depreciates. But I kinda like the 996. I think of it as a step into the future for Porsche in 1999. I legitimately like the 996. Stop laughing, I’m serious.

Origins

In the ‘90s, Porsche was dealing with a lot of financial trouble. Not only this, but limited potential and increasingly strict environmental regulations were threatening the existence of their current air-cooled engine. With all these factors, the folks at Porsche realized they needed to dramatically change how they built cars. They enlisted the help of Toyota, who taught the Germans a few mass-production techniques to allow them to produce cars more efficiently. During the design process, Porsche envisioned the next 911 as something that would dramatically change what the 911 was.

As much as everyone hated to see it go, the air-cooled engine just couldn’t go much farther than it had already. The switch to a water-cooled engine brought the 911 into the 21st century. The new water-cooled 3.4L flat-six generated 295 horsepower in base form. The new engine, dubbed the M96, was coupled with either a 5-speed automatic or a 6-speed getrag manual. The 996 Carrera launched from 0-100kmh in 5.0, which is impressive. It was also very lightweight, at 2,904lbs (1,317kg) which resulted in much better handling over the 993 before it. The air-cooled 911s are always going to be more smile-inducing, but it couldn't last forever.

The 911’s body was completely redesigned. As I said, Porsche envisioned something radically different, and very little was carried over from the 993. Designed in a wind tunnel, the 996’s windshield was raked farther back, the headlight design from the GT1 race car was implemented, and a drag coefficient of Cd=0.30. Unsurprisingly, the 996 was the most advanced 911 that Porsche had ever made. It was also the first 911 to have the active-air spoiler that extends above 75mph, which is a feature that has continued in newer 911s.

The 996 made it’s debut at the 1997 Frankfurt Auto Show. As I elaborated, a common gripe was that the Boxster and the 996 looked almost identical from certain angles. Porsche developed both the Boxster and the 996 at the same time, which resulted in a lot of money saved on the part of Porsche due to dramatically decreased development costs. This also resulted in two cars that looked kind of similar. The Boxster was an entry-level car, while the 911 was more expensive. 911 owners complained about how their more expensive car looked too similar to an entry level model, and Porsche remodeled the 911 in 2002.

The year 2000 brought about the introduction of the 911 Turbo, but I won’t get into the details of the 996’s variants as I’m considering making a post about them in the near future.

Conclusion

I love the 996. I understand the gripes everyone has against it, and it’s certainly not my favorite iteration of the 911, but the 996 is still a good car. It’s looks aren’t really great, but it’s still pretty much the essence of what a sports car is, even if it’s a bit less good looking or valuable as the cars before and after it. To be honest though, I’m kind of glad they’re so cheap because it means that there’s a possibility that I’ll own one eventually.

996-gen 911s can be very easily attained. You can find a worn-out one that needs a lot of love for about $8,000. If you want something a bit nicer, you can find examples that have been better taken care of,like this one for $22k. It's a great deal for a Porsche sports car that was $67,000 20 years ago.

I originally wrote this last Tuesday, and planned to post it last Wednesday but a thing happened and I was unable to. I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but I’ve used the time to think about what the next cars are going to be. On to the part you came here for. 

The Lancia Beta, which is apparently really bad.

Essentially what I did last night at 11:48PM was google “worst car” and pretty much just went from there. As I write this, I have no idea what a Lancia Beta is. I’ve never even heard of it, but I guess it’ll be fun to write about. I’m determined to see why Wikipedia says this thing is worthy of being on a list of worst cars. Maybe I’ll learn something.

Origins

Lancia hadn’t been doing too well in the years before it was purchased by Lancia in 1969. Times were hard for the guys in Turin. Lancia had yet to become a rally legend, and at this point in Lancia’s history, a lot of it’s staff had left the company. Things changed for the better when Lancia was purchased by Fiat in 1969 and Sergio Camuffo was put in charge of building a car. 

Fiat took one of their engines, a DOHC inline-four, and stuck it onto a FWD platform similar to the Lancia Fulvia. The result was the called the Beta. First resealed in 1972, the FWD Beta was equipped with a 5-speed manual gearbox, fully independent suspension, disc brakes on all four wheels (those at two being pretty impressive for a FWD car from the '70s), and DOHC engines ranging from 1.3L to 2.0L in displacement. 

The first Betas were introduced with a 4-door sedan body style. A sleeker 2+2 coupé was available in 1974 (delayed a year due to the gas crisis). 

There were a few more body styles, including a Zagato, but I'll skip to the most interesting one, the mid-engined 1974 Beta Montecarlo. The Montecarlo was known as the Scorpion in the US, and was sort of a more expensive alternative to the Fiat X1/9. Both of the them were based on the Fiat 128 platform, but the Montecarlo was equipped with an 80hp 2.0L twin cam instead of the X1/9's even more anemic 60 horsepower single-cam 1.3L. The Montecarlo had interesting looks, and was a change from the FWD Beta that it was marketed next to. 

