Man versus machine. The epic conflict is top of mind for many of us these days. Though AI’s inevitable takeover may have us humans feeling defeated, it’s comforting to consider that this battle has been raging for decades—and that we have a secret weapon up our sleeves.

Enter the World’s Strongest Man competition. For nearly 50 years, this series of spectacular events has been the recognized gold standard for finding, well, the world’s top strongman. When it comes to machines, these men mercilessly bend them, lift them, and throw them. As far as vehicular opponents go, these legendary titans have gone up against some equally legendary classics over the years:

Car Lift

This event has a storied history in the strongman universe dating all the way back to the inaugural 1977 World’s Strongest Man competition, held at Universal Studios in California. Competitors had to wrap their bare hands under a car’s rear bumper and successfully complete a full deadlift of the vehicle, with nothing but a pair of basic Adidas sneakers and possibly a weightlifting belt to support them. 

Among the cars was a 1977 Datsun B210 hatchback, though this proved too easy for the skilled giants (including Lou Ferrigno, the Incredible Hulk), and they inevitably had to add more weight.

The following year, the competition was again held at Universal Studios, though the producers made a more concerted effort to embrace the spirit of their setting. Competitors lifted Jack Benny’s 1916 Maxwell Model 25 tourer, a Ford Model A coupe used in The Sting, and Columbo’s 1959 Peugeot 403 cabriolet (which the owner was looking to sell in 2022 for a mid-six-figure price), though this time with a slightly more ergonomic metal bar attached to the back end.

Though the World’s Strongest Man seemed to take a break from the Car Lift in the 1980s in favor of other car-related challenges, the event made its triumphant return in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Highlights included a squat-off featuring a 70-series Toyota Land Cruiser in 2001, a classic deadlift of a Chrysler PT Cruiser in 2007, and, at the 2018 contest in Manilla, Hafþór Björnsson (“The Mountain” of Game of Thrones fame) took on the Filipino “King of the Road,” the Sarao Motors Jeepney. For those unfamiliar with Sarao, at one point the Jeepney outnumbered vehicles from other brands on the roads of Manilla by almost 7 to 1. It’s good to be the king.

Car Rolling 

This next event gives the strongmen a chance to unleash their appetite for destruction (though sadly not in time for Mr. Ferrigno to show off his Hulk pedigree). While the rules of Car Rolling, occasionally referred to as the more benign “Car Turnover,” vary—sometimes it’s flipping one car a full 360 degrees, other times it’s flipping multiple cars 90 or 180 degrees—the discipline is always an entertaining bout of sanctioned rampaging. 

What poor cars bore the brunt of this madness?

To start, French ones. At a lovely park in Nice in 1986, the strongmen had to berserk their way through a sequence consisting of a Renault 5, a Renault 3 (the budget-friendly Renault 4), and a Citroën 2CV. Considering the 2CV’s reputation as the great un-flippable wonder, it’s fair to say it made a worthy foe. This wouldn’t be the last time the pride of France gave the strongmen a good fight, either.

By 1989, Jón Páll Sigmarsson (a.k.a. “The Viking,” and one of the sport’s most magnetic showmen) had developed a new technique to clear the course: grabbing the tires. This time, the foes were a Fiat 127, Renault 5, and finally a Renault 4.

Moving forward all the way to 1996, the event consisted of just one Austin/Morris 1800 Mk III that had to be rolled a full 360 degrees. The winner, Gerrit Badenhorst of South Africa, managed to accomplish this feat and run to the finish line in just under 12 seconds.

Car Walk

Possibly one of the most adorable—and challenging—of all strongmen events, the Car Walk brings to life Fred Flintstone’s prehistoric means of transportation. In preparation for this event, a car is hollowed out to varying degrees, has its roof removed, and is fitted with enormous shoulder straps. The strongmen must then climb inside, lift the weight of the car onto their massive shoulders, and take their turns yabba-dabba-doo-ing down a course of varying lengths.  

The first Car Walk, in 1993, featured all-time Icelandic great Magnús ver Magnússon hauling the strongman nemesis Citroën 2CV (engine still inside) almost 25 meters.

The following year upped the ante, employing two 2CVs in a heated walk-off. The strongmen had to not only make it down the track, but now had to avoid any disastrous fender-benders with their meet-mate while doing so.

It should also be noted that this is the same year competitors also had to survive the so-called “Sampson’s Barrow,” a version of a wheelbarrow race in which the wheelbarrow was a Mitsubishi L300 flatbed truck with two kegs and a full-grown man as cargo.

Unfortunately, for most of the remaining years when audiences were treated to the Car Walk, the models used were merely referred to as anonymous “saloons.” One announcer in 2006 went so far as to comment about the Citroën AX being hauled around that year: “Now, the only redeeming feature as far as I can tell with this car is the outstanding head room.” Ouch. 

Honorable Mentions

Beyond those impressive feats of strength, other automotive highlights of the World’s Strongest Man have included the time they made the strongmen push a Hummer H1 roughly 20 meters, the time competitors had to hold up a BMW E46 sedan for as long as humanly possible, and even some less-official Strongman content, where 2017 British champion and real-life Gears of War character Eddie Hall squeezed himself into a tiny Peel P50 replica and attempted to drive into a McDonald’s. Here’s to hoping that last one makes it to the main stage.

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The post Big Men, Small Cars: The Vehicles of the World’s Strongest Man Competition appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Barrett-Jackson has been coming to Palm Beach (technically, West Palm Beach) at the South Florida Fairgrounds since the mid-2000s, making this the auction house’s most enduring auction that’s not in Arizona. B-J’s sale here consistently brings over 600 vehicles and dozens of vendors to the venue for a smaller version of the collector car fanfare we’re used to seeing in and around Scottsdale. This year, total sales were a solid $45M and average price was rather high at more than $74,000, but there were plenty of budget-friendly four-figure classics as well.

Indeed, Palm Beach usually offers a wide range of vehicles at a wide range of prices, and this year was no different, although offerings at the top end were less diverse. Five of the top 10 sales were a Ford GT of some sort, and eight of the top 10 were built after the year 2000. Only a 1966 Corvette restomod and the replica Dodge Daytona from Joe Dirt brought some American muscle into the top 10.

We examined some of the more interesting cars and significant sales in detail below.

Lot 692: 1972 DeTomaso Pantera

Sold for $176,000

Chassis no. THPNMB02424. Red over black vinyl. Visually maintained, largely original, #2 condition.

Equipment: 351/330hp, 5-speed, Campagnolo wheels, Becker Europa radio, power windows, air conditioning.

Condition: Represented with 1592 actual miles and its preservation is impressive. It shows careful ownership and only light age inside and out, although the paint does not look original.

Bottom line: An early Pantera that hasn’t been cut up or modified is already impressive, doubly so when it is as well preserved as this. The car has been to auction a few times, and bidders have always appropriately recognized its originality by paying a premium price for it. Its auction history also does a good job of tracing the market for these Italo-American sports cars over time. At Mecum Indy in 2014, it sold for $86,400. At Indy again six years later and in a hot 2020 market, it sold for $148,500. At Kissimmee 2022 and in an even hotter market, it brought $181,500, while in 2024 among softer but still high prices it took a small step back in price.

Lot 677: 1987 Buick Regal GNX

Sold for $156,200

Chassis no. 1G4GJ1174HP451735. Black over black and gray cloth. Unrestored original, #2 condition.

Equipment: 231/276hp, automatic, Goodyear Eagle tires.

Condition: Number 438 of 547 built. Showing 1309 miles and the tires are represented as original. Very well kept and preserved.

Bottom line: The GNX was one of the fastest and most desirable American cars of the 1980s. They’ve never really fallen out of favor, but it wasn’t until the last few years that they became six-figure modern collector cars. Way back in 2000, this one sold at RM’s Phoenix auction for just $30,800. Its odometer showed 534 miles and it was in essentially the same condition as it is today. It really is worth five times as much as it was 24 years ago.

Lot 745: 2005 Ford GT Twin-Turbo by Hefner Performance

Sold for $374,000

Chassis no. 1FAFP90SX5Y400061. Midnight Blue with white stripes over black.

Equipment: Twin-turbocharged, Ford Performance exhaust, shorty headers, Penske shocks, transmission oil cooler, removed rear bumper, 6-speed, painted calipers, McIntosh stereo, BBS wheels.

Condition: Paint shows some swirling and scratching but no major issues. Oddly, neither the mileage nor the horsepower numbers are represented.

Bottom line: This is an early production GT modified by an outfit in Florida, and although there are no dyno sheets, it is surely very fast. To drive, it’s probably a blast. As a collector car, though, the mods and the signs of use are knocks against it, and there are cleaner 2005-06 GTs to choose from that hit the auction block every month. Or even the same day, as the 597-mile car Barrett-Jackson sold 20 lots earlier than this brought $451,000.

Lot 440: 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet by Gemballa

Sold for $110,000

Chassis no. WP0CB2965LS472097. Black over black leather. Original, #3+

Equipment: 3.6, 5-speed, whale tail, Gemballa wheels, Michelin Pilot Sport tires, white gauges, Pioneer stereo, carbon fiber dash.

Condition: Showing 75,514 miles. Some minor paint blemishes on the nose and mirrors. A few small cracks in the headlight covers. Clean wheels. Clean, straight top. Good interior with stretched upholstery on the driver’s side. Pretty understated for a Gemballa.

Bottom line: Uwe Gemballa founded a tuning company in 1981 and became a big name in modern coachbuilding, at least until he was murdered in South Africa in 2010. Gemballa-modified cars (mostly Porsches) are distinctive at best and ugly at worst, but they’ve never been boring, even if this is one of the more understated body kits they ever did. Body-kitted and tuned exotics like Gemballas, Koenigs, early AMGs, etc. were a bit passé for a while but collectors of a certain age are coming around to them. The bidders recognized this one for what it is, and that it isn’t just a 911 with a kit slapped on at the local body shop. Despite its use, the car sold for a big price. A regular 964-generation Carrera 4 cabriolet would never sell for this much, even in perfect condition.

Lot 356: 1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II

Sold for $27,500

Chassis no. SRK38123. Chestnut over biscuit leather. Visually maintained, largely underneath.

Equipment: Automatic, wheel covers, narrow whitewalls, power windows, air conditioning, original AM/FM.

Condition: Supposedly bought “nearly new” for talk show host Jack Paar as a gift from his wife. Represented with $30,000 worth of work over the past six months. Old repaint with a few blemishes but nothing serious. Lightly aged bumpers. Excellent interior. Tidy underneath. The recent mechanical work is very reassuring on any old Rolls-Royce, and the celebrity connection, while not super-relevant, is a nice bonus.

Bottom line: Jack Paar was a TV pioneer, but the number of people who really remember his tenure at The Tonight Show (1957-62) can’t be big. He also wasn’t known as a big car person (at least not the way later host Jay Leno is), and he owned this Rolls well past the peak of his career. The celebrity appeal here, then, is limited. The price, however, is on the high side for a Silver Shadow—one of the avenues to getting a true Spirit of Ecstasy on your hood. Credit the $30,000 worth of recent service, which isn’t usually lavished on affordable Rolls-Royces like this one.

Lot 675.1: 1999 Shelby Series 1

Sold for $165,000

Chassis no. 5CXSA1817XL000039. Silver with blue stripes over black and gray. Original, #2- condition.

Equipment: 244/320hp Oldsmobile V8, 6-speed, Nitto tires.

Condition: Some chips on the nose and dirt behind the headlight covers. Paint crack behind the left headlight. Very light wear on the driver’s seat. Showing 1360 miles and showing very light signs of age.

Bottom line: Despite its looks, the Series I wasn’t quite the Cobra successor it could have been, and people have been holding that against it ever since it came out. Original specifications called for a carbon-fiber body, Corvette transaxle, and 500 horsepower, but the reality was more modest. It got heavier, and the Olds V8 offered up less power, and the price climbed higher than anticipated. Objectively, it’s a great-looking car that’s plenty fast, but it’s always been undervalued relative to its rarity (249 built) and the famous name attached to it. Only in the past 10 years or so have prices really started to climb. In Palm Beach two years ago, this one sold for $126,500, which was on the modest side. The 2024 price is a better match for its mileage and condition.

Lot 788: 1961 Renault 4CV Jolly Beach Wagon

Sold for $36,300

Chassis no. 3607757. Cream yellow with yellow and white cloth top over wicker seats. Older restoration, #3+ condition.

Equipment: 747/21hp four-cylinder, 3-speed, hub caps.

Condition: Represented as one of 50 exported to the U.S. and Caribbean, and bought new by the U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas. With the same family for the past 40 years and restored 10 years ago. Good paint. Light pitting on the chrome, including on the edges of the exterior grab bars. The wicker is all original and in solid shape aside from a few cracks. The dash and steering wheel are mostly clean, but the ignition around the keyhole is pitted. The top is a little dirty and aged. A perfect beach car with all the charm of a Fiat Jolly but for a lower cost.

Bottom line: Most of coachbuilder Ghia’s beach car, aka “Jolly”, bodies were on Fiats. The Italian cars are better known and more highly prized. Well-restored ones have sold for well over $100,000. But this Renault has all the charm and similar performance, or lack thereof, for a much lower cost. Are there cheaper ways to hit the beach in style? Certainly, but this is still so much charm and fun per dollar.

Lot 767.1: 2020 Porsche Boxster 718 Spyder

Sold for $126,500

Chassis no. WP0CC2A8XLS240606. Chalk with red top over red and gray. Original, #2 condition.

Equipment: 4.0/414hp, 6-speed, black wheels, red calipers, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.

Condition: Showing 8086 miles and no real age or wear.

Bottom line: Six figures for a Boxster just sounds wrong, but the 718 Spyder is not your hairdresser’s Boxster. Essentially an open version of the Cayman GT4, it has aero bits on the body, suspension bits and brakes from a 911 GT3, and a much more powerful engine than the base car. It can hit nearly 190 mph. A 2020 718 Spyder started at a little over $97K, so with options this has always been a six-figure car, and the fact that a high-performance Porsche didn’t depreciate after four years and 8000 miles isn’t really surprising.

Lot 370.1: 1970 AMC Rebel Machine

Sold for $69,300

Chassis no. A0M190Y171202. White, blue and red over black vinyl. Older restoration, #3+ condition.

Equipment: 390/340hp, 4-speed with Hurst T-handle shifter, limited-slip and Detroit Locker, Magnum 500-style wheels, BFG Radial T/A tires, high-back bucket seats, console.

Condition: Decent paint with some scratches and touch-ups on the nose and a spot of surface rust under one of the headlights. Decent chrome, but the rest of the brightwork is original and tired. Clean wheels and tires. Upholstery looks newer while the dash and switchgear looks original, and overall the interior looks good. Inconsistent presentation, but a rare piece of AMC muscle that always makes a statement, and a patriotic one at that.

Bottom line: The Rebel was a short-lived model, only lasting from 1967 to 1970, and for its final year Hurst developed a high-performance version called the Rebel Machine. Based on a Rebel SST, it had the most powerful engine available in an AMC product and was dressed up with red, white, and blue reflective stripes. For 2326 buyers, it was an economical way to get in on the peak of the muscle car craze. They’re still economical, at least relative to their style, performance, and rarity. This result is realistic for the condition of this example.

Lot 791.1: 1996 Nissan Skyline GT-R LM Limited

Sold for $105,600

Chassis no. BCNR33023215. Championship Blue over gray cloth. Original, #2- condition.

Equipment: RHD. 2568/276hp, 5-speed with aftermarket shift knob, alloy wheels, Brembo brakes, aftermarket radio, aftermarket exhaust.

Condition: One of 188 LM Limited GT-Rs. Showing 118,190 km (73,440 miles) but recently serviced and looks quite good with a recent detailing. The paint and wheels are blemish-free. It’s clean underneath and the interior looks great as well.

Bottom line: Built briefly in the spring of 1996, the LM Limited was built to celebrate Nissan’s efforts at Le Mans with the R33-generation GT-R, even though those efforts were unsuccessful after four tries at La Sarthe. All 188 cars got Championship Blue paint, special decals, a carbon spoiler blade, different cooling ducts, and a bonnet lip. This is one of the more valuable variants of the R33 (1995-98). The price here seems a bit modest given the mileage and condition, but this auction was also very light on JDM favorites and the right bidders may just not have been in the room.

Lot 731: 1966 Aston Martin DB6 Mk I Vantage Coupe

Sold for $238,700

Chassis no. DB62805R. Fiesta Red over gray leather. Older restoration, #3+ condition.

Equipment: RHD. 3995/325hp, 5-speed, wire wheels, Vredestein tires, wood rim steering wheel, radio.

Condition: Restored in the late 1990s in the UK by RS Williams. Good older paint and chrome. Tidy, visibly but lightly run engine. Lightly aged and wrinkled leather. Older paint. Grimy underbody. Lightly aged restoration on a well-equipped Aston.

Bottom line: This DB6 isn’t perfect and the RHD is a knock to its desirability, but it’s a genuine Vantage wearing a high-quality (if older) restoration by a well-known specialist. It sold for $240,00 on Bring a Trailer just a few months ago in February, with unanswered questions and a lien on the car putting off bidders there. A $240K sale price is very low, low enough that taking it straight to Barrett-Jackson for a flip probably seemed like easy money. But it wasn’t, and given the fee structure of Bring a Trailer vs. B-J, the seller actually lost quite a bit of money here.

Lot 742: 2022 Ford GT Alan Mann Heritage Edition

Sold for $1,292,500

Chassis no. 2FAGP9EW4NH200027. Alan Mann Red, gold and white over black. Original, #2 condition.

Equipment: 213/660hp V6, paddle-shift 7-speed.

Condition: 16 miles, looks new, and pretty much is.

Bottom line: Ford spun off 10 different special editions of the 2016-22 GT, many of them playing on the theme of “Heritage.” The Alan Mann version is a tribute to Alan Mann Racing, the English team that raced GT40s in the ’60s as well as other Ford products like the Falcon, Lotus Cortina, and Escort. Alan Mann also gave the Mustang its first race victory in 1964. Just 30 examples of this special edition GT were produced for 2022. There were seven different Heritage Edition GTs, and whereas base cars typically sell for just under $1M these days, somewhere around $1.2M is more the norm for the Heritage cars.

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It’s no secret that the Renault R5 Turbo is one hot collectible, with prices for good condition examples approaching the six-figure mark. If you’ve driven one, you know why: As Sam Smith wrote, “If it were a child, it would be one of those five-year-olds who runs laps of the living room at max q and tries to light your couch on fire.” Sounds fun! But while this broad-hipped and even more broadly deranged little turbocharged Renault is a highly pressurized delight, give a thought to the overlooked car upon which it is based. How much French élan can you get for less than a tenth of the price of an R5 Turbo? A lot, it turns out.

Renault’s R5 is back in headlines these days, thanks to the recently released EV of the same name. Not available this side of the Atlantic, the new car still looks like it would make a decent rental for your next Euro trip: 148 hp, 249 miles of range, priced like a well-equipped Honda Civic. That last characteristic shows that the new battery-powered R5 cleaves to the mission statement of the original, intended to be an inexpensive yet youthful supermini. If the 2CV was the people’s car for peasants who needed to ferry around baskets of eggs, the Renault 5 was what Pierre and Eloise bought when you couldn’t keep them down at le farm.

The original idea was to prove that cheap and chic weren’t mutually exclusive concepts. In the 1960s, Renault was building the 4L, its riposte to Citroën’s 2CV. The 4L was very simple and very successful (over 8 million produced) and was about as attractive as a toaster in a sundress. By 1967, the forward-looking Bernard Hanon, Renault’s head of planning, had convinced CEO Pierre Dreyfuss to add a small car with youth appeal to the R&D budget.

Enter the tragic story of the Renault 5’s designer. Stylist Michel Boué, working in his own spare time, overlaid a Renault 4 with a transparent sheet of paper and sketched out a deceptively simple two-box, three-door hatchback. When the Renault brass saw the thought experiment, they immediately moved to develop it into a full project, leaving Boué’s original idea almost completely intact.

Boué would die of cancer in 1972, far too soon to see how his design would change the face of French motoring.

To a North American eye, the 5 doesn’t look all that revolutionary. It’s a tiny boxy European shoebox built to thread through along narrow, cobblestoned roads of medieval towns, the sort of vehicle you might see everywhere in the backdrop of some 1980s National Geographic special on cathedrals or monasteries or a cheese that’s produced by monks who live in a monastery next to a cathedral.

But the 5 wasn’t a 1980s design; it was a product of the very early 1970s. That’s how forward-thinking it was. The car was revealed in December of 1971 and went on sale in January of the very next year. Its square, cheery looks and airy cabin made it a smash hit. The look of the future, available today for less than 10,000 Francs (about $2000)! As Renault hoped for, the 5 sold strongly among a more youthful buying audience, effectively recreating the 1960s magic of the BMC Mini for a new decade.

Even the pessimism that hit with the first of the global fuel crises one year after the launch of the 5 couldn’t break its stride. If anything, that stride lengthened; Renault quickly developed a slightly detuned model that could achieve over 50 mpg with a cautious driver behind the wheel, the mid-40s with a Parisian one. Though thrifty, the 5 was stylish enough to transcend class, and you could use its wraparound bumpers to force your way into a parallel parking spot like you were driving a motorized sardine. The 5 was the best-selling car in France, and soon the best-selling car in Europe. There was only one more Western market to conquer.

Watching the success of the Volkswagen Golf and the Honda Civic in the U.S. must have been incredibly frustrating for Renault. After all, the manufacturer of the most popular car in Europe should surely have been able to match or even exceed the success of these other foreign makes. But Renault’s tiny dealer network was insufficient to the task, and when the 5 was introduced in 1976, sales numbers stayed low. Clearly, some clever marketing was required.

Perhaps not all that clever. Noting that “Renault 5” meant little to U.S. buyers not familiar with the Renault brand, the company changed the name of the 5 to “Le Car.” It was both a simplification and a state of fact: the 5 was the best-selling car in France from its introduction in 1972 all the way until 1984. It was, quite literally, the default French car of its time. Calling it a generic “car” wasn’t a stretch at all. Sales doubled with the name change in 1977.

Eventually, thanks to some rapid, jet-setting action by a Renault executive named François Dubin, Renault entered into a partnership with AMC. The tie-up would eventually lead to the Renault/AMC Alliance, a sedan usually remembered with some derision that actually met with initial success. Based on the Renault R9, the Alliance exchanged Gallic charm for mass appeal. Since Renault figured it had finally hit on the right car for the U.S. market, the 5 disappeared from U.S. showrooms in 1983, hanging on in Canada until 1985.

This example is one of the last Le Cars sold in North America, if not in fact the last. It’s registered as a 1986 model, a French refugee that gathered dust in a Canadian AMC showroom before being finally registered for the road. Yet even in its rarity, it’s not a collectible as much as a really interesting car.

When you pore over the details, it’s impossible to miss how clever French engineering is when compared to that from the rest of the world. Instead of a door handle, this car has a little flap molded into the sheetmetal. Only a single, non-gas strut supports the rear hatch. The headliner is stamped with the repeating diamond pattern of the Renault badge—not primarily because of branding, but because it provides actual structural support to the slightly flimsy, stamped roof. Everything about this little city car is slightly ethereal, as impossibly airy and light as a properly cooked soufflé.

The driving experience of this delicate little confection only really emerges when you flog the car like the first mate might a Napoleonic-era sailor who just spilled raspberry compote on the captain’s best white pantaloons. But of course that’s how the 5 behaves—it’s French. Allons-y!

This car is nearly forty years old, and its 1.3-liter, four-cylinder engine produces just shy of 60 hp. Even this late in production, the underpinnings are still basically those of the homely 4L, with its wacky torsion-bar independent suspension that results in a slightly longer right wheelbase and roly-poly handling. Nevertheless, the 5 is wonderfully exhilarating to wring to its limits. It’s as titchy as Asterisk from the Goscinny and Uderzo comics, but likewise loves a punchup, zipping through traffic with glee.

It is hardly what you’d call fast, and yet at the same time is quicker than you’d expect. In 1977, Renault entered Le Cars in SCCA Class C Showroom Stock racing as a way to promote the brand, and the little French hatchbacks clocked up 57 podiums in 52 races.

The best comparison here is lunch, or rather déjeuner. A modern compact car is like fast food burger and fries, order up quick and back to the office or job site to get on with things. Travel in a Renault 5 is like a meal with an old friend with whom you don’t always see eye to eye: it takes forever, there’s all kinds of yelling and frantic gesturing, and you come away from the experience feeling refreshed and fulfilled. And also probably late for work. Ah well. C’est la vie.

Yes, you could pay 90 grand for a French murder hatch with hips like a Pixar mom and a fondness for high-speed ditch exploration. But the original city car upon which it is based has a goofy joie de vivre that is beyond price. You don’t need deep pockets to get into one, you merely need patience, and the ability to snap up a decent example when you stumble across it.

To drive one is to experience the essence of what it meant to be a French motorist in a time when each country’s small cars still came with outsize and individual personalities. An acquired taste, perhaps, like doubling the garlic the recipe calls for. But one you’ll never forget.

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Renault has stayed remarkably close to its retro-futuristic 2021 concept car with the production version of the 5.

It will be known as the Renault 5 E-Tech, and looks set to put some Va-Va-Voom back into the brand, with chunky styling, a cool interior, eager performance and a competitive price.

The squared-off silhouette dates right back to the 1972 original, while the wheel arch flares evoke the days of Group B when the mid-engined Turbo tore up tarmac stages. It’s grown in stature over the five decades but still remains compact at just 154 inches in length. 18-inch wheels are the biggest ever seen on the 5 and come in a Techno design straight off the concept car or a watch-inspired Chrono pattern. Making the 5 stand out even further from the crowd are Pop Yellow and Pop Green paint schemes, along with more conservative Arctic White, Diamond Black and Midnight Blue.

The cabin marks a return to simplicity with a stylish two-tier padded dashboard, a now-ubiquitous 10-inch digital display and cloth seats made from recycled plastics. 

Of course the most significant difference between the new 5 and its predecessors is that it’s fully electric. Renault is to offer two battery sizes of 40 kWh and 52 kWh powering electric motors of 90 kW (122 hp) or 110kW (150 hp) and giving a potential maximum range of 248 miles. Crucially Renault has managed the mass and even the bigger-battery car weighs only 3197 lbs. Acceleration is a warm hatch-like 0-62 mph in eight seconds, with top speed pegged at 93 mph. Want to go faster? Then you’ll have to wait for the Alpine A290.

DC rapid charging allows the 110kW car to pull 100kW while the 90kW version sucks electricity in at 80kW. In either case 30 minutes is all it should take to go from 15 to 80 per cent charge. 

Built on Renault’s new AmpR Small platform the 5 has a sophisticated multi-link rear suspension, and a speedy steering rack that should make it more fun to drive.

There’s a long list of connected features powered by Google, a “virtual travelling companion” called Reno and a host of driver assist features including hands-free parking.

Renault is targeting a price of less than €25,000 ($27,000) for the 5, which seems like great value compared to rivals such as the Fiat 500e and Mini Cooper Electric. European deliveries start in early 2025, and while Renault has earmarked a return to the U.S. market in the next few years it will most likely be the Alpine version, if any, that makes it Stateside—despite a warm nostalgia for Le Car.

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Sometimes I find myself needing to ride the adrenaline wave. And while some get that raw hormone boost from extreme sports, I get it from adding awful cars to my motley fleet of misfits. While on that high, I like to get as much as possible done before getting distracted by something else. As regular readers will remember, I recently schlepped a decade-dormant Renault GTA from Connecticut to North Carolina. I didn’t need another project, so I’m trying to get it on the road as quickly as possible before momentum wanes. Surf’s up, I guess!

Admittedly, I engaged in a bit of intentional ignorance with this GTA. Since there was no obvious rust, every other mechanical or electronic surprise would be an energizing opportunity, so I did as little investigating as possible before hauling it off.

Now I’ve been, uh, enlightened following a bit of rudimentary research. I’ll let you in on a little secret that only past and present Renault Alliance owners know: Every Alliance, Encore, and GTA that came out of the weeds needs the exact same stuff. Unfortunately, none of it is readily available.

Window regulators, timing belts, and gas tanks are the three-part Achilles heel that grounded all of the GTAs that didn’t rust in half. Not one to do things half-way, I’m going to need to replace each one on my fresh catch. So rather than mope and kick rocks, let’s crack into it, shall we?

First step: sanitization. Though I found the symbiotic relationship between the car’s fungi and algae colonies charming, my experience as a Saturn of Raleigh detailer in high school forced me to evict these organisms. With my mouth shut this time, I proceeded to blast off the entire ecosystem into oblivion.

A mild glow-up was the next item on my punch list. Under all of the plant matter was the dull sheen of heavily oxidized single-stage Sebring Red paint. If the car looked good, I reasoned, I’d have more motivation to persevere when things inevitably got less glamorous. A gift today for the delirious-on-gas-fumes Matt of tomorrow. I tested my buffing pad and trusty marine compound on a vertical surface. After a rinse from a hose, the resulting pink goo created a mural on the side of my barn. But the gleaming paint underneath made an irrefutable case to keep at it, for hours. I do have some swirl marks to contend with, but I have no regrets.

Duly jazzed, I moved on to mechanical concerns. The most relevant concern with the Renault R9 and R11 family of cars is that the timing belt tensioner lurks in the shadows, constantly threatening to grenade your investment. Most U.S.-market Renaults met their death by means of a valve-to-cylinder meet-and-greet, held mere miles after a missed timing belt service interval. Sadly, the taller deck of the GTA-only 2.0-liter means that no ordinary timing belt tensioner endemic to the 1.4- or 1.7-liter engine works. Remember, this unique assembly was made for a run of just 3500 cars! Luckily, a nice fellow in Missouri named Lloyd produces a kit so he can sell them to suckers like me. Once I had the parts in hand, an hour’s work was all it took to swap into the GTA. That should avoid certain death (by timing belt, anyway) for another 40,000 miles.

Via attrition and forecasted rain, my failed window regulator ascended to top priority.

If you’ve ever heard the phrase “pushing a rope” then you’ve unknowingly been briefed on the operating principle of the Renault Alliance window regulator. When brand new, they function with supreme adequacy. With aged grease and brittle plastic components, the whining and growling hand crank functions solely as a raccoon call. French electronics from the 1980s barely work when they’re dry, so it was safe to assume that a half-inch of rain in the floorboards would render them kaput. I fished the regulator out of the door, copied the return address off of my timing belt package, and sent it out to friendly, industrious Lloyd in Missouri for a rebuild.

As I means of holding myself accountable to my promise that I not joyride until the timing belt was fixed, I electively decided to not test the fuel and electrical systems beforehand. Now that I was in the clear, I proceeded with that evaluation. Good thing I was careful, or so the sparks that shot out of the fuel pump test port indicated. Sigh. I ordered a pump and mentally prepared myself for a week of soured hydrocarbon stench infiltrating my hands, arms, and sweatshirt sleeves. The tank was out in about fifteen minutes with minimal spillage. As for turning the tank back into a functional car part? I looked back at the shiny paint, held my breath, and dove in.

Removing the fuel strainer assembly and peering into the tank showed iron oxide stalagmites, along with someone’s half-hearted attempt at applying a liner with the fuel pump in situ. (A word of advice: don’t ever do that.) My wife was out running errands, which meant the disgusting tank actually had to go in my GR86. I carefully shoehorned the tank into the trunk, resisted the temptation to drive my local roundabout in the usual high-g anger, and hauled it as responsibly as possible to Statesville Radiator. There, my fuel vessel was treated to a four-day spa day in a boiling green cauldron. Upon picking it up, the holes were brazed and it stunk a lot less.

Now on to the strainer assembly. With all the electrical connections snapped off, a return line filled with tank epoxy, and rust holes throughout, this would be a test of commitment. Given that all possible donor cars were no better off, I spent several evenings repeatedly scrubbing the CLR-soaked assembly with a toothbrush. Eventually, it was inert enough to tickle with the welder on the lowest possible amperage and solder all of the missing gauge connections. With a freshly POR-15’d tank, permanently stained fingertips, and a full-on downpour arriving in a matter of minutes, I placed the whole assembly back into the car as quickly as possible.

In the middle of the thunderstorm, I hastily grabbed a battery from the local auto parts store plus four gallons of the freshest gas. With a couple spritzes of ether and some coaxing, the car finally roared to life through its perforated exhaust. A quick test drive around the field taught me a bit more: non-functional wipers, nothing backlit but the tach, and an oddly recumbent seating position. But who cares! The hard stuff was all done inside of two weeks, with reserve motivation for the DMV. Voila!

***

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Turn back the clock to about 2000. Now imagine that you’re a car company looking to promote your latest frugal, front-wheel drive, fuel-sipping four-banger hatchback. Naturally, your first call is to a racing outfit to completely re-engineer and beef up the little car, yanking out the four-cylinder up front in the process and stuffing a V-6 in the back. You then rush the car to market, sell it in small numbers at a surprisingly low price (which can’t have been profitable), and run a one-make racing series with it for a few years to promote the regular model.

The plan sounds awesome, not to mention completely unnecessary, but Renault used its Clio hatchback to bring this imagined scenario to life from 2001 to ’05. One of the original track cars just sold this week at a sinister $66,666 winning bid ($69,999 with buyer’s premium), which seems like plenty of rarity and track day fun per dollar.

Renault started selling the Clio in 1990, and while we’ve never been able to buy one here in the States, it is consistently one of Europe’s best-selling cars and is a popular commuter car in South America as well. It’s sort of like a French VW Golf. The second-generation Clio debuted in 1998, and at the Paris Motor Show that year, Renault trotted out a sporty mid-engine Clio hatchback as a concept car. It was a clear reminder of the R5 Turbo rally racers of the 1980s, which were themselves reworked mid-engine versions of the Clio’s predecessor, the Renault 5.

Encouraged by the concept car’s reception, Renault worked with British firm Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) of Le Mans–winning and Jaguar XJR-15 fame to develop the car for two purposes. The first was a one-make racing program called the Renault Clio V6 Trophy series. The second was a road-going version of the racer, and TWR built the early road cars at its facility in Sweden. The entire rear of the Clio was reworked, and the inherent practicality of a hatchback was wiped away by the 3.0-liter V-6 borrowed from the Renault Laguna family car that got dropped in place of where the rear seats and cargo space used to be. A six-speed manual was the only available gearbox, and new suspension (MacPherson up front, multi-link in the rear) was added. A Clio V6 is wider, lower, and longer than the standard model, with a squat stance and big butt. Launched in late 2000 and selling for less than £30,000 in the UK, this pocket exotic seemed like a bargain.

But it wasn’t perfect. The TWR connection was reassuring, and having a big engine stuffed into the middle of small car is often a recipe for fun, but early reviewers were a little disappointed and sometimes frightened. First, the Clio V6 was over 600 pounds heavier than the standard Clio, so despite the 227 hp driving the rear wheels, it wasn’t as much faster than the regular front-driver as you might think. The 0-to-60-mph sprint came in a little over six seconds.

Then there was the scary handling. The engine provides plenty of oomph and makes a nice throaty sound, but it sits high up in the chassis. The high center of gravity plus its short wheelbase made this spunky Clio a bit unpredictable. According to Autocar, the “approach to corners went grip, grip, grip, grip, gone,” and the Clio V6 is “at its absolute best when parked.” Andrew Frankel later remembered that people “always bang on about early Porsche 911s as being the trickiest road cars to drive on the limit, but in my experience they’re not even close. A Ferrari 348 is worse than that and worse than the 348 was that Clio.” Ouch.

After about 1500 Clio V6 road cars sold, a new Phase 2 model came out. Production moved to France at the Renaultsport factory in Dieppe, and a facelift ditched the narrow, grin-like grille for larger grilles split by the Renault diamond in the middle. Improvements to the suspension, stiffer subframes, and a longer wheelbase made it friendlier to drive, while different gear ratios and more power thanks to reworked induction and cylinder head made it a little quicker, too.

Even so, Renault stopped selling this imperfect but undeniably cool car after 2005. Only about 3000 examples of the Phase 1 and Phase 2 models were built. If you’re of a certain age, you probably drove one of these in a video game with your thumbs, but Clio fans in the States will have to keep waiting for the real thing—you can’t import one till they’re 25 years old.

As for the race cars, they effectively replaced Renault’s previous one-make championship, the Renaultsport Spider Trophy series, which wrapped up in 1998 before the Clios debuted at Jarama in 1999 (Renault’s 100th birthday year). Compared to the road cars, the Clio V6 Trophy versions had more power (281 hp) and a six-speed sequential gearbox instead of the standard manual.

If the Clio V6 was a flawed road car, that doesn’t mean that it made a perfect race car. The rear end was prone to hopping and there are plenty of reports of poor reliability, though participants noted good support from Renault, and the series attracted talent like Philippe Siffert and Anthony Beltoise (both sons of F1 greats), as well as current F1 safety car driver Bernd Mayländer. It was also a not-so-expensive way to go racing—a new car for the 2003 season cost €45,800. The series tackled famous European tracks like Monaco and Nürburgring, and even served as a support race for the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The Trophy car sold this week is represented as #79 of the 159 Trophy versions built by Renaultsport. No race history is represented, but it was imported from Japan earlier this year, and the build date is believed to be 1999. Track-prepped with OMP seats, Sparco six-point harnesses and aluminum pedals, digital dash, roll cage, fire system, brake-bias adjuster, and Cromodora wheels, it does not have a title as it is a track car, but it does have a Japanese-assigned VIN.

Like any race car, this eccentric little French hatchback probably needs sorting before being driven in anger. It does run and drive, though, and looks like a very fun way to annoy some Porsches at your local track day. Hopefully the owner does just that. Since he “can’t wait to see it parked next to my street legal Clio V6 =)” he certainly knows what he just bought.

The same seller sold another Japanese–imported Clio V6 Trophy last year for $78,750. This $67K sale price is closer to what good Phase 2 road cars sell for on the other side of the pond, and seems like a decent value. There are certainly more expensive and slower ways to go racing.

***

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There is a WhatsApp group chat between myself and two of my closest friends from my time living in Charleston, South Carolina. Connor, Philip, and I text almost daily, despite all of us leaving Charleston and ending up in very different places. Our conversation almost exclusively contains fresh snapshots of garbage cars, amid general automotive banter. It’s usually just idle chatter. Recently, it launched into high gear.

Philip is German, a former co-worker and a fiend for vintage Opels. He took care of my house in Charleston while I lived abroad, bought my Volvo 240, and then moved to back to Germany where he bought my Mk. 1 Renault Clio.

My story with Connor begins, as many friendships do, with an ad on Craigslist. He had an ad posted for a Geo Metro in Charleston and I, being a Peugeot 405 driver at the time, inquired to ask if that was truly a Peugeot 604 in the background of one of the photos. (It was!) We became fast friends, which was natural given our shared desire to fill our lives with strange, often horrible French cars. He now lives in Boston.

About two months ago—in flagrant violation of our group Terms and Conditions—a deluge of inappropriate images came pouring into the chat. You see, it’s expressly frowned upon to flood the conversation with available vehicles while one’s driveway is already full of recent retrievals. Otherwise, our hobby could accidentally spin out of control!

Connor’s offending photos depicted various neglected French cars laying dormant in a New England driveway: The daughter of an elderly Peugeot enthusiast reached out him in hopes of locating homes for five cars. She had little tolerance for fuss and dithering of any sort. Sadly, the elderly man’s wrenching days were behind him and the vehicles were more of a safety hazard than a hobby. The cars—three Peugeot 505 wagons and two Renault GTAs (gasp!)—were be free to whoever had the gumption to show up and give them the love they deserve.

I committed to at least one GTA. Connor laid claim to as many 505s as he could get.

Why would I agree to a round-trip 1800-mile boondoggle for such an unloved vehicle, the Renault GTA? I assume if you’re asking that question, you’re new here. So I’ll clarify: I love AMCs and j’adore French cars. I count myself very lucky to live in a world in which those two things converged.

