11/09/2010. This car is not a new model but it is a rare model a limited edition of just 500 and certainly the most beautiful car to emerge from the Alfa stable in recent years. We were fortunate to stumble upon this model in the showroom of Romans in Surrey. Without doubt it is in our top ten of desirable cars. Continue reading
Here at Beastie Towers we have loved Superchargers ever since we had a MINI Cooper S JCW – The CheckBeast, so the press release from Lotus announcing a new Evora S is exciting news! Continue reading
A fine example of a stealth car from the late 1980s!
Type:4-S
SOHC
2 valves per cylinder
Main bearings:5
Bore x stroke:81.00 mm. × 86.40 mm.
Bore / stroke ratio:0.93
Displacement:1781 cc108.68 cu in
Compression:8
Fuel system: Digifant fuel inj.
Aspiration:S/Charged
Max. output:162.2 PS (160 bph) (119.3 kW) @ 5600 rpm
Max. torque:225 Nm (165.9 lbft) (22.9 kgm) @ 4000 rpm
Coolant:Water
Specific torque:N/A
0-60mph:8.3 s
Top speed:216 kph
This is a BMW 318iS E36 registered August 1994. It is my Mum and her husband’s car which they have had from new. 16 years on and it is still a very striking car. In its day the Boston green metallic paint was the latest must have colour which was very bold and unusual for a BMW because it wasn’t a variation on grey or silver. Similarly the 3 spoke Antera alloys were also the biggest thing in alloy wheels at the time. This car rides and handles as well today as the day it left the showrooms 16 years ago and remains a wonderful driver’s car.
The E36 3 series was introduced at the end of 1990. It was available initially as a 4 door sedan. There were four models available: 316i, 318i, 320i, and 325i. In 1992 the new coupe was introduced and this was available as a 318is, 320i and 325i. The 318is had the same 16 valve engine as the E30 318is but now had 140 HP. Production of the coupe continued until 1999.
This Disco was seen in Great Malvern and is one of the first 3 door Discoveries. One Life. Live it. Enough said!
The Land Rover Discovery is a mid-size luxury SUV, with off-road capabilities, from the British car maker Land Rover; now a division of Tata Motors. There have been four generations of the vehicle, which was first introduced in 1989. The current ‘Discovery 4 is marketed in North America as the LR4. Continue reading
This is a neighbour’s MGF, a recent purchase they have made for half the price of a JCW upgrade on our Clubman.. It needs a bit of work but nothing excessive and that in any case is the fun of it – a smashing little project for any budding petrolhead. So here is a bit of information about the car, courtesy of The MG Owners Club. Continue reading
Morgan Aero Supersports.
This is the Morgan Aero Supersports. It comes in Morgan’s centenary year, and celebrates in typically striking style.
It is essentially a more open version of the Aeromax coupe, sharing its 4.8-litre V8. The 362bhp, 370lb ft unit is sourced from BMW. The engine’s made of aluminium, much like the car’s body panels, detachable roof panels and chassis. The result is a kerb weight of around 1100kg; impressively low on what’s a pretty luxurious V8 coupe.
Those roof panels are the key to setting the Supersports apart from the Aeromax. They switch the car from coupe to roadster in a more traditional manner than most rivals’ folding metal roof electrickery.
The Aero Supersports is available with six-speed manual and automatic transmissions, with Morgan bigging up the auto – ‘no other automatic car offers such dynamic power transmission’ – as not just being a soft option.
Charles Morgan, Grandson of the company’s founder, said ‘the Morgan Aero Supersports is a luxurious flamboyant sports car which also remains true to Morgan’s philosophy of lightweight minimalist simplicity. It is a celebration of our love of cars and the romance of travel and is a fitting model to announce during Morgan’s centenary year.’
27/06/2010. We saw this Audi R8 Spyder at The Goodwood Breakfast Club – Soft Top Sunday. The car has been universally acclaimed for its looks, build quality and performance and for confirmation of such look no further than the Pistonheads review. www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=118&i=21644
Yet for us the cab forward and long long behind doesn’t quite work. For us it looks a bit gauche and unbalanced. Quite simply, it is our car of the week precisely because it is beauty in the eye of seemingly every beholder – except us!
18/06/2010. The BMW 507 made its debut at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in the summer of 1955 and production began in November 1956. Despite attracting celebrity buyers including Hans Stuck and Georg “Schorsch” Meier, the car never once reached more than 10% of the sales volumes achieved by its Stuttgart rival, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL. By 1959 only 252 had been built.
Intended to revive BMW’s sporting image, the 507 instead took BMW to the edge of bankruptcy — the company’s losses for 1959 were DM 15 million. The company lost money on each 507 built, and production was terminated in late 1959. Only 252 were built, plus two prototypes.
The BMW 507 remains a milestone model for its attractive styling, which attracted some famous buyers. American icon Elvis Presley was the most noteworthy purchaser. The one pictured here is one Elvis leased while on duty with the US Army in Germany he paid $ 3750 a fortune at the time to lease the car while on duty in Germany.
Of the 254 produced, 202 507s are known to survive, a tribute to the car’s appeal. Bernie Ecclestone’s 507 fetched £430,238 ($904,000) at an auction in London in October 2007. By 2009 the prices for 507s had reached €900,000!
The styling of the 507 later influenced the Z3, Z4, and Z8.
Groovy word of the day: milestone
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