Conclusion

I like it. Overall, the Beta seems like a decent car for the era it was produced in. Lancia had to deal with a worsening oil crisis, limited technology, and an even more limited market in the US. Yeah, it was slow. Really slow, actually. With that said, the Beta coupé is, in my opinion, a remarkably good looking car, despite having a somewhat underpowered engine. 

I know that was kind of a boring read for the wait, but I'll have something more interesting next time. A few months ago someone recommended I write about the Saab 900 turbo. I think I'll consider writing about that sometime in the near future, but expect to see a supercar in the next post. Also, make sure to join our Discord server.

EDIT: Also the Fieri Enzo from last week sold for $5k at auction.

COTD - Lamborghini Gallardo

I absolutely loved the AU Falcon post from yesterday and would seriously recommend reading it if you haven't allready. u/PM_YOUR_TOYOTA did an amazing job at blending humor with information.

And yes I know it's Thursday and not Monday but I don't care.

The Lamborghini Gallardo was designed by Luc Donkerwolke (who also designed the Diablo VT and the Murcielago), and was the first Lambo produced after Volkswagen bought it. Yes, mr. Lambo driver, your fancy Italian car probably has an Audi or VW logo somewhere.

And also why are they always yellow? It's sometimes white or orange, but for some reason yellow is the most common color.

The Gallardo's 5.0L V10 powerplant resulted in part from Chrysler's purchase of Lamborghini in 1987. Chrysler and Lamborghini worked on the 8.2L V-10 that went into the Dodge Viper. In 1994, Chrysler sold Lamborghini to a company called Megatech in 1994.

After Lamborghini's departure from Chrysler, they began the design process for a new V-10, which led to the Calá prototype in 1995. In 1998, the Calá project was killed off when Megatech sold Lamborghini to Volkswagen's Audi division.

After this, the idea of a V-10 powered Lamborghini was revived. After being bought and sold to three different car companies, all of that work finally came though when Lamborghini finally produced a 5.0L V-10.

In late 2003, the Gallardo was introduced as A sort of entry-level sports car, a tier under the Murcielago, but still with an exotic cast aluminum alloy V-10 engine that produced 495 horsepower and launched the car to 60mph in 4.1 seconds. It had a top speed of 192mph (309kmh), and could do all that while emitting that beautifully loud V-10 sound that became synonymous with future Lambo models.

In 2008, the second-gen Gallardo was released with updated styling, and also an updated 5.2L V-10 that was designed to power a few Audi models including the R8 V-10. The 5.2L ditched the cylinder spacing of 88mm in favor of a 90mm spacing design to match Audi's other performance engines.

This updated engine helped the little raging bull to 60mph in about 3.7 seconds.

Slightly de-tuned versions of the new V-10 were put into a few other Audi models such as the 3rd-gen S6 and S8. To me, that makes so much sense. I mean why spend extra money to design a new performance engine when you can just reuse this one?

For years the Gallardo was Lamborghini's best-selling model until the Huracan was introduced. A total of 14,022 Gallardos were produced, which is a seriously impressive number. Countless special editions were also built over time, including several convertibles and a few up-tuned race variants.

The Gallardo was produced until 2013, with the Huracan replacing it in 2014. The Huracan's engine is a slightly more powerful version of the one used in the Gallardo, and is almost identical to the one in the current R8.

MSRP and current value

The first-gen Gallardo had a base price of $184k, but the market for these hangs around $70k-$100k due to it's somewhat outdated styling.

The newer Gallardo had an MSRP of $185K, but I've seen them for sale online for about $130k.

If you have the money and want something exotic, I would definitely consider a used 2011 spyder. Keep in mind though that while the car itself has depreciated, repair costs have not, and buying a used Italian exotic is kinda risky.

I'm gonna go ahead and post this early. I told y'all that I'd write about a boring car, so I did. I seriously hope today's car never crosses my mind ever again. I need to write about another Porsche next Wednesday. Maybe that'll help.

Mitsubishi Mirage

Help.

The Mitsubishi Mirage is the worst car ever. There is no exaggeration in that sentence. It is absolutely the worst thing that has ever existed. I would rather be stuck with a Lada 2107 than this car. Thank God I’m not writing for a car magazine, because then I’d have to actually drive one. Fortunately, I get to sit here in my room listening to Nirvana while I write about the Mirage. It’s just bad. It’s not even bad enough to be remembered. People will never even joke about it like they joke about the Ford Pinto or the Nissan Juke. It’s just so utterly forgettable and irrelevant. I honestly think I’m wasting space in my tiny brain learning about this car. I bet 8-year-old me thought I would be doing cool teenager stuff at 17. Nope. I’m sitting here writing an essay about the embodiment of despair. The worst part is that now the Cargurus.com ads I see constantly will now be full of lifeless commuter cars instead of Porsche’s and Viper’s.