Some history: The GTA was a one-year-only attempt by American Motors to bring a bit of excitement to the Kenosha-built Renault lineup. The recipe? Take a Renault 9 (aka Alliance) coupe, give it a 2.0-liter engine shared with absolutely nothing else, a unique close-ratio five-speed gearbox, massive (for an ’80s econobox) 15-inch Ronal wheels, stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, a body kit by Zender, great seats, and the steering wheel out of the iconic Renault 5 Turbo. I could go on about how great this plan was, however, it wasn’t. Production figures are iffy, but Renault sold maybe 3000 units before Chrysler purchased AMC and killed the whole thing.

Ok, off my soap box. On to the nonsense planning!

Plan A: The Dream Scenario

I saw a trailer hitch on one of the 505s in the teaser photos, which kicked off a vague hallucination of sorts:

• I would fly to New Haven with a bag of tools
• Connor would drive down from Boston with a trailer and pick me up at the airport
• We’d get the hitched 505 running
• We’d rent a dolly, towing one of the GTAs back South with the running 505
• Connor would trailer another 505 back to Boston and make a trip for the second GTA.
• The fate of the 5th car would be decided on the fly.

The Recon

Such a wildly optimistic plan required a telehealth-style video diagnosis. Connor drove to Boston with a battery and some hand tools. While he was on site, I gave my phone undivided attention from the comfort of a Food Lion parking lot. With the help of jumper cables, some fresh gas, and starter fluid, Connor brought the car to a state that it could drive onto a trailer.

However, there was something about the 1) sparks shooting from the battery, 2) random flashing of dashboard lights, and 3) powerful cylinder misfire that urged us to at least consider a backup plan. Rotten tires and questionable braking ability further limited our options; barring a complete liquidation of my vacation-day balance for the rest of the year, this was never going to work.

Plan B it have to be. What was Plan B, again?

Plan B: The Reality Check

We conjured up a—relatively speaking—more reasonable scheme:

• The usual travel team (my wife plus Romanian street dog, Lukas) would drive up and tow home over a weekend
• To save some money, I would drag my neighbor’s forgotten tow dolly from the woods and bounce it up I-95 with my 4Runner
• We’d make an appointment for new rear tires on the more promising of the two GTAs, an assessment that would be determined on site
• Connor would arrive from Boston with a U-Haul
• Since Philip could only encourage from afar, another friend named Craig would schlep a second trailer and car back to the site of the French cars for retrieval

This left two of the French cars unaccounted for. In negotiating with the owner’s daughter, we agreed to figure out later how we’d procure the remaining as long as it didn’t turn into a debacle for them.

My wife Dana, Lukas, and I hit the road with plans to stop and mooch a free night’s stay visit each of our families in Southside Virginia and Philly successively. Assuming all went well, that would land us in the New Haven area just before lunch. Thanks to some traffic we were a bit late, and by the time we arrived Connor’s chosen 505 wagon was already loaded up onto the trailer.

I started off by probing the two Renaults. The black GTA cabriolet immediately failed my “look underneath” test, for which the bar is rather low. The rear floors were caved in, and I was in no mood to perform extensive welding. Luckily, the faded red GTA looked exactly as I expected; a quick wiggle (and resulting lack thereof) of the rear wheel bearings told me it should be fine to drag halfway down the East Coast on new rear tires.

With time ticking towards my 1:00 p.m. date with the tire shop, I started evacuating mud dauber homes with an impact socket while the others tried to free a maroon Peugeot wagon from the grips of a brier.

The tire shop was genuinely confused about what I brought to them, but nevertheless accepted my filthy drop-off. While they were busy knocking off the rest of the dirty, gooey wasp homes, I went back to assist with the loading of the now-freed maroon 505 wagon.

Attempts to start it were met with uncomfortably hot battery cables and clicking noises. Rather than engulfing the neighborhood in a massive stale-gas-and-crunchy-plastic-fueled blaze, we elected to winch it onto Craig’s beautiful trailer. With new shoes, the GTA got shoved on to the dolly. To all of our surprise, the hardest part of that loading day was jostling trucks and trailers in and out of the tight, steep driveway and busy street. With only minutes left on our hands before sunset, we took a quick tour of a few sheds full of parts and grabbed a few items that seemed immediately useful. I snagged some mystery Koni shocks and a novelty gauge cluster from a LeCar.

Though we left two cars and the bulk of the spare parts for a future trip, everyone agreed that this was a monumental step in rehoming innocent vehicles. The elderly owners and their caretakers now have a safer, more navigable driveway, and the three of us were positively delighted with our free cars. I’m pleased to report that aside from the red GTA dribbling varnish out of the tank the entire way home, the trip was a complete success. Substantial restoration work has already occurred—more on that in a future article.

The post Against All Oddities: Renault Rescue! appeared first on Hagerty Media.

“Who is the victim?” asks Carlos Ghosn. “It’s me.”

Yes, poor Carlos, the former CEO of Nissan and Renault. And for the first three of four episodes of Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn, it could be true.

Then, in episode four, director James Jones drops the hammer on Carlos’ head. There are several victims, sure, but Carlos Ghosn is not among them.

The docudrama, now playing on Apple TV+, is at times tedious but never uninteresting, though it might have been served better with three episodes instead of four. If you make it through those first three, however, by all means watch the fourth. You’ll feel a bit had for buying into three episodes’ worth of Ghosn’s “poor-me” routine, only to have the tables turn in the conclusion. (His second wife, Carole, co-stars and  sings a slightly different verse of Ghosn’s song.)

There’s no argument that Ghosn, just as he had done at Michelin, gave Renault a boost and arguably saved Nissan. He did it largely by trimming; he was called Le Cost Cutter in France. He was not, based on my very limited experience with him, a particularly savvy product guy. All that said: Did he deserve to be blindsided by Nissan’s case against him, which landed him in jail?

Ghosn’s excesses are well documented. Looming large is a party he threw that was supposedly in honor of the 15th anniversary of the coupling of Nissan and Renault, held at Versailles with a Louis XIV theme, which we’re told cost about $750,000, but that seems low. Ghosn hosted a lot of friends and relatives, but virtually no business associates, which you’d think he might have included. The media loved to talk about the party, which Carole complained was “petty” of them. Nissan and Renault, of course, picked up the tab.

Ghosn blames the fact that he was planning a formal merger of Nissan and Renault (Renault owned 37 percent of Nissan), which Nissan executives did not want, as one reason for the “fake” charges the company leveled. But the real reason was that, during the recession, Ghosn had to cut his own salary from $20 million a year to $10 million. Calling it “deferred compensation,” he and a Nissan executive are said to have cooked up a way to pay Ghosn millions more, ostensibly after he retired. And there is apparent evidence that, separately, Ghosn funneled $50 million from the company and back into his own pockets.

The financial bits essentially fill episodes one and two. The payoff in episode three is a nuts-and-bolts explanation of how Ghosn escaped from Japan, where he was out of jail on $4.5 million bail. Former U.S. Green Beret Michael Taylor, who has ties to Lebanon, planned and personally orchestrated Ghosn’s escape. Taylor acquired a large, rolling musical instrument case, drilled holes in the bottom so Ghosn could breathe, and spirited the multi-millionaire out of his apartment, onto a train, and onto a private jet that Taylor had hired.

It was brilliant. Ghosn climbed from the box in Lebanon—he grew up there, a country with no extradition to Japan—and promptly phoned his pal, the president of the country, to let him in on the scheme. There Ghosn remains.

“I didn’t flee from justice,” he says, in a well-practiced line. “I fled injustice.”

Japan in general, and Nissan in particular, did not see it that way. They weren’t amused by the escape as the rest of the world. Nissan’s attorneys promptly shared their investigation with Renault, which launched its own investigation, and it revealed similar anomalies. Then there is the matter of a hard drive once maintained by Ghosn’s late attorney, the contents of which “shock the conscience,” according to a lawyer for Renault. That company and Nissan issued an “international” arrest warrant for Ghosn, but he’s safe for the time being Lebanon.

The escape gave Ghosn “another chance at life,” he says, and not a terribly bitter one by the looks of it. He is apparently stuck in Lebanon, yes, but he is a national hero there. For a man used to trotting the globe in private jets, of course, the situation may seem a bit confining.

I mentioned there were a few actual victims: One is Greg Kelly, the Nissan head of human resources, who was told by his boss, Ghosn, to help draft the “delayed compensation” scheme. The other two are Michael Taylor and his son, who helped with the escape. Not only did Ghosn fail to pay the Taylors’ operational expenses, he ultimately left Michael stuck with $1 million in legal bills. Kelly and the Taylors spent far more time in jail than Ghosn.

Wanted: The Escape of Carlos Ghosn is a tale with a clear perspective, well-told and with a moral reflecting on the consequences of hubris and greed. Now, we wait for the inevitable feature film.

***

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Recently, French carmaker and Renault performance brand Alpine (pronounced Al-peen for all you non-French speakers) announced plans to sell cars in America. They’re not headed here till 2027 or ’28, though, and with just a pair of (yawn) electric crossovers and, maybe, an electric version of their acclaimed A110 sports car. This got us thinking about the French cars that are already here, and what the market is like. After all, it’s been some time since Americans were able to buy a new French car.

French cars in America

The French were automotive pioneers, and led the world in motorcar production and adoption at the end of the nineteenth century. At the height of Art Deco in the ’30s, many of the world’s most glamorous cars and some of the most prolific coachbuilders hailed from there. Today, France is the third biggest carmaker by production in Europe, and in much of the EU, South America, and Africa, you can’t walk a few blocks without banging your shins on something four-wheeled and French.

Yet they’ve never done well in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Beverly Hills Bugatti dealership aside, fabriqué en France just isn’t a label we see on our cars. In fact, the last time we average hot dog-eating, coach-flying Americans could buy a French automobile was before the Peugeot 505 quietly bid us adieu in 1991. That’s before many of today’s car enthusiasts were even born. There was a time, though, when we could easily buy cars from our oldest allies.

In the 1950s and ’60s, with America riding the post-WWII money train, selling cars here was a lifeline for many a European automaker. French brands were no exception, with Renault and Peugeot making the strongest plays to the American market.

In the end though, part of what doomed French carmakers in the US is what so many other European companies struggle with in this very large country—poor dealer support, inconsistent parts availability, and iffy reliability of systems that are unfamiliar to American mechanics. But there was another issue that’s a little more, well, French.

If there’s one stereotype about French cars (other than that they break a lot), it’s that they’re… odd. For all our love of individualism, Americans don’t tend to buy quirky cars. With very few exceptions (like the Renault Floride/Caravelle), the French didn’t design cars for Americans. They designed them for French people. As Eisenhower’s America built the Interstates, De Gaulle’s France traversed rougher, more pastoral roads. Cars suited to one weren’t particularly suited to the other. The Volkswagen Beetle, which at least had the Autobahn as a reference, simply won more American small car buyers in the ’50s and ’60s. So did the Japanese in the ’70s and ’80s.

These days, French cars on American lots are a distant memory, and enthusiast circles around the classic ones are relatively tiny. The most popular French car insured by Hagerty members is the Citroën 2CV, but among all classics, the snail-shaped Citroën ranks a lowly 469th, just behind the Ford Pinto. As for the rest of the most popular French cars in the market, they aren’t the ones that originally sold here in the highest quantity. They’re the cars people have saved, restored, or imported, cars that US enthusiasts value for their design, pedigree, character, and, ironically, their French-ness. Interestingly enough, most of them are Citroëns.

Citroën 2CV

Median #2 value: $29,000

Perhaps the most “French” of French automobiles as well as the most “designed for France, not America” car has got to be the Citroën 2CV. The brainchild of company vice president Pierre Boulanger, the 2CV (or deux chevaux, referring to the car’s tax class of 2 steam horsepower) was conceived in the 1930s to liberate the French countryside, where most people still relied on the kind of horsepower that has four legs and runs on grain.

Famously designed to “carry a basket of eggs across a plowed field,” the 2CV finally debuted in 1948 with a tiny, motorcycle-inspired air-cooled flat-twin, mounted in front of the front wheels it drove. Inboard front brakes, rack-and-pinion steering, radial tires, and interlinked horizontal coil spring suspension were all advanced stuff, especially for a cheap people’s car.

As for the weird bits, the side windows flip up like in a small airplane rather than roll down like in, you know, a car. The rear seat (and on certain models the radio) can also be removed, so you can have more luggage space or room to carry the trappings for a wine and cheese picnic. The shifter for the four-speed gearbox, meanwhile, sticks straight out of the dash and curves upward into a knob. It looks a little foreign, but if you ignore the layout and shift it like a regular four-on-the-floor, it doesn’t take long to get used to. Jokingly referred to as “umbrellas on wheels,” 2CVs also feature a full-width roll-back roof to open up part of or the whole car on sunny days, or to make room for tall cargo.

The 2CV chugged along for 42 years, with 3.8M units churned out by the time production ended in 1990. It gradually got better and more “powerful” over time, but it didn’t change a whole lot in those four decades. About 30 hp is the most 2CV drivers ever had to work with, so driving flat out merely means using all the engine’s resources to get to the posted limit. Despite constantly having to lean into the throttle, the little flat-twin is unburstable, and even at speed, a softly-sprung Deux Chevaux is as comfortable as most proper luxury cars, if not as quiet. In fact, the only real enemy of a 2CV is rust. Otherwise, simplicity and ease of service are baked in.

Buying and owning a 2CV should be a rewarding experience. Parts are affordable, working on one is straightforward, and the purchase price offers tons of fun and character for the money even if it’s a ripoff in terms of performance per dollar. The median condition #2 (Excellent) value for a 2CV in the Hagerty Price Guide is $29,000 and has doubled over the past 10 years. While not cheap, it’s less expensive than a Beetle of the same era. Driver-quality cars can be had for under $20K. Rarer variants like the two-tone Charleston model or the ultra-rare twin-engined 2CV Sahara can be significantly more expensive.

Citroën DS

Median #2 value: $43,100

An entirely different automobile from the same company and era is the Citroën DS. If the 2CV was for the French peasantry, the DS was for the French of the Space Age future. The star of the 1955 Paris Motor Show, it showcased the self-leveling, adjustable height hydro-pneumatic suspension that became a Citroën hallmark.

The four-cylinder engine was just about the only conventional thing on the car. Like the suspension, the semi-automatic transmission was also hydraulic, the single-spoke steering wheel looked like science fiction, the roof was fiberglass, the disc brakes were mounted inboard, the front track was wider than the rear, the rear signals sat high on the C-pillars, the brakes came on via a rubber button in the footwell rather than a pedal, and the headlights turned with the steering wheel. Citroën packed every bit of tech they could think of into the DS, which explains one of the advertising slogans: “It takes a special person to drive a special car.”

So special, in fact, other companies never really tried to copy it. In retrospect, that’s odd, since the DS is said to be among the most comfortable cars ever made. The hydropneumatic suspension even helped French President Charles de Gaulle escape an assassination attempt when the chauffeur skidded his DS to safety despite the four shot-out tires.

During its 20-year production run, the DS morphed from DS19 (1.9-liter) to DS20 (2.0-liter) to DS21 (2.1-liter) to DS23 (2.3-liter). It was also available as a lower-cost “ID” model with fewer convenience and power features as well as an extra-luxury “Pallas” model. Facelifts occurred in 1962 and ’67, and body styles in addition to the standard sedan included a “Safari” station wagon and a very rare, very expensive two-door convertible built by coachbuilder Henri Chapron.

Production worldwide totaled nearly 1.5 million units, but fewer than 40,000 were sold stateside from 1956–72. Expensive, slow, unusual-looking, poorly-equipped compared to domestic luxury cars, and riding on alien hydraulics, it just didn’t appeal to the American upscale car buyer.

Today, the median condition #2 value for a DS (not including the Chapron cabriolets, which cost well into six figures) is $43,100. Wagons tend to sell for less than sedans and prices can vary by year and equipment, but more important than anything is condition. They don’t carry DS parts at Pep Boys and there isn’t a Citroën specialist in every town.

Citroën SM

Median #2 value: $68,000

In 1968 Citroën, seeking a high-performance engine, bought a little company called Maserati. Now armed with their subsidiary’s four-cam V-6 (later used in the Merak), they stuffed it into the latest Citroën four-seat GT car, the SM. Building on the DS’s novel features but wrapped in a sleeker, more powerful, two-door package, the SM was the fastest front-wheel drive car in the world when it was new. It also featured cutting-edge stuff like variable-ratio power steering and rain-sensing wipers (in 1970!). Robert Opron, an architect by training, was Citroën’s head designer and gets the credit for the SM’s gorgeous teardrop shape. Produced for six years, the SM featured one of three engines: a 2.7-liter, Weber-carbureted version of the Maserati engine; a Bosch fuel-injected version of the same displacement; or a 3.0-liter unit. A 5-speed manual with a lovely open barrel gated shifter or a 3-speed automatic were the transmission choices.

Already reasonably well-established in the US, Citroën brought the SM to the States, where it competed with cars like the BMW 3.0 CS, along with the two-door personal luxury offerings from Detroit. Motor Trend gushed about the SM and awarded it Car of the Year (it was the first foreign car to win), which helped push US sales to about 2000 units out of the fewer than 13,000 sold worldwide. Regulations pushed Citroën out of the US in 1974. The same year, the company went bankrupt and ran into the arms of Peugeot. The SM was axed, while Maserati was sold off to DeTomaso.

Clean SMs do fetch a premium, but their cost of entry isn’t exceedingly expensive, especially given the rarity, beauty, and unique driving experience. Perfect condition #1 (Concours) values crested $100K during the pandemic boom, but they have since softened a bit and solid, drivable examples sell in the mid-five-figure territory.

Where the car can get expensive is in the cost of ownership. SMs come with all the complications of a DS and layer on an Italian thoroughbred engine that can be needy. European market cars tend to command a premium because they got the trick turning headlights (the ones over here were conventional fixed units) and five-speeds are naturally more sought after, but the most important things are condition and regular service.

Alpine A110

Median #2 value: $129,000

Coming full circle to Alpine, the original A110 is the car for which the brand is most famous. Market interest points to the little rally champ as one of the most sought-after French classics here. Though it never sold here in large numbers, its pedigree has cultivated a strong (if small) following.

America wasn’t on Jean Rédélé’s radar when he started Société Anonyme des Automobiles Alpine in the 1950s. The small Normandy-based outfit was primarily interested in racing, and after raiding the Renault parts bin to build a few sports cars, Alpine struck a breakout hit in the 1963 A110. With a fiberglass body on top of a backbone chassis (not unlike a Lotus Elan) and a rear-engine, rear-biased layout with snappy handling (not unlike a Porsche 911), it quickly became a rally favorite. Its short wheelbase, low height (44 inches), light curb weight (about as much as a Mini), and ability to sail around tight corners in a controlled slide brought quick success. The A110’s Renault-based, Gordini-tuned engines got larger and more powerful over the years, and enabled the car to win half of the top-level international rallies on the 1971 schedule, embarrassing the new Porsche 914/6 GT with a victory at the Monte Carlo Rally on the way. In 1973, the A110’s basic design was a decade old, but that didn’t stop it from winning the first World Rally Championship (WRC) title and six of the season’s 13 rounds.

The A110 was very much a car for European roads and drivers, but racing success spreads reputations worldwide, and Alpines are among the most desirable French cars in America. They’re expensive for a tiny four-cylinder car, but compared to a certain other classic rear-engined, lightweight coupe with lively handling and racing pedigree (ahem, 911), it’s not so bad.

Pricing A110s can be tricky. Condition #2 values range from $129K to $200K, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Generally, later cars with larger engines are more desirable. Displacement included 956, 1100, 1300, and 1500cc versions. Later, faster ones used an aluminum 1600-cc engine, which is sometimes transplanted into earlier cars. Competition history, meanwhile, can make a bigger difference than anything. An ex-Works rally winner is going to sell for far more than even the world’s cleanest road car.

Then there’s another wrinkle: contract-built cars. Since demand for its rally-winning A110 outstripped Alpine’s capacity, it contracted out construction to firms in Spain, Brazil, Mexico, and even Bulgaria. Diesel Nacional (DINA) in Mexico built a few hundred and badged them “Dinalpins,” while Bulgarian company ETO built a handful of “Bulgaralpines.”

Most of the foreign-built A110s (about 1500) came from Fabricación de Automóviles Sociedad Anónima de Valladolid (FASA) in Spain. These foreign-built Alpines are rarer and mechanically identical, but typically sell at a significant discount compared to their home-grown siblings. If you don’t mind an “hecho en México” sticker, it’s the frugal way to get into one of the most popular French designs out there.

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French performance car maker Alpine has targeted 2027 as the year it will finally make its debut in the U.S.A.

Until recently only affirmed Francophiles in America would have known about the brand which started making sports cars in the 1950s. Beginning by rebodying the Renault 4CV in lightweight fiberglass to create the A106, the company’s biggest success was its A110, produced between 1962 and 1977. Not just a pretty face the A110 was an accomplished rally racer, winning the 1973 World Rally Championship, beating Porsche, Lancia and Ford factory teams. A year later Renault took over Alpine and has owned it ever since, producing a range of rear-engined coupes including the A310, A610 and GTA until the mid 1990s.

A revival came in 2017 with the launch of a new A110 sports car (top) that carried on the company’s tradition of light weight, fun-to-drive machines. Despite not selling in huge volumes, the A110 has been highly-acclaimed as a Porsche Cayman rival and re-established Alpine as a force to be reckoned with.

Parent company Renault renamed its Formula 1 team Alpine in 2020 and the rising popularity of Grand Prix racing in the U.S.A. has begun to build the brand this side of the Atlantic. Having so far scored only a single victory in the top rank of motor racing, Alpine is set to get another boost—in publicity at least—as Deadpool actor Ryan Reynolds has just invested in the team as part of a consortium. Reynolds’ previous exploits with sporting underdogs have gone well. As co-owner of English soccer team Wrexham FC he has overseen the team’s return to the English Football League after an absence of 15 years. More brand building comes from Alpine’s recent success at Pike’s Peak, where the French firm scored a third place finish at its very first attempt on the hill, setting a new class record in the process.

That car was based on the A110 and powered by a 500-hp internal combustion engine, but by the time Alpine arrives in America all its models will be fully-electric. The first cars to reach our shores will be sporty crossovers, built upon a new Alpine Performance Platform, but a four-seater called the A310 and the volts-powered successor to the A110 two-seater will also be designed for U.S. roads. Alpine’s A290 hot hatch, based on the upcoming electric Renault 5, is highly unlikely to be included in the line-up, however.

Alpine is in discussions with the AutoNation dealer network which could give it states-wide coverage from the get-go. Watch this space.

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Carlos Ghosn, possibly the only former auto tycoon to escape the law by being smuggled out of a country in a musical instrument case, has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Nissan and about a dozen individuals in Beirut over his “imprisonment” in Japan, Lebanese officials said today, according to the Associated Press.

“According to the officials,” the AP says, Ghosn’s lawsuit accuses Nissan and the individuals in Beirut of defamation and of “fabricating charges” against him, which eventually put him behind bars in Japan.

Ghosn, 69, who began his executive career as the head of Michelin’s North American operation, was chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, a strategic partnership founded in 1999. He was hired in 1996 by Renault to turn around the money-losing company, and did.

He was doing the same for the alliance through his severe cost-cutting methods that were so successful, if unpopular with some, that he rose to comic-book superhero status in Japan, heading a major turnaround for Nissan.

But subsequent investigation showed evidence of misuse of company funds, leading to his arrest in Japan in November 2018 on charges of “breach of trust, misusing company assets for personal gains and violating securities laws by not fully disclosing his compensation,” AP says.

In December 2019, he jumped bail in Japan and was smuggled out of the country aboard a private jet to Lebanon, where he is a citizen. Lebanon, critically, has no extradition agreement with Japan. Prosecutors in Japan charged three Americans with helping Ghosn escape the country.

Ghosn, sullen and testy on his best of days when dealing with the automotive media, is also facing charges in France of tax evasion and alleged money laundering, fraud, and misuse of company assets while at the helm of the Renault-Nissan alliance.

The lawsuit is set to be heard in September in Lebanon.

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Massachusetts Attorney General begins enforcing embattled right-to-repair law

Intake: According to a new report from the Boston Globe, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has been cleared by a federal judge to begin enforcing the state’s right-to-repair law, effective yesterday. The embattled law mandates that automakers provide consumers and independent repair shops with wireless access to a car’s telematic data to diagnose the vehicle’s performance so that independent shops can better repair ailing cars. Automakers say that the law puts their data security at risk and argue that the law is poorly drafted and hard to obey. The law was overwhelmingly supported by voters in a 2020 referendum, but automakers last Thursday asked U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock for a temporary restraining order to stop Cambell from enforcing the law. Woodlock criticized the law in an online hearing but said that because the law had such strong support, he would not grant the restraining order—thereby paving the way for Campbell to enforce it. “The people have voted on this and that’s the result,” said Woodlock. “I am loath to impose my own views on the initiative.”

Exhaust: Woodlock said that carmakers could still seek a preliminary injunction against the law, which is a more complex and time-consuming process, but in the meantime, automakers will be forced to share telematics data with independent shops in Massachusetts. Right-to-repair laws are a hot topic right now as cars get increasingly computer-controlled. In February, the House of Representatives introduced new legislation that aims to support the idea at a federal level. As of this writing, that legislation is still in the introductory stage. Let’s hope it moves through quickly. — Nathan Petroelje

JLR claims new branding brings clarity to customers

Intake: Jaguar Land Rover is now simply JLR. It’s also a “House of Brands” made up of Range Rover, Defender, Discover, and Jaguar but Land Rover fans needn’t fear, as the 75-year-old name will not be disappearing. “The Land Rover brand will remain a key part of the company’s DNA. Land Rover continues as a world-renowned and important heritage mark, remaining on vehicles, websites, social media, and retail sites, underpinning the world-class Range Rover, Defender, and Discovery brands,” confirms a JLR statement.

Exhaust: “This is the next chapter of our Reimagine journey to become a truly modern luxury business,” adds Chief Creative Officer Professor Gerry McGovern. “The new JLR identity will bring clarity to our clients and act as a unifier for our four distinct British brands.” All clear then? Didn’t think so. — Nik Berg

Columnist George Will no fan of EV goals

Intake: In a column in the Washington Post and other newspapers titled “Two-thirds of new cars will be EVs in nine years? That will not happen,” syndicated columnist George Will says, “[President] Biden wants EVs, which were only 5.8 percent of U.S. new car sales in 2022, to be 67 percent by 2032. (His initial target had been 50 percent by 2030.) So, consumer sovereignty must be extinguished. Congress would not risk the aggressive paternalism of mandating that Americans buy EVs. For progressives, however, Congress is to the body politic as the appendix is to the human body: unnecessary and troublesome.” Will says that without massive subsidies, EVs won’t meet Biden’s predictions.

Exhaust: “What is delicately called consumer hesitancy regarding EVs includes worries about charging them,” Will writes. “When U.S. automobile ownership surged from 8 million in 1920 to 20 million in 1929, drivers found gasoline because the private sector nimbly supplied service stations to meet demand. A century later, because industrial policy expects supply to precede demand, the Biden administration plans to spend $7.5 billion providing 500,000 charging stations for subsidized EV purchasers.” — Steven Cole Smith

Renault could face criminal prosecution over faulty engines

Intake: Renault could face criminal prosecution in France over faulty engines as a group of customers plans to lodge a complaint against the carmaker next week, the group’s lawyer told Reuters today. “We are going to file a complaint on Monday on behalf of at least several dozen people,” Christophe Leguevaques said, adding many other owners of Renault vehicles, as well as those of its Dacia brand and partner Nissan, could join the move. The complaint, first reported by Le Parisien newspaper, will be filed in criminal court, with claims ranging from “aggravated deceit, questionable business practices” to “fraud” and “endangering the life of others,” the lawyer said.

Exhaust: A Renault spokesperson said the company had been providing technical support and financial help to affected customers. “The Renault Group never stopped and continues reviewing demands that it is receiving,” the spokesperson said. And a spokesperson for Nissan, which produces some models with Renault, said it was “supporting any customers that may experience engine noise, misfiring, low power, or over-consumption of oil under our warranty and customer support policies.” The customers claim the carmakers should have issued a recall when they discovered problems with the 1.2-liter engine used in 400,000 vehicles in Europe between 2012 and 2016. — SCS

Rivian may lose Nasdaq Index spot

Intake: Shares of Rivian may get pushed out of the Nasdaq 100 Index as early as this month after falling more than 90 percent from their record high, according to JP Morgan Securities, as relayed by Bloomberg.  The index typically removes the smallest members of the Nasdaq 100 if the company is weighted at less than 0.1 percent of the gauge for two consecutive months, JP Morgan analyst Min Moon wrote in a note on Thursday. Because Rivian was below 0.1 percent as of April 28 and May 31, Moon expects the carmaker to be excluded from the index on the third Friday of June. ON Semiconductor is ranked at the top of the eligible companies to replace the EV maker, Moon said.

Exhaust: Removal from the index would deal another blow to a stock that’s been beaten down since its November 2021 IPO. “After briefly riding the frenzy for all things related to EVs, Rivian’s shares started unraveling,” Bloomberg said. Investors soured on risky growth companies, correctly anticipating the Federal Reserve would raise rates to arrest inflation, in turn slowing the economy and making sales of an expensive electric pickup truck less likely. Representatives of Rivian and Nasdaq declined to comment on Thursday. —SCS

Hyundai and Kia having problems with anti-theft software

Intake: Software patches that Kia and Hyundai are distributing to help stop a nationwide crime fad in hot-wiring their older vehicles have issues, the companies said. Both marques have notified dealers that the software solutions “are not working perfectly,” said Automotive News. A service bulletin sent from Kia to dealers in February identified a compatibility issue involving vehicles equipped with remote start accessories. Another bulletin, issued last week, said the problem has not been remedied. A Hyundai service bulletin sent in April also advises that vehicles with aftermarket or add-on alarms or remote start systems may not operate normally if the software patch is installed.

Exhaust: The upgrades are part of a campaign the companies launched in February to protect 7 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles from the 2011 through 2022 model years that are particularly vulnerable to hot-wire theft. Thieves can quickly break into the vehicles, pop open their steering wheel columns and start the car with a USB plug or a similarly shaped tool. A video demonstrating how to start the vehicles surfaced on TikTok last year and set off a nationwide crime spree. — SCS

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Drivers named for GM’s Garage 56 Le Mans entry

Intake: A press conference that was part of the Rolex 24 at Daytona weekend addressed the all-star driver lineup for the Chevrolet Camaro that GM, NASCAR, and Hendrick Motorsports are entering in the 100th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This entirely reworked NASCAR Cup Camaro will run in a class called Garage 56, a slot Le Mans organizers use to enter an exhibition vehicle demonstrating unfamiliar technology. The drivers will be NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson, veteran road racer Mike Rockenfeller, and former Formula 1 champion Jensen Button. Johnson was not a huge surprise, because he has wanted to compete at Le Mans for years, and Rockenfeller has been doing most of the testing of the Camaro, but 2009 F1 champ Button was a shocker. “As a lifelong racing fan, I have always dreamed of racing certain cars, with and against certain drivers and competing in certain events,” Button said. “In June, a number of those dreams will come true.” The trio will be testing the car at Daytona International Speedway tomorrow and Wednesday.

Exhaust: Not since the wacky DeltaWing debuted at Le Mans in 2012 will a Garage 56 entry get this level of attention. — Steven Cole Smith

Renault to electrify classic 4, 5, and Twingo

Intake: It’s not enough that Renault is launching new electric cars wearing the iconic R4 and R5 badges; the French firm is now offering kits to transform its classics to battery power. Unveiled at the Rétromobile showcase in Paris is a retrofit system for the Renault 4, 5 (Le Car), and the first-generation Twingo, which costs €11,900 ($12,950) including installation and replaces the internal-combustion engine with a 48-kW brushless synchronous motor and a 10.7-kWh battery pack. The original transmission is kept, so the classic experience of rowing your own gears is maintained. Developed and fitted by partner company R-FIT, the conversion’s drawback is range. You’ll likely only get 50 miles from a full charge and the kit isn’t compatible with rapid charging systems, so juicing up an empty battery would take over three hours.

“We are overjoyed about launching these electric retrofit kits that will enable people who love their classic cars and young people to drive in France in our iconic Renault 4, Renault 5, and Twingo, powered by electricity,” said Hugues Portron, director of The Originals Renault collection. “In addition to the circular economy created by these new electric engine fits, the electric retrofit kits offer a solution that combines the pleasure of driving with savings and reliability without taking anything away from the style and the original designs of these well-loved timeless classics.”

Exhaust: Only last week, Toyota showed a pair of zero-emission AE86 coupes converted to run on hydrogen or battery power. The plus side of OEMs getting in on the trend for electrifying older models is that the OEM conversions should, at least, come with some factory assurances. The Renault kits are supplied with a two-year warranty and have passed safety tests, providing peace of mind to owners contemplating making the switch. — Nik Berg

U.K. exhaust company takes aim at “modern classics”

Intake: Some of our “modern classics” are getting a bit long in the tooth when it comes to their exhaust systems, which likely need replacing. Rather than go straight OEM, allow us to present Milltek Sport, which has developed bespoke new OEM+ systems for the latest crop of classic performance heroes, including the Audi TT, Honda Integra Type R, Mini Cooper S, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (VII/VIII), Volkswagen Golf R32, and Audi RS4 (B5/B7). “These cars are now passing their twentieth birthday and will soon be considered as classics in their own right. A Milltek Sport Classic system offers the perfect balance of OEM+ design, superior quality and enhanced performance and sound,” said Steve Pound, managing director of Milltek. The company says that while some customers choose larger bore, race-inspired exhaust systems, many customers choose an upgraded item that emulates the original factory design.

Exhaust: We’ve seen Milltek products and have been impressed by their style and quality. — SCS 

Nissan all-wheel-drive system could be an industry leader

Intake: “When cruising along at 40 mph on a sheet of super-slick ice, it pays to have an ultra-responsive vehicle stability system that won’t skate you right off the road,” is how Automotive News introduces its Japanese test of the new e-40rce system Nissan will be using on its all-electric Ariya. E-4orce “combines all computations in one electronic control unit for faster reaction and more precise power adjustment.” It then channels the signal to two sets of electric motors—one for the front axle, the other for the rear. The setup allows for a wide band of power splitting, delivering up to 100 percent to the front axle and up to 100 percent to the rear. The system then blends that power distribution with independent braking control on the right and left sides. On an icy frozen lake bed, “An e-4orce-equipped Ariya sprung quickly off the start with zero slippage, braked with ease in an unwavering beeline, and proved nearly impossible to fishtail on an icy skid pad.”

Exhaust: Nissan’s e-4orce is just one of such systems being offered on this next generation of electric vehicles. The new crop of stability-control systems should definitely be on a buyer’s radar. — SCS

Ford chops prices across Mustang Mach-E lineup

Intake: Ford is cutting prices across the entire Mustang Mach-E lineup. The move is meant to compete with Tesla, who recently dropped prices for many of its vehicles as well, according to the report from the Detroit Free Press. Depending on the model, prices have dropped between $600 and $5900, excluding destination fees. “We’re not going to cede ground to anyone,” Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer for Ford Model e (The company’s EV division), told reporters on a conference call. “We’ll continue to push the boundaries to make EVs more accessible for everyone.” Ford noted that the price drops were in part because of the new tax incentives put into place by the Inflation Reduction Act. Those tax credits—up to $7500 for qualifying vehicles—went into effect at the start of this year. (Tesla’s recent price cuts were also influenced by the new tax incentives coming online.) Ford has sold more than 66,000 Mustang Mach-Es since the model first went on sale in 2021. The Mach-E’s production facility in Mexico is currently undergoing a revamp to handle increased production, and Ford says it will come back online sometime in the first quarter of this year. The goal of the revamped line is to take annual production from 78,000 units to 130,000.

Exhaust: Ford also noted that with its EV supply chain gathering momentum, material costs for the Mach-E were down, and that was another driver of the price cut. There’s good news for dealers as well: Ford said it will drop the 25-unit annual EV sales cap at dealerships, and it is also reducing the costs of that EV certification program for dealerships by $10,000, according to a report from Automotive News. Kudos to Ford for passing some cost relief on to dealers and customers alike. — Nathan Petroelje

More false alarms from iPhone 14 Crash Detection system

Intake: According to 9to5mac.com, the iPhone 14’s Crash Detection system, designed to inform authorities if the owner has been involved in a serious car crash, has caused the fire department of the Kita-Alps, Nagano, in Japan to report 134 false calls between December 16 and January 23, “mainly” from the iPhone 14 Crash Detection system incorrectly triggering as the phones’ owners go down the ski slopes. The site quotes Apple, describing what the Crash Detection system responds to—sudden speed shifts, abrupt changes in direction, cabin pressure changes, and loud sound levels—and the sensors it uses: “A new high g-force accelerometer senses extreme accelerations or decelerations up to 256 gs […] A high dynamic range gyroscope monitors drastic changes in a car’s orientation […] The barometer can detect pressure changes caused by deploying airbags […] While you’re driving, the microphone identifies the extreme sound levels of a collision.” This array is causing false triggers when users are riding on roller coasters, and when they’re skiing and snowboarding, says the New York Post.

Exhaust: Crash Detection is a feature on all iPhone 14 models, as well as the Apple Watch Series 8, second-gen Apple Watch SE, and Apple Watch Ultra. Apple is reportedly working on the problem. — SCS

Alfa wants a big vehicle for the U.S.

Intake: Alfa Romeo is working on a new large “E-segment” fully-electric vehicle to expand in the U.S., CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said. “We will have to be in the E-segment in North America,” Imparato told Automotive News on the sidelines of the launch of the Tonale compact crossover in Japan. “We are working on that.” The brand’s U.S. lineup tops out with a D-segment entry in the Giulia sedan.

Exhaust: Alfa definitely needs more inventory if it wants to make a serious play for the U.S. The Italian brand has pledged to go all-electric by 2027. — SCS 

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Famous French sports-car brand wants to sell SUV to U.S.

Intake: Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi sees the United States market as a major key to the French brand’s growth over the next seven years, according to a new report by Automotive News. Renault Group CEO Luca de Meo has set an ambitious revenue target of 8 billion Euros (roughly $8.6 billion) by 2030 for Alpine, and both executives agree that such a goal can’t be achieved without American sales. Alpine, which currently only makes one car, the A110 sports coupe sold exclusively overseas, will have to clear more than 150,000 sales annually to achieve that goal, says Rossi. The American effort will be spearheaded by two electric SUVs, about the size of Porsche’s Macan and Cayenne Coupe, due sometime in 2027 or 2028. Rossi said that Alpine is still evaluating what platform the two electric crossovers will be built on, mentioning that although cribbing parts from Alliance partner Nissan is a logical step, the brand may also tap Lotus or its parent company Geely. “It’s quite early days, because we are talking about cars that will be released around 2027 or 2028, so we can really take our time in exploring the best solutions and best collaborations,” said Rossi, talking to reporters.

Exhaust: Rossi is correct that the brand has time to decide the best partner to work with for these forthcoming models, but developing a car from the ground up takes several years; don’t expect Alpine to wait around until 2025 to make a final decision. Alpine has other cars coming down the pipeline sooner, including a hot-hatch version of the new Renault 5 EV due in 2024, a sporty compact-crossover EV tentatively called the GT and due in 2025, and an electric successor to the A110, which will use Lotus underpinnings, due in 2027. Sadly, none of them are destined for the states. Will Alpine’s American ambitions mesh with tough regulations about production and material sourcing for that all-important tax credit? — Nathan Petroelje

2024 CLA 45 S Coupe has America’s most powerful four-pot

Intake: Mercedes-Benz has given the CLA Coupe a nip and tuck for the 2024 model year, but the most interesting element of the revised model is the introduction of the 45 S. Fettled by AMG, the car’s 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine produces an epic 416 horsepower at 6750 rpm alongside a 369 lb-ft tsunami of torque at 5000 rpm. Those figures are mainly down to substituting the exhaust-gas turbo of the lesser CLA 35 with a twin-scroll, roller-bearing-mounted blower, alongside having the motor itself hand-assembled by the bearded boffins at AMG. There’s also a 48-volt mild-hybrid system which adds 13 hp. Power goes to all four wheels via an eight-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission, and as a result, the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 S Coupe will scorch from zero to 60 mph in four seconds flat and reach a top speed of 167 mph. Like all 2024 CLAs, the 45 S Coupe features a tweaked front and rear design but also gains an aero-enhancing body kit with a fixed rear spoiler and a set of five-spoke, 19-inch black alloy wheels. There are interior upgrades across the CLA range as well, including a 10.25-inch media display, an uprated MBUX infotainment system with a Dolby Atmos stereo, and a variety of new fabrics. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but expect to pay more than the $56,950 that Mercedes charged for the outgoing CLA 45.

