Peugeot 607 Pescarolo

Ever heard of the Peugeot 607 Pescarolo? Well the idea was that Peugeot wanted to build a range topper for the worthy but slightly dull 607 range back in 2002. They approached legendary LeMans racer and team owner Henri Pescarolo to use a detuned version the twin-turbo Peugeot V6 engine from the team's Courage C60 racer. An excerpt from Peugeot's press release gives more info on the basic spec of the car:

Complementing the three 607 saloons which were on display at the 2002 Paris Motorshow was the 607 Pescarolo concept. Designed to reflect a sporty image for this executive saloon. Key differences are the increase in surface area of the air inlet on the front skirt allowing the engine to breathe more efficiently, the wings which extend by 25 mm, and the body lowered by 25 mm to give the car greater road-holding ability. Together with 19" alloy wheels and separate twin exhaust pipes, the Pescarolo is an impressive sight. Inside it has a leather interior with contrasting stitching to match the sporting style of the saloon. This 607 could be adapted to take the V6 engine as used in the Courage C60 Pescarolo Sport at the 24 hour Le Mans race, and would provide a maximum power output of over 400 bhp.

A Courage C60, yesterday.

You might have noticed a distinct lack of Peugeot 607 Pescarolos on the road. Simple answer to that, is that none were produced.
Why? A number of reasons I guess, but rumours say that the twin turbos didn't fit in an unmodified engine bay, the lack of a gearbox man enough to take on 400bhp and 370lb/ft. But most of all Peugeot were too tight to put their hand in their pocket and spend some Euros on a RWD or 4WD drivetrain. Even with a beefy enough gearbox, 400bhp FWD and 19" wheels would have had torque steer to make a Thema 8.32 blush.
A shame; Peugeot would have had a car to be proud of. I love the look and idea of this car and would have loved to roll in this.

Top Trumps Car Of The Day - Bertone Shake

An E-Type In New York

A classic does not go out of fashion. Put the icon in question ten years, twenty, fifty, one hundred years later from it's original environment and birthdate, it is still beautiful.

The Jaguar E-Type is a classic. It's line is timeless. Jaguar proves this once again with pictures of the E-type, which celebrated earlier this year the fiftieth anniversary of the car's launch in the U.S. (as the XKE) at the New York Auto Show. More than two-thirds of all models built were sent across the Atlantic, establishing a special relationship that persists to this day.

This car was loved by celebrities, including Steve McQueen, Tony Curtis, Britt Ekland and Brigitte Bardot, amongst others. On first sight of the E-Type at its launch, Frank Sinatra is reputed to have said: “I want that car and I want it now”.

Jaguar Cars did a photo shoot to mark the event, which was also an opportunity for them to compare old with new with the inclusion of the XJ, then recently launched in the U.S.

Jaguar’s Design Director Ian Callum explains why the E-type is such an icon, like we need to be told:

“The E-Type was ahead of its time, just as the XJ is now. Williams Lyons’ philosophy was all about taking that next step. He was very adventurous and knew that it is Jaguar’s job to break the rules. He never looked back, always forward.”

The legendary E-Type sports car is a machine so beautiful that an opalescent dark blue 1963 Open Two-Seater holds a permanent place in New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Ian Callum explains, “Part of the purpose of a Jaguar is to look beautiful. We always tryto make our cars visually that little bit wider, lower and longer. That’s what our proportions are about. When you see them together, the XJ and E-Type speak the same language.”

According to Callum, the E-Type demonstrates the overriding principle of sports car design: minimum bodywork encapsulating maximum performance. He explains: “The excitement and beauty of the car were almost created as a by-product. You’ve got beauty derived from its scientific purity of surface and excitement from its proportions.”

A question Callum is often asked is whether he would design another E-Type. His answer is always the same:

“I would refuse, it had its time and place. What I will do is create something as dramatic now as that car was then and I think the XJ achieves that.“We still work very hard to get the proportions of our cars as tight to the mechanicals as possible. Unlike the E-Type, of course, the XJ has to carry five people in total comfort but the principles of wrapping the body around the package to create exciting proportions are exactly the same now as they were 50 years ago.”

While I personally think that comparing the 'E' with a mere modern Jaguar saloon, and a fairly generic-looking one at that (despite the attempt to reflect some glory from it's hallowed ancestor) is tantamount to treason, I do agree with his sentiments on the E-Type.

A car forever young.

Cars & Music - Screaming Lord Sutch

I kid you not. Before his infamy as founder of the Monster Raving Loony party, Screaming Lord Sutch was quite the musican.

OK I lie, apparently he sucked big time.

A negative review published in Rolling Stone called Sutch "absolutely terrible" and lamented that under the restrictions of the project, the collection of talented musicians on hand were made to sound "like a fouled parody of themselves."

Musicians like Jimmy Page (who also produced the album), John Bonham, Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix Experience bass player Noel Redding.

And as we all know, he turned his talented hand to politics...

Cracking paint scheme on the Roller though.

Supercharged Mercedes V12 Cobra. Can This Title Get Any Cooler?

Featured in this months Practical Performance Car.