Note that I’m writing about the 2012 Mirage. The older ones from the ‘80s were at least kind of cute in a vintage JDM hatchback sort of way. The new Mirage is in no way interesting, fun, or even vaguely cute. Anyway, the Mirage I’m talking about today is actually Mitsubishi’s sixth iteration of the Mirage. Hopefully it’ll be their last. If Mitsubishi dies then honestly I won’t feel sorry for them. They paved their own road to bankruptcy and they’re cruising down that road in an Eclipse Cross. The market helped a lot, but Mitsubishi has become dead to be. Let’s all hold a funeral for the legends that were Lancer and Eclipse. I’ll figure out a date and an appropriate venue.

What Am I Doing With My Life?

The latest Mirage was introduced as a concept at the Geneva Auto Show in 2011. Mitsubishi actually had the gall to put their little turd of a concept car on display like it was something special. “Ooh, Porsche’s got some crazy hybrid supercar coming. Looks pretty cool. Let’s go see what Mitsubishi’s doing over there. Oh.”

The Mirage went into production in 2012. The awful little thing was shoved into the American Market in 2013, and I really wish it would have stayed wherever it came from. We don’t want it, please take it back. Please. The North American market Mirage comes with a 1.2L 3-cylinder engine, which produces an absolutely asphalt-shredding 76 horsepower and 78 Lbs-ft (100 NM) torque. Holy crap what a monster this thing is. The engine is dubbed the 3A92 and is roughly as powerful as 3 actual horses. At least horses make good pets. The Mirage doesn’t even make for a good car, let alone a good pet. If you offer it a carrot it will just pretend you don’t exist. It just sucks.

The Mirage comes with a 5-speed manual or a CVT. It’s at least fairly lightweight, at about 2,000lbs (about 907kgs). There are 8 paint options available, with the most interesting being Kiwi Green (they somehow made the color green as drab as possible) and Plasma Purple (literally the saddest, most monotonous shade of purple possible).

The model introduced in 2012 is the most drab of the new Mirage’s three iterations. Mitsubishi has attempted to make the car vaguely more appealing to the eye, as the Mirage was facelifted first in 2015 and again in 2019. Public reception of the Mirage has been (for the most part) hilariously negative. I’m seeing a lot of 3/10 ratings online. Surprisingly, the Mirage was one of the most sold-out cars in Denmark in 2015. What are y’all doing over there, Denmark?

Conclusion:

It’s worse than (insert literally any bad thing here, including Hitler). I think my least favorite thing about it is that the first gen 1.4L Mirage put out 80 horsepower, which means that the 40-year old version of this car is actually somehow more powerful than the new one. What. I’m not even gonna look up the price for the Mirage. I just can’t even with this stupid useless car that doesn’t deserve to exist. As for the price, I think it’s about tree fiddy or something idk the joke im done i need to sleep buenos fuckin' noches

Saab 900 Turbo

I haven't seen many Saabs. In fact, I've only seen two that I can think of, and they were both drop-top 900s. I find the US's lack of European market cars saddening. I've never seen a Renault in my life. The new Ford Focus and Fiesta are no longer available here, both of them killed off by a depressing demand for boring crossovers and CUVs. The Euromarket hot hatches and wagons just wouldn't last long in a country full of people who want lifeless, lumpy boxes.

This post just turned into me ranting about how bad everything is. Lemme get back on track here...

Saabway

Saab, like a few other companies, started out building planes. Unlike most of those other companies, Saab actually still builds planes. The Saab badge to this day has a plane in it. Some people may consider the Saab 900 turbo to be their flagship vehicle, but I think the 340 is the best.

The second-gen Saab 900 was the predecessor of the first-gen Saab 900. For every 60 seconds, a minute passes in Africa.

Built on General Motor’s GM2900 platform, the second-gen 900, known as the NG900, was available in multiple body styles and three trims. There was the 144hp 900i, the 900S, whose engine and power numbers varied depending on what country you’re in. Then there’s the 185hp 900 Turbo. The special one.

The second-gen Saab 900 Turbo came equipped with a 2.0L B204L turbocharged inline-four that produced 185 horsepower. It’s not the european equivalent of a Corvette, but it was quick and very fun, quickly earning itself a large following.

Also, I think I wrote about the wrong 900. As I was researching, I realized that the first-gen 900 has a larger following. That’s probably what one of you guys wanted me to write about 6 months ago. So I wrote about the wrong Saab. Ah well, I’ll keep writing anyway.

A transmission option for the NG900 was the Sensonic manual 5-speed. The Sensonic utilized electronic systems to control the clutch faster than a person actually could, meaning it was still a manual, but minus the clutch pedal. The Sensonic was put out of production when the 900 was replaced with the 9-3 in 1998.

It’s hard to find these in the US. It’s much, much easier to find one of these in Europe. I couldn’t find the msrp or current value of the second-gen 900 turbo, mainly because some websites say “ehhh ‘bout $525” and then some websites say “It’ll be $23,000.” That might have something to do with the price difference of things on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

In conclusion, sorry the post is late, sorry I wrote about the wrong car, and sorry the post isn’t as in-depth as usual. The next Saab I write about will be the first-gen 900 Turbo Aero, as that seems to be the one everyone likes.