Exhaust: Downsizing certainly hasn’t hurt AMG’s seemingly endless search for power. The new CLA 45 S is 34 hp up on last year’s 45 and outguns Audi’s RS3 despite being down one cylinder and a half-liter of engine displacement. Will AMG be able to wring any more out of this motor before the fully electric switch? — Nik Berg

Winnebago offering test drives of its electric RV

Intake: At the ongoing Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa, the unlikely celebrity is Winnebago’s new eRV2, an all-electric RV. The company is offering test drives, and is currently overbooked for them. Electrek.co says the concept was built off the Ford Transit platform and upfitted by Lightning eMotors. “It utilized the vehicle’s body, chassis, and suspension, then was equipped with an 86-kWh battery that was expected to deliver 125 miles of range and charge time of 45 minutes on DC fast charger,” says Electrek.

Exhaust: Truly made for green travelers who aren’t in a hurry, the 125-mile eRV2 is the future. It’s outfitted with solar panels, and “from Chilewich flooring to Paperstone window frames, we’ve employed sustainable and recycled materials throughout the van to further reduce your impact on the environment,” Winnebago says. Production is expected to start soon, with no word on the price as of this writing. — SCS

Interest rates hiked on vehicle loans

Intake: Interest rates will grow to 6.9 percent on direct 60-month new-vehicle loans and 7.8 percent on direct 48-month used-vehicle loans over the course of the year, Bankrate chief financial analyst Greg McBride predicts, says Automotive News. Five-year new-vehicle loans directly from banks started last year at 3.9 percent interest on January 5, 2022, and rose to 6.1 percent by December 28, 2022, according to Bankrate. McBride said his forecast figures the Fed will bump the federal funds rate another percentage point upwards in the first half of 2023, and then “move to the sidelines.”

Exhaust: Given new car, truck, and SUV prices are still elevated as the chip shortage winds down, “Cash is King,” as a Bloomberg.com story suggests. A healthy trade-in or a substantial down payment will help ease the pain of the higher interest races.— SCS

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Spied: Electric G-Wagen undergoes chilly testing

Intake: Photographers have spotted Mercedes-Benz’s all-electric G-Class undergoing some winter testing in Northern Sweden. The new model—which will likely take the name EQG, in line with the EQ- designation on other pure-electric Mercedes models—is expected to make its public debut sometime next year. The electric G Wagen will utilize a modified version of the steel ladder frame that underpins the current G-Class, codenamed the W463. Mercedes has hinted that it will feature one electric motor for each wheel, although power figures are still a mystery. The prototype seen here features some ritzy camo that clearly hints at electric propulsion. Although the design doesn’t differ too much from the gas-powered models, we can see a more closed-up front grille and a muted rear bumper design. The swing gate-mounted spare tire is also absent here, although there’s no reason to believe that won’t make a return in the all-electric model on production versions.

Exhaust: The G-Class has endured in the modern era as a counter-cultural icon, staying resolutely boxy while everything else gets sleeker by the year. It may not be the biggest volume mover for Benz—although Mercedes-Benz USA sold 7,018 units in 2022, which is no small number for a high-margin brute like this—it may be the company’s most important EV yet. — Nathan Petroelje

Mazda’s 2023 MX-30 EV is pricey, puzzling

Intake: Mazda’s all-electric MX-30 is starting its second year in California dealerships with a starting price of $35,385, while the Premium Plus package that adds extra safety features like Blind Spot Assist and Front Cross Traffic Alert will bump the price up to $38,395. There’s still no hybrid option, and both versions are aimed at urban buyers as the 35.5 kWh lithium-ion battery will deliver a 100-mile range on a full charge.

Exhaust: The MX-30 is at a strange place in the market. Its “freestyle doors” make it less practical than the typical four-door, while its 100-mile range puts it at a disadvantage when compared to even less-expensive EVs like the Chevy Bolt. After a slow start in 2022 with only a few hundred sales, the MX-30 is still only available in California. We’ll have to see if Mazda can inject enough driving fun with the 144-hp FWD crossover to gain momentum, or if it will need an injection of rotary power to make buyers notice. — Brandan Gillogly

Oh, your Hummer crab walks? So does this Hyundai IONIQ 5

Intake: At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last week, Hyundai’s parts and service arm, a company called Hyundai Mobis, revealed a version of the brand’s Ioniq 5 EV with a neat trick: the ability to “crab walk.” The car features individual electric motors at each wheel, as well as individual brake-by-wire and steer-by-wire systems that enable the rolling stock at each corner to turn and revolve independently. Hyundai calls the tech “e-Corner” and the video above demonstrates the car folding all four wheels into a circle, enabling it to spin in place, as well as sliding sideways to make parallel parking a breeze. While GMC’s Hummer EV will put a form of this technology into production right from the get-go, we may see Hyundai attempt to scale this e-Corner tech into production versions of the Ioniq 5 in the coming years.

Exhaust: Neat as it is, this tech is not the first time that folks have attempted to use wheels to solve tricky maneuvering dilemmas. As this article from Jeff Peek shows, enterprising engineers were attempting to utilize wheels on different axis to make parking easier as far back as the 1930s! — Nathan Petroelje

Rivian short several executives and 700 trucks

Intake: There may be trouble at Rivian, says the Wall Street Journal: Several top executives have left the U.S. electric truck and SUV maker in recent months, as Rivian “exits a year in which it fell short of production targets.” The company “missed a critical milestone” in being unable to deliver its production target of 25,000 vehicles largely due to supply chain issues, the Journal says. Departures include Randy Frank, vice president of body and interior engineering, and Steve Gawronski, vice president in charge of parts purchasing.

Exhaust: Rivian fell 700 vehicles short of its production target, which frankly, doesn’t seem that bad. Rivian’s stock price is down 79 percent since its IPO in November of 2021, but while that sounds awful, one could argue that the drop is as large as it is because the stock was dramatically overvalued to start with. The company’s R1T pickup and R1S SUV are among the best electrics we’ve driven, but still, for every fledgling EV maker, the bugaboo always seems to be production targets.  If Rivian can stay the course, it should succeed. — Steven Cole Smith

This is the last-ever Renault Sport

Intake: Just unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon, the Renault Megane RS Ultime will be the final car from the French firm’s fast subbrand. From here on out, future racy Renaults will be badged Alpine, like the Formula 1 team. The last of the line model will be limited to 1976 units as a nod to the year that Renault Sport was founded. It’s based on the already-hot Megane Trophy but gains a more aggressive body kit with wider fenders and a central exit exhaust, plus a smattering of black graphics. Inside there are Recaro seats in Alcantara and there’s a choice of manual or EDC (Efficient Dual Clutch) manual transmissions. Power is from a 300-hp 1.8-liter turbo motor shared with the Alpine A110 sports car, the chassis is from the Megane Cup and there’s both rear-steer and a Torsen mechanical differential to aid agility.

Exhaust: Renaults of any kind haven’t been available in the U.S.A. since 1992, let alone Renault Sport models, so why should you care? Well, with the growing popularity of Formula 1, more and more Americans are becoming aware of Alpine. Renault Group boss Luca de Meo has hinted that Alpine could be introduced to America, especially as it switches to electric power for its next-generation sports car (under development with Lotus) and adds SUVs to its range. — Nik Berg

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At 25 years old, the cars that America has been denied come of age. Under federal DOT rules, as soon as a model hits this milestone it can be privately imported, so with each new year come new gems for car fans looking for something a bit different to drive.

Here are 23 examples of foreign fun that will become legal in the U.S.A. in 2023.

Urban collective

For a city runabout with a small footprint the year 1998 has a curiosity of compact cars to consider. First comes the cute Honda Capa, born out of the Japanese automaker’s “Small is Smart” philosophy. A little too large to be a kei car, it came with a 1.5-liter motor and continuously variable transmission, and plenty of headroom thanks to its boxy design.

Over in Germany, Volkswagen’s Lupo might have got its name from the Latin for wolf, but really this three-door hatch was quite sheepish, unless you opted for the 1.6-liter GTi.

Back in Japan, the first-generation Nissan Cube was launched and couldn’t have been named more aptly. Based on the Micra platform it developed a cult following and the third generation, launched in 2009 even made it to the U.S.

However, by far the most popular city car of 1998 was the Tata Indica, the first car from India’s Tata Motors (which ten years later would buy Jaguar Land Rover). The basic runabout soon became the best-seller in its class and had sold a million units within ten years. It would be easy to find one, and it’s guaranteed you’ll never see another at the grocery store.

A family affair

If you’ve got people to move and you’re feeling especially brave, then 1998 has three options. The Fiat Multipla took its name from the wonderfully bizarre 600 Multipla of the mid-1950s and was no less unusual. Its sea-creature styling contained a 3×3 seating arrangement which made it a very spacious and practical wagon despite not being especially long. You could even remove the rear seats to turn it into a van. The 1.9-liter JTD diesel was the best version at the time, while a wide track meant it would tip into corners with enough enthusiasm to upset the family.

Russia’s optimistic answer was the Lada Nadezhda—an ungainly all-wheel drive MPV, which despite its name meaning “hope,” few people had enough to buy it.

Nissan’s Almera Tino, by contrast, did quite well, providing no-frills, cost-effective transport for families in Europe and Japan. Nissan even used Mr. Bean to advertise it, which presumably allowed Rowan Atkinson to buy another Aston Martin.

Slick sedans

The year 1998 brought a tidy selection of unobtainable sedans that could never grace U.S. soil … until 2023. Alfa Romeo was absent from America from 1995 to 2008 (when the 8C went across the pond), so the Alfa 166 was not sold Stateside. It carried over the charming 2.0-liter twin spark and 3.0-liter V-6 engines from the 164 it replaced, along with a 2.4-liter diesel. Top-of-the-line models received a lovely Momo leather interior, but it failed to sell in serious numbers.

The Rover 75 launched the same year, and its retro stylings appealed to patriotic Brits who were reminded of the glory of days gone by. The car’s 1.8-liter K-Series and K V-6 engines were excellent and the 75 drove well, but the car ultimately failed to save the firm.

Toyota, meanwhile, could do no wrong, despite offering up the Progrès which arguably cannibalized off other Toyota and Lexus models. Power was from a 2.5 or 3.0-liter V-6 and it featured the world’s first GPS-guided automatic transmission. (Since it was only sold in Japan, don’t expect that trick to be much use if you import one.)

Also in Japan, the mentalists at Mitsuoka got hold of Nissan’s perfectly sensible Primera, grafted a ridiculous retro nose onto it and called it the Ryoga. Mechanically it would be a sound enough buy, but aesthetically … that’s a whole different story. A matter of taste.

Plans hatch

1998 was a good year for fans of sporty little hatchbacks. Peugeot replaced its legendary 205 with the 206, which was more sophisticated, if a little less entertaining than its predecessor. The real fun from Peugeot came in the form of the second-generation 106 Rallye, however. Now powered by a 1.6-liter motor and stripped out to save weight and finesse handling.

Renault took a different approach with its RenaultSport Clio 172, opting to fit a two-liter 16v VVT engine into the little Clio and spawning a whole new series of hot hatches.

Malaysia’s Proton, having recently taken ownership of Lotus, decided to put the British sports car firm to work on its humdrum Satria to make the Satria GTi. Wearing “Handling by Lotus” tags and a sporty body kit it was far more than just badge engineering and genuinely quite a thrill to drive.

Rally-ready rockets

Mitsubishi’s annual updates to the Lancer Evolution were already in full swing and, for 1998, that meant the Evo V was the car of the moment. Chief among the enhancements over the earlier IV were a new bodykit with adjustable rear wing, a wider track, and some engine fettling to include a revised turbo and pistons, although the 276-hp remained the same due to rally rules.

Its rival, and undisputed champion, was the Subaru 22B. This wide-bodied two-door was built to celebrate Subaru’s 40th-anniversary and its third consecutive victory in the FIA World Rally Championship. 400 were made for Japan and sold out immediately, while a further 24 made it to export markets. One fetched $312,555 in 2021, making it the most expensive Subaru ever sold.

Track attackers

Britain’s Ascari was having some success in the British GT Championship when it decided that selling a road-going version of its FGT would be a good idea. Work began in 1998 on the Ecosse, a BMW V-8-powered, 420-hp supercar. Top speed was claimed to be in excess of 200 mph, but just 17 were built.

That’s mass production compared to the Mercedes CLK LM of which only one Strassenversion was ever made. A road-legal homologated version of the German company’s GT1 race car, which won every round of the 1998 FIA GT season but failed to finish at Le Mans, it was sold to a collector in Japan. Now residing somewhere in Europe, after achieving €2 million in 2016, you’d need very deep pockets to acquire it.

4×4 fun

Should you fancy the odd off-road excursion, what could be better than a 25-year-old odd off-roader nobody minds getting filthy? Kia has clearly come a long way from the days when it was selling a lightly re-purposed military vehicle called the Retona, with a two-liter diesel engine that meant it could barely get out of its own way.

The Lada Niva Travel was no better. Developed by Russia’s VAZ, it was supposed to replace the almost unstoppable Niva and was even sold as a Chevrolet for a while.

India had the Tata Safari 4×4, powered by a Peugeot diesel engine and with styling seemingly stolen from the Ford Maverick. Nonetheless it had a solid 12-year run. Our final off-road offering is actually worth considering.

The Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin, also known as the iO or Shogun Pinin, is a pretty stylish, compact 4×4 that got its name from the Pininfarina factory in Italy where it was assembled. Reliable, capable and with a dash of Italian flair, what’s not to like?

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Contrary to thoughts on many corners of the Internet, the Malaise Era very much ended in the early 1980s. Performance cars were getting faster and more fun to drive, while family vehicles simply did their jobs better and more efficiently with the advent of computerized design and a smaller footprint with the same—or more—interior space as yesteryear’s land yachts. But not all brands recovered from this bout of blah at the same pace.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Chrysler took a longer time to shrug off that era. Be it lean burn engine computers, hurried-to-production Volares, or a controversial government bailout, the 1970s were not a good time for the Pentastar brand. It would eventually bounce back, paying the government back in 1983, but did its product line recover quick enough to ditch the malaise era moniker?

By definition? Yes, it did. But, depending on your perspective on Chrysler, the answer may be more complicated than that. Haters will point to the 1990 model year as more proof of the same missteps. Lovers will see the incremental improvements of a brand that was in the midst of transforming itself into a powerhouse, albeit one that was sadly taken for a ride just a few years later.

Perhaps both perspectives have merit, as seen in Motorweek’s assessment of the 1990 Chrysler lineup. A new decade deserves some new cars, right?

The 1990 Imperial is the poster child for a new vehicle with more than a modest influence of old school thinking. The top-tier luxury Chrysler was reborn as a competitor for the downsized, front-wheel drive market dominated by Cadillac and (to a lesser extent) the Lincoln Continental. While Motorweek didn’t put them head-to-head, the Imperial’s 3.3-liter V-6 would likely have had a tough time against Lincoln’s 3.8-liter Essex V-6, much less the 4.5-liter V-8 of the 1990 Cadillacs. And its Y-body chassis is objectively inferior to GM’s C-body and Ford’s lengthened Taurus platforms, as it lacked a fully independent suspension. (If I got this wrong during my research, I’d love to be proven wrong in the comments below.)

Luckily, the 1990 Imperial had an optional air suspension for Continental-like plushness, semi-independent rear setup aside. Sadly it lacked the Continental’s cutting edge, dual-mode dampers and variable rate steering. New Order was not on the playlist, as the Imperial sported styling that made it clear this New Yorker-derived flagship aimed to please a specific market: one that could care less about a wannabe-Mercedes Continental. In some ways, the Imperial was the best of old and new Chrysler.

On the other side of the spectrum was the new Plymouth Laser, borrowed from Mitsubishi. New for the 1990 model year, the Diamond Star partnership gave Chrysler a Mitsubishi Eclipse, rebadged for both Plymouth and the Eagle brand. The anthesis of the traditional Imperial, the Laser clearly set its sights on a demographic that was very unlikely to consider a Chrysler product influenced by the Malaise Era. It was the right sport coupe for the time, and perhaps the most famous example of the Mitsubishi-Chrysler partnership.

But Motorweek also mentioned other Diamond Star derivatives of the era. For 1990 there was the Ram 50 (Mitsubishi Mighty Max) compact pickup, a Dodge Colt/Eagle Summit, and a host of Chrysler family vehicles now powered by Mitsubishi’s 3-liter V-6. A handful of those Mitsu-powered cars could now be ordered with a 5-speed manual in cars like the Dodge Daytona. Ordering the big motor with a stick in a Daytona ES with the “V6 Performance Discount Package” netted the performance upgrades necessary for a compelling yet winter friendly front-wheel drive alternative to a Fox Body Mustang. Sometimes borrowing stuff from others is a great idea, no?

Sometimes not. As previously discussed, Renault’s interests in the AMC brand haunted the office hallways in Auburn Hills. Long story short, former AMC dealers needed cars to sell alongside Jeeps, possibly (likely?) without red tape of selling ChryCo cars against franchised Chrysler dealers already established in the area. Legal obligations aside, the automobiles of American Motors were long past due for an extinction. While the new Eagle Premiere was ItalDesign’s take on the Renault 25, just looking at the floor console’s design and texturing in the Motorweek video suggests it was not going to be class competitive. Nor would the 1990 Dodge Monaco, the Premiere’s clone for Chrysler dealerships.

For some reason Motorweek didn’t mention the Dodge Monaco, but perhaps nothing is as “past due” as the Dodge Omni. The L-bodied world car from Chrysler ended its 12-year model run in 1990, with Malaise era battering ram bumpers intact. Judging from Motorweek’s silence, nothing of significance changed. At least they learned that both the Dodge Dakota and Ram pickups sported Club Cab body configurations this year, while Jeep models received modest safety (rear shoulder belts, Cherokee) and convenience upgrades (rear wiper arm, Wrangler hardtop).

It’s more than a little ironic to see how little time was dedicated to the Dodge Truck and Jeep brands in Motorweek’s round up, as the same video shot today would be a complete role reversal for Chrysler Stellantis’ product offerings.

How times have changed. Possibly for the better, but again, that opinion depends on your opinion of the brand. No matter, the 1980s and early 1990s were a truly unique and mind blowing time to sell Chrysler products. May history never repeat itself in that regard!

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There’s a discipline between vintage racing and club racing; a class you won’t find in any competition rules, registration drop-downs, or on many tracks across the country. Despite the ghost-like nature of this class, it actually shares a pedigree with the original Ford GT. It also served as a support series to Formula One back in the day. Meet Sports Renault–the original spec racer, designed with the novel concept of focusing on driver skill, not the driver’s pocketbook.

The class debuted at the 1984 Detroit Grand Prix, but more impressively, each vehicle was priced under $10,000. I’ll save you the math, that’s $25,000 in today’s dollars, for a brand-new race car. You’d be hard-pressed to purchase a refreshed modern racer for that price tag, especially when a new build for a base Spec Miata is pushing 35-grand.

The motor, transmission, and carburetor were sealed to prevent boring, honing, port matching, or tacking on additional go-fast parts. (Since they are carbureted, teams can’t cheat up the ECU either, which is a trend in the paddock nowadays.) There was one choice for tires, suspension and brake pads. The only tweakable component was the suspension set up–camber, caster, toe, ride height, and tire pressure. Money didn’t win races. That was left to the teams and their driver.

This was the birth of modern spec racing as we know it today.

The company behind the new spec-racer was Renault-Jeep Sport from Livonia, Michigan. That’s right, in the early 1980’s, Chrysler didn’t own Jeep. They fell under the Renault flag along with AMC. Renault at that time wasn’t exactly known for award-winning designs, but for this project they appointed one of the best in the business: Roy Lunn.

Lunn was most known for leading the team of engineers that designed the original GT40 that conquered Le Mans four times. The GT40’s founding father didn’t hold back his passion for spec racer design, despite working on a much tighter budget.

Lunn and his team designed a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive race car that rode on a semi-tubular chassis. They skinned it with an extremely durable fiberglass three-piece shell that can be repaired in a home garage. The driver sat in the center of the tub, like an F1 car, helmet and shoulders exposed in an open cockpit. Its performance surpassed many production-based racers and its lineage to the GT40 has served as a badge of honor to grassroots racers throughout the years.

Look, I understand the lumpy fiberglass racer is a far cry from the Ferrari-killing GT40. Some people date super models and some people, well, don’t. So long as you have a date for Saturday night, you’re in the game. The same can be said for the modest little Renault, which is capable of pulling over one lateral G and won’t empty the team’s pockets when it comes to service and repair.

It should also be remembered that Renault holds some currency when it comes to performance. Ignore the production cars (Alliance, Encore and Fuego) and focus on their on-track results. Renault holds a formidable number of wins in Formula One, second only to Ferrari.

You may be wondering, then, what magnificent F1 DNA makes up the Sports Renault engine? Short answer: none. Renault-Jeep Sport was aiming for affordability and reliability, so the chosen solution was a 1.7-liter four-banger. Comically, the engine sounds like a tractor. That’s probably because the block was derived from a 1.6-liter diesel engine: the F8M. Despite the funky sound, the motor is grenade-proof. After axing the unnecessary accessories, the engine could produce a front stretch-frying 90 horsepower. Given the 1580-pound spec weight, that’s approximately a 5.7 power-to-weight ratio, which is comparable to a VW Golf, Ford Focus, or Miata in spec trim.

Still underwhelmed? I remember feeling that way, too, the first time I was told that the go-karts at the local concession track were powered by a five-horsepower Briggs and Stratton. My outlook quickly changed after a race with 20 of those karts on-track at the same time. These Sport Renaults have a similar vibe. They may be underpowered, but the equal playing field delivers one intense–and wildly fun–race.

So how did such underpowered machines ever become a support race at F1 races like the Detroit Grand Prix? America’s longest standing racing association, the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), was in search of a solution to mitigate the excessive costs to race for the weekend warrior. Lunn and Renault already had the platform, so this was a well paired match in the attempt to create a unique racing class that has a high level of participation and a minimal cost. Being closely tied to hundreds of pro and amateur races across the country, the SCCA was able to bend the right ears and get 40 of these machines on track the same weekend’s that the likes of Ayrton Senna and Nelson Piquet were writing racing history.

The plan was a success! Racers traded in their production and open wheel cars and new drivers joined the sport due to its now affordable price range and genuine spirit of competition. The class grew quickly, and 400 vehicles were sold over a three-year period. The SCCA would ship customers a DIY kit, and within a few weeks, racers were ready to go. The team simply supplied the battery and a paint scheme. Races took place coast-to-coast with packed run groups, which made for national fan favorites. The series produced some formidable drivers and was seen as a farming system for top-tier rides.

Sadly, in 1987, Renault exited the American market. Consequently, parts and engines became scarce and the SCCA was forced to search for an alternative to the Renault powerplant. They scoured the states for a manufacturer to take the helm but had no takers.

Eventually, motorsports magnate Jack Roush recognized the potential and opportunity. By 1993 he had drafted and engineered a conversion kit that would transform the engine to a fire breathing dragon, er, dragonfly. Sport Renaults adopted the ECU, wiring harness, and a fully dressed 1.9-liter from the Ford Escort. In turn, horsepower shot to 105. What any of us wouldn’t give for a 17% horsepower gain in our current steeds.

To date, there is no class that can transform a modestly salaried person–or retiree–into an open cockpit racecar driver. The history, provenance and smiles-per-gallon that this platform delivers can’t be found elsewhere, with fields still attracting dozens of wheel-to-wheel racers.

Now that you’re up to speed on Sport Renault’s origins, join us next time to learn what it’s like at the wheel of America’s most successful purpose-built road racer and the evolution into the Ford platform.

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Dealer inventories rise as sales slow

Intake: New vehicle inventories have climbed to 1.32 million vehicles in September,  according to Cox Automotive and the Automotive News Research & Data Center. It is almost a half-million vehicles more than where inventory levels were this time last year, and about 90,000 more than a month ago. But it’s down more than two million from September of 2019, before the pandemic hit. The data suggested that one reason inventory levels are up is because sales are down, allowing dealers to add more new vehicles to their stock.

Exhaust: Kind of a classic good news-bad news situation—more cars to sell but fewer customers to buy them, thanks to higher interest rates and generally higher prices on most everything. Selections were best, the study said, among high-profit, full-sized pickups, and that’s good news for dealers. —Steven Cole Smith

AMG’s first electric SUV outguns everything but the GT Black Series

Intake: The new EQE SUV is Mercedes-AMG’s most powerful electric model to date, and you’ll need a Black Series GT to outrun it. In 53 4MATIC+ guise with the AMG Dynamic Plus Package the AMG EQE delivers 687 horsepower to both axles thanks to two permanently excited synchronous motors—and permanently excited will also be the driver’s condition when all its electrons are unleashed to deliver a 0-62 mph time of 3.5 seconds. Mercedes-AMG says its massive 90.6 kWh battery can provide a range of up to 292 miles according to the European WLTP test, with up to 260 kW of energy recovery possible through regenerative braking. Power is nothing without control so there’s an AMG Ride Control system with adaptive damping, rear-axle steering and fully-variable all-wheel drive. The powertrain has a selection of drive programs from Slippery to Race Start and optional carbon ceramic brakes are available to put a stop to proceedings. Adding further entertainment is an AMG sound experience to create an “emotional soundscape” through the Dolby Atmos audio system. The AMG is distinguished from the Benz-badged version by a black panel radiator grille with chrome vertical struts, a unique front apron, wheel arch cladding and a rear diffuser, plus 21- or 22-inch AMG alloys.

Exhaust: A key omission in the published specifications is the weight. AMGs have always been heavyweight fighters but this takes things to a whole new level and while its tires might shred the pavement beneath its mass might just open up a sinkhole as well. Mercedes talks about using environmentally-friendly materials inside the EQE but this march towards heavier and heavier vehicles simply isn’t sustainable and undermines the eco credentials of EVs. —Nik Berg

Moke Californian returning to the U.S.

Intake: Moke is returning to the U.S. market with the “improved and more powerful” electric Moke Californian, 40 years since the original version was last sold in America. The Californian, the company says, will be the only “highway-legal” Moke vehicle available in the U.S. and first genuine version of the original Mini Moke to go on sale since 1982. The electric Californian, powered by a lithium-ion battery and a 44-horsepower electric motor driving the rear wheels, has a top speed of 50 mph and a range of 80 miles per charge. A full charge takes four hours on a Type 1 charger. The Californian is hand-built in the United Kingdom to the same “high specifications and standards” as the electric Moke that recently went on sale in Europe, but its name is a U.S. market-specific tribute to the 1977 Moke Californian—an uprated version of the Mini Moke that was sold in America and ceased production in 1982.

Exhaust: All we can say is, cute! Information on price and availability is coming soon, Moke International says. —SCS

Concussion ends Kurt Busch’s NASCAR hopes for 2023

Intake: Former NASCAR Cup champion Kurt Busch, who has been out of action since he suffered a concussion in a crash in July, said in an emotional announcement at his home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, that he would not compete for a championship in 2023, leaving the door open for one-off rides if he recovers. According to the Associated Press, Busch choked up when he said doctors told him: “It is best for me to ‘shut it down.’ I know I am not 100 percent in my ability to go out and race at the top level in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Busch said. “These are the best of the best drivers, and lately, I haven’t felt my best. My long-term health is priority number one and I don’t feel committing at this point to compete for a championship next year is in my best interest or the best interest of the team.”

Exhaust: Meanwhile, driver Alex Bowman has said he will miss at least five races at the end of this season due to the concussion he suffered last month. Both Bowman and Busch, since they had won races before they were injured, were eligible for the elimination rounds that will decide the championship, but both had to give up their spots. NASCAR has pledged to work on the problem, which is apparently that the rear on the new-for-2022 “Next-gen” car is too stiff, transmitting the shock in a crash straight to the driver without absorbing enough of the impact. The fix will likely be new rear clips and center-sections in the chassis, which are the same in all cars, manufactured by Dallara. —SCS

Lexus LFA successor could be called the LFR

Intake: New trademark filings with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) may be our first clue as to what Lexus’ next halo car will be called, according to a report from AutoBuzz. The filings show that Lexus trademarked the name LFR last Friday. In December of last year, Toyota and Lexus unveiled a slew of EV concepts, saying that 30 new EVs would be available by the start of 2030. Chief among those vehicles was a low-slung, two-door coupe with a long hood and a very athletic stance—it bore the Lexus badge. At the special event unveiling all these new EVs, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda noted that the car will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in two seconds, have a driving range of over 430 miles, and may use solid-state batteries. Those claims are still just vaporware for the time being, but if the LFR can make good on those promises, it will be a commendable successor to the vaunted LFA.

Exhaust: This all sounds wonderful, but: What are they going to do about the sound? The LFA’s 4.8-liter V-10 was one of the best sounding engines of all time, singing a baleful song through an intake manifold that was tuned like a musical instrument. EV’s are not typically known for their sound, but if the LFR carries all the auditory sensation of a Keurig, that’s going to feel like an opportunity lost. We’ll choose to remain hopeful for the time being. —Nathan Petroelje

Renault 4EVER Trophy concept is eager to explore

Intake: Renault has reinvented the classic 4 as a dainty, electric off-roader. The 4EVER Trophy concept revealed at the Paris Motor Show is much farther removed from the car that inspired it than Renault’s reinterpretation of the 5, however. The 4EVER’s face, with its horizontal grille and circular headlamps are all that have been carried over from the original 4L, which sold more than eight million examples in 100 countries. Instead, the 4EVER boasts a cookie-cutter SUV profile, with a few nice details such as the trapezoidal rear side windows. It sits on sizeable 4×4 tires giving the 4EVER a decent-looking lift for off-road excursions. A spare wheel on the carbon roof, a shovel and waffle boards add to its expedition credentials. Quite how far off the grid you’ll be able to go is unclear as Renault hasn’t revealed the details of its electric drivetrain.

Exhaust: “The 4EVER Trophy show car paves the way for the future all-electric B Segment SUV that will be at ease on urban and rural roads alike,” says Renault. That suggests that the concept is pretty close to being production-ready, although we’d expect pricey items such as the carbon roof to be dropped. The car will be built on the brand’s new CMF-BEV platform and assembled at Renault’s ElectriCity in northern France. —NB

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Gas-powered heavy-duty pickups are sticking around

Intake: The world may feel like it is rushing towards all-electric vehicles at a frenzied pace, but Detroit’s Big Three aren’t quite ready to ditch the dino-juice entirely. Heavy-duty pickups, which represent a cash-cow segment for Chevy, Ford, and Ram, will still be powered by internal combustion engines for quite some time, according to a report from Automotive News. Ford says it gets more revenue per year from Super Duty sales than many Fortune 500 companies generate in the same time frame. Customer interest isn’t flagging for this specialized tool. “If you’re puling 10,000 pounds, an electric truck is not the right solution. And 95 percent of our customers tow more than 10,000 pounds,” said Ford’s CEO Jim Farley at the reveal event last week for its heavily updated 2023 F-Series Super Duty pickup. Todd Eckert, Ford’s truck group marketing manager, doubled down on Farley’s sentiments in comments to Automotive News, saying that the buyers of heavy-duty trucks—miners, ranchers, construction companies, utility workers, and the like—haven’t shown much interest in EVs. Rather, they’re most interested in what can get the job done the best. Right now, that’s still gasoline- or diesel-powered engines. “Our intent is to play both sides of the business as long as we need to, giving customers choice,” said Scott Bell, Chevy’s vice president, during a media briefing last week. “We see this segment as maybe one of the last to hang onto ICE.”

Exhaust: Each of the Big Three either does or will soon offer an all-electric light-duty pickup, but the decision to keep the heavy-duty workhorses running on gas or diesel still comes as no surprise. Towing craters even the best EV’s range. Hauling large loads—like those that would necessitate the beefed-up running gear of an HD pickup—will have similarly adverse effects. This both-sides approach seems like the smartest way forward for all three automakers: You get to keep the money faucet flowing for enterprise-wide investment, and your customers can still buy the types of vehicles they actually want. Imagine that! — Nathan Petroelje

Audi’s 602-hp send-off R8 boasts gobs of aero and only two driven wheels

Intake: Audi is building just 333 examples of its final R8 GT RWD as it bids adieu to the V-10 engine. It’s quite the swansong, with the 5.2-liter naturally-aspirated motor uprated to 602 horsepower, making it the most powerful rear-driven Audi ever. Drive goes through a new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission that sports revised gear ratios. The added horsepower, increased torque (405 lb-ft in the regular R8 RWD vs. 413 lb-ft here), and the revised gear ratios will help rocket this last call R8 to 62 mph in 3.4 seconds, 124 mph in 10.1 seconds, and on to a 199-mph top speed. There’s a new Torque Rear driving mode that lets drivers set their own level of Electronic Stability Control from the steering wheel. Seven different slippage settings are programmed in for “precise and controlled oversteering,” says Audi. Ceramic brakes are standard equipment, as are unique 10-spoke, 20-inch alloy wheels which are available with racy Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires, and a performance sports suspension with carbon fiber reinforced plastic anti-roll bars. Externally, the car is distinguished by a high gloss black carbon aero kit consisting of a new front splitter and flicks, side skirts, rear diffuser, and a rear wing complete with gooseneck suspension. No price has been revealed but don’t be surprised if it rings in at well over $200,000 when a handful of these send-off models arrive at U.S. dealers next year.

Exhaust: There’s nothing like going out with a bang. Audi’s epic V-10 engine will be put to rest in 2023, but this final edition pushes it to its normally-aspirated limits. When those ten cylinders made their debut in 2009, they combined to produce a rousing 552 horsepower, and now Audi has set free a further 50 horses to make this the most desirable (and drifty) R8 ever. Good luck getting your hands on one. — Nik Berg

Rugged Renault 4 previews a serious change of direction for the friendly badge

Intake: Renault is all set to take the starring role at the Paris Motor Show when it will reveal a successor to the fabulous 4. Launched just over 60 years ago, the Renault 4 was the world’s first mass-produced hatchback—and mass produced it most certainly was. More than eight million Renault 4s were made in its 33-year life, with assembly plants as far afield as Ireland and Uruguay, as well as its native France. The 4 began life as Renault’s answer to the Citroën 2CV, a basic car for the masses powered by a paltry 603 cubic centimeters of combustion packed into a four-cylinder motor. Like the Citroën, it had a quirky umbrella-handle manual shifter sticking out of the dashboard, while its all-round torsion bar independent suspension could handle cobblestones and farm tracks with aplomb. Over the years it would become only a little more sophisticated, with a four-speed transmission replacing the original three-speed unit, and the engine ultimately increasing in capacity to 1.1 liters. The next 4 will have neither engine nor manual transmission, however, as it will be a pure electric vehicle. The teaser image just released by Renault suggests that it will adopt today’s take on utility and be a high-riding crossover rather than a compact hatchback, however. All will be revealed in Paris on October 17.

Exhaust: The French are coming! Fully embracing their government-mandated electric destiny, France’s carmakers are also looking to their pasts. Citroën’s oli may look nothing like the 2CV but it adopts the legendary Deux Cheveux’s lightweight utilitarianism, and now Renault is taking the 4 into the future. We can hardly wait to say bonjour to this need breed of funky French automobiles. — NB

Ford Performance offers two new factory-backed tunes for both Bronco engines

Intake: The folks at Ford Performance now have a Bronco-specific tune for their Calibration Delivery Tool, offering owners of 2.3-liter four-cylinder Broncos an additional 30 horsepower and 60 lb-ft of torque, while 2.7-liter examples net a more modest 25 horses and 18 extra lb-ft of twist. Total output for the tuned 2.3-liter engine will be 330 hp and 385 lb-ft of torque after the tune, and the 2.7-liter models will clear 355 hp and 433 lb-ft. While the aforementioned hardware is $495, adding the Bronco’s specific tune rings in at $825 for either engine. Premium fuel now becomes mandatory, but improvements in throttle response, transmission shift strategy, and the ability to add custom tire/gear sizes are included in the software. This package, when installed by a dealer or a ASE certified technician will not void the factory warranty, but DIY instructions are also available on their website.

Exhaust:Ford Performance has a first mover advantage when it comes to the Bronco’s software strategy, but if you wait a little while, you’ll likely save money with a third party tuner. A well-respected aftermarket tuner (for the similarly-equipped Ford Ranger) is only $499.99, likely with a comparable tune (or more aggressive, if you live on the edge) and with a single downside: the dealership might have a problem with you returning your Bronco back to stock to come in for servicing. (There’s a “flash counter” in most computer these days.) I’d consider the aftermarket alternative after coming to an agreement with a dealership’s service department, so you know just how exposed you are if an aftermarket tune affects a warranty claim. Do all your oil changes with them and they might go easier on you, depending on what you break whilst off-roading. — Sajeev Mehta

Will the VW Scout get its own dedicated platform?

Intake: When we last left the upcoming Volkswagen Scout EV, we assumed, but held off on writing, that the platform for the Scout would likely an existing electrified chassis like the MEB platform, which underpins the VW ID. Buzz. But nothing Volkswagen or its stablemates have is really suitable for a “rugged” SUV, which is a word VW used back in the May product announcement. Now, word comes from a Scout enthusiast named Jeff Bade, who reports on the Facebook page “Friends of the Binder Planet,” that he was recently in a focus group for the Scout, and he deduced —wasn’t told, but deduced—that the Scout may very well get its own platform. “Rumors of this being based on the VW skateboard platform are not true,” Bade wrote. He continued that “this is not a rebranded or variation of anything in the VAG line,” referring to shorthand for Volkswagen Audi Group. “What I came away with is nothing more than excitement,” he wrote.

Exhaust: If the Scout turns out to be a genuine off-roader built on a unique and capable platform that combines the new with a little bit of old, we’ll be excited, too. As owner of a couple of International Harvester Scouts, I’ll lead the cheering. — Steven Cole Smith

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The Singapore Grand Prix is the slowest race on the Formula 1 calendar, around the tight and twisting Marina Bay street circuit. Still, in recent years, the race has produced rather compelling competition.

In 2008, Formula 1 held its first-ever night race at the circuit, the streets of Singapore illuminated by more than 1600 lights. On the surface, it appeared as though the grand prix went according to plan. Smooth and successful. And by holding the race at night, it also proved that races in Asia could be staged to satisfy F1’s demanding European fan base.

Nearly a year after Singapore’s victor was crowned, a disgruntled driver and an official investigation revealed one of the largest scandals in the sport’s history.

Twelve laps into the race, Fernando Alonso was dead last. Twenty-one laps later he assumed a lead. Though the change in fortune was quick, it took nearly a year to uncover and explain Alonso’s astonishing ascension in the race.

For the Spaniard, 2008 marked a year of treading water. After a spectacular falling out with McLaren following just one season together, he returned to Renault, where he won the world championship in 2006. But things had not gone as either party planned.

The team was a shadow of its former self. It hadn’t won a race in nearly two years, and several fourth places in 14 races served as the lacklustre highpoints to a season-long struggle with a difficult car. Still, the French manufacturer was not to be discouraged. Changes to the car had made it competitive by the time teams arrived in Singapore. Only a mechanical problem in qualifying relegated Alonso toward the back of the pack.

To overcome the poor starting position, Renault’s executive director of engineering Pat Symonds had a plan. Symonds—one of F1’s most experienced and astute operators—always had a plan. On lap 12, Alonso became the first car in the field to stop for new tires and more fuel. He re-joined dead last and, seemingly, without a chance to move forward on such a tight track.

Two laps later, Fernando’s fortunes changed.

Renault teammate Nelson Piquet Jr crashed at Turn 17. Eagle-eyed spectators noticed that the Brazilian rookie spun at that corner on the warm-up lap, but managed to keep the car away from the wall. The second incident was a much more comprehensive—and significant—crash.

The heavy impact wiped the right rear-wheel off the Renault. Piquet was uninjured, but the site of the wreck didn’t have a crane to salvage stricken racers. Cue the safety car. The yellow prompted drivers to change tires and refuel, as they sought to minimize the time lost during a pit stop.

