Section: Small-Volume/Coachbuilt
Written By: Seyth Miersma
May 12th, 2008 5:00 PM
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With prices for a gallon of gas seemingly hitting new highs everyday this three-wheeled Westward Go-4 on eBay Motors may be more marketable than ever, but will likely still require an owner with a healthy sense of self confidence to drive it.
Built for urban police forces or security guards in large parking lots, we really admire the go-it-alone spirit of the current iconoclastic owner who uses the Go-4 as a daily driver. The three-wheeler is powered by a decently sturdy 1.3-liter Ford Festiva engine, and isn’t likely to be too dangerous a ride unless one needs to spend major time on the freeway. It also has the advantage of being registered as a motorcycle and getting cheap rates on insurance because of it. Throw in the heater and seat belts, and the package starts to sound downright luxurious. Remember to do something about those NASCAR stickers though.
+ eBay Motors: 1994 Other Makes Westward GO-4 Police
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
May 1st, 2008 10:20 AM
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Former leading mind at Britain’s TVR, engine designer Al Melling, is planning to release a back-to-basics sports car this year that sounds like it would be right up our alley.
Focusing on simplicity and light weight, the Markham 450 is a rear-driven two-seat roadster, powered by a Chevy-sourced 5.7-liter V-8, and built around a steel spaceframe chassis. The big Chevy motor will be tuned to produce around 450 horsepower (hence the name), and should offer old-school thrills in a sexy convertible package.
Melling wants the 450 to be a relatively accessible package and one that’s easy for future owners to modify as they see fit. Autocar reports in the April 16 issue of its print magazine that the car will have a target price of around 40,000 pounds and could be on sale by the end of 2008.
+ Autocar
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Written By: Winding Road Staff
April 30th, 2008 10:00 AM
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After floundering for a time with noble attempts that didn’t quite cut it, Zagato presents the Bentley GTZ, and nails the whole concept. We spend a day learning the art.
Continue –>
Written By: Seyth Miersma
April 22nd, 2008 5:00 PM
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Rare, historic, and potentially quite valuable, this 1965 Zagato-bodied Lancia Flavia is nonetheless pretty pig-ugly.
Carozzeria Zagato penned the lines for this Flavia Sport re-body and it isn’t one of the legendary design house’s better efforts. The car’s bizarre roof may offer the rear passengers a view of a bit more sky, but also serves to accentuate the strange humpback profile. Similarly strange is the Flavia’s grille which is neatly folded three-quarters of the way up, giving the car a long and flat nose.
There’s no doubting the rarity of the car though and we were a bit shocked to learn that as many as 626 examples were built and sold from 1963 to 1967. That small sample may, as the seller suggest, lead to the Flavia being a good investment over time, but it hasn’t helped spark bidder’s interest as yet, as there are currently zero offers on the table at eBay Motors.
+ eBay Motors: 1965 Other Makes ZAGATO
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
April 18th, 2008 5:00 PM
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While the seller of this cool little Cimbria SS makes it emphatically clear that the car is not of the “kit” variety, it does seem to have one of the more diverse component lists we’ve seen.
The fiberglass body shell of the car was built by Cimbria in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but the SS is built up on Volkswagen Beetle underpinnings. It uses air shocks sourced from a Corvette, seats from Porsche (we’re not sure which one), and a steering wheel and column from a Trans-Am. Getting the Johnny Cash vibe yet? The Cimbria’s engine is a V-4 that was built by Ford for Saab, and its four-speed manual is of unspecified origin (Saab might be a good guess here too). There’s also apparently a Lamborghini windshield by safety glass specialists Shat-R-Proof, which is just a really great name.
Have a look at the nifty, if mongrelized car in our gallery below. And remember, this is no kit.
+ eBay Motors: 1980 Other Makes
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
April 16th, 2008 5:00 PM
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Built for the Vanderbilt Cup Race around the turn of the century (well, the second to last one) this 1904 Thomas Model 27 Racer represented the pinnacle of motorsport at the time.
Offering its intrepid driver a hairy-chested 60 horsepower through the efforts of a simply massive 12.3-liter straight-six, the Thomas must have provided mighty proof of man’s ascendance from the days of the horse and buggy. The screaming yellow paint job probably wasn’t nearly as impressive to race goers as the sound that the brass-age motor must make, but we’re happy to see that some aspects of motoring (in this case the fact that lairy sports cars often demand brilliant paint) are completely timeless.
+ eBay Motors: 1904 Other Makes
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
April 13th, 2008 2:00 PM
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Caterham has released the glorious and mind-boggling details with regards to its new R500.
Weighing only 1,115 pounds and offering a 263 horsepower 2.0-liter Ford Duratec, the R500 boasts a world-class power to weight ration of 520 horsepower per ton. That startling ratio will allow the car to jolt from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.88 seconds, or just shorter than the time it takes to have a heart attack from pure joy.