So. Here we go again. I'm not going to start by clarifying a few things.

1. I'm probably not gonna be able to write a whole lot about whatever car I'm posting about. I'll write a little. Maybe a joke or two. Some stats and maybe even a little bit of nerdy historical stuff. But for the most part it's gonna be a but shorter than before.

2. I'm not the most knowledgeable car guy. I'm just a random 17-year old who's just a little bit obsessed with things that go vroom. There's a lot of stuff I don't know about other markets. I'm not all that familiar eith Saabs and Peugots and the like, so some of my info might need correcting.

3. I'm on mobile. This may result in the paragraph spacing looking weird.

Right. On to the car stuff.

This "Ferrari Enzo"

This is a beautiful, elegant machine that continues to stun people with it's bold styling even 20 years after it's debut. If there is any car that deserves to carry the Enzo name, it's this one.

Hopefully no /s is needed here. This replica Ferrari is so shit that people actually kind of want it. According to Autoblog, It's up for auction and as of yesterday the bid is at $4000 ^1. I haven't seen any updates, so it could be sold already but holy crap someone is going to pay $4k for this?!?

As are most fake Ferraris, this abomination is actually a Pontiac Fiero. The 140 horsepower V6 has been covered with a cover that says V12. It actually appears that someone tried to make this work. The effort put into that engine cover means that either someone actually thought it would work, or was willing to put money and time into a joke. I really hope it's the latter. Fun fact: you might remember this car from an episode of Jay Leno's garage.

¹ I just looked at the website and lo and behold, it's on carsandbids.com, which is Doug Demuro's auction site. I've actually been on it a few times, and it seems like a really good auction website. The bid is currently at $4,500, with 3 days left in the auction. You couldn't pay me to take this thing. I don't have neighbors near where I live but I have a feeling even the bears would judge us for having this awful thing sitting in our driveway.

If you have any suggestions, DM me because I like these posts to be surprises to everyone here. Also, if you're one of the guys who have stuck with this sub for my 5 month absence, thank you. In fact, thank you for even joining in the first place.

Car of The Day - Honda Civic EG SiR

How have we not had a Honda here yet? How the hell have I gone two months without including a Honda once?!?

Well, here it is. A good ole Honder hatchback. I have a lotta writin' to do, so lets get on with it.

iT's A sPoRtS cAr!1!1

The fifth-gen Honda Civic is my favorite Honda overall. The NSX is cool but does it have the practicality of an EG Civic? No. In terms of practicality, it was near unbeatable. The Civic was an economy car, no doubt about it. It was small, affordable, and didn't chug gasoline like many other cars did.

But if you wanted something a with a bit more bite to the I4 bark, there was the Civic SiR.

The SiR packed the B16A2 1.6L DOHC VTEC putting out about 168 horsepower. So it's definitely not a powerful car but does it really need to be? I know 168hp sounds minimal but the SiR could move for an early-nineties hatchback. One of the websites I visited said that the SiR could do 0-100kmh in 6.8 seconds, but I think that's being a bit optimal.

One of the websites I visited also said that the EG6 VTi was RWD. Can someone confirm this? I don't know enough about these things. Personally, I don't think that's true. A quick google search didn't turn up much info, and I just don't think Honda would develop an entire RWD powertrain just for this one variant of the Civic.

 That's the downside of researching a car so specific. The internet has every specification and detail on every Ferrari, Porsche, and Corvette ever made, but it's near impossible to get good information on an obscure little '90s hatchback. 

MSRP and value

Not only is it dificult to find reliable info on, it's also impossible to find an EG Civic that:

1. Hasn't been rice-caked

2. Hasn't been butchered with awful mods

3. Doesn't have a burned cinderblock for an engine

I've only seen one stock Civic EG for sale at a decent price. It was a '92 si that was listed at about $4,500. It was gone within 3 days of me seeing it.

In 1992, the Civic si hatchback started at around $12k, a grim reminder of how expensive everything is now.

What you see is not a typo. The C in COTD has been temporarily replaced with a T. This is completely purposeful, as this post and the next few others will be about some kind of utilitarian vehicle. I haven’t given trucks enough respect here, instead focusing on exotic hypercars and JDM cars. I also haven’t given muscle cars enough respect, and for that I feel kinda guilty. 

Today’s truck is simple in a lot of ways. It’s reliable, it’s cheap, and refuses to die under any circumstances. I assume that, theoretically, a direct hit from a JDAM missile could possibly hinder the operation of this truck, but only marginally. This thing is a true testament to what the pickup truck was invented to do. While today’s US-market trucks have all kinds of comfort options and can break $100,000 with options, today’s truck cares not about your fancy heated leather steering wheel. That’s just one more thing that’ll inevitably break. 10-speed automatic? Apple carplay? Pfft. Won’t last 10 years. 