When the pitting cars re-joined, they were behind Alonso, who was now in fifth place.

Crucially, two of the cars ahead—Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica—had refuelled before the pit lane was officially open, meaning they had to serve 10-second penalties. The other two, Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella, had yet to make their stops.

On lap 33, Alonso inherited the lead, where he remained for the rest of the race. The win was not without a challenge, as Alonso held off a feisty Nico Rosberg to take his 20th F1 victory.

It seemed as though Alonso’s win was the result of a canny, tactically astute drive, helped by a substantial slice of good fortune. But as can often be the case in Formula 1, there was a lot more to it than that.

Beyond the actions of Renault team chief Flavio Briatore, driver Piquet, and engineer Symonds, it’s almost impossible to know exactly what happened.

Briatore was a man under pressure. Renault had underperformed since its title-winning 2006 season and rumours were swirling that the management was considering pulling the team out of F1 altogether. A win or two would certainly help Briatore when it came to convincing CEOs in the corporation’s boardroom.

Piquet, in his rookie F1 season, was keen to be retained by Renault for 2009. Piquet later stated that Briatore was pressuring the young driver by refusing to confirm a lineup for the following season.

Despite the friction, Piquet was retained by Renault for a second season. But after some lacklustre performances, he was sacked following the summer’s Hungarian Grand Prix, in 2009.

Then, the bombshell. Piquet claimed that Briatore and Symonds asked him to crash on purpose to help Alonso. He said, “After ensuring I was on the designated lap of the race, I deliberately lost control of my car. I did this by pressing hard and early on the throttle. As I felt the back end of the car drifting out, I continued to press hard on the throttle, in the knowledge that this would lead to my car making heavy contact with the concrete wall …”

This was corroborated by Piquet’s in-car telemetry, which showed that rather than coming off the accelerator as the car began to spin, the Brazilian continued accelerating.

He was so aggrieved that he wrote to the FIA, Formula 1’s governing body, blowing the whistle on his antics at the previous year’s Singapore Grand Prix. He revealed that his crash was deliberate and orchestrated by the team, throwing the race to Renault and Alonso’s advantage.

Following a lengthy investigation into conspiracy and race fixing, Briatore was banned from taking part in FIA-sanctioned events for life. Symonds was banned for five years. Both left Renault. Their bans were reversed after an appeal.

Meanwhile, Alonso claimed to know nothing about the Piquet crash plan. The FIA also ruled he was innocent, though many F1 notables (including future teammate Felipe Massa) thought this might be a stretch. Piquet even claimed that without knowing there was going to be a safety car, Alonso’s strategy of stopping on lap 12 made no sense.

The debacle was an unfortunate sour note to taint a brilliant inaugural Singapore Grand Prix, and a marvellous maiden voyage under the lights. It’s a shame the only thing that people will remember is a rather seedy race-fixing scandal.

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Dodge salutes Detroit street-racing legend with 807-hp Challenger

Intake: Dodge has revealed the sixth of seven “Last Call” models celebrating the final year of Hemi V-8 production. The 2023 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost pays homage to the original Black Ghost, a black 1970 Dodge Challenger RT SE owned by Godfrey Qualls, who street-raced the Hemi-powered muscle car on Woodward Avenue in the 1970s. The car’s legendary status was cemented when it landed on the National Historic Vehicle Register. Just 300 of these special editions will be made and each will be based on the Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody but with an additional 10 horsepower, bringing total output to 807. The Black Ghost will only be available in Pitch Black and each will feature black Brembo brake calipers, Black Ghost instrument panel badges, real carbon-fiber bezels, and a Dynamica suede headliner. Also, like the original Black Ghost, the 2023 model will feature a “gator skin” vinyl roof. “There are so many legendary muscle cars in Dodge brand history, it was hard to choose the seven vehicles we wanted to pay homage to with our Last Call lineup, but the Black Ghost was an easy pick,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge brand chief executive officer – Stellantis. “The 2023 Dodge Challenger Black Ghost is the prelude to what we’re going to unveil with our seventh and final special-edition model.”

Exhaust: This sixth “Last Call” model was a bit of a surprise. The Black Ghost, as awesome as it is, was not a classic option package like the Swinger or Superbee, names which Dodge has resurrected for modern-day riffs. However, last week’s King Daytona Charger should have reassured us that Dodge is not afraid to honor particular cars that made a name for themselves after they left the factory. The black-on-black look with its black vinyl roof will make this Black Ghost both subtle and instantly recognizable as something special. Customers will likely scoop up these 300 quicker than Godfrey Qualls spotting a holeshot. —Brandan Gillogly

Japan’s greatest ’90s hits headed to Bring a Trailer

Intake: JDM fans, this is “The Big One.” Sometime in the coming weeks, Bring a Trailer will play host to a cluster of top-shelf JDM cars that collectively represent the apogee of the Japanese automotive industry in the early 1990s. This super-sale is organized by Connecticut-based dealer The Cultivated Collector, who bills this group as its “vision of the ideal JDM collection” and “serves as our love letter to the JDM automotive world.” It’s an eclectic group, a conglomerate of Gran Turismo superstars and nerdy deep-cuts that spans the entire enthusiast spectrum. For outright icons, there’s a 1993 Honda NSX-R (1 of 483 built), a 1994 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R Vspec II N1 (no. 35 of 63 made), 1994 Toyota Supra RZ, 1995 Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R Vspec, and Honda Integra Type R. The rallyists should clear garage space for a 1994 Subaru Impreza STI Wagon (no. 22 of 200 examples), a 1994 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo II GSR, a 1996 Lancer Evo IV GSR, and a wonderfully weird 1990 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R formerly owned by the CEO of Nismo (no. 13 of of 21). Not obscure enough for ya? There’s a 1992 Mazda Autozam AZ-1 kei car and 1995 Toyota Century LWB thrown in for good measure. We’re not sure when these cars are set to hit BaT, but you can be sure you’ll hear about some of the more spectacular results here.

Exhaust: While big-scale importers like Top Rank have flooded our shores with forbidden JDM fruit for over a decade, this is one of the first times we’ve seen someone capitalize on the JDM market swell with a high-profile group sale. As a few of these cars rarely—or in the case of the NSX-R, never—come up for sale Stateside, we expect to see some big numbers. This isn’t our first whiff of this sale, either. We visited The Cultivated Collector prior to this announcement and drove the NSX-R, R32 GT-R Vspec II N1, and the Mugen-ified Integra Type-R to see whether the cars of our Gran Turismo fantasies hold up to the mondo money they’re commanding.—Conner Golden

Catch Zenvo at the Petersen’s Hypercars show now

Intake: Denmark’s Zenvo TSR-RS may be the hypercar you’ve never heard of, but it’s been given the chance to sit alongside Ferrari and Bugatti at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles. The Zenvo has earned its place thanks to a 5.8-liter, 1193-hp twin-supercharged flat-plane V-8 which will send it to 62 mph in 2.8 seconds, and to 100 mph just four seconds later. The all-carbon car uses a motorsports gearbox which can switch from road mode to a “brutal mechanical direct power-shift” and the most extraordinary active aerodynamics. The multi-axis centripetal rear wing twists and tips to act as an air brake and provide extra downforce for inner tire grip in hard cornering. Unfortunately it’s on static display only so you’ll have to watch the video below to see what we mean.

Exhaust: Hypercars phase 2 at the Petersen Museum will be open until May 14, 2023 and is a rare chance to get up close with star cars such as the Koenigsegg One: 1, the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport and Ferrari Monza, but also real rarities such as the Zenvo, the Hyperion XP-1, Apollo Intensa Emzozione, and Laraki Sahara. —Nik Berg

Tesla recalls over 1 million vehicles for potentially pinchy windows

Intake: Power-window motors that may roll up and trap an obstruction in its path are being recalled by NHTSA for a large swath of Tesla vehicles, as certain 2017–2022 Model 3, 2020–2021 Model Y, and 2021–2022 Model S and Model X vehicles fall into this recall. NHTSA states that “a closing window may exert excessive force by pinching a driver or passenger before retracting, increasing the risk of injury.” A fix is ready for implementation, and it’s an OTA (Over the Air) software update that Tesla will roll out for free. NHTSA will notify owners by mail on November 15.

Exhaust: Enjoy the irony of NHTSA sending a paper notification via snail mail, while Tesla sends the software fix to every affected vehicle in the same way you update apps on your smartphone. No matter what you think of Tesla and its sometimes-controversial CEO, can’t we all appreciate the pioneering spirit in avoiding a trip to the dealership when needing a mere software update? —Sajeev Mehta

Renault’s 5 Turbo drifts into electrification

Intake: Renault is continuing to celebrate five decades of the R5 (Le Car) by unveiling a tribute to its rally special Turbo and Turbo 2 models. The new version is, of course, fully electric, but has still been design for driving fun or “wilful exuberance”, according to VPO of Design Gilles Vidal. A development of the 5 EV concept that was displayed earlier this year the R5 Turbo 3E is a two-seater, rear-drive racer with a motor on each wheel providing a combined output of 380 hp from 42 kWh of batteries in the middle under the floor. It’s built on a tubular chassis, features an FIA-approved roll cage, Plexiglass windows to save weight, and has a 50-degrees of steering for creating alarming angles on a drift course. The cabin features Sabelt seats, race harnesses and steering wheel, a drift stick, and a grey/black/yellow tartan trim. Externally, just like Renault’s original rally cars the boxy 5 is heavy on the air intakes for cooling, but goes even bigger on the aero with a wild wing hanging off the rear end. The Turbo 3E has been built for a generation raised on video games and YouTube with mountings for ten GoPro cameras and driving modes including “Free play”, “Turbo”, “Track Invader, and “Donut”. The car makes its public debut at Chantilly Arts & Elegance in France on September 25.

Exhaust: Renault is really hammering its heritage in an effort to make electric cars more interesting, having already shown a cute 5 EV concept, and with a new 4 due to be revealed at the Paris Motor Show in October. Leaning on its motorsport history should gain the approval of nostalgic of old school enthusiasts as well as a younger audience of gamers and “content consumers” much like Hyundai’s N Vision 74. It’s just a shame that there’s little chance of either entering production. —NB

Hyundai axed a mid-engine N supercar, says Biermann

Intake: Speaking to Top Gear, the former head of Hyundai’s N performance arm confirmed that an NSX-like mid-engine supercar was once in the works. Albert Biermann, who left his role as head of R&D of BMW’s M division to work for Hyundai, said that this exotic project was internally dubbed “The Chairman’s Car.” A carbon-tub, mid-engine halo offering, the car would have supported an internal-combustion engine (with or without hybrid assist) or a hydrogen fuel cell. The high-end project was ultimately deemed too risky: “The problem was the car would have cost over $150,000,” Biermann told TG, “and at that time it was thought a Hyundai could not have this price.” After ushering the i30N into existence, as well as the Veloster N and the Elantra N, Biermann has stepped back into an advisory role—a position he can fulfill while based in Europe, rather than in South Korea.

Exhaust: Hyundai’s willingness to dream big has taken it to heights once thought impossible. That a brand once known, even mocked, for its cost-cut economy cars would recruit an BMW M exec to launching the N brand with six-figure supercar is truly ballsy. Ambition tempered self-awareness is a rare and powerful combination, and the two are reflected in Hyundai’s decision to prioritize more affordable—albeit still excellent—performance. Hyundai hasn’t given up on hydrogen, either, and the brand’s overall vision has turned interestingly retro-futuristic (check out the RN22e below). —Grace Houghton

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There’s no stopping the inevitable march of time, and cars that are driven often are susceptible to collisions, wear, and other calamities. Valuable vehicles tend to stick around much longer, because investing in upkeep for something desirable makes a kind of sense. More commonplace cars and trucks tend to hit the scrap heap if routine maintenance turns into major metalwork or, say, an engine rebuild. These are vehicles you used to see on the road or even at car shows, but they’ve been gone so long you haven’t even thought about them in years.

We came across several such vehicles while scanning the listings on Hagerty Marketplace. Of course, if it’s up for sale, it’s not quite extinct. Each of these vehicles are still rarities on the road, but rarity doesn’t always translate to value or widespread popularity, as the following available machines can attest:

1980 Rover SD1

Asking Price: $1200

The Rover SD1 was sold in Europe for four years before a version was prepped for U.S. specification and imported to our shores. Our version got unique round headlights as opposed to rectangular, flush-mounted versions on the originals. While Europeans had several engine options, Americans got only the 3.5-liter Rover V-8, the largest engine offering. The all-aluminum V-8 was licensed to Rover from Buick, so you won’t be surprised to learn that the automatic mated to this engine is also from GM—a TH180. Unfortunately, this dent-free Rover isn’t running, although the price certainly reflects that condition. The four-door hatchback earned quite a reputation for racing in its day, taking a number of touring car wins with drivers such as Tom Walkinshaw, Steve Soper, and René Metge, so it would be great to see this one back on the road. Or maybe the track!

1983 Renault/AMC Alliance

Asking price: $1000

Desperate for new products to sell and unable to borrow money to fund their own development, American Motors entered into a deal with Renault to build the Renault 9 sedan and Renault 11 hatchback in AMC’s Kenosha, Wisconsin, factory as the Renault Alliance and Renault Encore. The front-wheel-drive, subcompact Alliance earned Motor Trend‘s Car of the Year honors for 1983 along with heaps of praise from reviewers and owners. This one has been parked since 1995 and its four-cylinder engine seems to have a fuel system problem, as it won’t stay running. For AMC fans, this car might be a bit of a tough pill to swallow, as it’s not really emblematic of the scrappy underdog products that AMC was known for in the ’60s and ’70s. On the other hand, the interior appears to be well preserved and the price is appropriate for a project. Perhaps a fan of early Cherokees—someone who knows their way around Renix electronics—will pick this up and get it back on the road.

1975 International Harvester 150

Asking price: $12,500

This one is more about relative affordability, though a cool truck in decent shape for under $15,000 isn’t highway robbery. While the Scout and Scout II are basking in the collector market’s love for vintage SUVs, International’s bigger, burlier pickup trucks have been seemingly forgotten by collectors at large. These pickups have a great rough-and-tumble reputation, and their engines, in particular, are known for being overbuilt and long-lasting. Considering International Harvester built tractors and heavy-duty trucks, it makes sense that even its “light-duty” trucks would be up to the task.

This example is powered by a 392-cubic-inch V-8—no relation to either of Mopar’s 392 Hemi V-8s—and it’s the largest engine used in these half-ton trucks. The seller notes this one is in need of a valve seat, but otherwise, the truck looks like it’s survived quite well, with only minor rust, some significant sun fading, and some wear and tear on the upholstery. Considering the price of other vintage 4x4s, this might be one to snap up before word gets out.

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The 1979 French Grand Prix is evidence that it only takes two drivers to make race. The battle featured ground-effect cars with turbo engines (much like the upcoming French GP this weekend). By the time they waved the checkered flag, though, nobody was talking about the technology.

The yellow Renault nose cone featuring a blue #16 was so close to the gearbox of Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari it looked as if the two were fused together. Villeneuve had already lost the lead to Renault driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille, after leading the opening 46 circuits. Now, with 10 of the 80 laps left, third-place-running René Arnoux was hot on his tail, and the Ferrari’s tires were finished.

The French-Canadian Villeneuve had desperately wanted, no, needed to win round eight of the championship, the French Grand Prix. After the season’s first four races he was leading the championship. Then, teammate Jody Scheckter won rounds six and seven.

Entering France, Villeneuve found himself ten points behind Scheckter. Winning—and claiming the nine points for a win in those days—would re-energize his challenge.

But it wasn’t just Villeneuve’s South African teammate standing between him and victory. While the new-for-1979 Ferrari 312 T4 had won four of its first five races, the French Grand Prix was a matter of homeland pride for Renault.

Two years earlier, the French car maker joined Formula 1 with a then-radical 1.5-liter V6 turbocharged engine. Every other car in the field was a tried-and-tested normally aspirated 3.0-liter. For good reason, too: the forced-induction Renault was quickly dubbed the “yellow tea pot” because it frequently went up in a cloud of steam.

Over the intervening season-and-a-half, Renault—with its experienced lead driver Jean-Pierre Jabouille—started to get on top of its turbo troubles. Then, three races prior to the French Grand Prix, Renault launched its new ground-effect RS10 chassis that used air flowing under the body to suck to the track (like many of the other cars in the field).

A month’s break between round seven and the French GP had enabled Renault to refine the RS10 further. The firm even tried a race distance test at Dijon, but failed because Jabouille was exhausted after 60 laps.

That hadn’t deterred the lanky Frenchman. Throughout practice and qualifying his new RS11 had been the quickest thing around the 2.36-mile track. Arnoux and Jabouille occupied the front row, ahead of Villeneuve.

While turbo power enabled Renault to rocket down Dijon’s long start-finish straight, Ferrari had a weapon of its own in Villeneuve.

The weather on race day dawned cool, perfect for a turbo car. And both Renaults had extra head supports to counter the withering G forces that ground-effect cars inflicted on drivers’ necks around Dijon.

Initially, it was a Ferrari that led. Arnoux almost stalled his Renault off the line, but even a decent getaway wouldn’t have kept the scarlet Ferrari behind him. Villeneuve’s launch was so quick that even Jabouille, who had a clean start, couldn’t keep the lead. The Ferrari stayed in front for 46 laps.

After 30 laps Jabouille’s Renault was tucked right behind the Ferrari. Villeneuve knew the game was up. “For the second half of the race, my car was all over the place,” he admitted after the GP. Jabouille eased past the Ferrari at the end of the pit straight. The race was done.

Or was it?

René Arnoux’s grand prix had been far less serene than his Renault teammate’s. After that start-line stumble he’d dropped to ninth place.

With a quick car, talent to burn, and home fans revving him up, he overtook Alan Jones and Jacques Laffite on lap two. Seventh. A lap later Niki Lauda fell prey. Sixth. Passing Jean-Pierre Jarier within two more laps gave him fifth. He took Nelson Piquet for fourth on lap 10 and Scheckter for third four laps later.

At that point, Arnoux had yet to score a point in Formula 1 competition but he wasn’t going to sit back and bank his first podium finish. The Frenchman from Grenoble, a gutsy little fighter, put his head down and charged forward.

Spurred on by the increasingly raucous home crowd and the visibly shortening gap to Villeneuve, the former mechanic and then-fan-favorite set his sights on second. With nine laps left Arnoux recorded the fastest lap of the race, a full second quicker than the next fastest driver. Jabouille was likely too far away to catch, but Arnoux could see Villeneuve’s car ahead.

With two laps to go, the noise of racing engines was drowned out by cheering from the stands, as their man Arnoux stormed ahead of Villeneuve. Surely the Ferrari on its worn Michelins was vanquished.

Villeneuve never surrendered easily.

He noticed that Arnoux, despite his supposed turbo horsepower advantage, wasn’t pulling away. The Renault was struggling with fuel pickup. At the start of lap 79, to the surprise of everyone, including Arnoux—who wasn’t expecting the tired Ferrari to pass him back—Villeneuve overtook in a cloud of tire smoke.

But that wasn’t the end of it. On lap 80, Arnoux stole second back. The pair banged wheels and Arnoux momentarily left the track surface. That slight loss of momentum enabled Villeneuve back into the lead. They banged wheels again, cornering as if welded together. Somehow, Arnoux snuck back through.

It seemed settled but, inexplicably, the Renault ran wide into the hairpin and Villeneuve, braking later than late, was through. There was no denying the French-Canadian now. The Ferrari crossed the line two tenths of a second ahead of Arnoux.

“No, I’m not sad to be third,” Arnoux said. “I enjoyed the race very much and Gilles drove a fantastic race,” Those in attendance thought so too. As the pair completed their cooldown lap, the drivers each raised their arms to salute the other. The crowd roared.

The battle for second had been so exciting it completely outshined the first grand prix win for Jean-Pierre Jabouille and Renault. More importantly, it was a debut win for a turbocharged engine in the Formula 1 World Championship. It was the first of many. Sadly, battles as intense, fair, and exciting as Villeneuve and Arnoux’s remain a rarity.

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For those not from North American enclaves where French influence remains vibrant, the phrase “defiantly French” may require some context. In a continent where English and Spanish largely won the language wars, this shorthand refers to the ongoing struggle to preserve an endangered heritage rooted in French identity. These regions have for centuries successfully fused native and French cultures, culminating in a series of traditions, dialects, and cuisine all their own. Despite having long since relinquished its claims on the North American continent, France’s contributions still represent a vital ingredient to it all. La farine dans le roux. The flour in the roux.

While these regions have continued to evolve over time, we wondered if a certain joie de vivre still exists in the classic car communities of the former New France (inclusive of lower Québec, northern New Brunswick, and southern Louisiana). Are Montreal and New Orleans still your best bets this side of the Atlantic for spotting the rare North American Citroën 2CV?

French Car Companies take on North America

The first automobile was French. Or at least, the first “self-propelled vehicle.” In 1769, a French military engineer named Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built his “fardier à vapeur” (or “steam cart”) for the army as a means to transport cannons. This early innovation proved influential, and for most of the 19th and very early 20th centuries the country was an unchallenged leader in the advancement of the car industry: the 1800s in France saw the development of various versions of the internal combustion engine, the first gasoline powered automobile, and the founding of both Peugeot and Renault. By the early 1900s, France produced more cars than the rest of Europe put together, and it wasn’t until 1907 that the industry in the US caught up and began to outpace the much smaller country.

With such an early advantage, it’s strange that French cars have never been able to make a dent in the enormous Canadian and American car markets, collector or otherwise. It wasn’t for lack of effort, either: Citroën and Renault both made significant drives to reach North American consumers beginning in the late 1940s. While Citroën was ultimately unable to survive the 1960s and ’70s and the phenom that was the Volkswagen Beetle—or the resulting U.S.-produced competitors—Renault managed to persist up through the excess of the mid-1980s.

The latter brand was arguably the best at adapting, moving between impressive sales of the small, affordable Dauphine in the late 1950s, to the larger and more luxurious 16 in the late 1960s, and back to the more compact and fuel-efficient 5 (or LeCar) in the oil crisis-laden mid 1970s with admirable agility. Renault even bought a controlling stake in the financially endangered American car company AMC in 1980, and began manufacturing the Alliance and Encore in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the cars quickly gained a fatal reputation for unreliability right when Renault faced a new, unbeatable foe: the affordable, dependable Japanese compact. Renault was no match for the million-mile motor, and when Georges Besse, Renault’s CEO and a crucial advocate for the U.S. business, was tragically murdered by terrorists in 1986, the company soon sold its AMC stake to Chrysler.

The last of the French big three, Peugeot, also put forth a valiant effort. Though they were late to the game, only officially starting to import the 403 to the U.S. in 1958, the company got off to an impressively solid start and wisely made no attempts to directly compete with the unstoppable Beetle. On the flip side, Peugeot was also very slow to react to changes in the market. Though it got lucky with the boom in popularity of luxury imports in the 1980s, riding the yuppie wave with the 505 to an American sales peak in 1984, this surge of success dropped off the longer the model was out. Peugeot didn’t release the well-crafted 405 in the U.S. until 1989, at which point it was too little, too late. By August of 1991, Peugeot had pulled out of the market, signaling the official end of the French car industry in both the United States and Canada.

So, if you were a Canadian or American Francophile who snagged a driver’s license in the 1990s or later, the option to buy new and to buy French was nonexistent; and while those born earlier did have the option available, it was never widely so. Both countries have also maintained strict import rules (fifteen years for Canada and twenty-five for the U.S.) that have made securing newer models a practice in supreme patience. It’s probably safe to say that in both Québec and New Orleans, you likely weren’t growing up with a Citroën as your family car. The basis for any affinity towards French cars this side of the Atlantic would likely rest more on aspiration than nostalgia.

Je me souviens … The Citroën

The French first started colonizing North America in and around what is today known as the St. Lawrence River in the early 1500s, though it wasn’t until 1608 that one of the first permanent settlements was founded in Québec City. The city’s settlers came from the northwestern coastal and urban regions of France, and experienced a high rate of cultural exchange with First Nations communities while strongly resisting the crown’s attempts to impose any manner of a traditional feudal society.

This defiant streak remained a signature component of the French Canadian colonies, even as their new opponent became the ever-growing British presence on the continent. Though France eventually ceded New France to Great Britain, the Québec Act of 1774 guaranteed the province freedom to preserve the existing French law, language, and religion. While the struggle for cultural preservation and autonomy certainly didn’t end there for French Canadians, it set up the foundation of a separate identity and the strong desire to be Maîtres chez nous, or “Masters of our own house.”

Today, over 77 percent of Québec residents consider French to be their mother tongue, and it is still the singular official language of the province. Roughly the same percent still identify as Catholic, the religion of the early French settlers. Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is also one of the largest holidays in the region, a festival that dates back to 18th century France and has recently become a rallying point for some separatist movements. But does this desire for a clear, distinct identity extend to their cars? It’s certainly not a guarantee, given that the aforementioned cars are French, and not French Canadian; built in a modern era centuries after the official ties had been cut.

The impetus for digging into the classic car communities of the former New France actually came from a finding in Hagerty’s data that Québec insures French vehicles at over 7 times the rate of the rest of Canada. While this only amounts to 1.25 percent of the total classic cars insured in the province, it is still a significant portion for a subspecies of antique vehicle that remains exceedingly rare in most of North America when compared to its Italian, German, British, American, and Japanese counterparts.

See that darker spot in Montana? Bugattis and favorable tax laws go together like sauvignon blanc and soft cheese. But Québec's French car love is the obvious standout. It even bleeds over a bit into neighboring Vermont and Maine.

The contrast is at least stark enough to be worth taking note of for French car fanatics. Though, it does matter which type of French cars you love. The answer to our specific question above, with regard to the Citroën 2CV, is a resounding “yes” as far as Montreal is concerned. In fact, Citroën utterly dominates the French Canadian scene, accounting for a massive 73% of the French cars insured by Hagerty in Québec. And the 2CV is the most popular of Citroën’s cars in the area, representing roughly 32 percent of the total volume all on its own.

Often deemed a “car of the people”, a term also reserved for the aforementioned Volkswagen Beetle and iconic Mini Cooper, the omnipresence of the 2CV isn’t all too surprising. Though not considered remotely sexy at the time, the vehicle was designed to be all of the things we’ve since learned imbue a car with an enduring fanbase: affordable, minimal, and practical. And while its reputation as a slow-poke also endures - the first generation only reached a top speed of 40mph in about 42 seconds—the impressive 64 mpg of the original air-cooled, 375-cc, two-cylinder engine makes it worth it for many collectors, especially those comfortable with a more leisurely pace on their morning drives (thrill-seekers may still be satisfied with the manufacturer’s “weeble-wobble” effect—Citroën’s tip, but they don’t tip over).

But according to André Verner, there’s another contender for “Most Iconically Quebec:” the Citroën DS. André is the General Manager of the Elegance Trois-Rivieres, a new Concours d'Elegance event premiering in late-July of 2022 that aims to be the Pebble Beach of French Canada. In the spirit of full transparency, André may also be a little biased. He’s been the proud owner of the same DS for roughly 52 years, having bought it originally in 1971 and lovingly cared for it ever since; a commitment which included never driving it in the infamous Canadian winters.

But can you blame him? It was love at first sight. He was at the Montreal International Car Show with his French brother-in-law when they noticed a long line forming to sit in one particular car. So they waited. And waited. And when it was finally their turn, they were presented with the 1971 DS, an experience André describes as “overwhelm[ing].” The next Monday morning, he was at the St. Catherine Street dealership in Montreal, and bought the last ‘71 they had.

And from the very beginning, he’s been strengthening his defense for the DS. When his neighbors saw the odd looking contraption he’d replaced his 1968 Ford Mustang GT with, they blatantly asked why he’d bought such an ugly car. “Just wait a few years,” was André’s response, “and it won't be ugly anymore.” To his credit, he’s been largely correct. The DS has since been treasured with what can only be described as an ardent fervor by the classic car community, who have bequeathed it with such labels as “divine”, “a decade ahead of its time”, and even “a goddess.”

André also believes that the popularity of Citroëns is currently growing in the region, largely due to the increased visibility from auction sites. He notes, “... there are Citroëns practically every week now on Bring a Trailer,” which he believes has helped revive cross-generational interest. He even has numerous friends currently going through the extra effort to import the vehicles directly from France and Italy.

As to why the increased love for French cars in Québec? André agrees that the shared language may be a factor. But he pointed to another idea, too: people were impressed with the spectacular technology and innovative design back in the early 70s, just before the company pulled out of the North American markets. Many of the kids who would have ogled at the car shows alongside André probably still retain fond memories of the futuristic, yet attainable marvel, only amplified by the unrequited nature of their longing. For a region that historian and journalist Colin Woodard describes as simultaneously “[d]own-to-earth”, “extremely open-minded,” and one of the most “postmodern” cultures this side of the Atlantic, it’s a match made in paradis.

Cars and Coffee

As for Southern Louisiana, the chief bastion of Frenchness this side of the Great Lakes, the data doesn’t seem to point to any clear trends. There are many possible explanations as to why, including an aggressive campaign to Anglicize the region and a French history that starts and ends long before cars were even a twinkle in Monsieur Cugnot‘s eye.

After a series of persecutions, expulsions, and “relocations” at the hands of the British in the mid-1700s, a group known as the Acadians (originally French peasants from more pastoral regions) ultimately made their way from eastern Canada to present-day Southern Louisiana, morphing into the Cajuns. By this point, New Orleans had also already been around for decades, serving as a valuable port for King Louis XV and a Creole cultural stronghold, with a population characterized by its mixed and diverse ancestry. New Orleans is undeniably just as African, Caribbean, Spanish, and Native American as it is French.

But French symbolism, like the iconic Fleur de Lis, has often been a shared way in which the city and surrounding areas differentiate their distinct heritage and, most importantly, vibe, from the rest of the country. Unfortunately, Louisiana never had a legal protection akin to the Québec Act, and a state constitution established in 1921 and lasting roughly 50 years mandated English as the only language for instruction in schools. Though an organization dedicated to preserving the Louisiana French dialects was formed in the 1960s, much damage had already been done. As of the 2000 census, only around 3% of the state’s population spoke primarily French.

On the bright side, other aspects of the Franco-influenced cultures, such as the infamous Mardi Gras and the sublimely fantastic cuisine, have fared far better. And it is in this latter arena where classic French cars are really starting to make their mark in the Big Easy.

N7, a critically lauded French restaurant and wine bar, opened in the Bywater neighborhood in late 2015. As their website explains, the establishment is named after what used to be a French equivalent to Highway 1, Nationale 7, that ran from Paris to Italy. There’s even a map of the old route on the menu, tracing its way seductively through Lyons and Nice, as well as a late 1960s maroon Citroën DS parked proudly out front.

The coffee scene has also cleverly hopped on the Citroën wagon. Petit Rouge, a roaming coffee spot operating out of a bright red 1970 Citroën H-Van, was featured in a Hagerty video centered around a French expat who always makes time for cruising around the city in his 1961 Citroën 2CV. One of the most beloved coffee brands in the area has even put it right there in the name.

Geoffrey Meeker, founder and owner of French Truck Coffee, grew up admiring classic cars, and remembers one experience in particular as being formative on his journey to the iconic image that now emblazons all of his cafes: “When I was growing up my best friend's father bought a 1961 Jaguar E-Type on a whim during a road trip. It was the coolest thing on four wheels that I had ever seen. The lines, the headlights, the rumble of the engine… The curves of the E-Type that I loved as a kid got me interested in the Citroën DS. The technology that was wrapped up in that styling was really intriguing to me.”

Though he first landed on a H-Van, with plans to operate it like a food truck with a small roaster and coffee shop all on board, he ultimately realized the cost and layout weren’t the right fit. That’s when he spotted an old 2CV Truckette on the lot, and something clicked. He began roasting out of his laundry room and using the eponymous french truck solely as a delivery vessel, all of which seems to have been the right move. French Truck Coffee now has 10 locations and a fleet of 7 bright yellow Citroëns.

And while Meeker notes that French cars as a whole are fairly rare in the city, a phenomenon he attributes to the fact that the area’s French influence predates cars, he still feels the vintage charm was a vital component to his success (alongside, of course, delicious, fresh coffee). “New Orleanians loved the charm and the service of this little truck zipping around town … They are also very proud of their city and their culture. We seemed to have hit the right note for them to embrace us as their own.”

The post The last, best bastions for French collector cars in North America appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Not even a real-life Z06 could sell Chevrolet’s Corvette NFT

Intake: Given a contracting stock market and increasingly bearish economic forecasts, the booming worlds of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have taken a pounding. Automakers who tried to ride the NFT wave have not been spared. Take Chevy, for example, who released a 1-of-1 NFT of the 2023 Corvette Z06 in Minted Green. (Think the Lime Green worn by the 2013–15 Spark, but more retina-searing.) The sale of the NFT opened on June 20 and ran through the 25, but proved fruitless—despite the inclusion a 1-of-1 2023 Z06 in said Minted Green. Not a single bid was placed. Chevrolet reopened the auction for one more day. Crickets. The NFT was auctioned off on SuperRare, a digital art marketplace where all bids are placed using Ethereum, one of the more popular cryptocurrencies. A few offers have rolled in after the auction’s end—the lead bid is 6.9 Ethereum, which equates to roughly $7500 in USD at current crypto prices (1 Ethereum is currently worth around $1097 as of this writing.)

Exhaust: Turns out, even if the accompanying real car is slathered in exclusive paint, backing your way into a sale using of-the-moment tech fads is not a sure-fire sales tactic. Not only did interested buyers need to own a digital wallet, that wallet had to be stocked with a specific currency: Ethereum. Those new to the crypto ecosystem, who were interested in Chevrolet’s offer but possessed either no digital wallet or a generous amount of Ethereum, had few options. There was absolutely a reserve that needed to be met on this auction, too; NFT or no, Chevy wasn’t going to let a uniquely painted version of its hotly anticipated flat-plane V-8 screamer go for anything less than sticker—whatever that may be. (Z06 pricing is expected to arrive in the coming weeks). The current “leading” bid—since this auction is closed, these are just low-ballers in search of a laugh—wouldn’t even cover the cost of the Z07 performance package on the outgoing C7 Z06 (you had to cough up $7999 for the gnarlier aero package, the Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, and the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires). It’s all rather embarrassing, but if anything can put a flopped crypto stunt out of our heads, it’s the sound of that 5.5-liter 670-hp LT6. — Nathan Petroelje

Jeep honors U.S. military with Freedom package for Gladiator, Wrangler

Intake: In honor of those who have bravely devoted their lives to protect our country, Jeep has announced a limited-edition Freedom package for the 2023 Gladiator and Wrangler. Available for the Sport S trims on both models, the Freedom package adds a few visual tweaks to these familiar exteriors, including an Oscar Mike badge on the rear tailgate/swing gate, LED headlamps and fog lamps, body-color fender flares, a steel front bumper steel rock rails, black wheels, as well as an American flag decal along the side of your ride. In the cabin, you’ll get leather-trimmed cloth seats and black accent stitching. For every Freedom edition sold, Jeep will make a $250 donation to military charities. If you are an active or recently retired servicemember, and considering scooping a Freedom edition Gladiator or Wrangler, you’ll qualify for $500 bonus cash to deduct against the package’s standard $3295 price. Orders open later this month, and dealer lots will have the first examples in stock in time for Veterans Day, on November 11.

Exhaust: Jeep’s military ties are well-documented and easily celebrated. A cosmetic package on its most iconic nameplate (and pickup sibling) won’t exactly rival the Willys MB for historical significance, but it’s a nice gesture. That steel bumper is not otherwise offered on the Sport S trim for either model, but optioning the LEDs and the rock rails alone puts you within shouting distance ($2345) of the Freedom package’s $3295 asking price—and the value proposition of choosing the Freedom kit over a piecemeal build only increases once you add $500 cash for active and recently retired servicemembers. We’re especially glad to see Jeep stepping up to support military charities.

Renault marks 50 years of the R5 with haute couture restomod

Intake: Renault is celebrating five decades of Le Car in true style with an electrified Five designed with fashionista Pierre Gonalons. Pink and proud, the Diamant one-off has gem-like headlamps, side mirrors that look like a saucier’s pan, and dished, black-and-white wheels. Inside, things get even crazier, with a swirling recycled marble steering wheel dominating an otherwise simple cabin, adorned by circular gold door handle and an integrated phone-holder in lieu of the ubiquitous touchscreen. The Diamant has been converted to battery power, although Renault hasn’t revealed its specification.

Exhaust: The R5 was famous for its stylish limited editions, such as the luxurious, leather-lined Monaco and the denim-trimmed Blue Jeans, but this Diamant edition takes its catwalk cool even further. A retro-futuristic new 5 is due in 2024 to replace the Zoe electric city car and we do hope that the fashion collabs continue. — Nik Berg

Europe to assess e-fuels as part of zero-emission plan

Intake: With the European Union insisting all new vehicles from 2035 must be completely emissions-free, the assumption has long been that only electric cars and vans would comply with the new regulations. However, now there’s a possibility that e-fuels could be part of the solution. E.U. environment ministers have agreed to investigate whether carbon neutral e-fuels, created using waste or carbon captured from the atmosphere would help meet the bloc’s zero-emissions targets. Dutch politician Frans Timmermans, who leads the European Commission’s work on the European Green Deal saids that the Commission “will have an open mind,” as it looks into viability, although a deadline of 2026 has been given to prove the effectiveness of e-fuels.

Exhaust: Politicians talking sense about the future of driving? Are we dreaming? Being realistic, mainstream European manufacturers have already committed to a battery-electric business, but smaller, enthusiast-driven brands could reap the benefits. A move to e-fuels would also guarantee that older cars can be kept on the roads for many years to come without their drivers becoming pariahs. The biggest challenge will be producing e-fuels in sufficient volume and a reasonable cost, although given the current trends in gas prices, nine bucks per gallon doesn’t actually seem that far-fetched. — NB

Glickenhaus’ Hypercar heads to Monza in a new blue suit

Intake: Following a quote from Helen Keller (!) in the press release, Jim Glickenhaus announced a new livery for his #708 Hypercar, which finished fourth at the 24 Hours of Le Mans behind the #709 Glickenhaus which finished third, putting the American underdog on the podium, behind the two muscular Toyotas. “At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, we saw the new Porsche LMDh in its race livery. As both Porsche and Toyota are now red, white and black, we’ve decided to try something different. As bright as the sky, or bright as the future.” We’ll see about that future this weekend when New York team owner Glickenhaus will race the car at the Monza Six Hours in Italy. Drivers will be Olivier Pla, Romain Dumas, and Pipo Derani.

Exhaust: A bit lighter than Richard Petty’s famous “Petty blue” color, Glickenhaus went from mostly red and white to the Pettyish-blue with a red, white, and darker blue stripe down the middle. Glickenhaus reverts back to a one-car team for Monza, which he’ll run for the rest of the World Endurance Championship season. The new livery looks great, but it’s hard to take your eyes off those massive, 24-lamp headlights. — Steven Cole Smith

The post Chevrolet’s no-bid NFT flop, Renault’s catwalk-worthy restomod, Glickenhaus’ Hypercar dons blue appeared first on Hagerty Media.

With the Goodwood Festival of Speed now in the rearview mirror, the historic racing calendar turns to the Le Mans Classic this weekend. And, like Goodwood, there’s an auction full of delectable cars happening in conjunction with the event. Artcurial—best known in the car world for its Rétromobile sale—will be auctioning 137-vehicles on July 2, including historic racers, sports cars, GTs, modern collectibles and quite a few oddballs. Ever heard of a Bianco, a Teilhol Tangara, a Hommell, or a Tracta-Grégoire? Neither have I, but they’ll all be at Le Mans, along with 19 bikes and automobilia.

Here are the nine coolest and most significant cars we’re keeping an eye on.

1980 Porsche 935 “Baby L1”

Estimate: €1,300,000–€1,600,000 ($1,370,070–$1,686,240)

Porsche 935s dominated sports car racing in the late 1970s and early 1980s, mostly with a 3.0- or 3.0-liter turbo engine. There was, however, a smaller, 1.4-liter version, aptly named the “Baby,” created to race in a class for 2.0-liter cars (or 1.4 with forced induction, as on the Porsche).

