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Surprise Under the Hood – 1974 MG Midget
This car is, well, something else. At first glance, nothing other than some ugly aftermarket wheels would suggest that this is anything but a humble old MG Midget, that cheap pocket sports car that's almost impossible not to like. Lift up the one piece front end of the bodywork, though, and there's a surprise. Gone is the famous old BMC A-Series motor, and in its place is one stamped with another familiar name: Nissan. Fitting old European cars with more reliable Japanese engines is not a new idea. … [Read More...]
Lightweight Great – 1961 Porsche 356B Super 90 GT
The 356 had already been around for a decade when Porsche introduced the 356B, a move that Jesse Alexander called "a rather drastic face lift that will come as a shock to Porsche owners all over the world." There were a lot of little detail changes, the most visible of which were the raised headlights and bumpers. Performance again was another gradual improvement, as is the Porsche way, but there was still a demand for a Porsche road car with more oomph. This came in the form of the Super 90, a new 1600 engine introduced in 1960 to replace the Carrera de Luxe. With high compression, better cooling, and lots of clever use of aluminum, the engine made about 90 horsepower and was widely … [Read More...]
Open Top Treasure – 1979 Lancia Beta Zagato Spider
In the story of Lancia's long and celebrated past, the Beta has unfortunately not been one of the happier chapters. Especially in the UK, rust problems on the early examples led to all sorts of customer relations problems, and as the press attached themselves to the story and blew it into a scandal, the legendary Italian carmaker's reputation was in the dumps. The Beta was also the first model introduced by Lancia after they were bought by Fiat in 1969, so it had plenty of Fiat parts to go around. This fact, along with the notorious rust issues and front-wheel-drive, meant that nobody was exactly jumping for joy over the Beta, but the car was still widely praised for being a fun driver. … [Read More...]
Boxy Bargain – 1971 Datsun 510
Like its stablemate the 240Z, the Datsun 510 just made sense. It had sensible but pleasing styling, and reliable but sporty mechanicals. With a solid motor, good weight distribution, and fully independent suspension, it was a good performer and a practical, daily-drivable sedan all in one affordable package. Of course, it wasn't long after the 510's introduction in the late 1960s before people started to wonder how it would fare as a racing car. They soon found out that the answer was quite well, with the 510s campaigned by Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) doing splendidly in Trans Am and other teams racking up wins in SCCA's B-Sedan class as well as on the harsh rally circuits on the other … [Read More...]
Tempting Turbo – 1991 Renault Alpine GTA
Renault took over small specialist manufacturer Alpine in the late 1970s, but it wasn't until 1986 that Alpine introduced their first new road car under Renault ownership, the GTA. An updated version of the A310, it had a rear-mounted PRV V-6, steel backbone chassis, and four seats. It was also light, with heavy use fiberglass and polyester in the bodywork, which came together in a very aerodynamic and striking if not exactly elegant shape. The GTA may have been similar in layout to the Porsche 911, but it was more closely matched in price and performance to the Porsche 944, and although received a lot of praise, it was vastly outsold by its German rival. … [Read More...]
Some Assembly Required – 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SS
Even a run-down Alfa Romeo Sprint Speciale is a beautiful thing to behold. The impossibly curvy lines of that Bertone coachwork are the stuff of dreams, and it makes you wonder why it took so long for these to become highly valuable collector cars. But getting valuable is exactly what these little gems have done, with good examples reaching well into six figure territory. The only bargain examples left are therefore the rough kind, which brings us to this car. Located in Beverly Hills, California, it looks like it's destined to be a gleaming restored show car. It just needs some help to get there. … [Read More...]
Join the Elite – 1979 Lotus Elite
The 1970s were not the best of times for any carmaker, and Lotus was no exception. Formula One was still for the most part going swimmingly, but the road car business was not an easy one. Chapman was still ambitious as ever, though, and Lotus made an even more complete break with their kit car past in 1974 when they introduced the Elite, a car that had been in planning since the late '60s. It may have shared its name with the Climax-powered Elite of 1958, but the 1974 car was a very different vehicle with a very different type of potential buyer. For people used to Elans and Europas, the new Elite was huge, marketed more as an "executive car" with four real seats and a fairly practical … [Read More...]
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