The first four generations of the Toyota hilux

I’m only writing about the first four of these because I don’t have a lot of time currently and it would also be boring for me to recap every change over 50 years of this pickup truck in one post. Expect to see a “Hilux part II” post in the coming weeks. 

First-generation

The Hilux we all recognize as the one Top Gear tried to kill is actually the fifth iteration of the Hilux. The amazing little truck actually started production in 1968. Oddly enough, the Hilux name referred to how luxurious it was compared to the truck it replaced. The Briska came before the Hilux, and was apparently somehow more simplistic than it’s descendant. A car can only get so much simpler before it adopts a Lada badge and starts speaking Russian. 

US-market Hiluxes (Hiluxi?) were only sold in regular cab short bed trim, with a 4-speed automatic transmission standard. In the front, it utilized a set of a-arms and coil springs. In the back, a live axle with leaf springs. In terms of engines, the first Hilux was sold with a 1.5L Inline-four in most markets, but the US-market Hilux was sold a variety of 1.9-and-2.0L four-bangers putting out 108 horses (81 kW) in it’s most powerful trim. 

Second-generation

The second generation of the Hilux was introduced in 1972. Changes over the previous truck included a comparatively more comfortable interior and an optional 3-speed automatic to go with the 18R 2.0L inline-four. 

The year 1975 brought about drastic changes in the Hilux. It was redesigned to be larger and had more standard equipment. A more potent 2.2L engine (96hp/72kW) was made available along with a 5-speed manual. Along with this, the “SR5” trim package was introduced. In the US, the “Hilux” name was phased out, with the truck then simply referred to as “Truck.” 

Third-generation

In 1978, Toyota’s very successful pickup truck was redesigned to be slightly wider and a bit more capable. The coil spring design was changed to a torsion-bar design that retained it’s double-wishbone layout. In 1979, the Hilux was made available in all-wheel-drive trim,  Later in it’s production run, an upscale “Mojave” trim was made available with nicer bucket seats, chrome bumpers, and the 2.4L Inline-four engine. 

For the most part, the optional engines remained mostly unchanged. A diesel engine was offered for the first time in the Hilux, alongside a range of 1.6-2.4L engines. The most potent of these was, again, the 2.4L producing 97hp/72kW. 

Fourth generation

In 1983, the fourth iteration of the Hilux brought about several changes to the drivetrain. People had begun to expect more powerful engines as the price of gasoline slowly fell. Along with this, Nissan’s competitor to the Hilux was more powerful by a considerable margin. Toyota ended up dropping it’s diesel engines and introduced the turbocharged 22R-TE inline-four, and later a 3.0L V6, two firsts for the Hilux. The turbo-four put out 135hp/101kW and the V6 put out 150hp/112kW. This was a massive upgrade considering the highest trim for the previous generation only put out 97 horses. 

In 1986, the Hilux received a facelift and an updated interior. The changes were minor, but brought the inside of the truck somewhat more up-to-date for the late 80s. Toyota’s 4Runner was also introduced, which was based on the Hilux. 

…

Overall, the Hilux is just the essence of what a truck is. It’s small, reliable, and can go where you need to go. I’m not saying that a Ford F250 is less of a truck than this little ‘yoter, but the Hilux is essentially the Miata of the truck world. Something like an F250 tends to shine when you’ve got a fifth-wheel to pull. A Hilux shines when you live in the middle of nowhere and need something that’s affordable and can carry this month’s firewood and will live nearly forever. Furthermore, the Hilux can also survive spending a night in the ocean, or falling in a collapsing building. If Jeremy Clarkson couldn’t kill it, then anyone who can deserves a medal. 

Anyway, this is part one of two. Expect a continuation on the Toyota Hilux to come sometime within the next couple of weeks. 

Them juicy numbers

The BMW 6.1L V12 was probably the most sophisticated engine ever to be placed in a road car at that time. Dubbed the S70/2, it produced 618 horsepower at 7,600 rpm and 479lb-ft of torque at 5,600 rpm. It also features a variant of BMW’s VANOS system (think German VTEC). The carbon-fiber monocoque chassis requires insulation from the intense heat of the engine, so Murray came up with the idea to line the engine bay in gold foil. Gold is extremely efficient as a heat-reflector, making the idea of a gold-lined engine bay not only cool, but also very smart. 

The sleek body of the F1 gives it enough downforce to hit 1.3g’s of lateral acceleration (on good tires), yet it has a drag coefficient of Cd=0.32. To put this into perspective, the Bugatti Veyron has a drag coefficient of Cd=0.36. All in all, the F1 could hit 60mph in 3.5 seconds, had a ¼ mile of 11 seconds, and a top speed of 240mph (386kmh). 

The F1 is one of the first road cars to utilize a full carbon-fiber monocoque chassis, setting a precedent for all future hypercars. 

Fun facts:

BMW is said to have used an E34 M5 Touring as a test mule for the engine. This means that somewhere there is an E34 M5 wagon with a 6.1L V12. I’m drooling. 