This car is a 935 “Baby” built by Swedish driver Jan Lundgardh in 1980. Lighter than a standard 935 and boasting 365 hp, the “L1” raced at Brands Hatch, Le Mans, Nürburgring, and Silverstone but was plagued by reliability issues throughout the 1980 and ’81 seasons. In 1982 Lundgardh wisely swapped in a more conventional and more powerful 3.0-liter unit. Then things started looking better, the best result being a GTX class win at the Nürburgring 1000km in 1984.

Today, the L1 is still an active racer, including at events like the Le Mans Classic and Oldtimer Grand Prix, and has reportedly clocked up several wins and podiums on the historic racing scene. Still powered by a 3.0-liter engine, it wears its original 935 K3 body panels and has never been wrecked.

1971 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman

Estimate: €280,000–€360,000 ($295,090–$379,400)

There’s an old quip about the Mercedes-Benz 600: It’s a dictator’s car. There’s some truth to that. Once the world’s most expensive automobile, the 600 can count Saddam Hussein, Ferdinand Marcos, Chairman Mao, and Saddam Hussein among its list of former owners.

And here’s another one. One of 428 long-wheelbase 600 Pullmans built (out of 2677 total 600s) and fitted with a rare factory rear sunroof, it was supplied new in 1971 to Société d’Equipement pour l’Afrique Gabon, supposedly for use by Gabonese leadership and the entourage of Omar Bongo. That surname might not be a household one, but he was the West African nation’s president from 1967 to 2009, and he became fabulously wealthy thanks to oil revenue and alleged corruption.

As for the Mercedes, it was reportedly restored in Brussels at a cost of over €90,000 and had a full fluid service earlier this year.

1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint 1600 GTA Stradale

Estimate: €360,000 – €460,000 ($379,400–$484,790)

The Giulia GTA (Gran Turismo Allegerita, or lightweight) was a Giulia put on a diet/steroids by Alfa’s racing arm, Autodelta. The Bertone-penned bodywork was changed to 1.2-mm thick panels out of an alloy called “Peraluman 25,” while Autodelta stripped the interior and added plastic side windows. Underneath, Autodelta modified the suspension, added closer gearing for the transmission, and gave a new twin-ignition cylinder head to the engine along with dual 45-mm Webers. For homologation, just 500 GTA 1600s were built between 1965–68, plus a similar number of 1300-cc Giulia GTA “Juniors.”

This GTA sold new to French racing driver Dominique Thir, who ran it competitively (including a class win) at rallies and hill climbs for a couple of years. Its second owner also won his class at the 1968 Ardennes rally, and its third owner won his class at the 1969 Mont Jura hill climb before stripping down the car and putting it in crates in preparation for a restoration that he never started. In 2013, it sold to its current owner, who had the Giulia fully restored.

1986 Toyota TOM’S 86C

Estimate: €500,000–€700,000 ($526,950–$737,730)

Having just clinched its fifth straight victory at Le Mans, Toyota is on top of the world in endurance racing. It wasn’t always that way.

Toyota’s endurance racing exploits go back decades, with plenty of ups and downs. This car dates from the company’s efforts in the mid-1980s, when companies Dome and TOM’S (Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport) were charged with developing Group C cars for the Japanese giant. After a promising 12th place finish for the team at Le Mans in 1985 with the 85C, the 86C arrived the following season with lower weight and modifications to the 2.0-liter supercharged engine that brought a full 900 hp.

Although TOM’S and Dome didn’t record chassis numbers or explicitly label their cars, Artcurial represents this as the only remaining factory-campaigned car, as confirmed by TOM’S. The current owner bought it directly from the team in 1990, then displayed it in his museum in 2017, and finally had it restored that year to its original 1986 configuration.

1937 Frazer Nash BMW 328

Estimate: €500,000–€700,000 ($526,950–$737,730)

With its tubular ladder-type chassis, independent front suspension, hydraulic brakes, and overhead valve straight-six with hemispherical combustion chambers, the BMW 328 was one of the quickest, most advanced, and best prewar sports cars. Beginning in 1934 Britain’s official BMW importer AFN Limited (aka Frazer Nash) got permission to import the 328 to the U.K., where it was sold as a Frazer-Nash BMW. Aside from Frazer-Nash text on top of the blue-and-white BMW roundel, it’s the same great race-winning roadster.

This 328 sold new to Viscount Curzon, later Earl Howe, who raced it in hill climbs and speed trials and also: “drove the car on the road whenever I had the chance. The car never let me down.” Howe sold it after the war, and by the 1970s it had a later Moss gearbox and Bristol cylinder head. In the 1990s, a connecting rod broke and ruined the engine block, which was later replaced. From 2013–15, the car went to BMW Classic for a full restoration to the tune of nearly €200,000.

1962 René Bonnet Djet CGTRB5 “tubulaire” prototype

Estimate: €100,000–€150,000 ($105,930–$158,090)

Credited as the first mid-engine production car and wrapped in a slippery fiberglass body, the René Bonnet Djet was well ahead of its time when it came out in 1962. About 200 were built before Automobiles René Bonnet was taken over by Matra, who sold a further 1500 Matra-badged cars with slightly altered bodywork. Fun fact: Matra gave a Djet to Yuri Gagarin (the first man in space) during his 1965 tour of France.

This car is represented as one of the three original Djet prototypes, distinguished by their tubeframe (later Djets got a heavier backbone chassis). While the other two prototypes raced at Le Mans, this one was reportedly used as a factory demonstration car before being restored at the factory in 1963 and sold into private ownership. Restored about 10 years ago, this nifty French fiberglass coupe is eligible for the Tour Auto and the Le Mans Classic.

1948 Delahaye 135 M Cabriolet “El Glaoui” by Figoni et Falaschi

Estimate: €150,000–€200,000 ($158,090–$210,780)

One of the major highlights of the Le Mans Classic auction this year is the Pierre Héron collection of 24 French automobiles, all in barn-find condition after sitting for 40 years. Along with a Talbot Lago T26, this Delahaye 135M is the highlight among all the scruffy projects.

Shown at the 1948 Paris Motor Show and again at a retrospective exhibition at the 1963 Paris Motor Show, it was bodied by Figoni et Falaschi and is one of a reported 18 cars to wear the “El Glaoui” coachwork, named after the Pasha of Marrakech, who was the first to order it. Héron bought it in 1969 and reportedly drove it regularly in Paris. Today, though, it’s in total barn-find condition. Dust and all.

1983 Renault RE40

Estimate: €800,000–€1,200,000 ($843,120–$1,264,680)

For Senna fanboys, Alain Prost is just Ayrton’s antagonist, but we can’t forget that the Frenchman is a four-time world champion with 51 grand prix wins (the fourth most of all time) as well as a former team owner. And with two ex-Mansell race cars having just sold (1989 Ferrari 640 for €3,605,000 and 1991 Williams FW14 for €4,055,000) F1 fans will be watching this ex-Prost Renault closely. An all-French racer offered in its home country by a French auction house, it should perform well.

Renault ushered in the turbo era of Formula 1, first in 1977 with its 1500-cc four and finally overcame teething problems and reliability nightmares with a first win at the 1979 French GP. This car dates from the 1983 season, Prost’s last with Renault (he was fired for criticizing the team late in the year and moved to McLaren for 1984). In RE40/03, Prost won at Spa and snagged a podium finish in Monaco, while in another RE40 he won the French, British, and Dutch Grands Prix. He finished second in the Drivers’ Championship, just two points behind Nelson Piquet. RE40/03 was also used for test sessions by Prost and teammate Eddie Cheever and was cosmetically restored in the 1990s.

1954 Maserati A6 GCS/53 Spyder by Fiandri

Estimate: €3,250,000–€3,650,000 ($3,425,180–$3,846,740)

The most valuable car on offer at Le Mans this year, this Maserati sold new in France and has some period race history there, including a first-in-class finish (6th overall) at the Tour de France and fourth at Monza as well as an early retirement at the Mille Miglia. It then raced in South America and sold to a buyer in Venezuela, but by the early 1960s it had sold to California and reportedly sat outside at a coconut plantation in La Jolla until 1977.

It has since been restored and did the 1986 running of the Mille Miglia—with none other than Stirling Moss codriving—as well as three more runnings of the Mille Miglia in the 1990s and 2000s.

The post 9 of the coolest cars at 2022’s Le Mans Classic appeared first on Hagerty Media.

As many of us have heard by now, Renault is divesting its strategic assets in Russia. This includes the AvtoVAZ factory at Togliatti and all local assembly of current Renault models. So what’s the plan? To bring back the Moskvich brand, naturally. You may remember Moskvich as the storied Soviet auto manufacturer that started its days making Opel Kadett copies and ended with somewhat reverse-engineered Simcas in 2002. Under the layered yoke of Western sanctions, however, the exact shape of Moskvich and which models will be produced remains murky. Our sources in Europe have provided, uh, a “leaked internal memo,” which we have dutifully translated from its original Russian (unprintable profanity redacted). Please enjoy this bit of imaginative fun. -EW

“Everything will turn out right, the world is built on that.” — Mikhail Bulgakov (The Master and Margarita)

Subject: 

To: Comrade Employee Email Listserv

CC: Ministry of Transportation, Rolling and Flying Division Postbox

BCC: Moskvich Plant Alumni Telegram Channel/Group Chat

As many of you may have already heard, either by the scrum chalkboard, or via our press channels, or from the bartender, the Moskvich brand will return to the market to assured great fanfare. After all, who doesn’t still lust after a Moskvich Ivan Kalita or Prince Vladimir? As the AvtoVAZ-Renault plant will be nationalized (and glorified), our team was given the task to update the currently-produced Renault/Dacia Duster, Arkana, and Kaptur to meet the new beauty, performance, and component availability standards of this bright future. Updates from the recently assembled Workers Council of Legal Compliance, Marketing, and Product Planning and forcibly integrated Workers Council of Purchasing and Re-Engineering are compiled below in a model-by-model overview. Associates who have not shown sufficient enthusiasm have been irrevocably reassigned to the Volunteer Corporate Grounds Maintenance Corps.

Formerly Dacia Duster, now Moskvich MZMA 2140001 “Young”

Report of the Workers Council of Legal Compliance, Marketing, and Product Planning:

The Duster is a hot seller on today’s crossover market! We cannot lose this momentum, even in the face of change. The information provided to us via the People’s Ministry of Questions and Graphs have shown that ties to Soviet history are key motivators for the 18-74 demographic. Therefore, the Duster should draw ties to the rugged history of the 4WD MZMA Moskvich 411, as well as usher a return to the modern Soviet vehicle nomenclature system to increase brand identity. The name Duster, too easily confused with modern, western Plymouth products, will therefore be replaced with the relatable Moskvich MZMA 2140001.

From this number, it is obvious to the buyer that this vehicle has a GVW of between 900–1049 kg with an engine displacement of 1.1-1.79 liters, and it is the first revision of the first Moskvich to be produced in this plant. To avoid confusion with the VAZ 2101 Zhiguli, a strong competitor on the used market, the 400 designation has been inserted in the middle as a “Throwback” to the first Moskvich product under the prior Soviet nomenclature system. To young car buyers who have made their last new purchase before 1982, this system will no doubt be recognizable. To cater to even younger buyers, there will be an identical version with the word “Young” at the end of the sure-to-be iconic MZMA 2140001 name.

Report of the Workers Council of Purchasing and Re-Engineering:

As the flagship of the Dacia brand has been in production for some time, the Duster body stampings are fully available domestically, one way or another. With help of high availability of replacement crash panels in the aftermarket, our procurement team is scraping the bottom of every barrel to ensure that nearly every Duster looks almost exactly alike!

Powertrain sourcing provided some challenges but nothing that the newly combined team could not solve.

As the integration of the front-wheel-drive Lada Granta 8V four-cylinder will take some time due to mounting constraints and adaptation of Megasquirt EFI, the team has located a stockpile of UZAM-412 motors following the cease of production of the Moskvich Aleko in 2003. How lucky we were to find such recent motors! Following degreasing (and unseizing), they can be immediately employed. Unfortunately, there were no front-wheel-drive gearboxes remaining, so the first 1500 vehicles will use a four-speed floor shift manual gearbox and lead-sprung rear axle from remaining Izh-412 production. Fuel injection and front-wheel-drive will be added in the 42nd calendar week of 2024.

In order to hit the weight target for the third class of the model designation “2” proposed by marketing, all unnecessary mass has been removed and towing or carrying more than two people has been expressly prohibited. The removal of all air bags, rear seats, electronic driver aids, infotainment, and safety systems has not only hit weight targets but solved tricky supply chain issues. Following the planned capture of Lada Vesta designer and Englishman Steve Mattin, we plan a light restyle on Wednesday of the 13th calendar week of 2029.

Formerly Renault Arkana, now Moskvich KAMAZ JAC 3140002

Report of the Workers Council of Legal Compliance, Marketing, and Product Planning:

The Arkana appeals to upmarket tastes of buyers that would also consider the Mercedes GLE Coupe or BMW X6, if they had the money and connections to procure them. The high seating position, all-wheel drive, and imposing yet sporting stature for a market leading price are the deciding factors for the Arkana 3140002 buyer. Model nomenclature includes a “3” large-car designation for maximum clout. What’s more: Due to the twin engine and ten-speed gearbox arrangement of the 4WD variant, it will be legally and socially recognized as two Moskvich KAMAZ JAC 3140002 vehicles.

Report of the Workers Council of Purchasing and Re-Engineering:

As the Arkana has only been in production two years, existing powertrain and body stocks are projected to last approximately three months. As the existing stocks of the Renault TCe 150 powerplants dry up, production will transition completely to the local Lada 1.6 16V motor and 5-speed gearbox which is already offered in front- and all-wheel-drive variants. The internationally sourced all-wheel-drive gearbox and rear differential will soon be replaced by a second, independently controlled, Lada 1.6 motor and automated five-speed gearbox situated behind the rear seats. Final drive ratio for the rear-mounted semi-automatic transaxle has been changed from a 3.7:1 to 4.31:1 to avoid concurrent shift points between front and rear wheels. Due to the high amount of imported plastic paneling, marketing objectives for a high-seated and spacious interior were met via the cooperation with KAMAZ and Chinese car and truck manufacturer JAC, who will jointly supply the X200 cabover truck and bus bodies to mount atop the bare Arkana unibody.

Formerly Renault Kaptur, now Moskvich 2140003 Kaptur

Report of the Workers Council of Legal Compliance, Marketing, and Product Planning:

We have been informed by the People’s Ministry of Used Batteries, Ministry of Questions & Graphs, and Ministry of Digging Things Out of The Ground that a locally developed electric car would improve several metrics relevant to each Ministry. After much discussion, it was decided to keep the Western name as we have already printed the “Fall in love with your Kaptur” dealership posters. The Kaptur platform was chosen as electric only purely due to market research and had absolutely nothing to do to a mutiny of the Lada powertrain integration team. Those caught engaging in the proliferation of this patently untrue rumor will join the Volunteer Corporate Grounds Maintenance Corps. And if you don’t believe us, you can just ask a certain special not-to-be-named former powertrain integration team how the MOSKVICH liriope installation at the plant entrance is going.

Report of the Workers Council of Purchasing and Re-Engineering:

Since no powertrain exists anyway, we had the luxury of starting from a blank sheet of paper. This was especially convenient as we also have no battery or control technology. Therefore, we have invented and patented used battery “hot swap” recycling system that extracts the last usable power from any lead-acid batteries you may have around the house, scrap yard, or enterprising rest area resale pop-up. The floor of the vehicle (whose stamping wasn’t available anyway), was replaced with a large plastic battery tray with spring-loaded slots to accommodate from AAA to D, as well as several 12V automotive battery groups. Once depleted, the battery casings are mechanically separated into their respective components of zinc, manganese, potassium, and lead. Steel and lead deposits are melted into ingots while the remaining matter is compressed into small fertilizer briquets, which are dispensed from the rear of the car. Ingots and fertilizer nuggets can be exchanged for fuel vouchers at participating Rosneft stations, practically offsetting operating costs of the 345-horsepower combination emergency drive unit and ultra-high-temperature smelter of Chinese origin. The remaining non-gardening members of the Department of Purchasing and Re-Engineering are confident that this approach satisfies all key requirements set forth by the Workers Department of Legal Compliance, Marketing, and Product Planning. As a secondary measure, we have drafted plans for a very elegant double-scale Moskvich Aleko hedge installation, which we all agree would complement the liriope quite nicely.

Notice: This marks the end of the internal memorandum. Unauthorized duplication expressly prohibited. In the case of accidental distribution, it is compulsory under enforcement code 2001.12.23.c.476 to return the email to sender. Have a blessed day.

The post What if? Moskvich Reborn appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Steven Spielberg to drive Bullitt sequel

Intake: A new Bullitt is in the chamber and will be directed by Steven Spielberg, reports Deadline. The publication says it won’t simply be a remake of the 1968 original, but instead will be a new story centering on San Francisco cop Frank Bullitt. The McQueen family is said to be heavily involved in the project, with the King of Cool‘s son Chad and granddaughter Molly as executive producers. Josh Singer, who penned Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, will be on writing duty.

Exhaust: Spielberg’s very first feature, Duel, was one long car chase, so the automotive action should be in safe hands. We can only hope that product placement doesn’t get in the way of Bullitt being behind the wheel of a Mustang … though we do wonder how many times the same VW Beetle might show up.

F1’s new 2022 car does not like bumps

Intake: The first team tests for Formula 1’s new cars took place in Barcelona, Spain, last week. The cars will debut a host of changes to the regulations this year, including larger wheels (18 inches vs 13), smaller tire sidewalls, simplified suspension systems, and most importantly, heavily revised aerodynamics. The new cars will place a much heavier importance on ground effect—the air traveling under the car—for added downforce. That emphasis on sucking the car to the ground (rather than pushing it into the ground, as the outgoing cars’ aero did) has created an issue known as porpoising, in which the car bounces up and down as load on the diffuser rises and falls. According to a report from The Race, Barcelona’s smooth pavement kept this unstable behavior to a minimum; Williams Racing driver Alex Albon tells the outlet that he expects bumpier tracks, such as Baku, to be much worse.

Exhaust: Following 2021’s controversial season-ending race in Abu Dhabi, in which a creative interpretation of safety car rules allowed Max Verstappen to overtake Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to win the driver’s championship, the F1 world appears eager to write a new chapter. Teams will continue to develop the new cars and do their best to mitigate the porpoising as the season marches on, but these first few races the cars could get testy. Now that we’ve had a chance to see each new team’s livery, which do you looks best?

Original fiberglass dune buggy returns as EV

Intake: About a year after its inventor passed, the famous Meyers Manx dune buggy is due for an EV comeback thanks to a new battery design from Coreshell Technologies. Autoweek reports that before Bruce Meyers’ death, he sold the company to Houston-area entrepreneur (and well-known car enthusiast) Phillip Sarofim and noted transportation designer Freeman Thomas. (According to public records, Sarofim has a role as a director of Coreshell.) The duo has plans to retain the Manx’s iconic design but will mate it to Coreshell Tech’s advancements underneath, with a goal to have a running prototype sometime next year.

Exhaust: While tech entrepreneurs have a well-known knack for getting involved in the electrification of the automobile, it’s not every day that something as memorable as the Meyers Manx is used as its foundation. We can’t wait to see the famous dune buggy’s reincarnation for a new generation of fans, provided Coreshell Technologies proves their technology works. And assuming they’ll have the capital to make it happen over the coming months.

Only Dubai could have a Lykan HyperSport “ambulance”

Intake: Dubai now has the fastest paramedics on the planet after its ambulance service took delivery of a 740-hp Lykan HyperSport. (Fast and Furious fans will know the $3M Lebanese hypercar from Furious 7.) The “HyperSport Responder” clearly won’t be rushing any patients to hospital, as it barely has enough space ahead of its 3.7-liter twin turbo RUF flat-six for the driver and passenger. “Dubai has become synonymous with everything that is unique and the first in the world,” Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services chief executive Khalifa bin Darrai says. “The car’s speed and capabilities can significantly reduce response time during emergencies and ensure timely intervention.” Timely, in this case, means reaching 62 mph from a standstill in 2.8 seconds on the way to a 245-mph top speed.

Exhaust: Only seven Lykan HyperSports have been built and this is the second to go to Dubai’s emergency services. The other belongs to the city’s police force, whose fleet of hypercars includes a Bugatti Veyron, Aston Martin One-77, and Lamborghini Aventador. Only in Dubai.

Andretti taps Renault for F1 engines

ATTENTION: This ?? the sound of our fire-up ?

Heralding a new era of #Alpine innovation and progress. Pushing the boundaries of #F1 technology. Showcasing the collaborative spirit between Enstone and Viry. This is the birth of the #A522. This is our very first 2022 fire-up. pic.twitter.com/mmemLxhDvB

— BWT Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) January 21, 2022

Intake: Last weekend, another piece fell into place for the highly anticipated Andretti Formula 1 team, as Mario Andretti shared with open-wheel reporter David Land that the team would use Renault as a parts supplier. This comes after an announcement via Twitter last week by the elder Andretti that his son Michael had applied to the FIA to field a Formula 1 team in 2024 under the name Andretti Global. In addition to announcing the use of Renault bits, the interview this weekend confirmed that Andretti Global will build a facility in the U.K.. It’s speculated that Andretti Autosport headquarters in Indianapolis—where its IndyCar and Indy Light teams are housed—will remain in operation as a home base while the brick-and-mortar oversees facilities will be reserved for research and development.

Exhaust: Re-nault you didn’t. Becoming Andretti Global’s part suppliers should bode well for the French manufacturer. Currently, it only supplies engines and components to BWT Alpine F1 team. In 2019, Red Bull left Renault for Honda and in 2020, McLaren left it for Mercedes, ultimately stranding the manufacturer on a one-team island. Andretti Global will provide more data points for current underdog Renault, which will likely spool research and development. As far as Andretti, we await one more next big announcement: driver. Who will it be? All signs point to current Andretti Autosport driver and IndyCar star Colten Herta. Should Andretti Global be permitted by the FIA to compete in Formula 1, look for the second-generation driver to sign on the dotted line. 

The post Spielberg plots <em>Bullitt</em> sequel, batteries for OG dune buggy, Andretti’s F1 engine supplier appeared first on Hagerty Media.

There’s a big wide world of cars out there that, because of federalization laws or market-specific offerings, never make it to dealer lots here in the US of A. Buying a brand-new car from a foreign market and trying to import it on your own is nearly impossible, but it is possible to secure an exemption from certain red tape and regulations that allow you to register a car here. In that scenario, the vehicle in question just has to be 25 years or older. America’s so-called 25-year rule (it’s 15 years up in Canada) means that until the quarter-century clock runs down our favorite unobtanium cars, all we can do is watch them on YouTube or drive them on PlayStation.

One fun thing about the 25-year rule? Each year a new crop of cars becomes eligible for import. Below are 10 cars we’ve been looking at, all from the class of 1997, that meet the criteria import to the U.S. at some point during 2022. The list covers a melange of JDM greats and European delicacies (and one Aussie) which certain dedicated fans have been watching from afar for years in anticipation.

Remember, though—your experience with importing any out-of-market vehicle will vary depending on which state you live in. Federal law is one thing, but states also reserve the right to enforce their own regulations. You’re out of luck if you live in California, for example, and in 2021 some states in New England (Maine and Rhode Island, namely) began deregistering Japanese-market mini trucks for some strange reason.

Parts and service for a foreign-market car is also a whole different ball game. They don’t carry Renault alternators at Pep Boys.

As always, homework for the dizzying import process from docks to driveway is an absolute must should you be determined to go it alone. Buying from a reputable dealer that specializes in foreign-market imports will come with a premium, but these outfits will often fully handle the paperwork so you don’t have to. Nobody wants to have to look over their shoulder, worried that Uncle Sam will one day come with a tow truck sending an innocent Skyline GT-R to the crusher.

Alfa Romeo 156

Launched in late 1997 and built until 2005, the 156 isn’t the prettiest car in the world. And with Stelvio SUVs now meandering around suburbs, an Alfa Romeo isn’t as exotic a sight as it used to be for Americans since the brand’s 20-year hiatus between 1995 and 2015. It also hails from right in the middle of the company’s front-wheel-drive era.

So what does the 156 have going for it? Well, it’s an Alfa Romeo, and Alfa Romeos are both attractive and nice to drive. The most desirable engines are the Twin Spark 16-valve four-cylinder, and the 2.5-liter double overhead cam Busso V-6, both of which look good and make a pleasant sound. Other solid options included a Momo leather interior and mahogany steering wheel, Recaro seats, and lowered suspension. Fast wagon fans will pine for the 156 Sportwagon model, but it didn’t arrive until 2000. See you in 2025!

Honda Civic Type R

The third Honda with a Type R badge (after the NSX in 1992 and the Integra in 1995), the original 1997 Civic Type R is based on the sixth generation of Honda’s bread-and-butter-compact car, and Honda gave it a similar treatment to the hopped-up Integra but in an arguably prettier hatchback body. Lighter and stiffer body and chassis, upgraded brakes, close-ratio gears, limited-slip differential, and minimal sound deadening are all part of the mix, while on the inside there are Recaro seats, a titanium shift knob and a Momo steering wheel.

The star of the Civic Type R show is the hand-ported B16B engine, a 1.6-liter four that screams out 182 hp at 8200 rpm and can scoot this hottest of hatches to about 140 mph. This being a VTEC Honda, though, torque is basically an afterthought with just 118 lb-ft at 7500 rpm.

The Integra Type R, which sold briefly in the States, is already a proven modern collector car, as are clean examples of the 1999–2000 Civic Si coupe. This JDM Civic on steroids, then, is maybe the most anticipated car from the class of ’97 for American gearheads, some of whom have wanted one ever since playing the first Gran Turismo.

Holden Commodore (VT)

GM’s Down Under subsidiary—Holden—never technically sold cars in America, but chances are you’ve seen one before. The 2004–06 Pontiac GTO, 2008–09 Pontiac G8 and 2014–17 Chevrolet SS all shared Aussie underpinnings courtesy of Holden. And if you look up close, it’s not uncommon to see the Chevy bowtie badge or the Pontiac dart swapped out by owners in favor of a Holden lion.

If we turn back the clock a little bit further to 1997, that’s when Holden introduced the third generation of its large family car, called the Commodore. Also known as the VT-series Commodore, it was available with a variety of engines and as a sedan or station wagon. Enthusiasts, though, naturally gravitate toward the Commodore SS with its 262-hp 5.0-liter V-8 and five-speed manual. Like the later Holden-based Pontiacs and Chevrolets, the Commodore is a charming sleeper—a muscled weapon that nonetheless looks like something your accountant might drive. The right-hand drive might, however, let on that this is no ordinary sedan.

Subaru WRX STi Type R (two-door)

Subaru WRXs are a favorite among tuners and vape enthusiasts, and since the early 2000s it has been one of the most popular ways for young Americans to go fast in a variety of weather and road conditions. Outside of America, though, the WRX goes way back to 1992, and in 1997 Subaru introduced a new two-door model.

Called the WRX Type R STi, it served as the basis for the later and more hardcore 22B. The 22B (which turns 25 years old next year) has since become a legend, but the ’97 Type R was the first two-door WRX.

Renault Kangoo

There is no shortage of vans to choose from in America, but let’s say you own a French restaurant or bakery. Maybe you want to serve croissants in Euro-correct style. Maybe you want a company runabout with a little more joie de vivre than your average Ford Transit.

Enter the Renault Kangoo, which isn’t just fun to say, it’s also one of Europe’s best-selling multipurpose vehicles. The first gen Kangoo debuted in late 1997 and could be had in either standard form or a panel van, called the “Kangoo Express”, with a variety of four-cylinder engines a choice of front- or four-wheel drive.

BMW M Roadster (European spec)

This one’s a bit of a stretch, I admit. BMW already sold the M Roadster in this country from 1998–2002. Back in 2020, Hagerty even suggested that buying one was a great idea. (We were right.) However, in a classic case of us Americans getting watered-down versions of hot foreign cars, the M Roadster sold on our shores came with an S52 straight-six engine good for 240 hp. Plenty to have fun with, but pretty pedestrian compared to the 316-hp S50 that came in the rest of the world’s M Roadsters.

Importing a Euro-spec M is an expensive way to chase some extra horsepower, especially when you could just shop for the upgraded 315-hp (S54-powered) M Roadsters (and Coupes) that came to the U.S. for 2001-02. But, if you really wanted to, you can do so in 2022.

Ford Puma

Built from 1997–2001 at the Ford plant in Cologne, Germany and based on the Mk 4 Fiesta, the Puma is a neat little hot-ish hatch that looks a bit like a shrunken-down eighth-gen (1999–2001) Mercury Cougar. Pumas came with a Zetec four-cylinder of 1.4, 1.6 or 1.7 liters, driving the front wheels.

From a driving and collectibility standpoint, the most interesting of these euro Fords is the “Ford Racing Puma,” of which 500 were built for the U.K. market. They came with special brakes, wider bodywork, suspension upgrades, a front splitter, Speedline wheels, a stronger gearbox, an optional limited-slip, a racier interior, and a more powerful engine. The Ford Racing Puma didn’t come out until 1999, however, so you’ll need to wait another couple of years to ship one over.

Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution

A different kind of Evo, the Pajero Evolution may be an SUV but it’s still a rally weapon with a motorsport pedigree to rival that of its Lancer-based cousin. Mitsubishi built two-door Pajeros for competition beginning in the early 1980s, and they found great success in the Paris-Dakar Rally, winning the event in 1985, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, and 2003–07. Pajeros have won the Dakar Rally more than any other automobile.

To homologate the Pajero Evolution for the Dakar Rally’s T2 class, Mitsubishi built 2500 road-going Pajero Evolutions from 1997–99. Powered by a 3.5-liter 24-valve V-6 with a dual plenum variable intake, the Pajero Evolution also features double wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension, fender flares, two shark-fin like appendages on its tail, a prominent hood scoop, skid plates, and mud flaps.

LTI TX1 London Taxi

Introduced by London Taxis International (LTI) at the London Motor Show in October 1997, the TX1 took over black cab duty from the old, iconic Austin FX4 that dated way back to 1958.

Is a TX1 black cab fun to drive? With a four-cylinder Nissan diesel engine, not in the traditional. Is it nice to look at? Well, not really, as it was shaped for max practicality by designer Kenneth Grange, whose resume mostly includes kettles, food mixers, clothes irons, and washing machines. But it is unmistakably a London taxi, and for the automotive anglophile it sure would be a neat way to ferry around a few friends (to and from the pub). Too bad Uber cars need to be 15 years old or newer.

Nissan Skyline GT-R NISMO 400R

Technically the 400R came out in late 1996, but it’s our list and we’re adding it. It’s also the priciest car of the group, with a seven-figure value in the Hagerty Price Guide, and by far the fastest. It’s essentially an R33-generation (1995-98) Skyline GT-R turned up to eleven—both the hottest R33 and extremely rare, to boot. Just 44 examples are considered to have been built, so anybody shopping for one will probably have to be patient. Not to mention rich.

Borrowing from NISMO’s Le Mans program, the 400R is lowered nearly 2 inches from the standard GT-R and features Bilstein dampers, NISMO springs, NISMO brake pads, and a unique brake master cylinder with a stopper to reduce fore/aft movement and improve pedal feel. The hood and driveshafts are made of carbon fiber, while the exhaust, strut tower bar, and shift knob are titanium. A full body kit features a special front bumper that directs air more efficiently to the intercooler. The 400R’s RB-X GT2 engine has a reinforced block, forged internals and upgraded intake and exhaust. Despite Japan’s famous “gentleman’s agreement” to limit published horsepower figures to 276 ponies, the 400R proudly boasts 400.

The post 10 sweet cars you can import in 2022 under the 25-year rule appeared first on Hagerty Media.

It won’t get you to the beach in a hurry, but Citroën’s latest concept car, the My Ami, will certainly get you noticed.

Based on the push-me-pull-you box on wheels that is the Ami electric city car, the My Ami gets wider wheels and chunky tires to skip across the sand, wider wheelarches, and extra body protection. By contrast, passenger protection is rather reduced thanks to the disposal of the doors. Should the weather take a turn there are zip-in plastic panels to keep the water out.

Night time needn’t stop the fun, as the My Ami comes with a roof-mounted light bar that can also provide mood lighting at a beach party. The little car’s two seats can even be removed to provide campfire seating, while custom bags that slot into the door apertures can hold all the gear you need for you excursion. And, seeing as no travel today counts unless it’s document on Instagram or YouTube, the My Ami also has a number of camera and smartphone mounts built in.

Mechanically it’s the same as the regular Ami, which means it packs a 5.5 kWh battery capable of zipping along at up to 28 mph for 44 miles on a full charge. So you can forget any ideas of epic adventures and think of the My Ami as just the tool take you from hotel to beach, be that the French Riviera or, as the name suggests, South Beach, Florida.

The My Ami is not, of course, the first of its kind, so let’s also take a look back at the beach combers that came before it. If you fancied a drive with sand between your toes and tires, which would you choose?

Citroën Méhari

The My Ami’s spiritual predecessor is definitely the 2CV-derived Méhari of 1968. Powered by a 602-cc flat-twin air-cooled engine from the 2CV6 and Dyane, the Méhari also shared their essential underpinnings but its few body panels were made of ABS plastic instead of sheet metal. That gave the Méhari a remarkably low weight of just 1179 pounds, allowing it to skip over all manner of terrain—just like the camel it was named after. It was designed (and we use the word loosely) by a French fighter ace name Count Roland de la Poype as a French version of the Mini Moke, and over 7000 examples were ordered by the military. Most versions were front-driven just like the 2CV, but a four-wheel drive version was introduced in 1980. Amazingly, a handful of the nearly 145,000 Méharis made were sold in the U.S.A. and if you can find one today you can expect to pay up to $35,500 for a perfect, #1-condition (Concours) car.

In 2016, Citroën followed up with a small run of electric E-Méharis with a rather more zippy 70 hp. Unfortunately, they costed almost as much as a BMW i3 and were a lot less sophisticated. This French fancy was quite quickly forgotten, unlike the original.

Renault 4CV Jolly

Credit for the beach car concept is widely attributed to Ghia’s Gigi Segre, who came up with the idea after visiting Capri and Ischia, but it was actually a French car that would become the first to receive his Jolly treatment. That car was the Renault 4CV, and Ghia got out its angle grinders to remove the roof, threw away the doors, ditched the original interior for wicker or plastic seats and rigged up a makeshift sunshade. It’s estimated that only 50 were made and maybe twenty or so remain, which explains why one sold for $55,000 at Bonhams Quail Lodge auction in 2019.

Fiat 500/600 Jolly

Across the border in Italy the sun-worshippers of Amalfi began cruising the coast in Fiat’s 500 Jolly in 1957. Also designed by Ghia, the car was commissioned by Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli as shore transport for his yacht Agneta. The car needed to be light enough to hoist aboard, yet have enough poke to explore beyond the Mediterranean harbours where he docked. The result was a Nuova 500 with the doors removed, the roof lopped off, and most of the car’s rear as well. Weatherproof wicker seats were fitted along with comedic canopy to keep the sun off. It wasn’t just L’Avvocato himself who got his jollies from the Jolly, Princess Grace of Monaco, Elvis and Aristotle Onasis were among the 400 buyers. Even President Lyndon B Johnson had one. Today Fiat Jollies are among the most collectible beach mobiles, with the rarer water-cooled 600 version worth as much as $145,000 if it’s in shipshape condition.

Mini Moke

Sir Alec Issigonis didn’t set out to make the Mini Moke as a car for beach bums. It was actually designed to be a military vehicle, light enough to be dropped by parachute that could carry four soldiers into battle. While the original concept, known as The Buckboard, was certainly light, its small wheels and diminutive engine didn’t give the car the all-terrain ability that the British army wanted and the only military service the car managed was as a runaround on aircraft carriers. So instead the stripped down Mini-based machine ended up as an entertaining leisure vehicle which stayed in production in one form or another for 30 years (and has recently been revived again). It was built in Britain, Australia, Portugal, and France and the Moke has the honor of becoming the most remote vehicle on the planet after being hoisted onto Pitcairn Island—the only car ever to drive there. Mokes in marvelous #1-quality condition can fetch in excess of $50,000 today.

VW Acapulco Thing

For many Americans the Myers Manx would arguably be the ultimate beach car. However, that buggy’s ability to drive over dunes and send plumes of sand into the sky make it ineligible for this life in the slow lane list. Instead, we turn to the 1974 VW Acapulco Thing. Based on the military-spec Type 181 the Acapulco version was built as a resort car for the famous Mexican resort. Some 400 cars were assembled in VW’s Puebla plant, most with a nautical blue-and-white paint scheme. The doors were removable and a “Surrey’ top was available instead of the normal convertible roof. Otherwise, it was regular Thing spec with power from a 1.6-liter boxer engine. If you can find one in flawless condition it will set you back over $50,000.

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Formula 1 team founder Sir Frank Williams has passed away at 79

Intake: Sir Frank Williams, who founded Williams Grand Prix Engineering in 1977, has died. Under his leadership Williams won nine constructors’ world championships and seven drivers’ titles during the 1980s and 1990s. The roster of drivers to pass through the Williams garage is a testament to Sir Frank’s ability to spot and nurture talent. Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill, and Jacques Villeneuve all won their world championships with Williams, while David Coulthard, Alex Zanardi, Jenson Button, Juan Pablo Montoya, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, Valtteri Bottas, and Robert Kubica all made their F1 debuts in Williams cars. Alongside the success came tragedy, however. Sir Frank was confined to a wheelchair after a road accident in France in 1986, and in 1994 Ayrton Senna lost his life at Imola while driving for Williams. Nonetheless Sir Frank continued to fight on against adversity until 2013 when he stepped back from his frontline position and his daughter Claire took on the role of team principal. In September 2020 the Williams family passed on the baton when the team was sold to U.S. investment group Doriton Capital.

“It is with great sadness that on behalf of the Williams family, the team can confirm the death of Sir Frank Williams CBE, founder and former team principal of Williams Racing, at the age of 79. After being admitted into hospital on Friday, Sir Frank passed away peacefully this morning surrounded by his family. Today we pay tribute to our much loved and inspirational figurehead. Frank will be sorely missed,” reads a statement for the team published November 28.

Exhaust: Tributes to Sir Frank have flooded in from drivers and team owners across the sport. His countryman and fellow racing knight Sir Lewis Hamilton tweeted: “Sir Frank Williams was one of the kindest people I had the pleasure of meeting in this sport. What he achieved is something truly special. Until his last days I know he remained a racer and a fighter at heart. His legacy will live on forever.”

Nissan announces its EV ambition with 15 new models by 2030

Intake: Nissan is accelerating its electrification program and will introduce a total of 23 new electrified cars, including 15 pure EVs, before the decade closes. Under the banner Nissan Ambition 2030 the company says that half of all its vehicles on sale globally will be electrified and the company will become fully carbon neutral by 2050. By 2030 Nissan aims to have increased its sales of electrified cars in the U.S.A. by 40 percent. The company has released a quartet of concept cars along with the announcement which point at the segments the Japanese brand is targeting. The Chill-Out crossover is fairly conventional, but the Max-Out two-seater convertible, Surf-Out pickup, and Hang-Out SUV are all rather more exciting prospects. “With our new ambition, we continue to take the lead in accelerating the natural shift to EVs by creating customer pull through an attractive proposition by driving excitement, enabling adoption and creating a cleaner world,” says Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta.

Exhaust: As electrification looms ever closer, it’s reassuring to see that Nissan is not only planning its own BEV initiative but is injecting some personality into its combustion-free concepts, as well. The real question, however, is whether Nissan can offer such newfangled tech at a price point that satisfies the bargain-minded section of its current clientele. 

Is Jeremy Clarkson’s new lager the best beer… in the world?

I did a beer and you can buy it on Amazon https://t.co/fBe9lLwzEL pic.twitter.com/PLxBryBiRl

— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) November 25, 2021

Intake: Jeremy Clarkson’s new Hawkstone lager became the best-selling beer on Amazon in the U.K. almost as soon as it went on sale. The former Top Gear star-turned-farmer grows barley on his Diddly Squat farm in the English Cotswolds and decided to go into the booze business after failing to make any money from farming during his first year which was documented on the Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s Farm. The name Hawkstone comes from a nearby neolithic monument because Clarkson’s original idea was vetoed by his business partner. Writing in the Sunday Times, Clarkson confesses, “Choosing a name for it was the first problem. I wanted to call it Lager McLagerface. Or McFace for short. But one of my partners in the enterprise is an important London ad man, who said that McFace didn’t conjure up quite the premium image.”