The hard core Caterham isn’t without its niceties though, it’s equipped with an all-electric dash, keyless ignition, and an optional six-speed sequential gearbox.
(Click on the thumbnails to look at a gallery of R500 images or through the jump to read the official press release.)
+ Jalopnik: Caterham R500 Does the 0-60 Run in 2.88 Seconds
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
April 11th, 2008 10:00 AM
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Watchmaker Edox has teamed with the super car minds at Koenigsegg to create a pair of limited edition watches that seem brilliantly engineered for no particular reason.
While the Koenigsegg timepiece features such decadent offerings as a carbon fiber face, and a curved, anti-reflective, scratch resistant sapphire crystal, the truly memorable parts of the watch are its “doors.” Said to represent the car’s doors, both sides of the Koenigsegg watch’s bezel lift up to reveal the knobs and buttons that are usually out in the open for all to see.
While Edox may have done a beautiful job fashioning the wrist watch, we hardly think the trick doors justify the price tag. With only thirty examples being produced for this extremely small run, Edox is asking 30,000 euros per. You know what time it is.
+ Edox
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
April 10th, 2008 2:00 PM
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Ultra-light sports car builder Caterham has released this teaser image to prep the track day set for the release of its newest maniac model.
Set to follow in the tire marks of the stripped down R400, the Superlight R500 is said to boast Ford power from a four-cylinder of either 2.0- or 2.3-liters that can thrust the car from 0 to 60 in under 3.4 seconds, and hits the wall (figuratively we hope) at 150 mph. The R500 should weight a little over 1,000 pounds, with extensive use made of carbon fiber components.
UK sales of the new track day terror are set to begin later in this year, with a price tag of about £40,000.
(Check out the equally crazy Caterham RST-V8 in the gallery below.)
+ Autoblog: Don’t tease: Caterham Superlight R500
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
April 7th, 2008 5:00 PM
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Allegedly built for the mobile elderly or the painfully frugal (both?) this 1948 Autoette electric car was green before being green was cool…way before.
Autoette actually started building its EV’s in 1948, carrying right on through the 1960s before shutting its doors. At one point the company offered as many as three models; an electric truck, “golf car,” and this beauty, the “Cruise About.” The car ran on a 24-volt Dodge starter motor rated at about 1.5 horsepower, and drew energy initially from specially made batteries.
This particular example is in decent condition considering the vintage, though is said to have a hole in its removable top due to some long-past shenanigans (we’re told a cat almost lost its life). It would surely make a fun and interesting curio for any EV fan, or as the seller suggests a great runabout for sprawling car shows.
+ eBay Motors: 1948 Autoette ‘Cruise About’
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
April 4th, 2008 12:00 PM
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Boutique German carmaker Wiesmann has plans to introduce two more powerful versions of its idiosyncratic Roadster.
The current Wiesmann Roadster is badged the MF3, and is powered by the same 3.2-liter six that powered the last generation BMW M3. Not content with that engine’s hearty output, Wiesmann is set to add MF4 and MF5 Roadsters to the mix, powered by BMW-sourced 4.8-liter V-8s, and 5.0-liter V-10s respectively. Both cars are slated to debut at next year’s Geneva Motor Show.
More fun for the European customers rich and brave enough to pilot the screaming convertibles, but no help to longing U.S. drivers as Wiesmann still has no plans to import any of its products here.
(Check out the Wiesmann MF5 in our gallery below.)
+ Autoblog: Wiesmann set to introduce MF4 and MF5 Roadsters in Geneva next year
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
April 1st, 2008 1:00 PM
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Arguably Japan’s strangest super car, the Mitsuoka Orochi, seems ready to spread its snake-like weirdness to the wide world. The reported left-hand-drive version of the car is said to be nearing completion, and company officials are short-listing a number of markets to receive the NSX-based car.
Qatar will be one of the first non-Japanese locals to see an Orochi on the roads. It was apparently an auto enthusiast from that country who first approached Mitsuoka about a possible LHD version. Not surprisingly two other wealthy country from the Middle East, The United Arab Emirates and Jordan, are also targets for Orochi sales, as well as Thailand. It seems the U.S. is out of the running for this one, pity.
Inflamed American Orochi enthusiasts are encouraged to sooth their wounds with our Mitsuoka gallery below.
+ Motor Authority: Mitsuoka planning to export LHD Orochi supercar
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Next >
Diesel with Attitude: The Audi A3 TDI Clubsport Quattro
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More Spied Images of New Camaro Interior
Early Scoop on Volkswagen Tiguan's U.S. Launch, Diesel Delayed? Not Coming? 
Report: Mercedes-Benz to Leverage Aluminum for Next E-class