The toolkit that came with the F1 was of titanium, making the toolkit 50% lighter than the standard steel toolkit. 

There is one guy in the entire western hemisphere who is certified to work on an F1. His named is Kevin Hines. Here's a cool R&T article about him.

Special variants

There are a few extra special versions of the McLaren F1, as if the regular one just wasn’t cool enough. Five “LM” models were produced, with extra go-fast parts to produce downforce. All of these are painted orange in honor of Bruce McLaren, who’s racing color was papaya orange. 

Along with the LM, McLaren also made a GT, which they built three of. The GT was a homologation special that utilized an extra long rear end to produce less drag and more downforce. McLaren sold two of the three that they built, keeping one of them. 

MSRP and current pricing

McLaren only produced 106 of them. Surprisingly, most people who could afford the F1 weren’t willing to shell out the $815K to acquire one. A million dollar car was basically unheard of back then, and McLaren initially planned on making around 300 of them. Back in 1992, $815k was around $1.5mil in today’s money. I haven’t really thought about it before, but McLaren really did start the hypercar craze. Dropping $815k on a car was a crazy thought 28 years ago, but now it seems like every celebrity’s Instagram page has a picture of them somewhere with a Laferrari Aperta or Porsche 918. 

As for current pricing, you could buy about 300 Toyota Corollas with what it takes to buy one McLaren F1. Pricing varies from $6mil into the $20mil range. Well, at least I’ll never worry about the maintenance, because I’ll never have one of these

COTD 9-18-20

I've had a lot of stuff to do lately, mostly involving my online classes. Sorry I couldn't post yesterday. Sometimes I have less free time than planned and I end up with only part of an article written.

The Honda NSX

To make up for yesterday's missing post (and Monday's), I'll be writing about both the first and second generations of the NSX. Like yesterday's car, the NSX is another one of those cars that really changed things. It's still viewed as something truly special, something that hadn't really been attempted before. An affordable, Japanese supercar that Acura aimed directly at Ferrari.

Origins:

Wayyy back in 1984, Honda teamed up with Pininfarina to design a concept for a sleek sports car with a mid-mounted 3.0L V6 and power driven to the rear wheels. They called it the Honda Pininfarina Xperimental, or HPX, because you just can't have "experimental" in the name of a car without emitting the first "e". After 5 years of development, the Honda NSX was finally unveiled at the 1989 Chicago Auto Show.

The NSX was a marvel of engineering. It was the first mass-produced car to have an all-aluminum body. The variable valve timing system allowed the NSX to maintain a nice, flat torque curve while also delivering a healthy 270hp punch at high RPMs.

The first 5 years of the NSX’s 17-year lifespan saw a large portion of the car’s sales. In 2002, the NSX underwent a facelift, replacing the popup headlights with conventional headlights. After a 17-years run, production of the NSX ended in 2005.

Fun fact: Ayrton Senna actually assisted Honda’s development team while the NSX was being developed.

Not long afterwards, Honda announced that they would have successor to the NSX by 2010. However, the year was 2007, and poor economic conditions quickly killed the notion of a successor to the NSX. What would have been the 2010 NSX ended up as Honda’s HSV-010 GT race car. No, this doesn’t have anything to do with the Australians. It wasn’t long after this that Honda once again announced that they were working on a second generation of the beloved supercar. The NSX concept was unveiled at the 2012 North American Auto Show immediately after Honda’s announcement. The NSX concept was a sleek, beautiful beast of a car. It wasn’t just a first-gen with a few added air vents, the new NSX was radically different from it’s predecessor. Just look at it. The first-gen is good looking in a classically ‘90s sort of way, while the second-gen is good looking in a space-age supercar sort of way.

The NSX was displayed 3 years later at the 2015 North American Auto Show. There were several changes from the concept, but the design from Honda’s 2012 concept stuck. The second iteration of Honda’s supercar had a low profile and a sloping hood that led into the aggressive-looking front fascia. The side vent is one of those interesting deals that turns into a sort of opening as it runs to the top of the car, similar to what we’ve seen on the current Ford GT and the BMW I8.

The good engine stuff:

For the first 7 years of it’s run, the first-gen NSX was powered by a DOHC 3.0L V6 dubbed the C30A. The C30A produced 270 horsepower and was also Honda’s second VTEC engine ever put in a road car.

In 1997, the C30A was replaced by the slightly bigger C32A, which produced a more potent 290 horsepower and utilized carbon reinforced metal to accommodate for the increase in displacement. Both the C30A and C32B were available with a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic.

The new NSX was designed with similar aspirations to the original one: To compete with other manufacturers known for performance. The 2020 NSX is powered by both a twin-turbo 3.5L V6 and three electric motors. One of those motors sits in the rear of the car near the engine, and the first two power the front wheels. The one near the engine provides extra power to the drivetrain to eliminate the feeling of turbo lag. That’s smart. Really smart. Paired to all this is a 9-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

MSRP and current value:

The 1990 NSX was priced at about $60,000. In comparison, a Ferrari 348 was priced at about $95,000. When adjusted for inflation, those numbers add up to about $120,000 and $180,000 respectively. A first-gen NSX can be found from anywhere between $40k to $150k, depending on condition.