Exhaust: Clarkson is well-known for his tendency to rush into things without exactly thinking them through, favoring power and speed over almost every other option. Let’s hope his approach to brewing is a little more measured.

The sky’s the limit for this classic Renault 4

Intake: Renault’s celebrations of 60 years of the 4 have reached new heights. The company has developed a concept for a flying version of the popular classic which sold more than eight million units in over 100 countries during its three-decade lifespan. The AIR4 imagines a the future where the highways are rather higher than today as the carbon-fiber quad-copter is electrically-powered with a top speed of almost 60 mph and is “a wink to how this icon could look like in another 60 years,” according to Arnaud Belloni, Renault Brand Global Marketing Director.

Exhaust: This may well be pie-in-the-sky but we like it. If flying cars are ever to become an actual thing, then making them look like actual cars is a pretty cool idea.

The post Rest in peace Sir Frank Williams, Nissan plans for an EV future, Renault’s quad-copter dream appeared first on Hagerty Media.

A popular maker of alcoholic beverages once had an advertising campaign that suggested good things come to those who wait.

While they were referring to the time it takes to pump a perfect pint of beer, anyone who has ever owned and loved an old turbocharged car might have nodded along sagely, recalling the thrill that comes with sinking your size-ten to the carpet and the building expectation of the swell of power soon to follow.

A notice to readers: Comments on new Hagerty articles have been disabled due to technical issues since July 29th. Don’t worry, the comments are coming back soon, and when they do, we’ll have a contest or giveaway to reward our readers for their patience. Never stop driving! — Jack Baruth

We’re talking, of course, big boost and big lag—characteristics that modern turbo motors have nearly expunged, and while they’re faster and more efficient than ever before, contemporary machines offer their thrills in a very different flavor.

First, however, it’s time for a quick refresher, since an engine that’s off-boost is often confused with one that’s experiencing turbo lag. Turbochargers need a suitable supply of exhaust gas to operate effectively, and on older turbocharged cars in particular, this can require higher engine speeds before enough gas is flowing to spin the turbine, which in turn spins the compressor and generates boost.

This means if you put your foot down at say, 2000 rpm, you might be waiting for a while before the engine develops enough boost to thrust you forwards. This isn’t lag, any more than being below the VTEC changeover in a high-revving Honda is—it just means the engine isn’t operating in its optimal performance window.

Turbo lag, on the other hand, is more like an input delay. Let’s say you’re in the middle of a corner, but doing something like 4500 rpm, enough revs to ordinarily have the turbo spinning away at full throttle.

Exiting the corner, you put your foot down, and for a few seconds, nothing happens—before the boost comes in all at once and propels you down the road. Like off-boost behavior, turbo lag occurs when there’s insufficient gas to spin the turbine; but true turbo lag is provoked by any demand for more throttle, even high in the rev range. Even some modern turbo models aren’t immune.

So with that in mind, here are seven turbocharged classics where the waiting—whether you’re off boost, or simply dealing with turbo lag—is worth it.

BMW 2002 Turbo

The oil crisis of 1973 is one of the big “what if?” moments in automotive history. Before it, the U.S. muscle-car scene had really been getting into a swing, and all of a sudden performance became neutered. In Japan, Nissan launched its second Skyline GT-R, but sold barely 200. In Germany, BMW introduced a 170-hp, 130-mph, turbocharged version of its 2002, and it instantly became an anachronism.

Like most automotive misfits though, it wasn’t, and still isn’t, without appeal. And like most early turbocharged cars—the 2002 Turbo was BMW’s first production model to feature a turbocharger—it wasn’t without lag, either. Low compression (just 6.9:1) meant low response until the KKK turbine was spinning, and power would often arrive at the 185-section rear tires at inopportune moments, usually as the driver accelerated out of a corner. But those few brave enough to ignore the oil crisis and buy one got one of the decade’s most exciting cars.

Audi RS2

There is a special technique to cornering in Audi’s RS2, and when you get it right it’s far more satisfying than you’d expect for a car with a heavy engine hanging out just behind the grille and a fairly conservative four-wheel drive system directing the power.

First, you must lean hard on the brakes into a corner, keeping as much weight over the front tires as possible to ensure the car follows to your steering input. Then, well before the apex, you open the taps. This won’t upset the balance of the car, because nothing really happens at first, but if you’ve judged it right, the turbo will spool after a couple of seconds and by the time you’re past the apex and relaxing the steering, the full 302 lb-ft will hit all four wheels and send you up the next straight at scarcely believable pace for a 27-year-old car. Drive within this specialized window, and it’s an absolute hoot.

Ferrari F40

I’ll let Gavin Green speak from experience, but to my mind, short of a Group B rally monster or 1980s Grand Prix car, the Ferrari F40 is probably the ultimate expression of automotive turbocharging. Making a quoted 457 hp from 2.9 liters with the aid of twin turbochargers—and hauling along little more than 2600 pounds—it turns normal turbo characteristics up to undici.

Spawned from the 288 GTO, itself the recipient of a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-8, the pair of IHI turbos do their best work beyond 4000 rpm. Acceleration below this threshold is hardly slow, but even on a bone-dry road the rampant onset of boost has no trouble at all roasting the 335-section Pirellis in the lower gears. In the wet, as journalist and historic racer Mark Hales once noted, even changing up didn’t help—the wheels would simply spin up at a faster speed.

Ford Escort Cosworth

The Ford Escort RS Cosworth—or “Cossie,” as many prefer—is a tale of two turbos. Not in the same car, you understand: Depending on whether your car was one of the first 2500, or the run that followed, you’d either get a sizeable Garrett “T34” turbocharger or a smaller T25.

You can probably guess where this is going. Opt for an earlier car, one with a large turbo really designed to operate at higher compression in a full rally-tuned monster, and the result was barely any power until about 3500 rpm—and then everything at once. Big lag at any engine speed, too, though thankfully all-wheel drive meant you didn’t need to be François Delecour to handle the results. Later cars were, naturally, more tractable. Whichever you drove, the Escort Cosworth was blessed with a sweet-handling chassis that was considerably more finessed than the car’s yobbish looks suggested you’d encounter.

Porsche 930 Turbo

Another mid-1970s entrant onto the turbocharged production car scene was Porsche. The Stuttgart make had been strapping snails to competition cars for a while, and to great success, but homologation requirements for Group 4 and 5 in the 1970s required that it do the same to a few road cars to ensure its RSR was eligible.

The 930 Turbo was the result, initially using a 3-liter flat-six with a single KKK turbo. A chunky rear wing and even chunkier tires were employed to ensure the new 260 hp and 243 lb-ft outputs didn’t get out of hand. They did anyway, giving the 930 a “widowmaker” reputation, while though standing on the gas in a straight line allowed you time to think about your mistakes before boost rushed in and fired you up the road.

Renault 5 Turbo

Turbos were big at Renault in the 1980s. Sometimes literally, but mostly figuratively, with an expansive range of boosted models inspired by the brand’s F1 campaign. And rallying, for that matter, which is where the Renault 5 Turbo comes in. Renault put a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-pot in the back of its supermini mainly for rallying, but homologation requirements meant a run of road cars too.

Two generations in fact, named Turbo and then Turbo 2, the latter more subtle visually but no less exciting to drive. Keep the car’s unusual physics in mind and it’s surprisingly benign. Ask for throttle mid-corner, and the traction means you’re more likely to understeer than spin like a top, at least in the dry. The lag here is exciting, offering thrust maybe a few seconds after you demand it. Turbos still feel quick, but as our Sam Smith found out in his Death Eaters series, you can happily drive around it.

Saab 900 Turbo

The phrase “it’s not a bug, it’s a feature” is commonly used in the computer programming community to sarcastically highlight an issue so well documented it becomes characteristic of the software. That application that freezes and shuts down every time you try and use a particular function? It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.

With turbocharged Saabs, one common “feature” an owner can expect is hefty torque steer. While Saab’s engines were less laggy than many of their contemporaries, Saab usually preferring smaller, lower-pressure, quick-spooling turbos, their front-wheel drive layouts meant that any time waiting for boost was usually met with a dubious reward when it finally arrived, overwhelming the front tires and dragging the nose of the car this way and that.

Via Hagerty UK

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50 years ago, NASA put a car on the moon

Intake: There’s nothing like taking a drive on a warm, moonlit evening. Imagine actually driving on the moon. Apollo 15 astronauts Dave Scott and Jim Irwin didn’t have to imagine it. Fifty years ago, on July 31, 1971, they took the lunar rover for its first spin on the moon. Built by Boeing and General Motors and described by The New York Times as “foldable, durable, (and) battery-powered,” the two-person rover featured an exposed chassis, umbrella-like antenna, and wire wheels.

Exhaust: The lunar rover looked like no car on earth, and no car on earth was asked to do what it did. It proved invaluable to the last three lunar missions, as it offered astronauts the opportunity to collect remote samples that they couldn’t have otherwise reached. It represents a historic partnership between the auto industry and space exploration.

A tiny V-8 made from wood is the best kind of weird

Intake: Historically, engines have been produced using a multitude of materials, but wood has been one that never quite made the cut. Generic Woodworking thought it might be fun to see just how small you could make a functioning crankshaft out of the fibrous material, and the result is pretty darn impressive. After drilling a few blocks to create cylinders, a crankshaft is pieced together using metal pins between the wood connecting rods.

Exhaust: To be honest, it’s not a great teaching prop, but this wooden mockup does reveal why the internal combustion engine has had the same basic shape for the last 100 years. A crankshaft like this is the simplest solution to the problem of converting horizontal motion into circular motion. The concept scales from this coin-sized V-8 to the monster diesel engines that power ocean-going ships—and that is deeply cool.

This Renault 5 restomod is a Los Angeles Legende

Intake: L.A. based Legende Automobiles has turned up the heat on the Renault 5 Turbo 2. The California tuner imagined what a “no compromises” 5 would be like and set to work. The extra-wide body is mostly carbon fiber, the rear wing is extended, air curtains are integrated into the C-pillars, and there’s a two-piece diffuser at the back. The front incorporates a new facia with air intakes aplenty and neat LED headlamps. The original 14-inch rims have been swapped for 16-inch deep-dish wheels at the front and 17-inch versions for the driven wheels. What actually drives those wheels remains a mystery for now, although a 400-hp output has been bandied about. Inside, the car features race seats, a full cage, a quartic steering wheel, plus three pedals and a stick. A large screen replaces traditional instruments. No price or spec for the car, dubbed Turbo 3, has yet been revealed as yet.

Exhaust: “In a world that has become increasingly more digital, we were yearning for a time machine that could transport us back to the analog ’80s,” explains Legende Automobiles. “What if there were no compromises? What if we took the best bits of both cars and used technology only to improve the electrics and weight of the car?” What, indeed.

Your open-air 765LT has finally arrived

Intake: For those who would like to tousle their hair at truly alarming speeds, McLaren has built a Spider version of its bonkers 765LT. Essentially a lightly disguised track special, the 765LT is motivated by a tuned version of the 720S’ four-liter, twin-turbo V-8 equipped with some Senna goodies, such as a three-layer head gasket. Total power is the same for the Spider as the coupe: 755 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. The Spider’s exotic, retractable carbon-fiber hardtop adds some weight, but not much: 108 pounds for top and lowering mechanism, McLaren says. The convertible’s 0–60-mph time, for those bench racers out there, only suffers by .1 second. McLaren will build—you guessed it—765 of them.

Exhaust: A droptop track-special is, by definition, a vehicle of split purpose. We don’t imagine many of these Spiders will rash their carbon-fiber bits on any candy-striped curbing, but that doesn’t make McLaren’s work any less impressive.

Porsche opens up its Renndienst concept van

Intake: The Renndienst, or “racing service,” minivan is a 2018 Porsche concept first revealed last year in Porsche Unseen, a glossy book of 15 design projects that never left the company’s studio. Porsche conceived the project as an all-electric, high-performance people mover with autonomous driving capability and has now offered a look at how its stylists took a fresh look at interior design. The highlight has to be the single centrally-mounted driver’s seat which gives second-row passengers an uninterrupted view of the road ahead–and makes the driver feel like a fighter pilot as a bonus. In autonomous mode the seat can swivel round to create a lounge-style space for all aboard to enjoy some chitchat while the car does the work. Designer Ivo van Hulten confesses to being a Knight Rider fan, saying “K.I.T.T., the talking car, fascinated me. The strong team of the protagonist and his vehicle really captured my imagination. I connected with the car because it had a soul.”

Exhaust: There’s little chance of the Renndienst taking over school runs or soccer-practice duties any time soon, but some of the materials, such as natural wood, and the digital controls with haptic feedback may well influence Porsches of the near future.

Alpina’s not yet sold on an electric future

Intake: BMW may be hurtling towards electrification at light speed, but that doesn’t mean fabled tuner Alpina is along for the ride. In an interview with Bimmertoday, Alpina boss Andreas Bovensiepen noted that a survey sent to existing customers revealed no pressing demand for a battery-powered vehicle. Bovensiepen said that some European customers were driving as much as 31,000 miles per year, often with periods of heavy acceleration and high sustained speeds—both things that harm EV range.

Exhaust: We’re torn here. On one hand, wafting along in an electric Alpina and riding tidal waves of electric torque sounds delightful. On the other hand, Bovensiepen’s comments make sense—those things reach EV range. If Alpina customers really are rolling 30,000 miles a year, they’re likely doing long, continent-flattening road trips, so we’re not surprised to see this stance from the brand. But with the entire automotive industry—and regulations the world over that drive carmakers’ product decisions—seemingly headed toward pure electric vehicles, one wonders how long Alpina would truly be able to play the holdout. 

The post NASA’s moon-going car celebrates 50, whittling a mini V-8, an ’80s-inspired restomod appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Welcome to a series we call The Death Eaters. With the help of the Lane Motor Museum and Kentucky’s wonderful NCM Motorsports Park, Hagerty is exploring the stories and real-world behavior of legendary cars with infamous handling. The stuff of lore, both common and obscure, from turbo Porsches to Reliant three-wheelers. This is the third in a series; the first, on the Tatra T87, can be found here, and the second, on a Reliant, is here. Enjoy! —Ed.

If you take one thing from this story, make it this: The French are bonkers.

For the latest installment in Hagerty’s Death Eaters, we’re looking at two Gallic landmarks: The 1983–1986 Renault R5 Turbo 2, and the 2001–2003 Renault Clio V6. Each was an expensive and limited-production car, and neither was officially sold here. Thanks to the kind folks at Nashville’s Lane Motor Museum and Kentucky’s NCM Motorsports Park, however, we were able to borrow a little seat time. At NCM, we ran a series of skidpad handling tests designed to illuminate two potent machines long known for making folks brown their pants.

Both of these cars are mid-engine hatchbacks. They look like mutant hot rods because they are, front-drive econoboxes gone mad, bodywork inflated to hold all the crazy. The R5 Turbo 1 and Turbo 2 took Renault’s front-drive, front-engine, 50-hp 5, a model sold in America as Le Car, and gave it a turbocharged, intercooled, 1.4-liter driving the rear wheels via years of lag and 160 hp. The fat box flares were styled by Marcello Gandini, he of the Lamborghini Miura. They held redesigned suspension and beefier brakes. The whole project existed as homologation project for FIA Group B rally work, where it performed respectably until the arrival of the world-beating Audi Quattro.

The Clio V6 was essentially the same idea. In the late 1990s, Renault wanted to nudge sales of its 100-hp Clio supermini, so the company drummed up a one-make racing series and built a mid-engine, V-6-powered Clio to fill it. The roadgoing version of that car—French pourquoi pas? logic incarnate—was developed and built by Renault Formula 1 partner Tom Walkinshaw Racing. The stretched and widened Clio that resulted was clearly hammered out by a race team, complete with 42-foot turning circle, a 2.2-cubic-foot trunk, 227 hp, and a mere 12 months of R&D. Unlike the R5, the Clio was a porker—660 pounds over its base sibling—and widely derided as a Jekyll-Hyde mess. Two years into production, Renault yanked the car back in-house, addressing many of the model’s problems with a face-lift and engineering rework called Clio V6 Phase 2.

In the right hands, each of these little nutjobs could outrun period supercars. They were also known for leaving the road sudden as a heart attack. When the R5 Turbo was new, Road & Track politely allowed as how the car required “delicacy,” its throttle “very much a part of the handling equation.” At the Clio’s launch, Automobile said the Phase I offered “chilling lift-throttle oversteer, wilting brakes, and a nasty case of straight-line instability.” Evo called that car one of the scariest-handling machines of all time and advised buying one only if you didn’t intend to drive it.

Myths and truths can take on a life of their own. Most cars don’t live up to period hype after the fact, but then, these aren’t most cars. For better or worse, machines this nuts don’t come along often. Strap in.

***

1985 Renault R5 Turbo 2
A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants.

I owned a Le Car once. It was a fun little dork, bought half as a joke, shortly after I took a job at Road & Track in 2012. The car was dirt cheap and somehow felt even cheaper, but it also exuded a kind of egalitarian goofishness. The R5 carries the feeling. A Turbo 2 is ten inches shorter than a Mazda Miata but a few inches longer in wheelbase. The upright doors and narrow cabin make the driver’s seat feel like sitting in a 50-gallon drum, as if you could simply stand up and walk around, wearing the car like a full-body hat.

I didn’t really fit my Le Car, and I didn’t fit the Turbo 2. Probably because I’m not four feet tall and French. The thin wheel is fixed close to the dash at awkward forward tilt, inches from a 150-mph speedometer. The hard-plastic switchgear seems like an afterthought, but the rest of the car is quiet and rattle-free. Even the shift linkage feels bulletproof. Ride quality is remarkable—a French-car trademark—and the suspension marries long travel with relatively cushy damping and big grip.

Every great once in a while in this strange and delightful job, you expect to find a wheeled object creepy and instead come away wanting to take it home forever. If the R5 were an organ, it would be the heart of a hummingbird. If it were a child, it would be one of those five-year-olds who runs laps of the living room at max q and tries to light your couch on fire. If cars have souls, this one holds nothing but what the Irish call “fook.” Driving it near the limit makes you glad to be alive, and also very tired, and when you climb out, you’re out of breath and, well, I was for a moment very happy about everything in life and just wanted to lie down.

Surprises are a perk of this job. Cars this mad are supposed to be… mad, you know? Treated sedately, the R5 suggests carts and karts—golf, shifter, shopping. Nothing serious. At 75 mph, it will track hands-off straight. The steering is so quick and light at speed that you catch slides with little wrist dabs, not entirely unsurprised. Then you figure it out. The tub seems to flit and caster from just above the pavement, growling lightly from behind and muttering the odd forced-induction zhoosh. Below 4000 rpm, matting the throttle means around three seconds of waiting through turbo lag. Higher rpm reduces lag roughly by half. The torque hit on boost is not huge by modern standards, but the car rarely feels less than manic. It just sort of rubber-bands its way down the road, snarfing up pavement in lungy little chomps.

The sum makes you obsess over space. The R5 grows in size as you learn its habits, always physically tiny but also perpetually tracing a path that widens in proportion to your own input slop. You eventually come to obsess over the seemingly impossible elimination of that slop, loathing every microscopic screw-up, because the penalty is sliding front tires or simply just those taillights sashaying too much when all you really want is forward motion. The center console holds a boost gauge, far below the dash. This location makes any information on that gauge south of useless. The only place you really want to know the R5’s boost is in a corner, and if you are looking at the center stack in an R5, that means you are not looking at the road, and that means that you are probably about to die.

Few cars have so many needles in immediate need of threading.

Sure, people crashed these. You can almost smell it. It was not the car’s fault, more the blame of anyone who climbed into this framework, this half-pint spazgoblin, expecting to be handed anything short of a weapon minus safeties. In stock form, on appropriate tires (our test car wore Michelin TRX reproductions, a copy of the Turbo 2’s 1980s factory rubber), there is no evil here, just distilled, jittery honesty—no front tire if you’re brainless (too much throttle at the wrong time, or mistiming the boost, which isn’t always consistent) and no rear tire if you’re smart (too much throttle at the right time, a gram too much trailed brake, a breathe off throttle before the car’s haunches have settled). The only time the R5 is ever short on anything you actually need is when you’re thinking too much or not enough.

Naturally, that’s the hard part. And for what it’s worth, all of the above seemed like small deal to me—competent in a race car, but no genius—until I imagined doing it at nine-tenths on a public road, or in the wet.

I could probably stick that landing for a bit, God willing, absent distraction. If somebody happened to turn on the radio in the middle of it, I would probably launch the whole party off a cliff.

When R5s were new, people tweaked them. Generally for more grip, to make the car “safer,” which usually meant more tire. More tire in a car like this often adds roll understeer and makes limit behavior more dicey, adding stability while causing the car to feel less alive. Rebalancing the suspension to compensate would inevitably mean adding stiffness, and then you’d lose the lovely stock feel, this middle ground between happy ride comfort and rabid road weasel.

Call me crazy, but I vote rideweasel.

Few cars have been so blatantly aimed at those who know exactly what they’re doing. Given a fab shop and a desire to calm things down, you could swap in a larger, less schizo motor, maybe add tire, truly dial the suspension to modern standards, stretch the wheelbase a smidge. But at that point, you’d basically have the Clio V6. And that, as they do not say in France, is a whole other kettle of le fish.

***

2002 Renault Clio V6 Phase 1
New clothes, old soul.

What a squat little gremlin. If you had to pick one of these cars for ordinary use, this would be it. The ergonomics are excuse-free, and you get the distinct impression that the Clio’s occupants would survive a minor traffic accident. The cockpit is assembled as to suggest its components will always work, even if they won’t. That warbly V-6 makes linear torque and a touch of rasp above 4000 rpm. In short, the Clio appears to have been designed for ordinary people and not coked-up 1980s four-footers; you sit in the car and then immediately stop thinking about how you’re sitting in it.

As with the 5, you can squint and see the base Clio under the funk. The whole assemblage looks like some scientist rented a dull French commutebox at Heathrow in 1999 and then dumped growth hormone down the filler neck until the car grew sentient and ate his lab. Even the shifter feels homegrown, its narrow and vague pattern hinting at the operation of a transaxle very away. The windshield still holds its original dealer sticker, for Charles Hurst Renault, 10 Cumber Road, Newtownards, Ulster, Ireland. (Still there, open weekday mornings at nine.)

The light sense of modernity is part of the oddity. Modern companies rarely build cars this nuts, and the Clio still carries a bit of the R5’s old-world improv vibe, serious and brutal, a garage build without borders.

My first lap, I thought of dominoes. Consequences producing other immutable consequences. The V-6’s mass is blatantly obvious, behind you but never absent the discussion, and the car generally feels far larger than it is, as if towing some kind of invisible trailer. Every steering input shouts of the enormous turning circle, large as a longbed pickup’s, the steering grossly heavy from a stop but numb and feather-light under way. Quick motions in corners carry a sense of high and heavy mass behind you, as if a bowling ball were sat on your shoulders and perpetually a beat behind the front axle.

For two cars built on the same idea, by the same company, the Clio and the R5 are remarkably different. In the R5, the engine’s light vibration is felt mostly in your spine. The Clio’s V-6 is smoother but more present, coursing through more of the car. The more softly suspended Clio feels more docile at first. The V-6 shuffles out power far more manageably, and while the longer wheelbase is obvious from the first five feet, there’s also more pitch sensitivity—once the suspension compresses, the car is dicier to keep in a given state, less interested in your needs. It’s also more ungainly in quick transitions—jumpier off the brake, wonderfully soft in spring but recalcitrant in damper, always feeling larger than it is.

The lore here says things go big wrong at big speed, but on a flat asphalt pad, space-limited to around 50 mph, there’s only so much to see. There’s significant traction, and when the rear tires let go, it usually has nothing to do with your right foot. The front tires occasionally give up early. Sharp transitions at any speed can slam the car into its bump stops, and then you sit there, facing backward and stopped, trying to piece together what just happened.

If a moving R5 wants your wrists, the Clio needs slow fingers. Or big shoulders, cranking on that wheel, when the tires break loose. Sometimes the window for fixing a mistake is vanishingly small, and sometimes it doesn’t seem there at all. Once, after the rear snapped in a longer drift, whipping into a spin, I sat palms-up in the cockpit, blinking for a few seconds. Then I muttered the word “Really?” to no one in particular.

The Clio sat there idling, quietly, as if to say, Who, me?

At high speed, on pavement you didn’t know very well or in bad weather, an R5 would be a lot to handle, but predictable. The Clio feels frayed by comparison, deceptively calm at first but inconsistent in a way that would make nobody comfy. Set the V-6 car’s pendulum to swinging, you find yourself planning more for the unexpected. You feel more along for the ride in a way that has nothing to do with age or power or mass. Possibly not even physics or the logic of the lovely and unique people of France.

In almost 20 years of driving cars for a living, hundreds upon hundreds of test cars new and old in this country and elsewhere, I’ve never met anything quite like it. If the R5 is the best possible solution to the silliest design charge, the Clio feels like a consciously chosen set of suboptimal ends. You get the sense it would cannonball a longer and more jagged path through whatever you field or forest you might huck it into, where the R5 is small and fizzy enough that you could hang the thing from a tree in a fourth-gear off and it would still be sitting there, spinning like a top, a few inches from the road, a week after you left the pavement.

For whatever reason, the former is more comforting than the latter.

***

As with any recipe, the process of assembly here matters more than the ingredients.

The R5, a child of the Seventies and Eighties, can seem immediately chest-hair and intimidating; the Clio, born in the Nineties, is more immediately friendly, even if that friendliness doesn’t play out. The new car welcomes you to the party and tries to throw you out shortly after, where the old one punches you in the nose the moment you walk in the door, then offers an hors d’oeuvre.

That difference is everything. Hagerty’s Death Eaters tests are not designed to suss how these cars handle—that behavior has long been a matter of record—but to consider that information with a modern eye. Every new car sold this year carries a host of digital safety nets and is ostensibly safe for almost anyone to operate; incomplete engineering and trust in a driver’s judgement are simply less common. The baseline of skill once required to simply survive the operation of a high-performance car—don’t pitch an old Porsche into an off-ramp and lift, say, or punch the throttle without care in a big-block Chevy—is less common largely because that knowledge has become borderline irrelevant for most people. New cars simply don’t punish the same mistakes.

There’s no point in asking if we should return to the way things were, because we can’t. Even if we could, we probably wouldn’t. Who doesn’t want society to become safer and smarter with time? All else being equal, a crash in a new Mazda Miata is less dangerous than a crash in an MGB, just as an Airbus is safer than a Wright Flyer. For better or worse, we now know more than we did.

On that skidpad at NCM, I found myself wondering: Do we embrace machines like these for what they ask of us, or simply because, in an increasingly frictionless world, they ask something at all? In a hobby rooted largely in the joy of control, how important is risk, the chance that the machine will bite back?

Neither of these weirdos provides immediate answers, probably because the truth is rooted in personal preference and tolerance. Cars like these are best appreciated not for what they threaten to take away, but for what they offer—a reminder that you are alive and paying attention, and that good things rarely come to those asleep at the wheel.

***

1985 Renault R5 Turbo 2

Production: 1983–1986
Engine: 1.4-liter turbo I-4, 160 hp, 155 lb-ft
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Drive: Rear
Weight: 2140 pounds (est.)

Known For: Good power and monster turbo lag, engine in the cabin with you, plus a personality best described as “twitch.”

The Reality: Big work when hustled, but predictable. Only dangerous if you get in over your head.

Lesson: Driver, know thyself.

***

2002 Renault Clio V6 Phase 1

Production: 2001–2003
Engine: 3.0-liter V-6, 227 hp, 221 lb-ft
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Drive: Rear
Weight: 2950 pounds (est.)

Known For: Being something like an R5 Turbo, just… more.

The Reality: Slightly less terrifying than the hype would suggest, at least on a 50-mph cone course. The open road is probably another matter.

Lesson: You can’t go home again, but you can do a half-decent impression of the lunatic who lives there.

The post The Death Eaters, Chapter 3: Renault R5 Turbo and Clio V6 appeared first on Hagerty Media.

In 1871, when a Latvian-born American tailor named Jacob W. Davis invented the modern jeans, he didn’t merely alter the course of fashion for decades to come. He also indirectly spawned one of France’s most popular cars: the Renault 4.

Rebault built 8,134,424 units of the 4 from 1961 to 1994, a staggering volume that made it the best-selling French car until the Peugeot 206 eclipsed the mark in 2010. Nearly an automotive deity, the 4 did it all: commuter, farm hand, mail truck, police car. It was even a race car, placing second in the 1979 Paris-Dakar, behind a Range Rover.

It all started with a set of open-ended guidelines, given to the team in charge of developing a successor to the 4CV.

“Make it less ugly than the 2CV”

Nationalized after World War II, Renault enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in its home market during the late 1940s and the early 1950s. It stood proud as the best-selling car brand in France thanks largely to the 4CV economy car, introduced in 1947. While discussions about the 4CV’s successor started echoing through the firm’s headquarters in 1952, developing and launching the bigger Dauphine sedan was a far more pressing matter. Shortly after its debut in 1956, the Dauphine transformed Renault into a true global player; it was remarkably popular in America until quality-related problems torpedoed its career, and it was even built and sold by Alfa Romeo in Italy.

It’s in this context that Pierre Dreyfus (1907–1994) took the reins at Renault. He was appointed CEO in 1955 after his predecessor, Pierre Lefaucheux, rolled his Frégate in icy weather and was killed when his briefcase in the rear seat became a deadly projectile. Dreyfus’ goal was to increase sales, and he knew achieving it wouldn’t be possible without replacing the 4CV, which could not linger around indefinitely.

Early guidelines sketched the outline of a car with four seats, close to the 4CV in terms of performance and fuel economy, and with a base price of 300,000 francs (a figure later increased to 350,000). Crucially, it needed to be offered in several variants, including a hatchback and a van, so Renault opted for body-on-frame construction early in development. Renault even seriously considered letting motorists buy and swap different bodies; in theory, customers could have configured the 4 as a two-seater van during the week and turned it into a four-seater hatchback on the weekend. Nothing was off the table.

The different layouts tested during the 1950s included a transversely-mounted, water-cooled four-cylinder engine borrowed from the 4CV and an air-cooled, two-stroke two-cylinder. Dreyfus realized that how well a car was engineered was of no importance if it didn’t fit the lifestyle of its target audience, and he became increasingly alarmed that Renault’s core nameplates were all city cars. Models like the 4CV and the Dauphine weren’t viable on dirt roads, where the Citroën 2CV reigned supreme; they were too low, yet buyers were beginning to look for a daily driver they could take hunting, or to a family picnic, on the weekends. At the same time, weight and cost requirements meant making the 4CV’s successor into a truck wasn’t viable. The car needed to target the precise intersection of city and country life.

“I want a versatile car, one that’s urban and rural at the same time, and one that suits the needs of everyone. Call it the blue-jeans car,” Dreyfus wrote in 1956. He weighed in on its design, too. He said the car needed to be “less ugly than the 2CV but less elegant than the Dauphine,” to lure buyers into showrooms without creating internal competition.

Although somewhat vague, these simple directives shaped the 4. One of the best-selling French cars was soon to be born.

Globe-trotting prototypes

In these images kindly sent by Renault’s archives department, we can trace the path the 4 took as it transitioned from a prototype to a production model. Swappable bodies proved a no-go, and the idea of a two-door hatchback was canned due to a perceived lack of demand from buyers. Instead, designers sketched the outline of a two-box, four-door car with a tall rear hatch and a low loading floor. Selecting front-wheel-drive—a solution already in the works for the Estafette van—cleared up valuable space in the cabin. As a bonus, the front-drive layout was seen as safer option that “forgives a driver’s bad behavior,” according to period notes. (Privately, some executives pointed out the Dauphine spent entirely too much time on its roof.)

Road-testers put precisely 2,901,253 kilometers (about 1.8 million miles) on the 4 during the development phase. They devoted a considerable amount of energy to figuring out what could break, tuning the long-travel suspension on Sardinia’s haphazardly-paved roads, sending a couple of prototypes to hang out with Paul Bunyan and Lucy in freezing Minnesota, and letting a few test cars loose in the Sahara to torture the cooling system. Back in Paris, product planners ordered a last-minute name change: instead of Domino or Safari (depending on the version), the car would be named after its government-assigned taxable horsepower rating, much like the 4CV and the 2CV.

3 versus 4

Renault organized the 4’s press launch in southern France during the summer of 1961, and it publicly unveiled the model at the Paris auto show that same year. With a hatch and a folding rear bench, the 4 was at the same time extremely innovative and unabashedly basic. Its front windows, for example, slid forward instead of winding down.

At launch, the range included two basic models. Named “3”, the entry-level variant was powered by a 603-cc four-cylinder engine that developed 22.5 horsepower. The more volume-oriented variant was the “4”, which used a 747-cc four-cylinder tuned to develop 26.5 horses. Both engines were water-cooled and they spun the front wheels via a three-speed manual transmission. Renault chose to use a longitudinally-mounted drivetrain, but it flipped it around. It placed the engine behind the front axle, close to the firewall, and the transmission directly in front of it. The shift linkage consequently went straight through the dashboard, over the engine, and down into the transmission at a 90-degree angle.

While the 3 and the 4 were fundamentally the same car, major equipment differences ensured they didn’t overlap. Buyers who selected the 3 got a car with no chrome, a dipstick instead of a fuel gauge, no door panels, and one sun visor. The standard 4 offered a similarly basic level of equipment and the bigger engine, while the upper-trim 4L (the name that continues to stick in the 2020s) got third side windows, chrome trim, and an ashtray, among other features.

Renault quickly expanded the lineup. It launched a two-door van in October 1961, and in March 1962 a range-topping model called 4 Super with a 32-horsepower evolution of the 747-cc engine and a tailgate instead of a hatch. Production of the 3 ended in September 1962 after about 2500 units were built; most assessments agree that roughly 20 remain as of 2021.

Growing up and branching out

While the 3 was a dud, the 4 was an instant superstar. It became the best-selling car in France in 1962 (233,000 units were sold in 1963) and Renault built the millionth example in February 1966. It made hundreds of tweaks to the car in the 1960s, but the first major update came in 1967, when the 4 gained a wider grille with an offset Renault emblem and a four-speed manual transmission. Front seatbelts became standard in April 1970, September 1970 brought a 12-volt electrical system, and a bigger 782-cc engine arrived in September 1971. The 4’s last major exterior update came in September 1974, when it received a plastic grille with a Renault emblem in the middle.

Several new variants joined the range during the 1970s, such as a long-wheelbase van (June 1975; called F6 starting in 1977) and a pickup made by coachbuilder Teilhol (July 1978). Significantly, the 4 GTL made its debut in January 1978 with a 1.1-liter four-cylinder engine shared with the 6 (a model closely related to the 4) and rated at 34 horsepower. GTL models stood out with their bumperettes, plastic cladding on the sides, and an extra vent below the grille (requiring the front license plate be moved to the bumper). The GTL, from its launch in’78, gave sales a healthy initial boost.

Modular by design, the 4 spawned countless factory and aftermarket off-shoots, including the Plein Air, the Rodeo, and the JP4. Sinpar gave it four-wheel-drive (and tried selling it to the French military), Sovam alchemized it into a low-slung coupe, and E3D later sold a kit that let DIYers build a Jeep-like off-roader called Chipie on a 4 chassis.

Easing into retirement

Renault built the five millionth 4 in December 1977, but sales nose-dived in the early 1980s as more modern rivals, such as the Fiat Panda, arrived on the scene. Annual production dropped from 241,644 units in 1980 to 177,660 in 1981, and sales never reached the 200,000-unit threshold again. Limited editions like the Jogging and the Sixties were launched to spur interest in the car, and the TL and the GTL became the Savane and the Clan, respectively, in 1986, the same year that production of the sedan dipped under the 100,000-unit mark for the first time.

Regulations compounded the 4’s problems. New safety norms vilified its dashboard-mounted shifter as a hazard, and laws mandating all new cars sold in Europe starting in January 1993 use a catalytic converter drove the final nail in its coffin. Renault released one final limited-edition model named Bye-Bye in 1992. Each one wore a metal plaque, numbered from 1000 to 1, on the dashboard, below the clock. Renault kept the final Bye-Bye, but it’s not the last-ever 4. Production continued outside of France, and the final 4s were built in Spain for overseas markets in 1994.

The Renault 4 in 2021

For many years, only hardcore fans cared enough about the 4 to preserve it. Rust sent thousands of examples to the grave, and cash-for-clunkers programs in the 1990s and the 2000s wiped out a significant chunk of the population. 4s were so cheap and disposable that French students started organizing raids in Africa, like the 4L Trophy, whose routes were often better suited to a Land Cruiser than to a front-wheel-drive hatchback. Some were adequately prepared for the adventure, and they survived. Many were not, and they were utterly destroyed in about a week.

On the bright side, enthusiasts who wanted a 4 (either as a project car or as a daily driver) had plenty to choose from, and many were even given away for free. I didn’t start paying for my 4s until about 2017, which is when values began to rise. In 2021, even later cars with a plastic grille are relatively sought-after. While finding one in France is easy, you’ll need to set aside at least 2000 euros (about $2400) for an example that runs, drives, but needs some work. Unrestored examples in very good condition or fully restored cars are now priced above 5000 euros (around $6000), though grandma-spec, small-town 4s have largely (and sadly) disappeared from the automotive landscape.

Later cars—especially GTLs—make excellent daily drivers. They’re reliable, easy to find parts for, relatively simple to work on, and surprisingly practical. Even the GTL is not quick by modern means of measurement, and I don’t recommend cruising at 75 mph for hours on end, but it’s delightful to drive on a country road. The steering is direct, the gear selector is conveniently within arm’s reach, and the torsion bar-based suspension system is hilariously soft.

The 4’s legacy

Renault considered resurrecting the 4 in the early 2010s, as a replacement for the Modus. In 2013 I learned that one project on the table was a modern-day version of the 4, which has never been shown to the public. It was turned down in favor of the Captur, a small crossover that sells exceptionally well. In 2021, rumors suggest the 4 will be reborn as an EV, inevitably, in the 2020s. Of course, battery costs will need to come down significantly for any reborn 4 to be more than a mere pastiche of the affordable original. Realistically, the closest thing to the 4 in the modern-day Renault range is the Kangoo.

Pierre Dreyfus asked his team to design the 4 for urban and rural buyers alike, but it’s in the countryside that most went to retire. Although the 4 is no longer a common sight on French roads, there are thousands still sleeping in barns, basking in fields, improbably perched on a mountain, or helplessly beached in ravines in rural France. Some were turned into trailers; others became chicken coops. Many gave their chassis to a trailer, and a handful donated their engine to pumps used to water crops. Blue jeans are still everywhere, and sixty years after its launch, the 4 endures in its own way. Long may it live.

The post Looking back at 60 years of the Renault 4, the do-it-all “blue jeans” car appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Robert Opron, the French designer behind a host of incredible creations for Simca, Citröen, Renault, and Fiat, passed away on March 29 at age 89.

Born in Amiens into a military family, Opron spent much of his youth in North Africa, but he returned to France to study architecture, painting, and sculpture at the École nationale supérior des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His career as a designer took almost as many twists and turns as his passion for aerobatic flying. After a first job as an industrial designer, Opron briefly moved into the aviation industry, working on the Nord Atlas military transport plane before starting at Simca in 1958, where his first major job was to design the 1959 Chambord Présidence—a V-8 cabriolet used by President Charles de Gaulle.

Opron also penned the Simca Fulgur concept car, which included such future fantasies as radar obstacle detection and gyroscopic stabilization decades before the technology would actually be available. Simca let Chapron go in 1961. Under his severance agreement he wasn’t allowed to go to another car maker, so he took the job as Director of Style at a homeware manufacturer called Arthur Martin until he was free to join Citröen in 1962. It was during his 13 years there that Opron made his biggest impact on the automotive world (as you will see below) before he moved on to Renault in 1975. Opron then moved to Italy and worked for Fiat until he retired in 1992.