Comment about the car from the FF cars forum thread:
"The owner Magnus Jinstrand had some help from Pär Hallenfors
when they created this masterpiece, And Pär put up some pictures
on Swedens biggiest motor site Zatzy.com of this amazing Cobra.
The body comes from daxcars.co.uk it has a Mercedes V12 6,0 L
with a Lysholms supercharger, BMW 6 speed gearbox, a whole lot of
carbon fibre, Evo 8 brakes."

More info here & here.

The Pantera in the background is also Magnus'. Imagine this pair in your garage.

New To The Drag Racing History Page

Tony Nancy's '22JR' Ford Model A. Enjoy.
'ZO

Nürburgring 1000kms 1965. Shelby Daytona Coupe

During the qualifying session Bob Bondurant, teamed with Jochen Neerpasch, beat the lap record by over 18 seconds.  The two would finish first in their class.

KA24DE-powered Datsun 610

KA24DE-powered Datsun 610, suspension uprated to match and a lot of nice attention to detail. Now sold and apparantly running a turbo; would love to find details of that.
More info here.

By Military Dictatorship - The Somoza Mercedes

Let me share with you the story of a family dictatorship; don't worry, related car stuff comes soon after...
The Somoza family at one point ruled Nicaragua (there were three in total), Anastasio Somoza Garcia (known as “Tacho”) began his rise to power in 1933, just as the US Marines evacuated the country, when he was appointed director of the Nicaraguan National Guard.
Following the assassination of his nearest rival and the forced resignation of the elected president, Somoza the eldest staged an election in which he was declared the winner and, in January 1937, he was inaugurated president.
Tacho Somoza ruled Nicaragua for 19 years, amassing a fortune (estimated at $60 million) and surviving periodic coups until he was fatally shot in September 1956.

Following his untimely demise, his sons took over the 'family business'. Luis Somoza Debayle became the interim president, while Anastasio “Tachito” Somoza took over the leadership of the Nicaraguan National Guard. Although Luis stepped down from the presidency in 1963, Tachito’s stranglehold on the leadership of the National Guard ensured that the family’s interests would be protected until he, himself, became president in 1967, shortly after Luis died of a massive heart attack at the age of 45 (the least-violent fate of any of the Somozas).
Tachito managed to lead Nicaragua for the next 12 years while serving two terms as president and serving as commander of the Guard until his government was overthrown in 1979. The former leader fled to Miami and later found refuge in Paraguay, where he met an unfortunate end on September 17th 1980. As he was being chauffeured about the city of Asunción he came upon a commando team that first machine-gunned and then fired an RPG-7 anti-tank grenade at his white 1979 Mercedes-Benz 350SEL.

Amid all this chaotic history and in addition to amassing millions (as well as being the point of this whole article), it also appears - big surprise - that the Somozas found the time to treat themselves to some of the finer things in life, not the least of which was a custom-built 1957 blue Mercedes-Benz 300D limousine.
How this particular Mercedes managed to avoid the aforementioned rocket attack we'll come to later. But first, according to Motoring Investments, this is how it was acquired:

From an official Daimler-Benz letter in our possession it appears that Luis Somoza officially ordered this Mercedes on September 14, 1957.  Mr. Somoza communicated to Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft that this limousine was to have special equipment.  Chassis number 7500143 was built with a high torque fuel-injected engine, double acting telescopic coil springs, refrigeration, radio-telephone, military siren and blue lamp.  Mr. Somoza stated that since the automobile was of pillarless design, his intended use did not require armor-plating.  On March 2, 1958, the auto was shipped to Nicaragua on the S.S. Hein Hoyer owned by Hanseatic Vaase Line.

Twenty years later, on December 14, 1977, A. Somoza (Anastasio) wrote an official letter from Casa Presidencial, Hacienda El Retiro to Senor Julio Cesar Gallardo expressing the family’s appreciation for his service and telling him he would be given his brother Luis' car that had been in the family for so long.  Somoza said the car would be legally transferred to Gallardo on December 23.  He wished Gallardo “feliz navidad” (Merry Christmas) and referred to their relationship with the term, “amigos”.

On December 23, 1977, A. Somoza and Gallardo signed a Bill of Sale for un cordoba C$1.00. The document stated that the vehicle was a blue 1958 Mercedes Benz limousine 300D with chassis number 7500143.

In the Carta de Vente, Gallardo agreed to restore the car in minute detail as assessed by Senor Carlos Jose Mendoza of the Mercedes-Benz agency in Managua. Gallardo agreed that the car was to be considered as a museum piece and a national treasure.  Gallardo promised that it would never leave its homeland of Nicaragua.

It appears that Gallardo was as good as his word, at least in terms of the vehicle’s restoration, for in August of 1978 he won first place in the Club de Vehiculos Clasicos de Nicaragua for Concurso de Elegancia. When Gallardo signed the Carte de Vente, he had every intention of honouring the agreemnt to keep the car in Nacaragua as a national treasure.

But, when the Sandinistas came to power in 1979 they released a Decree,  which was for the confiscation of all Somoza family property.  This decree extended to all Somoza family, soldiers, officers and presumably associates who left the country.The car was 'assessed' (quite what that means I don't know) and according to documents with the car, the same Carlos Jose Mendoza of the Mercedes agency in Managua delivered the car to the port for export to California and its new owner.  Since previously the Somozas owned this Mercedes agency we have to assume it was now under government control.

The car then turned up on eBay in 2009 and sold for an undisclosed sum.