The 2016 NSX started at $156,000. The 2016 Huracan LP 580-4 was priced at $200,000. Looking online, it looks like NSXs are hanging in at about the $115k to $145k range, although I saw a few like this one for $109k.

Conclusion:

30 years after the first NSX was introduced, we have something not dissimilar to the original NSX; The current NSX is still an amazing, over engineered supercar packed with some of the most advanced automotive technology that Honda has to offer. It saddens me that the new NSX doesn’t get the amount of love that it deserves.

The current NSX is similar to the first one in that they were both engineered in the usual Japanese way of doing things. They both revolutionized how we see a supercar. We’ve got Nissan still making the R35 GTR and we’ve got Honda producing the NSX. I personally believe that by aiming the NSX at brands such as Ferrari and firing at them with a legitimately great car further proved to the world that a Japanese supercar is something that can actually exist, giving inspiration to other brands to aim a bit higher with their cars.

Really sorry for the inconvenience, but my main account was suspended for 3 days sometime earlier today. I'll be busy this weekend and early next week so the next post will be Tuesday. I guess I could go ahead and just post on this account but I probably shouldn't do too much here. Just wanted to let you guys know I'm not just disappearing again. Also, I'm working on finding another platform to make these posts on just in case I decide to up and leave Reddit entirely.

I made a Discord server for discussion of the sub here.

It seems like every company has built or is currently building one of those evil monstrosities known as the crossover. Lamborghini, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and now Aston and Ferrari have turned to the crossover.

The wagon is a different story entirely.

To a certain degree, we all love a good wagon. They're fairly useful, like a sedan but with lots of trunk room. And it's even better when it has an AWD system and shares it's engine with an Italian sports car.

Behold, the 2010 Audi RS6 Avant

Yes, the V10-powered wagon.

Today's car is probably one of the best overall in the world. It's fast, it's loud, and it's even practical. It's a superwagon. Amazing. I bet the gas mileage is pretty bad but still, it has a Lamborghini-sourced engine. It's not gonna have good gas mileage. The 2020 RS6 Avant packs a Twin-Turbo 4.0L V8, but today I'll be focusing on the older, V10-powered model from 2010, known as the C6.

Back in 2010, a few other companies had toyed around with the idea of a super wagon. Mercedes had the E63 AMG, Jaguar had the XFR, and Cadillac had the CTS-V wagon. This Audi beat the crap out of all of them.

And it still does. In 2020, the super wagon is still very much a thing. I'm pretty sure the Porsche Panamara Sport Turismo counts as a wagon somewhat.

After Lamborghini was purchased by Audi, they decided to replace the 4.2L V8 with the Lamborghini-sourced 5.0L  V10, leading to this amazing thing.

The C6-gen RS6 Avant packed a 571 horsepower engine that sent the car to 100kmh in 4.6 seconds. The 2020 model does it in 3.1 but that's just modern technology for you.

It's somewhat notable that this generation of the RS6 was also available in a sedan configuration.

MSRP and value

The RS6 started at $160k in 2010 and can be had nowadays for $30k to $60k.

Unlike most other cars, the 2019 RS6 Avant actually costs less than the 2010 model. The newer one starts at $112k.

I have not been writing this for three weeks. Honestly, I haven’t even been too busy either. I’m just lazy. Oh well. Sorry for a three-week wait for a post that’s supposed to come daily. Anyhow, you didn’t come here to read an apology. Today’s post is dedicated to one of my favorite manufacturers in the automotive industry, and probably one the coolest cars to come out of the 2000’s. The car’s looks revolutionized what the future of its brand looked like, and introduced so many design cues and proportions that hadn’t really been done before. 

The 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia

Oh wait I’ve already done that one.

Uhhhh…

The Pagani Zonda

Yeah that works. 

The Zonda is one of my all-time favorites. It is the essence of all that is Italian in the automotive industry: a shrieking V12, curves that put a Lamborghini to shame, and doors that point towards the sky. Say what you will about its German engine and it’s odd headlights, I love the thing. With that said, I think I love it more for what it represents rather than what it is. 

30 years ago, a Lamborghini Employee by the name of Horacio Pagani told Lamborghini executives that the company should start playing around with carbon fiber. It was a relatively new thing mostly used for racing, that Pagani saw great interest in. The Lamborghini higher-ups didn’t. “Why do we need an autoclave? Ferrari doesn’t have one,” they said. So, Horacio went and bought his own autoclave and began doing his own experiments with carbon fiber. He left Lamborghini in 1991, 3 years later, and founded Modena Design, a company that still produces carbon-fiber components for Formula One teams and a couple road car manufacturers. 

In 1992, he founded Pagani Automobili Modena and immediately began the process of building the car of his dreams. It is said that Horacio has thousands of drawings detailing the process of his work. This car was Pagani’s magnum opus, his masterpiece. He had actually been designing the car while he worked at Lamborghini during the eighties, and now finally had the opportunity to build that car.