For the best part of the next decade, Opron offered his services as a consultant, although the little Ligier voiturette micro cars he designed are hardly what he will be remembered for. Instead, let’s focus on his legacy—the most beautiful, the most controversial, and the most important of Opron’s creations as we celebrate this gallic genius.

Citröen SM

Opron was involved with the second facelift of the DS right at the start of his Citröen career, but it was the quirky collaboration with Maserati that made his name. The avantgarde two-door SM of 1970 (shown in the photo above) was both breathtaking and wind-cheating. With a drag coefficient of just 0.26, a Kamm tail rear, faired-in rear wheels, and teardrop proportions, courtesy of a wider track at the front than the rear, it was like nothing else on the road. The powerful Maserati V-6 engine made it the world’s fastest front-wheel drive car at the time, while Citröen’s trademark hydro-pneumatic brakes made it one of the quickest to slow down as well. The U.S. was the SM’s biggest market, with some 2400 cars being sold out of a grand total of almost 13,000 built until 1975. Not a commercial success, but what a machine.

Citröen GS

When it comes to numbers, the GS of 1970 simply dwarfs the SM. Launched in the same year after an extended 14-year development, the GS would go on to last 16 years and sell more than 2.5 million units. Once again, Opron targeted aerodynamic efficiency, but this time it was to make the most of the car’s one-liter flat-four engine. It shared the faired-in rear wheels with previous sleek Citröens, but it was taller and its four-door design more utilitarian. The GS is also notable for being the only Citröen to be fitted with a Wankel rotary engine. The Birotor, developed with NSU, was expensive and thirsty, and only 847 were built before Citröen withdrew it and even tried to buy back and scrap the few that were sold.

Citröen CX

The 1974 CX is said to be Opron’s favorite. This large fastback sedan was perhaps the best of both worlds—almost as aerodynamic and exhilarating to look at as the SM, but with even more grace and space than the GS. Opron’s design was so far ahead of the opposition that even when the CX ended production in 1991 it still looked futuristic. The CX was originally to have been powered by the Birotor engine, but thanks to its failure in the GS, it had a conventional inline four-cylinder instead. With its hydro-pneumatic brakes and suspension, the CX had the chassis to match the SM and eventually received the power it deserved when the GTi Turbo arrived in 1985. Citröen had designed the CX for the U.S. market, but it was never officially sold because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration banned cars with height-adjustable suspension. Nonetheless, more than one million CXs were sold during its long and healthy lifespan.

Renault Fuego

When Opron moved to Renault, his initial task was a redesign of the Alpine 310, which he worked on with McLaren F1 designer Peter Stevens. The Fuego coupe of 1980 was the first ground-up new car to be designed under Opron’s watchful eye. Michel Jardin actually penned the shape, which placed the emphasis on Opron’s favored aerodynamics. In fact, the Fuego was one of the first mass-produced cars to be designed with the aid of a wind tunnel, resulting in a Cd of just 0.32. Other Fuego firsts included remote central locking and steering-wheel-mounted audio controls. The Fuego was sold by AMC dealers in the U.S., where it was only offered with the most powerful 2.2-liter or 1.6-liter turbo engines.

Renault Espace

The design of 1984’s monobox Espace minivan is credited to British designer Fergus Pollock, but it’s a sketch that Opron made while working at Simca that is believed to have inspired him. What is certainly true is that the Espace made its debut while Opron was in charge at Renault, and the fiberglass-bodied MPV went on to create a whole new marker for family haulers in Europe. It was even scheduled to take on the U.S., but AMC’s purchase by Chrysler killed that off.

Alfa Romeo SZ

It’s known as Il Mostro, The Monster, but to our eyes the 1989 Alfa Romeo SZ represents Opron’s finest work at Fiat. Despite the Zagato badging on the car, the famous Italian styling house didn’t actually design the SZ. Instead, Opron’s initial drawings were taken on by Antonio Castellana at the Fiat design studio, who put the finishing touches to this bonkers sports car based on the Alfa Romeo 75 sedan. Powered by Alfa’s famous 3.0-liter V-6,  with a rear transaxle gearbox and lightweight composite bodywork, the SZ actually exceeded the initial planned production run of 1000 units. It was never sold in the U.S., but as soon as it hit 25 years old, American Alfisti (to the uninitiated, those are Afla fans) jumped at the chance to get behind the wheel of this Opron masterpiece.

The post Celebrating the Gallic genius of Robert Opron, 1932–2021 appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Stick a pin in any year from the last five decades and, in the eyes of the critics, the BMW 5 Series has probably been the executive car to have. The German car company nailed the perceived sense of quality, delivered a spot-on user experience, and soon found it could charge a premium for such things.

With the exception of Mercedes, this left competitors with an obvious tactic: Undercut BMW on price and, frankly, hope for the best. However, as we all know, that’s rarely enough to ensure drivers keep coming back to you time and time again, just as they have done with the 5 Series. Which, in a simplistic sort of way, explains why the nine cars below have become such a rare sight. They were competitively priced but rarely possessed the whole package. Some even resorted to idea of refusing to conform to the so-called norms established by the class-leading BMW.

Some might see such a designation as a mark against them, but for us it means affordability, the appeal of nonconformity, and the joy of a car that you simply don’t see that often. Among Granadas, Austin 1800s, and Senators there are some unexceptional executive cars already well-established in the field, so we’ve instead focused our looking glass on later models from the ’80s and ’90s—and if you’ve got any further suggestions for those deserving of a mention, feel free to drop them in the comments section below.

Alfa Romeo 90

If you can find one, here’s a Festival of the Unexceptional star-in-waiting; it’s almost as deserving of a rosette as that industrial-strength nugget of unexceptional Alfa, the Arna. Howmanyleft records not a single registered example on U.K. roads, though nine are lurking as SORN. Overall numbers haven’t been in double digits for a decade, so bringing one back from the brink (or searching far and wide in Italy) is likely to be your best bet.

Predecessor to the more-widely loved 164, the 90 was pretty typical of 1980s Alfas, sitting on the Alfetta platform and using the same mix of Alfa twin-cams and Busso V-6s. Bertone may never have penned such a featureless shape—a scalloped beltline is the only dash of flair—but few shapes turn heads like one you never see, so perhaps rarity is now the 90’s true calling.

Audi 100

Four generations of Audi 100 passed before the model was replaced by the A6. Of these, only the first generation, which squeaked into production just before the 1960s ended and features the flowing lines and chrome detailing of the era, has become a true classic, each subsequent model existing in low-value limbo. They’re too new and too plastic for the chrome set, but not sleek or aggressive enough for fans of more modern Audis.

That does mean that you can pick most 100s up for little expense, and the C2, C3 and C4 generation cars neatly encapsulate the executive car sensibilities of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. Plush and reserved for the C2, technical and solid with the C3, and smart and refined for the C4. And all fly somewhat under the radar next to their later counterparts.

Ford Scorpio

Rumor has it that when the Granada replacement was first shown to Ford management, the room broke out in a mix of shock and laughter. That laughter probably subsided when they realized they had to sell the things, because the Scorpio’s styling was challenging, to say the least—amphibian at the front, American at the back, and bland in-between.

The intervening 27 years haven’t made the Scorpio any prettier, but they have stripped away most of the initial shock value. What’s left is a car that, against the odds, is more expensive than it was a decade ago. It’s one that always drove well too, best with the Cosworth-fettled 2.9-liter V-6 up front. The fleet-special 2.3 gasoline engine scores highest on the unexceptional-o-meter, though.

Mazda Xedos 9

In America, Lexus managed to topple the European and domestic luxury brands in the 1990s by offering world-beating quality at unmatchable prices, but elsewhere Japanese brands haven’t been quite so successful, and the scarcity of the Mazda Xedos 9 is evidence of this; only 30 appear to be currently registered in the U.K.

Other than an absence of the rear-wheel-drive layout present in BMW’s 5 Series and Mercedes’ E-Class, the Xedos was a perfectly fine effort, and later models with their 2.3-liter “Miller cycle” supercharged V-6s were technically intriguing, too. But separating executive punters from their money is tricky without a German badge (as the French have frequently found). Difficult to find, but not without appeal.

Peugeot 605

With both the Peugeot 605 and the Renault Safrane below, it’d be equally easy to choose their predecessors (the 604 and Renault 25 respectively) for unexceptional honors, but each of the ’90s models (the 605 only just, actually arriving in 1989) is now so overlooked that it’s a worthy candidate in its own right.

The 605, like many others around this point, ditched an old-school, rear-drive platform in favor of driven front wheels, and packed a large range of engines from four-cylinder petrols and diesels to two generations of V-6. The latter best match the elegant styling, but there’s something charming about the lower-end cars, particularly in pre-facelift form; few do base models better than the French.

Renault Safrane

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a French car company in possession of an executive car must not be in want of large sales figures. You have to hand it to the French brands, though, because they’ve been trying for decades, and for Renault the unloved but curiously appealing Safrane wasn’t even the most recent attempt—the Vel Satis, Avantime and most recent, crossover-like Espace sold only in mainland Europe have all since succeeded it.

The Safrane was probably an easier sell in France than it was in the U.K., but other than it not being German enough for executive buyers, it wasn’t without merit. Today, it makes a fine, and rather comfy, unexceptional modern classic. The safest and swiftest bet is probably the Volvo-sourced five-cylinder in facelift models, but 2-liters are more plentiful, and older V-6s crop up occasionally. Rather handsome now too, we reckon.

Rover 800

The Rover 800 had a strong lineage, as the spiritual successor to the much-loved SD1 and, if you opted for the fastback model, similar styling. 800s also could be had in traditional sedan and compelling two-door coupe variants, with a selection of naturally-aspirated and turbocharged four-cylinders, and a choice of Rover and Honda V-6s depending on the year and model.

Like many Rovers of the ’80s and ’90s they’re a perennial Festival of the Unexceptional favorite too, because everyone remembers them roaming the roads, they’re still affordable, and they remain somewhat unloved outside of a small band of enthusiasts. Alan Partridge associations are a curse, but Tony Pond’s high-speed lap of the Isle of Man’s TT circuit, in 1988 in an 827 Vitesse, is a blessing.

Saab 9000

On purely unexceptional judging criteria the Saab 9000 risks being a little too interesting by virtue of its badge; Saabs have a loyal following and, while rarely as sought-after as the German cars they rivaled, could claim exceptionality in some areas—usually seat comfort and mid-range, turbocharged wallop.

A lower-end 9000, though—and ideally an early model—is a thing of understated beauty and a real pleasure to see on the road these days as the market has concentrated mainly on Saab’s muscular Aero performance models. They rank highly as usable daily classics too: Cars you wouldn’t think twice about using in bad weather or for driving long distances, thanks to tough bodywork and hardy mechanicals.

Volvo 900 series

Like so many on this list, Volvo’s 900 series would broadly compete with BMW’s 5 Series and Merc’s E-Class; and, like so many on this list, it made use of unique qualities rather than attempting to compete head-on with the German powerhouses. It was no good being sporty or having a desirable badge; you needed to think outside the box.

Unless you were Volvo, in which the thinking was the box. 900s looked little different from the models beneath them in the Volvo range, but simply offered “more;” more space, more luxury, and an even greater sense of impregnability. Today they appeal to a narrow range of enthusiasts who wouldn’t consider anything else (and, as a result, asking prices are higher than you might expect) but 900s are warmly remembered too as the default pre-SUV family estate car.

Via Hagerty UK

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In February 2020, we reported (in person!) on the three Paris auctions. Oh, what fun it was. The annual festivities surrounding the Rétromobile Show were in full swing with huge crowds, vendors as far as the eye could see, and not a mask in sight. COVID-19 was making headlines, but it was a few weeks away from shutting down the normal life in the West. At the auctions, more than $62M worth of cars changed hands.

It’s starting to become repetitive as we say it once more, but this year was not like last. Rétromobile itself is postponed until June 2021, while the three auctions (Artcurial, Bonhams, and RM Sotheby’s) have spread their sales out over February (Artcurial and RM Sotheby’s) and March (Bonhams). Artcurial was the first to go on February 5, holding an in-person and livestreamed sale.

Although the Artcurial event was subdued, the bidding certainly was not. In particular, several rally cars from the Group B era of the World Rally Championship (1982–86) sold for exorbitant prices. One, a 1988 Audi Quattro Turbo Sport S1, is the most expensive Group B-era car we’ve ever seen sell at auction.

The so-called Killer Bs have been primed for big gains in value for years, owing to their power, over-the-top looks, and reputation for competing in one of the last truly lawless forms of motorsports. Even so, the bidding here was unprecedented and, perhaps, ahead of the market.

“In all honestly, the results surprised us, too,” said Max Girardo, whose dealership Girardo & Co. regularly buys and sells Group B cars. “But it goes to show that the appetite for these evocative cars is stronger than ever,” he adds. 

The sale included an MG Metro 6R4, a Renault 5 Maxi Turbo, and a Lancia 037, but the most expensive and significant Group B cars out of the collection are detailed below.

1986 Ford RS200

Presale estimate: €250,000 – €400,000 ($300,875 – $481,400)

Sold for €371,200 ($446,739)

Despite its limited participation in the World Rally Championship (RS200s were only able to compete in a few rallies before Group B was banned), the Ford RS200 is among the most desirable cars from the Group B era.

This one is another works rally car, which took third at the 1986 Swedish Rally. That was the best finish in the WRC for the RS200. Given that history it’s arguably the most desirable RS200 rally car despite the neglected condition, so it isn’t a bad value at this price. Other, quicker “Evolution” models with no race history have sold for over half a million dollars.

1986 Lancia Delta S4

Presale estimate: €600,000 – €800,000 ($722,100 – $962,800)

Sold for €788,800 ($949,321)

Lancia’s Delta S4 was perhaps the most extreme and the most clever car of the Group B era. The first Lancia rally car to embrace all-wheel drive, it also features a twin-charge system for the engine that combines a Volumex supercharger for boost at lower rpms with a KKK turbocharger for boost at higher revs.

This example finished second at the 1986 Memorial Bettega rally with Miki Biasion at the helm, but Group B was banned shortly after. The Delta then raced in the French Rallycross Championship and was later restored to its works Lancia Martini livery.

The Delta S4 was the first Group B era car to sell publicly for seven figures, with a like-new road car selling for €1,040,000 ($1,166,000 at the time) in 2019. Otherwise, though, high six figures has been the norm, and this result looks like a very strong result given the car’s limited competition history and far-from-perfect condition. For reference, the S4 that won the 1985 RAC Rally sold for £764,375 (about $979,000 at the time) in 2019, and the car that won the 1986 Halkidiki Rally sold for €770,000 ($885,115) through an RM “Online Only” auction last year.

1985 Peugeot 205 T16 Evo 2

Presale estimate: €600,000–€800,000 ($722,100–$962,800)

Sold for €951,200 ($1,144,769)

Other cars cars might have been more extreme-looking and more exciting to watch, but if we’re going by pure numbers the Peugeot 205 T16 was the undisputed champ of the Group B era, with 16 overall wins and two World Championships (1985 and ’86).

One of 19 examples of the improved 430-horsepower Peugeot 205 T16 Evo 2, this is a works rally car that won the 1986 Tour de Corse (Corsica). After Group B was banned, it was highly successful in rallycross competition and then was restored with its original livery in the 1990s. It’s the only car out of this collection with a WRC win to its credit, so it makes sense that it was the most expensive of the bunch (save for the stupefying sum paid for the museum’s never-raced Audi). It’s also a record for the model and about twice what other 205 T16 rally cars have sold for.

1988 Audi Quattro Turbo Sport S1

Presale estimate: €1,000,000 – €1,300,000 ($1,203,500 – $1,564,550)

Sold for €1,968,000 ($2,368,488)

This Quattro never raced in anger other than an appearance at the 1988 Race of Champions, which was a tribute to the late Group B driver Henri Toivonen. The current owner then bought it directly from Audi, and it has been in the museum since.

Despite all the above not having exactly walked the walk, this Audi certainly looks the part, and its price was a shock. The final result is nearly two times the low estimate and the most expensive Group B-era car we’ve ever recorded for sale at public auction. It sold for twice as much as the Peugeot, which was both a works car and a WRC winner. Someone just had to have it.

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Renault is planning a full year of festivities to mark 60 years since the little 4L (Quatrelle) went on sale. The French firm sold over eight million 4s in 100 countries during a production life that exceeded 30 years.

The 4 was Renault’s answer to the Citroën 2CV. It was cheap, rugged, reliable and flexible. Launching with a four-cylinder motor of just 603 cc it would, over the years, almost double that capacity to 1.1 liters by the end of production. The 4 had a separate body and chassis which made it simple to add a van to the line-up, while its long-travel torsion-bar independent suspension smoothed out the roughest of roads and was almost maintenance-free.

Massively popular in its home country, the 4 was also a huge export success. Latin America lapped it up and the 4 became one of the best-selling cars in Colombia after the company began assembling it there. Renault 4s were also built in Mexico, Australia, Italy, Ireland, Slovenia, and Portugal.

Six decades from its launch in 1961 this remarkable Renault is being remembered with a series of films and events. Each month on the 4th and 14th days Renault will release new content on its social media channels with IRL events including displays in Paris and a premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

So mark your calendars, this is what Renault has in store:

February will see the release of over a dozen illustrations commissioned from sports illustrator Greg to highlight the three decades during which the 4 was sold, and the company’s flagship Champs-Elysée showroom will play host to an exhibition focused on the “Parisienne” edition, replete with weird wicker-pattern bodywork.

In March Renault Classic will send its 30-strong heritage fleet of 4s out to be displayed through France. A month later, a series of stop-motion films will be released, using model cars. In May the Champs-Elsée store will be stocked with Renault 4 merchandise and more owners tales will be told in a series of videos.

For the summer the Renault 4 will appear at the famous Cannes Film Festival, celebrating its many silver screen appearances and in November the Renault 4 van will be in the spotlight.

We’ll definitely be joining in the celebrations of this landmark frugal French funster. Will you?

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The Malaise Era’s impact on performance, in the years between 1973 and 1984, is well-known to car enthusiasts. As automakers struggled to meet new emissions targets, with the weight of the mid-’70s oil crisis adding additional strain, the age of big American cars with generous displacement came up against demands for efficiency and budget-consciousness. Ordinary consumers naturally felt this shift, but municipal fleets were equally subject to the nationwide sea change.

To curb rampant inflation, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates dozens of times between 1972 and 1980. Rates eventually hit their peak in January 1980, with a fed fund rate of 20 percent. The economic impact was a disaster. Americans essentially quit spending money, and that filtered all the way down to local police departments which suffered unprecedented revenue strain. Adjusted for 2017 dollars, Americans spent less on local police departments in 1977 than at any point in modern history.

For small municipal departments, Malaise Era automobiles were a salient, physical manifestation of this sad predicament. Relatively expensive, gas-swilling cars like the Plymouth Fury gave way to 9C1 versions of the downsized Chevrolet Malibu and even the Nova. Some departments were forced to take more drastic measures, sourcing fleet vehicles form outside the traditional manufacturers in search of economy cars that were both cheap to purchase and to operate.

LaConner, Washington, 65 miles north of Seattle, got in early with a Renault Le Car—the slightly Americanized version of the Renault 5 introduced here in 1976. “Le Car was selected because it best fits the needs of the LaConner police force,” read a Renault ad touting the town’s purchase. “They needed an economical car that would help cut down on their expenses.”

“More and more departments are being faced with this budget crunch,” said LaConner police chief Russ Anderson in the ad. “Gas is killing us. With Le Car, we were able to decrease our budget and increase our mobility.”

That message resonated all the way across the United States, to the tiny town of Ogunquit, Maine. Like LaConner, Ogunquit is a small seaside resort, albeit on the opposite coast. With roughly 895 full-time, year-round residents, it’s roughly the same size as LaConner.

Ogunquit’s municipal status in relation to its surrounding community exacerbated the budget crunch that departments were facing nationwide. Since 1641, Ogunquit had been a village of the town of Wells, just a mile or so north on Maine’s Route 1. In the late 1970s, however, the residents of that village wanted to separate, and in 1980, Ogunquit finally emancipated itself from the larger town. Doing so meant that its various departments were on their own.

Police Chief William Hancock—a former Maine State Police trooper—therefore had to economize however and wherever possible. Turning to the Le Car for police cruiser duty was one of many such concessions.

“In 1981, I had my first start in law enforcement,” Thomas Hart said via phone.

Today, Hart is the Police Commissioner in busy Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In 1981, however, Hart was a summer auxiliary police officer, writing parking tickets and keeping the peace as the town’s population swelled with seasonal visitors.  Part-time officers like Hart were assigned to drive the Le Car. Full-time, permanent officers drove Ogunquit’s marginally more conventional—and only other—police car: a white Volvo 240. For the fresh-faced Hart, the Renault was a bit of a let-down: “I remember the first time I saw [the Le Car]. I thought, ‘Well, that’s different.’”

“The Le Car was a challenge for officers that were taller than 5-foot-11,” Hart says. “You felt like you were driving it from the back seat.” Renault’s Le Car only came in two-door hatchback form until 1980, but a five-door came when the U.S. version got a facelift that included rectangular headlights. Hart also remembers that the Le Car had a manual transmission, another oddity at the time for a vehicle intended for police use.

“For the most part, we used it for parking patrol and that kind of thing,” he said, noting that its 55 hp wouldn’t have been much good for high-speed pursuit. He does remember one incident where it could’ve come to that, though:

“I was parked with the Le Car outside of Ogunquit Square and we got a call from the Wells Police Department,” he told us. “They let us know that several passengers had gotten off a Greyhound bus that used to stop in Wells before making its way south through Ogunquit to Portsmouth. They called the police to tell them that the driver was intoxicated.”

The full-time officer on duty, with the Volvo, was way across town and couldn’t get back to the Square in time to pull the bus over. So that duty fell upon Officer Hart and the tiny French hatchback with the bubblegum light on its roof.

“I pulled him over as he was weaving through the Square,” he laughed. “When I got him stopped, all the passengers bailed out. The driver was definitely intoxicated and we arrested him, although we still had to wait for the Volvo because it was the only car with four doors and a back seat.”

By the mid-1980s, Ogunquit thankfully abandoned the Le Car as a police unit, moving on to a small fleet of 9C1-prepped B-Body cruisers. But for a handful of people like Police Commissioner Hart, the Le Car remains an indelible memory.

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Renault is to revive the classic R5 as an electric hatchback for urbanites. If the production version looks as good as the prototype, you can sign us up.

The new R5 will be one of seven new electric cars from the French firm launched by 2025. Most likely, the hatch will be joined by a smaller, modern interpretation of the R4, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2021.

The prototype R5 revealed by Renault has plenty of design cues from its forebearer, including the quirky trademark headlamp shape and the big Renault badge on the hood—which, in this application, hides a charging socket. The exaggerated front and rear fenders echo the sensational R5 Turbo. A hot Alpine version of the car is said to be under development as well.

Renault hasn’t revealed any technical specifications for the R5 as yet, but the car will play a key role in the company’s Renaulation plan. The firm aims to ramp up in-car tech, including Google services and on-board AI in its cars. It is seeking to become a clean energy brand and will introduce hydrogen power for light commercial vehicles. Renault will also begin repurposing over 100,000 used cars and commercial vehicles, switching them from diesel to bio-gas or EV power.

Whether Renault will return to the U.S. market is unknown. The company sold its last car on American shores in 1992, but the original R5 (or Le Car) was quite popular from 1976 until 1983 when it was marketed by AMC.

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Anglo-French relations have certainly improved since Brexit, as Renault-owned Alpine and Lotus announce the joint development of a new EV sports car.

As part of Renault’s “Renaultlution” (yes, really) plan the sporty Alpine sub-brand is to become 100 percent electric. This does conflict somewhat with the announcement that Alpine will take over the Renault flag in Formula 1, where internal combustion is still set to be the primary driving force for some years, but the joint venture with Lotus will also have the two brands looking into Formula E and endurance racing.

Lotus, is of course, developing its own EV, the wild 1972-hp, $2.3M Evija, but the Alpine co-venture will need to come in at less than $100,000 to make sense.

New Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi says, “This collaboration along with our transformation mark the beginning of a new era in which we’ll be taking the Alpine name and line-up to the future. We’re putting F1 at the heart of our business, leveraging our in-house expertise and best-in-class partners such as Lotus to inject our cars with leading-edge performance, technology and motorization.”

Lotus CEO Phil Popham adds, “Our companies have much in common—from a pioneering pedigree in light-weighting, to championship-winning sports cars which perform as impressively on the road as they do in the motorsports arena.  It is a natural fit in many ways and the co-development of an EV sports car is hugely exciting for our companies, our fans and customers around the world.”

Renault and Lotus working together is a case of history repeating itself. The breadvan Lotus Europa had a little 1.5-liter engine from the Renault 16 mounted amidships together with the Renault’s transmission and transaxle, while the second generation Esprit also used a Renault transaxle. The two companies first raced together in Formula One in 1983 and, notably gave Ayrton Senna his first wins. They returned to the grid in 2011 as Lotus Renault GP during a strange time when, briefly, two competing Lotus teams were in Formula 1, mostly fighting over the brand name rather than podium positions. Renault finally took over ownership in 2016, bowing out for Alpine in 2020.

Alpine has also previously been linked with tiny British sports car maker Caterham (makers of the originally-Lotus Seven). The two firms worked on a lightweight sports car codenamed C120 that was to be have been sold under both brand names. Despite a rumored combined €150 million ($180M) investment the project failed to materialize and Renault went its own way with the A110 (see top image), while Caterham continued with its diminutive roadsters.

The Renaultion plan calls for Alpine to be pure electric and in profit by 2025 so we can expect to see the fruits of this new collaboration soon.

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It’s hard to believe the Renault Clio is maturing into its thirties. The hatchback that seemed so bold and fresh at the 1990 Paris Motor Show is now mellowing into the history books with five generations under its belt, an iconic U.K. TV advertisement to its name, and the honor of being not only Renault’s but also France’s biggest-selling car to date. Oh, and a fair few Renault Sport Clio versions, too.

When it was launched 30 years ago, the Clio replaced the 5 (or, “R5” in Renault-speak) and not before time. By 1990, the ‘”supercinq” felt like the relic of the 1970s that it was, lagging behind in safety standards and creature comforts. Yet such was the popularity of the 5, it would be another six years before the Clio finally killed it off.

The first-generation car is now of an age where a well-preserved, original example could be proudly displayed by its owner at Hagerty’s Festival of the Unexceptional. But even so, there’s no getting away from the fact that one of the keys to the Clio’s success during the past three decades has been the halo cars—the hot hatch versions.

Renault Sport has turned out hot Clio after hot Clio. And with one or two exceptions, they’ve been terrific. Here’s how the Clio has kept gearheads entertained for almost 30 years.

Renault Clio Williams

Renault performance fans didn’t have to wait too long for a racy version of the Clio. Twelve months after the launch of the Clio Mk1 came the 16v, with its wider front and rear arches and updated brakes and suspension. It looked the part, and its 135-hp 1.8-liter 16-valve engine was more modern that the 8-valve lump in the Peugeot 205 GTi, and it delivered a winning blend of ride comfort and roadholding.

However, Renault had more ambitious plans up its sleeve. While the cooking Clios were winning over car enthusiasts, and the mainstream range was being embraced by drivers, in part thanks to the iconic Papa and Nicole adverts created by Publicis, Renault’s ad agency, Renault Sport was brewing up the Clio to go rallying—and the 1993 Williams was the homologated road car.

Despite the F1 association, it was a Renault Sport product through and through. Its engineers ripped out the 16v’s 1.8 and installed a 148-hp 2.0-liter, a stronger camshaft, and uprated dampers, springs, and thicker roll bars. They even fitted a reinforced front subframe from the Clio Cup racing car. Renault Sport also ditched the 16v’s electric mirrors, audio system and ABS—something it would follow up in future hot Clios.

The Williams was supposed to be a one-off with numbers capped at 3800, but Renault followed it up with Williams 2 and 3 versions much to the chagrin of Williams “1” owners and in all more than 12,000 were built.

Renault Sport Clio 182 Trophy

Renault Sport first applied its name to a hot Clio with the Clio II. The 172 of 2000 was an instant hit thanks to a revvy 170-hp 2.0-liter engine, a sharper steering rack and stiffened springs and dampers, topped off with a fine set of 15-inch O.Z. Racing alloys.

A facelifted version arrived in 2001 with some subtle enhancements, followed by the Cup in 2002, which was an exercise in reducing weight and further enhancing the suspension. But the finest hot Clio IIs arrived from 2004. The 182 got an extra 10 hp from the same 2-liter engine and featured xenon lights, climate control and half-leather seats. Various Cup packs were also available. A fully-fledged Cup model appeared in September ’04, but as it only dispensed with the xenon lights, it was barely any more of a featherweight than the standard 182.

Renault Sport launched its ace card in July 2005 with the Trophy—a 500-unit special that got the full works treatment of Recaro seats, a large rear spoiler borrowed from the Clio V6, lowered Sachs suspension, 16-inch Speedline Turini wheels and, of course, a numbered plaque. It’s seen as a high-water mark not just for Renault Sport but for hot hatches in general. Rumor has it one of the car’s engineers had a Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi in his garage, which says a lot.

Renault Sport Clio V6

The fact that the Clio II spawned so many performance versions could be a reflection on how mundane it was. Jeremy Clarkson referred to it as a “… very fine washing machine” and later declared it one of the reasons he walked away from Top Gear, in 1998.

Yet Clarkson proved hasty in declaring the car dull. By 2001, the Clio had spawned one of the most outlandish cars of the “noughties,” the Clio V6. With its big arches, mid-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive configuration—not to mention the fact it was built by racing team TWR—the Clio V6 was influenced by the old 5 Turbo and dispensed every shred of the standard car’s gallic rationality. It used Renault’s wailing 230hp 3.0-liter V-6 that pushed out 221 Ib-ft at 3750 rpm, and could launch the converted Clio from 0-62 mph in 6.4 seconds.

Some 260 V6s were sold in the U.K. before Renault Sport took the project in-house and started to hand build them at its Dieppe factory in 2003. The Phase 2 V6s were tweaked to 255 hp and fitted with a shorter final drive. The U.K. was always the V6’s biggest market and Renault shifted around 340 Phase 2s before canceling the program in 2005, closing the chapter on a cult Clio.

Renault Sport Clio 200 Cup

Just like its bigger brother the Megane, the 2005 Clio III had a curvaceous rump and oozed chic that other superminis could only dream of. But while the cooking Clios were cute and cuddly, the Renault Sport 197 was initially met with muted interest. Reviewers were unimpressed by the weight gain over the dainty 182.

Much like with the previous Clio II, Renault Sport fettled and improved the 197 with the Cup and the R27 that dripped with Renault F1 team badges. And just like the 182 Trophy, Renault Sport saved the best until last with the 200 Cup.

Now wearing a more conservative nose in-line with the rest of the Clio range, the 200 had an extra 3 hp but importantly power and output peaked 150 rpm lower than the 197. A new ECU and cylinder head were to thank, and while Renault Sport softened off the regular 200, the Cup was stiffened and the track increased. At the same time Renault introduced what it called an ‘independent steering axis’ that countered torque steer.

Towards the end of the Clio 200’s life came the Cup-based specials of the Silverstone GP (limited to 50 cars) and the Raider (28 cars), and the luxurious 200-based Gordini which was part of an ultimately unsuccessful Gordini brand relaunch.

Renault Sport Clio 220 Trophy

Just like all three previous Clios, hot hatch fans didn’t have to wait long for the Clio IV to pass through Renault Sport’s workshops. The new 200 launched in 2013 and while it certainly looked the part, it immediately met a rough ride that it never truly recovered from.

The Clio IV only came as a five-door hatchback in the U.K., so the 200 took on a more practical character. It also took on a more frugal attitude as the 200 was the first Renault Sport Clio to use a turbocharged engine (1.6 liters), which improved fuel economy and reduced emissions. To top it all, the only gearbox choice was a dual-clutch automatic with shift paddles, and to drown out the engine’s dreary note the driver could choose from an assortment of more interesting engine noises (including the Clio V6’s) to be pumped through the speakers.

To address criticism, Renault Sport created the 220 Trophy—initially as a special edition, and then in 2015 as a fully-fledged model—with a quicker-shifting gearbox and various suspension tweaks. But it wasn’t enough to trouble the Ford Fiesta ST and the car quietly disappeared in 2019. As the French car maker has no current plans to hand over the latest Clio to Renault Sport, the 220 Trophy appears to be the final chapter in the history of hot Clios.

Via Hagerty UK

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Hatches have got hotter. Lap times have tumbled, and Nürburgring records swap between car makers like hot potatoes. Arguably the car that first escalated this arms race was the 227-hp Renault Megane R26R of 2008, and it’s a race that continues with the latest 300-hp Megane RS Trophy R. Separated by over a decade of progress, how do these two rapid Renaults compare today?

It’s a question we set out to answer in the best way possible: bringing the two together for some turbocharged action on the wonderfully open stretches of tarmac that make their way across the U.K.’s Salisbury Plain.

One is brand-new and crammed full with the latest technical wizardry, a car very much born of the digital age. The other has a dozen years behind it and is well qualified for future classic status. When push comes to shove, and you cut to the core of this French duo, which does the best job of leaving drivers with a smile on their face and skip in their step?

The modern classic: 2008 Renault Megane R26R

Right car wrong time, that was the R26R. In 2008 it was a revelation: a lighter, more agile version of the Megane R26 that proved itself on the Green Hell with a lap faster than a Porsche Cayman S. This was a feat of which Renault was so proud the R26 wore its 8:17 time as a badge of honor on its side windows.

The plan was to build 450 of the cars at the former Alpine factory in Dieppe and 230 were to be sold in the U.K. for £22,990 a pop, but the global financial crisis had other ideas. Just 159 made it to British enthusiasts.

Those that did get their cars were in for an experience like no other. Renault already had quite the reputation for heating up its hatches. From the first Gordinis, through the amazing 5 Turbos, the Clio Williams, and V-6s, The Reggie has gone to all manner of extremes in the search for speed.

For the R26R lightness would be the key to extracting the ultimate performance from the Megane platform. Renaultsport stripped 120 kg (265 pounds) out of the car when compared to the standard R26. The rear seats were thrown out and a half-cage bolted in, the back side windows were replaced with plastic and the hood was swapped for one made of carbon fiber. The front seats were switched for one-piece fixed-back race units, complete with Sabelt five-point harnesses.

Mechanically, the changes were more subtle. The 2.0-liter, 16-valve, turbocharged four-cylinder engine doled out the same 227 hp as the R26 (maybe a touch more with the optional titanium exhaust). The five-speed manual transmission was also as fitted to its lesser sibling, albeit with a slightly shorter lever, and the limited-slip differential was unchanged. Where Renaultsport got busy was in suspension tuning. Reducing weight allowed the engineers to soften front and rear springs rates by around ten percent, whilst fitting more sophisticated dampers. The funky red alloy wheels were also shod with sticky Toyo track-focused tires. Behind them sat beefy red-painted Brembo brake calipers.

Driving the R26R is a special occasion every single time. It begins with the normally simple task of settling behind the wheel. You need to lift yourself over the high-sided bucket seat, and drop into it, then make sure you close the door before buckling into the harness or you won’t be able to reach the handle. The renegade racer vibe is palpable.

The engine starts with a pleasingly gruff note and a vibration that shimmers through the basic plastic dash and those plexiglass side windows. As soon have you rolled away for the first time you appreciate the car’s lightness of being. The steering feels initially a little over-assisted, but you soon come to trust it as you pick up the pace. And it has plenty of that.

From rest the R26R will hit 62 mph in six seconds, putting its power down surprisingly cleanly for a front-wheel drive machine. And it will do so on seemingly any surface, race-track smooth or B-road bumpy. The suspension is miraculously compliant, the car taking bumps and lumps in its stride. The grip from those Toyo tires is stupendous and the stopping power from the Brembos is right up there with modern machinery—something that often betrays a car’s age.

And what’s this? No need to choose between driving modes, throttle response or steering weight? All you have to decide is whether or not to cancel the ESP system —and trust us, you will.

There’s a delightful adjustability in the chassis, and like all the best racy Renaults it will lift a rear wheel in aggressive cornering. Jump out of the throttle mid-corner and the car will rotate just enough for you to apply a little corrective lock and get back on the power. All the while, you’re feeling what’s happening through the seat of your pants. It’s an intuitive plaything, one that encourages you to explore the limits and work it harder and harder as each mile rolls beneath its sticky Toyota tires.

Meanwhile, the soundtrack is one of whooshes and whistles from the turbo, with a few pops and bangs from the exhaust on the overrun thrown in for good measure.

Finding fault if we must, gear changes aren’t as slick as they could be and the plastics used are pretty low-rent, but the R26R still makes a very solid case for itself today. It’s just modern enough to be reassuring, but it feels refreshingly pure and unfiltered in its manners thanks to all those efforts to save weight and dial in the chassis. Yet despite this, it’s not too taxing on a long run, meaning that track day you always fancied need not be out of reach.

For now, at least, the price isn’t too out of reach either, with decent examples available from around £16,000 ($21,300). It may have taken a decade, but the R26R’s time has come. It’s a high point on the timeline of the hot hatch. Shame it won’t be eligible for U.S. import until 2032.

The future classic: Renault Megane RS Trophy R

There are plenty of people who just won’t “get” the Renault Megane RS Trophy R. They’ll puzzle at the decals, peer through the rear windows and wonder who stole the back seat. They’ll hear the pops and crackles of the exhaust and think that a tune-up is in order. They’ll discover the £50,000-plus ($66,500+) price and assume that someone moved a decimal point.

And that’s just fine, because the Renault Megane RS Trophy R is not for the many. It’s for the few. The very few. Only 500 have been made and of them just 32 have reached the U.K. There are more LaFerraris (36) in Britain than Trophy Rs. Rarity alone should guarantee this hottest of hot hatchbacks future classic status, but there are so many more reasons that this rocket Renault will be worth hanging onto.

This is a car that smashed the production front-wheel-drive lap record at the Nürburgring with a time of 7:40.1. It also topped the charts at Spa and Suzuka (although Honda just snatched that back with a Civic Type R Special Edition). It didn’t do this with brute force; the Trophy R actually has the same engine as the standard Trophy. Instead the speed comes through attention to detail, saving weight, improving aerodynamics, suspension and braking. Some stickier tires don’t hurt, either.

Let’s begin with the engine. The turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder produces 300 hp which is good for 0-62 mph in 5.4 seconds. But that’s only three tenths faster than a regular Trophy. Power is delivered to the front wheels through a six-speed manual transmission even though shift paddles would be quicker. Why take that approach? The manual gearbox is lighter.

Lightness, of course, is something that RenaultSport took very seriously, just as it did with the R26R. The Trophy R is 130 kg (286 pounds) lighter than the Trophy. It uses thinner glass and, most noticeably does without rear seats. There’s a sizable brace across the rear, webbing net and space for a full set of spare wheels and tires. Should you wish, Renault will sell you carbon wheels to save another 2 kg (4.5 pounds) at each corner. The front seats are Sabelt composite buckets and can be fitted with full six-point harnesses. And the centre touch screen is smaller than a regular Megane’s to shave a few more grams.

From the outside you’ll also spot the lightweight carbon-fiber hood, complete with NACA duct which sends air not to the engine but beneath the car to serve the aerodynamics. The carbon rear diffuser chips in here to create downforce. A lightweight Akrapovič exhaust system is the final touch.

Under the skin, the biggest changes are to the suspension and brakes. Adjustable Öhlins dampers are fitted all around, and the active rear steering fitted to other Meganes has been dropped to save weight and provide a bit more stability. Braking is taken care of by giant 335-mm (13.1-inch) Brembo discs, while ceramic discs and gold calipers are a pricey upgrade.

Start adding all these components up and you begin to understand why the Trophy R is so expensive, but does it feel it to drive?

In a word, yes. The first time you turn the Alcantara steering wheel with purpose you’ll appreciate the engineering that has gone into this thing. It has been designed to carry speed through corners like few other vehicles. I cannot say that I ever got close to running out of grip on the road, despite piling into bends faster than I thought possible. And when you need to shed speed those huge brakes are extraordinary. What a weapon this thing must be on a circuit. Yet, despite this purity of purpose the Trophy R has kept its air conditioning and infotainment system, so you could live with it as daily driver.