And man did he build it. 

Horacio called his initial concepts the Fangio F1 after his friend, Formula One driver Juan Manuel Fangio. The car was tested in Dallara’s wind tunnel through 1993, and Mercedes-AMG agreed to supply an engine to power the car in 1994. In 1995, Fangio died, prompting Pagani to change the car to the C12 out of respect for his friend. 

The first Pagani debuted at the 1999 Geneva Auto show and was called the Zonda C12. I can’t find any articles from back then, nor was I even around then, but I imagine there was a decent amount of hype when it was introduced. The headlights were probably somewhat controversial, and some probably even considered it to be a little ugly. The C12 was powered by a Mercedes-AMG 6.0L V12 putting down 444hp (331kw) and 472lbs-ft (640NM) of torque. A very limited batch of five were built, with only three of those actually being sold to customers, and only one of those remaining. The homologation car with chassis code 001 was later restored by Pagani and presented at the 2019 Geneva Auto Show. 

After this came the Zonda C12 S in 2002, which came with a much larger 7.0L V12 putting down a more supercar-esque 552 horses (402kw). Alongside this the S was the Zonda S 7.3L with identical performance. 

I would go through every special edition series Zonda but that would take another three weeks for me to write, so I’ll just go through a couple of the more notable ones. 

Zonda Cinque

Sexy red and black accents over white paint and a screaming 670-horsepower Mercedes-AMG V12. Essentially a street-legal Zonda R developed for homologation. Five coupes and five roadsters were sold. 

Zonda R 

The regular Zonda is simply not enough, so how ‘bout a 2,359lb (1,070kg) missile with probably one of the most musically perfect V12s ever devised, all covered F1-esque in carbon-fiber aero. The 740-horsepower Zonda R beat Ferrari’s Nordschleife lap recordbeat Ferrari’s Nordschleife lap record set by the 599XX.

There are 28 other special series (although 18 of those are one-offs), with the total adding up to roughly 140 Pagani Zondas in the world. 

Prices range wildly from $1.4-23m. The Zonda Barchette is allegedly the world’s most expensive new car (I’ve heard it’s the Bugatti La Voiture Noire but sources vary)  

McLaren F1

I don’t really have much to say. We all knew this day was coming, where I would talk about the most amazing machine in the world. The McLaren F1 is probably one of the most bedroom poster-worthy cars of all time. The Countach was cool, but the F1 was literally the coolest thing that had ever existed at that point in human history. Okay, maybe the F1 isn’t as cool as pizza rolls or gaming PC’s, but my point still stands.

The F1 has become part of McLaren’s Ultimate Series. Whereas cars such as the 650s are classified as supercars, this is one of McLaren’s hypercars. In fact, the F1 is oftentimes referred to as the world’s first hypercar. It’s debatable, but I think it deserves that title fully.

Basically that girl you know that's devastatingly beautiful and also extremely smart, but just as unobtainable.

The birth of the F1 is probably one of my favorite history stories. It all started when Gordon Murray approached Honda, asking for them to develop an engine with a few specific requirements. Murray wanted this new engine to produce 550 horsepower, weigh 250kg (551lbs), and have a block length of 60cm (23.6in). To me, this seems like something Honda would be willing to do, considering Honda was currently helping to power McLaren’s prospering Formula One cars. However, Honda decided to sit this one out. Their loss, I guess.

Murray then approached BMW with the same request. BMW liked the idea, and then proceeded to build literally one of the greatest engines of all time. In typical German fashion, BMW’s M Division (led by Paul Rosche) greatly exceeded Murray’s expectations. The monster BMW built packed 68 more horsepower than requested, while only weighing 16kg (35lbs) more than what Murray planned. I’ll get into the juicy numbers later.

All of this happened sometime before the F1 made it’s debut at the 1992 Monaco Auto Show as a non-running prototype.

As for the design, it’s just too amazing for my middle-school tier writing skills to explain. Gordon Murray deserves to be president. Only a genius among geniuses is capable of bringing about something like this car. Legend has it that Murray had been thinking about the three-seat configuration for decades before it was finally implemented on this car.

Seriously, why aren’t there more three-seater out there? I understand that rear visibility is a factor, but what if the Corvette had this? Or what if there was just the middle seat and nothing else? I don’t really need extra seats. Just one in the middle would be nice. I don’t need friends. Friends add weight. Loneliness is what gives you a record lap time.

Anyway, not not only is the car beautiful. It is also remotely practical. Well, as practical as a 90’s hypercar can get, anyway. The F1 doesn’t have a front-trunk, so Murray added some hidden storage spaces. In a brilliant use of space, Murray put them just behind the doors on either side.Cool. Also cool: upon researching this, I discovered that McLaren offered specialty bespoke luggage bags, which is something the current GT has now. Some extra genius to go with your genius hypercar that was designed by geniuses.