There’s a small “but”, though. The new machine feels like a product of the digital age by comparison to its forebear. It’s fantastic when weighed against its contemporaries, but it can’t match the R26R for a certain natural, organic feel.

Renault chose to launch this car early in the current Megane’s lifespan, partly to get it out before tighter emissions rules would throttle it or force the use of an automatic gearbox like the Mini JCW GP. There’s definitely a feeling of this Trophy R being one of the last of its kind and, if you need another reason to believe this is a future classic, that might just be it.

Via Hagerty UK

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We Americans are deprived of a handful of fun enthusiasts cars which European drivers get to gleefully hoon about. The Alpine brand has caught our attention lately, since Renault CEO Luca de Meo told reporters last week, according to Automotive News, that he wants Alpine to produce a Ferrari competitor someday. We like the sound of that, even though this mythical car will likely never see roads on this side of the Atlantic. However, we’ve also got an alternative suggestion.

The plan for a Cavallino Rampante competitor makes at least some sense. Back in the 1960s and ’70s, the original A110 put Alpine on the world stage—literally, since the petite racer won the first-ever World Rally Championship, held in 1973. Renault’s capitalizing on this (admittedly long-dormant) motorsports heritage by rebranding its F1 team as Alpine in 2021; the team will swap Renault’s yellow and black for the patriotic French tricolor palette. De Meo hopes that this high-profile racing effort, combined with Alpine’s “quasi-artisan” feel, will give Alpine cachet worth comparing to the storied Italian marque.

De Meo hasn’t released any more specifics on the upcoming model, but we like the thought of Alpine using the new A110 as a base for this Prancing Horse fighter—mainly because the A110 is a relatively cheap $70,000. Even if the priced doubled, this anticipated, high-end Alpine would still be a fraction of the price of the most affordable Ferrari, which rings in over $200,000.

There’s always the possibility that Alpine could go in a totally different direction, of course. Instead of trying to launch the Alpine brand into Ferrari’s orbit, Renault could produce the wildest version of something even more affordable … say, a Kawasaki?

We found a video of this unholy love child while surfing through footage of wild hillclimb cars on a lunch hour. There isn’t much stock Alpine left, but that’s true of most prototype and show cars. Dial back the flares, go with a real interior, and strip the roll cage—but keep the high-strung four-cylinder motorcycle engine for power. Why not? The supercharged 998cc inline-four from the Kawasaki H2 cranks out 228 hp and over 100 pound-feet of torque. That sounds like a fun car, even one saddled with the weight of standard safety equipment.

You’re welcome, Alpine.

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A private collection of five of the ’80s most awesome race and rally hatchbacks is up for auction.

While the kids of Hawkins, Indiana were investigating Stranger Things, Europe’s rally championships were ablaze with Group B action. Britain’s efforts were led by the Austin-Rover group and its MG Metro 6R4, while France took to the stage with the Renault 5 Turbo. This epic collection, for sale by Silverstone Auctions in November, has both.

Beginning in Britain, we have a 1986 MG Metro 6R4 which was driven to second place in the San Remo rally of that year by Malcolm Wilson and Nigel Harris. The all-wheel-drive Metro bore little resemblance to its road-going relation. Where the most powerful MG Metro for the streets had a 1.3-liter turbo sending just 94 horsepower to the front wheels, the 6R4 packed a mid-mounted 3.0-liter V-6 with over 250 hp in Clubman spec—and anything up to and beyond 400 horses for international competition. The engine would also be used in the Jaguar XJ220. This particular car has had a mechanical rebuild but has kept its battle scars.

Second on the list is a 1987 DAM4100 which is the first of just five 6R4 evolution vehicles developed by David Appleby and Austin-Rover works driver Tony Pond. With a six-inch longer wheelbase the car was designed to be more stable. It was wider, too and the cereal-box styling of the 6R4 was softened a little. After retiring in his first two rallies, Appleby won on his third outing on the 1987 Solent Stages.

Next up are a trio of Renault 5s which chart the development of this most high-performance edition of “Le Car.”

The 1982 Renault 5 Turbo Group 4 was, like the Metro, nothing like its streetable namesake. Mid-engined, wide-bodied and wrestling over 200 hp from its 1.5-liter motor, this rear-drive Renault took the 1982 French Rally Championship.

By 1984 power had increased to an incredible 355 hp thanks to a Formula 1-derived anti-lag system for the turbo. Now named the Renault Maxi 5 Turbo it won the 1985 Tour de Corse in the hands of Jean Ragnotti. This particular 5 is a former Concours winner and has featured in the Playstation franchise Gran Turismo.

Last on the list is one of just three cars built for the 1987 Championnat de France de Supertourisme. Unlike the others this machine was built for a circuit racing series. It was certainly built well, winning the championship in the hands of former F1 driver Érik Comas.

Now you know how these extraordinary Eighties’ racers performed in competition, keep an eye on Silverstone Auctions’ NEC Classic Live Online Auction on November 13-14 to see how they perform on the block.

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After 43 years racing in Formula 1, the Renault DP World F1 Team has announced that it will rebrand itself as Alpine at the end of the 2020 season. The team will swap its black and yellow for France’s red, white, and blue. As part of the rebranding, Renault F1 boss Cyril Abiteboul has been charged with helping to elevate the Alpine brand, which currently produces the A110 sports car.

The news comes on the heels of July’s announcement that two-time world champion Fernando Alonso will join the team in 2021.

Alpine is renowned throughout motorsports, with the marque celebrating victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in rallying. The brand has never appeared as a manufacturer in F1 before; however, Renault’s first foray into F1 racing in 1977 was with a team formed from the Alpine and Gordini competition departments. Future chassis produced by the Enstone-based team will be designated Alpines, but the Renault name will remain, since the cars will run Renault E-TECH hybrid engines.

In addition to the F1 news, Alpine announced that it will join the FIA World Endurance Championship and will enter a LMP1 car in 2021. As the Signatech Alpine team, it has won two European titles, two world championships, and chalked up three LMP2 class victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Alpine LMP1 prototype will be based on an Oreca chassis and Gibson engine, both of which have a proven track record.

So exactly what is Alpine? Societe des Automobiles Alpine, as it was originally named, was founded by Jean Rédélé, a car dealer and racer, in 1955. Alpine’s first car was the A106, designed in tandem with legendary Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti and built using the Renault 4CV platform. It was with the A110, introduced in 1961, however, that Alpine found real success. The A110 featured a backbone chassis and a rear engine, the first of which was a 1108-cc four-cylinder.

The A110 proved to be a highly successful rally car, winning numerous events in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including a historic 1-2-3 at the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally. Its greatest triumph was winning the 1973 World Rally Championship. In 1965, its purpose-built prototype, the M65, won the 1300-cc class at the 12 Hours of Reims 12, then went on to win the Nürburgring 500km. Alpine continued to build on this racing success, and its endurance racing legacy culminated at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978: An A442 B, piloted by driven by Didier Pironi and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, took first place, beating the odds-on favorites from Porsche.

Renault acquired Alpine in 1971, and one of its tasks was to help build Renault’s F1 program. Debuting in 1977 with Jean-Pierre Jabouille driving, it took the Alpine Renault team two seasons before Jabouille took the checkered flag at Dijon in 1979. The partnership continued until 1985, when parent company Renault shuttered its F1 team, beginning a nearly 17-year absence from F1.

Between 1983 and 1995, Alpine continued as a manufacturer of road cars; occasionally, it would partner with Renault to build race cars and other high-performance vehicles. By 2013, Alpine was once again producing road-going sports cars for Renault as well as a few products under the Alpine brand. In 2017, Alpine launched its first road car in nearly 20 years, naming it the Alpine A110, with not only its name but also its design influenced by its predecessor.

The partnership between Renault and Alpine has come full circle with this rebranding. “Motorsport is inseparable from the Alpine brand, whose passion for competition and sportsmanship is its DNA,” said Patrick Marinoff, Alpine’s managing director. “We intend to take the fight to well-established competition and to write new pages in the history of this great brand born out of competition that is Alpine and to put the French colors at the highest levels of motorsport.”

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“And you know what they call a Quarter Pounder with cheese in Paris?” Vincent Vega asked rhetorically as he barreled down the road in a beater 1974 Chevy Nova with Jules Winnfield at the wheel. His fellow hitman was chuffed: “They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with cheese?”

The conversation sparked up when Jules, who had spent most of his lifetime around the streets of Inglewood, California, let Vincent go on about his recent European travels and the little differences he noticed in daily life.

“No man, they got the metric system. They wouldn’t know what the **** a Quarter Pounder is,” Vincent retorts. “They call it a Royale with Cheese!”

Brute-force muscle cars, world-beating but affordable sports cars, and ever-dependable and reliable pickup trucks—surely our very own American delicacies, right? The funny thing about global industry is that parallel universes of nearly everything we buy and love here in the United States get remixed to suit other parts of the world, including our beloved domestic automobiles. Whether the changes were made to meet the production capabilities of another country or simply restyled to hide the roots of last year’s sedans, these machines of the mechanical multiverse have identities all their own. Here are, if you will, five automotive “Royales with cheese.”

Shelby de Mexico

Through the ’60s, the Mustang was practically unstoppable in showrooms. It dominated pony-car sales with a flavor-for-everyone approach that ran the gamut from straight-six economy cars to gas-huffing V-8 bar fights.

South of the border, Eduardo Velazquez Contreras had a plan to build an automotive empire after making his riches practicing law in Mexico City, where he was born and raised. Contreras had invested into a friend’s Chrysler de Mexico operation converting U.S.-market Valiants for the local market, but the 500-unit order into the country from Chrysler wasn’t exactly lighting the books on fire with profits. He next turned his attention to the burgeoning Volkswagen market after that company had begun its conquest of Mexico (later becoming the country’s most popular vehicle in total sales and eventually in domestic production volume), securing an exclusive parts deal with the European Motor Products Incorporated to import and supply replacement parts.

Shelby, however, would become his most famous partner.

In 1966, Contreras began first by importing Shelby parts into Mexico so that locals could spec up their Mustangs into a true “Gran Turismo” car, with authentic Ford cosmetic bits that were manufactured and sold in Mexico. This was just the first step for the enterprising businessman, though. Via negotiations with Carroll Shelby the following year, Contreras expanded his import activity to the GT350 in 1967. To clarify: not the whole GT350 from Shelby, but specifically the kit of parts that Shelby American used in its own conversions of the U.S.-built Mustangs.

These kits allowed Contreras to buy notchback Mustangs from the local factories in Mexico and then essentially carry out the same GT350 conversion Shelby was doing in its shop, except for one notable difference: no fastback. The Mexican factories only produced the standard, “notch” Mustangs, so for 1969, Contreras began work on the fiberglass buttresses to flank the trunk of his Shelby de Mexico Mustangs. This unique buttress had the side-profile of a fastback, but the recessed rear windshield was more reminiscent of a Dodge Charger or AMC Javelin.

Underneath, the Mustangs were a mixture of Shelby and Mexican-market Ford parts. The Mexican-built Fords already received beefier suspension components to deal with the huge expanse of rural, rough roads in the country, and Shelby’s recipe included its 10-spoke aluminum wheels, lightweight fiberglass panels, Shelby-specific suspension upgrades, chassis bracing, and all the appropriate accouterments to the Windsor small-blocks to help spice up the high-output 289s and 302s with minor bolts-ons. (Think dual-point ignition, tri-Y headers, an aluminum intake manifold from the Cobra, and the required Shelby branding.)

Production numbers, much less current survivors, are largely the stuff of legend by this point, but our research points to Shelby International, S.A producing approximately 678 cars. Allegedly, only six of the original 1969 flying buttress conversions remain, while most of the ’66 to ’67s have fallen off the radar. Of those half-dozen, the only one we could surface in a recent auction was this unit from Barrett-Jackson, which sold for a $49,500 in 2016.

Chevy 20-series

We Amurikans think we’re the only ones who hold the pickup truck in such esteem, but for the same reasons we love rough-and-tumble trucks, South America goes crazy for them as well. (Keep in mind that this region also has a larger dependency on rough country roads.) South America didn’t grow its own widespread domestic auto industry, but it did benefit from partnerships with many North American companies, such as General Motors. For the most part, GM in the U.S. handled the core engineering and parts production before components were married to their South American-spec bodies, as was the case for Chevrolet and GMC trucks throughout GM’s history in Latin regions.

The 10 series was originally based on a unique South American-spec chassis and body, but in 1985, it converged with the familiar 1973 to 1987 C/K-series trucks and SUVs as the new 20 series (also known as the Bonanza and Veraneio in Blazer and Suburban form). At first glance, the 20 series, and its variations, look like a generic SUV model out of Grand Theft Auto or some other game that doesn’t want to pay licensing fees. Bits like the roof and A-pillars look familiar, and maybe the cutout for the side glass seems recognizable, but below the beltline, it’s all-new sheet metal for the 20 series.

Assembled in Brazil and Argentina, where GM had a foothold in South America, the 20 series could be found with either a late-version of the 250-cubic-inch Stovebolt six (which saw a second life down south to heavy regulations and taxes on larger displacement V-8s), or a 3.9-liter Perkins diesel, which was eventually replaced by a turbocharged Maxion mill. The C, D, and A prefix align with the fuel type (gasoline, diesel, and ethanol, respectively); in the U.S., C and K refer to 2WD and 4×4 chassis.

South America would eventually adopt the C/K nomenclature for the GMT400 in 1997, along with the US-spec body, but it would once again deviate from the US trucks mechanically. They carried their own line-up of engines, with the Stovebolt returning for its last appearance along with a new MWM 4.2-liter inline-six diesel engine updating the oil-burning option, and they also utilized a unique mix of 1973 to 1987 front suspension components under the newer GMT400 in order to utilize the massive stock of Square Body repair and maintenance parts produced by the local factories. The GMT400 was practically a clean-sheet design, thus it would have been a major undertaking to update the South American supply chain for the new-to-them platform (which was due to be replaced in 1999 by the GMT800, anyway).

The irony here is that the General Motors heavily leveraged South America in their Pan American record attempt from Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego to Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, piloted by Gary Sowerby and Tim Cahill, in order to promote the brand-new GMT400 heavy-duty trucks with the 6.2-liter Detroit Diesel and Muncie SM465 four-on-the-floor. The route was more than just an endless climb, it was a massive marketing adventure as the two made their way North through South America and into Mexico while leveraging a multitude of GM and local contacts in Latin America in order to get the 1988 GMC Sierra 3500 across corrupt border checkpoints and treacherous cliff-edge roads, making a big splash along the way in major cities with the kinds of police escorts and fanfare usually saved for idolized politicians — only to receive the GMT400 nearly a decade later that was, for the most part, little different than the locally-built 20-series of yore.

Willys Aero

Speaking of Willys, Kaiser, and AMC, back in the day these now-defunct automakers were often up against the unstoppable forces of the Big Three’s incredible production, marketing, and design resources. In various niches, each of these underdog automakers broke barriers that wouldn’t be challenged for another decade or two, but a combination of the wrong-place-wrong-time situations, along with leadership challenges spurred by the cyclical dissolving and reconstituting of these three brands, ultimately conspired to cut short the legacies of several models for U.S. consumption.

Where one door closes, another one opens—and for South America, the death of a car in the U.S. market was a chance to buy every bit of tooling needed to create slightly modified domestic vehicles. Machines like the defunct Willys Aero were craftily spun off into affordable, local favorites.

For all its forward-thinking in size and economy, the Aero was essentially a failure as far as sales volume. Launched in 1952, the Aero never surpassed 100,000 units out of its Toledo, Ohio, assembly plant before Kaiser came into the mix to kill everything off in 1955. Willys had designed the Aero to be a do-all economy car based around the familiar Jeep Hurricane flathead-six, sitting nearly a foot shorter than many of its American compatriots at the time (such as the Chevrolet 210). It was a hard sell to cut V-8s from the line-up at a time when the Big Three were meanwhile building an image of style and performance.

Kaiser had acquired Willys in 1952, a year after the Aero lineup of sedans and coupes had launched, before deciding to exit the automotive industry as a whole. Only Jeep survived the transition. It was at this pivotal moment that led Industrias Kaiser Argentina (IKA), formed in 1956, entered the picture. IKA picked up the Aero’s production in Brazil by scooping up every bit of tooling: the dies and molds for the body and trim, the jigs for the frames and anything else it could, in 1958. The Brazilian Aeros began production in 1960, with about half their components imported from the U.S., but would bring everything in-house, including a styling refresh by Brooks Stevens by 1963.

For those first few years, the Aero was practically identical to its U.S.-built cousins, but as details like the interior and much of the chassis’ supporting hardware had moved to Brazilian components, the Willys’ identity had been slowly replaced by IKA’s. This would essentially mark the IKA Aero as Brazil’s first production car, even though it was initially designed and engineered in America. Production would continue with minor updates until 1971, when the then-Ford-owned Willys Aero finally retired.

IKA/Renault Torino

Designed in the United States, restyled in Italy, and sold in Argentina, the IKA Torino was a pure international affair. IKA, Kaiser’s Argentinean subsidiary, was practically commissioned in 1951 by the Argentinean government to shop an import and production plan with the major American OEMs. Kaiser ultimately took the bait to supply its own cars alongside the Willys Jeep after Argentina’s burgeoning (but still small) automotive market was deemed too low-volume for any of the Big Three to justify a partnership.

By the 1960s, IKA had worn through Kaiser’s aging 1950s platforms and was looking for a new donor when Dick Teague penned the new-for-1964 AMC Rambler American in the United States. The clean-sheet design dialed back the frumpy post-war Edmund E. Anderson design of the prior generation Rambler American for a sleeker, more stately profile that came to define the automaker’s styling in the 1960s.

To bring the Rambler American to market, IKA first shipped it to Pininfarina to have the space-age styling toned down in favor of a classic European affair. The refrigerator-like front grilles were removed to make room for a taller opening flanked by a pair of fog lamps. The turn signals were moved onto the body so that the bumpers could be trimmed down into more subtle bumperettes, while the hood was also lightly reshaped. Larger, slightly rounder tail lamps were complemented by another bumper diet, adding extra character to the no-nonsense styling of the Rambler American’s tail.

Underneath, IKA largely carried over the U.S.-spec chassis, but in lieu of big-inch V-8s, the IKA Torino utilized the overhead-cam inline-six from Jeep. The venerable “Tornado” straight-six had its block beefed up, while the heads were opened up with a triple Webber DCOE setup in its top-performance trim. This gave the Torino real chops in road racing, owing to its relatively low weight and healthy power—nearly 190 hp out of the refined Jeep mill.

In fact, the Torino dominated the 84-hour Marathon de la Route endurance race at the Nürburgring, with the factory-backed assault on the Green Hell managed in part by none other than Juan Manuel Fangio. The famous racer’s roots in Argentina catapulted IKA’s status as the “national car of Argentina” as drivers Eduardo Copello, Oscar Mauricio Franco, and Alberto Rodriguez Larreta won their class and settled at fourth-overall after penalties. Fangio was also later gifted a 1970 IKA Torino 380S as something of a “thank you” for his efforts. That car sold for approximately $45,000 in 2012.

The humble AMC Rambler American would go under one final rebadge, when IKA merged with Renault in 1975, spawning the Renault Torino—the car’s final form as a French-owned, Italian-styled, American-designed, and (taking in another breath) Argentinean-built sports coupe.

GAZ A/AA

Without a doubt, if the Ford Motor Company had never approached Moscow to start hawking Model Ts at the start of the 20th century, Russia would have struggled to develop as a world power the way it did. It’s hard to imagine life in the U.S. a hundred years ago, much less in pre-World War II Russia as communism swept the country with promises of a “bright future.”At the time, this was a land that in general lagged behind the industrial revolution that had mechanized the U.S. and much of Europe. Russia’s relationship with the Western world has always been tenuous, but in the early days of post-revolution Russia, the country connected with the Ford Motor Company to fulfill a need for a mass of tractors: the Fordzons.

Ford had opened a Moscow sales office in 1909 as it began its international conquest. Henry’s new-age assembly-line ethos, by that point, had yielded sufficient production capacity to begin export efforts in earnest. The War Ministry was Ford’s largest customer initially, with officials enjoying the capabilities of the American-built machines, but a small event known as the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, and its subsequent chaos, distracted Ford and the Russian Empire from their import/export dreams.

After the USSR was established in 1922, talks quickly resumed. Ford continued bringing in vehicles, while the interim Bolshevik government used shell organizations and proxy contacts to begin building ties in Washington and Dearborn in 1919. One of those contacts was one L. Marten, an engineer who had been exiled from Russia for his pro-revolutionary views prior to the civil war. Marten’s mission was to begin establishing a source of tractors for the USSR in order to rebuild the economy and jump-start Russia’s own industrial revolution. Ford has applied its mass production methods for automobile to tractors, which made it cost-effective to import for the USSR thanks to their low unit cost out of U.S. factories.

Moreover, Marten came back with a genuine appreciation for Henry Ford’s vision. “The Ford tractor will be the ideal machine for the communist farms in Russia,” Martens reported. “In addition, I hope we will be able to convince Ford to build a plant in Russia for the production of tractors and cars. We are also promised assistance in passing several hundred Russians through the Ford tractor school in order to train experienced instructors for Russia. These will, of course, be our people.”

Ford’s tractors imported to the USSR quickly began to outpace the sales of its cars, with nearly 20,000 of the iron horses delivered into the hands of the Soviet people within the first few years. It became clear that domestic manufacturing would be vital to maintaining the supply, training, and repair of Ford tractors, and so the Soviets approached Ford to help build the USSR’s first-ever automotive factory.

The process was arduous, for many reasons. Ford had sent over a five-person commission to study the government, its people and culture, as well as current Ford customers. The goal was to ascertain if the proposition was not only good business sense but if it was compatible with the collective mindset required for an assembly line to properly.

Their report reads like a school kid’s field trip report, with absolute wonder and confusion over a world they hadn’t seen before. While optimistic, the report was largely unimpressed with the state of industry in the Soviet Union, and it classified the findings in secrecy to stave of Soviet espionage. Ford staff was worried that the Soviets could become offended by their unfiltered opinions, jeopardizing future travel visas and business opportunities. Diametrically opposed in their backdrops, the American commission was disappointed in the lack of organization, discipline, and forethought with the USSR’s factories, and in conflict with Ford’s philosophy, hand fabrication of both production and spare parts was still common. Worse, the USSR emphasized the need to be able to buy parts and whole vehicles on credit, at a national level, in order to recoup the costs with their produced goods down the line. This proposal put a large financial risk upon Ford to fulfill the large orders, especially with the USSR’s tight grip on pricing and production, but the Soviets were at the end of the day Ford’s largest customer outside of the U.S.

Ford’s commission came back to the Soviets with a careful plan that emphasized local support for farmers in the form of parts and repair shops. It was a total rework of the behavior of port workers (who often left Ford’s imports to rust in the sea air or dropped them onto the ground, crashing from the deck of a rail car), meant to instill a sense of pride in the engineering by creating permanent displays for Ford machinery. The relationship ebbed and flowed as competition from International Harvester entered the fray, but by 1927, Soviet leadership had entered into steady discussions to potentially build a Ford factory in the USSR.

In May of 1929, an agreement between Ford and the USSR officially created GAZ: Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod, or, the Gorky Automotive Plant. The USSR would build two factories: one in the Russian town of Nizhny Novgorod and the other in the capital city of Moscow. The Soviets would supply the raw materials to construct the facilities while Ford brought to the table its intellectual property, production machinery, and industry experts to oversee the new factories.

GAZ would produce three basic models (A, AA, MM) centered around the Model A body, supplementing the Soviets with everything from touring cars to troop carriers before the partnership mutually dissolved in 1935 as the Great Depression set in. Though Ford recorded many productivity and craftsmanship problems given the region’s complicated bureaucracy, largely untrained labor force, and sub-par metallurgy, these facilities and the lessons learned within them nonetheless proved vital to Moscow’s rise as an industrial power heading into World War II.

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It’s rare for a daily newspaper reporter to be able to revisit a story that he wrote 30 years ago and find out how it turned out. At the very least it suggests I never found a real job in the meantime. It’s even less likely that, as I combed the darkest recesses of my memory to remember who/when/where, I found that a fellow ink-stained wretch quite recently answered all my questions but one.

Back in 1992, I was the Automotive Editor at Portland’s The Oregonian, the state’s largest daily paper, located in Portland. Most of my time was spent sharpening my rapier-like wit in critiques of new cars, which provided the Business Editor with a near full-time job defending me against the newspaper’s Editor.

“Ah don’t see why we need to upset our advertisers like this,” she said, shortly before turning Wheels section into “advertorial”—two words which any grammarian knows cannot be combined, certainly not by me.

Meanwhile, as a classic car enthusiast, some historical stories blew into my face like a bee inside a motorcycle helmet, and I couldn’t shoo them away. One of my favorites was the discovery in town of a 1910 Renault AG taxi, which had actually taken part in the first battle of the Marne in 1914. It was exhumed from storage and brought to my old restorer friend and fellow Englishman Peter Price.

The Germans had swept through Belgium with their Schlieffen Plan at the start of WWI, and in 30 days they were 30 miles from Paris on September 3, 1914, when they reached the River Marne. A split was opening in the German lines between the First and Second Army, and the Germans had overreached themselves. General Josef-Simon Gallieni was defending Paris and had received 3000 Zouave infantrymen from North Africa, but had no way to get them to the front.

In an enterprising move, he commandeered 600 Parisian taxis, the first recorded use of civilian vehicles for military purposes. The Zouaves arrived at the Marne on September 6, and by the 14th the Germans had been halted. They would not reach Paris for 26 years, until the Nazis invaded in June 1940. Those same Marne taxis also transported wounded soldiers back from the front.

Twenty years later, in 1934, the Forty & Eight committee of Portland’s American Legion Post Voiture 25 was mulling a memorial to the Great War and the doughboys who lost their lives. (“Forty & Eight” stands for the railroad cars which took 40 men, or eight horses, to the front.) The group decided to find one of the Marne taxis and asked member Byron Beattie to look for one on a trip back to France with his French wife.

By 1934 the old two-cylinder Renault AG taxis were long out of service, but the American Legion post in Paris found three survivors of the strangest charge of WW I. The best example—registered 44 49 E2—belonged to Pierre Pautas, a cabbie who actually drove one to the Marne. The cab that Pautas was selling was captured by the Germans and not recovered until 1917.

The government auctioned off the commandeered taxis at the end of the war and Pautas went back to work as a Parisian cabbie in this car. By 1934, his Renault had been retired for some years, but he kept it sentimentally and rented it out for movies. Pautus was asking the then-ridiculous sum of $100, and Beattie reckoned he needed another $50 to ship it to Le Havre, where the French Line would ship it free to America.

Beattie wrote an airmail letter to Legion Chef de Gare Rex Parelius in Portland and reported ‘the boys are fine but broke.” He asked if the money for the cab could be sent, saying he would let the deal slide otherwise. But the money arrived, and Pautas drove the retired cab to the station, “making the sound of a thousand armored knights falling downstairs,” according to the Paris edition of the New York Herald. Pathe News even shot film of the occasion, now in the Getty collection (sadly without sound).

The Renault arrived in Portland on October 28, 1935, aboard the French liner San Antonio. The arrival was a “cause celebre” with a KGW radio show and speechifying from Governor Charles Martin, Portland Mayor Joseph Carson, U.S. Senator Frederick Steiwer, and Gilbert Maqueron, a representative of the French government.

The old Renault taxi retired, save for appearances at Veterans Day parades and other shows, but it gradually deteriorated. Legion member Don Downing maintained it, but it was a losing battle, and in 1992 the Legion decided something should be done.

The Forty & Eight group started a restoration fund and asked English restorer Peter Price for an estimate of the restoration cost. “It’s basically a huge pattern,” Price said. “Who knows what we will have to do; we may have to go as far as cutting gears for it.” He estimated a frame-off restoration would take 2000–2500 hours.

At that point the Renault was almost complete, but everything needed repair. The original cellulose brush paint was cracked and crazed, the body’s wood framing was warped and rotted, the upholstery was vinyl, one rear window was missing, and the other window was reinforced with chicken wire. The cylinder head on the 800cc two-cylinder motor was cracked, and the 23-inch wooden wheels had been replaced with 19-inch wheels.

Though battered, the Renault was still an attractive design; a Salamanca style with a convertible top over the driver and at the very rear. There was a solid carriage roof between the two, plus a door on each side and two jump seats in the rear. The driver sat on the right. There were no instruments in the dash. Coffin-nose Renaults had the radiator behind the engine and the gas tank behind that. The gas filler was in located in the center of the dash, and the radiator cap was in front of the windshield.

Clutch, brake, and accelerator pedals were normal—many cars had the accelerator between the other two in those days—but the gear shift looked like a handbrake on the driver’s right. The gears were epicyclic, like a motorcycle, so the lever was pulled straight back for 1-2-3 and still further for reverse. The handbrake was outside the body; pushing forward applied it, so the driver could not alight until it was engaged and clear of the door. Only the rear wheels were braked.

There were no headlights as such, but acetylene carriage lights engraved with the district the taxi worked—Levalloiss—were mounted high on the body to illuminate the curb and the entry as well. With a top speed of around 25 mph, headlights wouldn’t be missed much anyway. The two-cylinder engine displaced 800cc, generating about eight horsepower. “But it must have been economical,” Price said with a chuckle.

And that’s the end of the Oregonian’s 1992 story. There’s no word on how much work Peter Price did on the taxi, and he died about 15 years ago. The trail went cold until John Baker of the Portland Tribune wrote a story in October 2019, when Legionnaire Don Downings—who had been the taxi’s caretaker for 30 yearss—decided to pass the car on to its next keeper. It is now in the hands of another Legion Post in Vancouver, Washington. Downing told Baker that as far as he knew, this is the last proven survivor of the 1914 charge to the River Marne. Though a number of Renault AG taxis have changed hands at European auctions, I have never seen definitive proof that they were Marne survivors.

We may assume there is a genuine survivor in the Louvre, or perhaps in Renault’s museum, but the provenance on this car is literally bulletproof (well not quite; several bullet holes were preserved during the restoration.) So far, the current location of taxi #44 49 E2 has proved elusive, but I’ll continue the hunt—and let you know when I find it.

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The humble electric car has for many decades flirted with mainstream success, leaving behind a trail of breadcrumbs that leads us to today’s Teslas and Taycans. Many remember the General Motors EV1 and, to a lesser extent, the Toyota Rav4 and Honda Fit EVs, but these days electric cars closer to widespread acceptance than ever before. Companies are investing untold billions into the development of electrified vehicle platforms, and before long our beloved hydrocarbon-huffing internal combustion engines could seem old hat. Until then, it’s worth looking back at some of history’s showroom-sold EVs that ran out of juice. Some of these were mad sciences projects, while others were destined from the get-go as consumer projects, but all deserve recognition for their forward-thinking innovation.

Henney Kilowatt

Despite being wrapped up in a croissant, the American-built Henney Kilowatt was a unique slice of 1959 industrial powerhouses, including Eureka Vacuums and Exide Batteries, all working together under the umbrella of the National Union Electric Company to churn out an electric-powered sedan for the masses for 1959 and 1960. National Union Electric Co. had a vested interest in the success of EVs with their stake in battery manufacturers like Exide, which produced lead-acid batteries. 100 engineless Renault Dauphines were ordered from the factory by Henney Coachworks, which had begun building horse buggies nearly 100 years prior before moving on to hearse and limo conversions, and eventually their brief diversion into EVs.

Passing the Henney in any other car was of little challenge; its initial top-speed was around 40 mph. The powertrain, which was built at Eureka Vacuums’ Bloomington, Illinois factory, had its controller designed with the assistance of Caltech engineers. Twelve six-volt batteries gave Kilowatt up to 40 miles of range, which was paltry even for 1959. The following year, Henney added two more batteries for a total of 14, raising the system voltage from 48 to 72 volts. This wound the top speed up to 60 mph and a total range of a 60 miles, but the series of batteries increased the Kilowatt’s curb weight nearly 1000 pounds over a standard Dauphine. Out of the 100 bodies ordered by Henney, 47 were completed and sold to public and fleet customers—notably, power companies.

However, the Dauphine’s corpse wasn’t done being electrified by curious engineers.In 1971 Bell Laboratories would buy a Dauphine to build into its own EV development car over the next few years, introducing a rudimentary regenerative braking system. While it had no direct relation to the Kilowatt, the spirit was surely there.

1972 T2 Elektro Transporter

This safety flare on wheels is Volkswagen’s first EV, long before the e-Golf and ID.3. The 22-horse 1972 Elektro Transporter was based on the standard Type 2 transporter, fitted with custom reinforcements for the 1873-pound battery pack. That was more than a whole Beetle, but the hardy Transporter still maintained a payload capacity of nearly a ton. Range was up to approximately 50 miles, but the Elektro Transporter had a novel solution to its short range and long charging times: local charging stations could swap the pack out through the side of the Transporter, getting back on the road with roughly the same effort as swapping batteries in your TV remote.

According to VW, 120 units were pumped out of the Hannover commercial vehicles factory in a multitude of body styles, including the flat-bed truck body. The Elektro’s ideal customer was an urban delivery business or farmer, who needed a no-stress van for hauling products locally.

1947 Tama Electric Car

This adorable wagon is the result of Japan’s return to relative normalcy after World War II, following the establishment of the Tokyo Electro Automobile Company. Built with the braintrust of Tachikawa Aircraft Company after Allied powers dismantled Japan’s aircraft industry, the Tama was an answer to the gasoline shortages created after WWII. Allied forces had also destroyed much of Japan’s manufacturing capabilities, so the Tama was almost entirely hand-built, with the bodywork being constructed of a wood frame surrounded by hammer-shaped steel panels. Without access to the presses and toolmaking machines, Tama’s aircraft-bred craftsmen were still able to incorporate streamlined details such as the integrated headlight buckets in the front fenders (compared the “pod” mounted headlamps that were still common during this time).

A pioneer in many ways, the Tama also had two replaceable battery units, which were accessed through the panel below the front doors. They even featured built-in roller wheels so that maneuvering the battery trays was more convenient. A 4.5-hp DC motor was powered by the 40V pack, and the drivetrain gave the 2400-pound Tama a 22-mph top speed for up to 60 miles. It was produced as both a two-door, four-seat wagon along with a two-seat pick-up, and it even became a fairly practical taxi until the early ’50s.

The Tokyo Electro Automobile Company would eventually morph into Prince Motors before being absorbed by Nissan/Datsun in 1966. So, depending on your interpretation of history, that means the humble Tama could stands as Nissan’s first EV, much to the chagrin of Leaf disciples everywhere.

Vanguard CitiCar

Eagled-eyed readers might identify the genealogy of one of history’s more notorious EVs, the Vanguard CitiCar. Taking after the cheese-wedge styling of the CitiCar,  Knud Erik began manufacturing the Knud Erik Westergaard Elektrisk Transport (Kewet) in 1991. The four-wheeled door stop was introduced with a simple 48-volt motor and four-speed manual, but would eventually jump to 72 volts and utilize a single-speed transmission. The latter is a common trait between every EV we’ve listed, thanks to the judicious torque that an electric motor makes available at even the Kewet’s modest power levels. Output for the Kewet began at approximately 6 hp before seeing an upgrade to 16 hp with the higher-voltage upgrades that arrived later in its production. The microscopic footprint of the Kewet gave it the same party trick as the adorable Smart ForTwo—it could be street-parked perpendicular to the roadway to save space, as its overall length was less than the width of a standard car.

While it never saw the ultimate success of 1974 to 1977 CitiCar it emulated (which moved 4444 units, the most successful EV ever sold until Tesla’s Model S), the Kewet experienced modest success with 1500 of its tiny three-seaters sold, including the renamed “Buddy” models that came later.  This is probably the first retro-styled EV ever produced, when you think about it—little different than our recent lust for SSRs, T-Birds, and Prowlers, the Kewet’s styling sought to shake up memories of the past with most of its features being based on its ’70s role-model. Today, projects like the Honda E are applying the same tricks, shaping up ghosts of the pasts for modern service atop the most advanced bones available.

1898 Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton

At 22, Ferdinand Porsche began work on what would become his first vehicle, a humble electric carriage released under the Egger-Lohner company in the form of a two-row, open roof transporter. Today, Porsche’s Taycan is seen as a fresh take on the luxury sedan, but the 1898 Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton, also known as the Porsche P1, was entering the fray during a time when gasoline vehicles weren’t yet the default motive power for horseless carriages. Mr. Porsche had began working at the Bela Egger & Co electric company at the age of 18, and he had become the head of the company’s testing department by 1897, when he began developing the motorized powertain used by the Egger-Lohner C.2 and its hub-motored successor, the series-hybrid 1900 Lohner-Porsche Electromobile. To support the 1100-pound battery pack, Egger & Co. worked with a coachbuilder, Jacob Lohner & Co., to develop the wooden chassis.

The two axle-mounted motors produced an orbit-shifting 5 hp, but the 50-mile range was respectable even when compared to gasoline engines from the time period. Its 20-mph Vmax, when combined with its consistent performance compared to the cantankerous hydrocarbon burners in the 19th century, was enough to take first place in the 24-mile 1899 Berlin road race with an 18-minute gap on the second-place finisher, which helped stake out the promising automotive future EV vehicles have always endeavored to fulfill.

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With Sebastian Vettel leaving Ferrari after this season, the question on everybody’s mind was who could joint Charles Leclerc at the Scuderia for 2021. With Martin Brundle’s prediction turning out to be correct, the answer is Carlos Sainz, Jr., who will leave McLaren for Ferrari next season. Former F1 driver and presenter legend Tiff Needell summed it up best:

So Sainz it is! Must be disappointing news for the queue of talent in their Acadamy and, with no word of Ricciardo replacements, you have to worry about the future of Renault in F1 … Ocon on the subs bench again??

— Tiff Needell (@tiff_tv) May 14, 2020

Of course, young Lando Norris won’t be left alone at McLaren, as smiling champion Daniel Ricciardo is about to leave Renault for the Woking-based team. The Australian joined Renault over Red Bull Racing for 2019 and had this to say about his latest move:

I am so grateful for my time with @renaultf1team and the way I was accepted into the team. But we aren’t done and I can’t wait to get back on the grid this year. My next chapter isn’t here yet, so let’s finish this one strong. Merci pic.twitter.com/YFfzbwrgD7

— Daniel Ricciardo (@danielricciardo) May 14, 2020

Renault DP World F1’s Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul added the following:

“In our sport, and particularly within the current extraordinary situation, reciprocated confidence, unity, and commitment are, more than ever, critical values for a works team. I am confident that the 2020 season will allow us to accomplish even more together. Our ambitions and the strategy of Renault DP World F1 Team remain unchanged.”

Heading to the so-far stronger team, the younger Carlos Sainz decided to share his go-kart with the internet:

I’m very happy that I will be driving for Scuderia Ferrari in 2021 and I'm excited for my future with the team.

I still have an important year ahead with McLaren Racing and I really look forward to go back racing with them this season. pic.twitter.com/UXkTzFzUgV

— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) May 14, 2020

Ferrari’s 2021 car is promised to be just as red—but to produce more downforce.

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In 1983, I bought Motor Trend’s “Car of the Year.” Nowhere are quotation marks more appropriate than in that title, because just 12 short months after the magazine honored the third-generation Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, and a year before the award went to the all-new Corvette, I bought an AMC-Renault Alliance.

Thanks a lot, Motor Trend.

In the magazine’s defense, back then I could have closed my eyes, thrown a rock and it would have hit an automotive writer who liked the car. And it’s true that no one put a gun to my head and made me buy one, although I assume some Alliance owners considered taking “the easy way out” at some point. But I blame Motor Trend for setting the trap. Before I realized what was happening, I found myself caught in a snare of hoopla, affordability, and my own ignorance.

I wasn’t a car guy; perhaps you’ve already guessed that. I was a full-time college student who was also working a lot, and I was sick and tired of nursing broken-down cars. So I did the math and figured that for the right price I’d be better off buying new.

My thinking got a little muddled after that.

Motor Trend got into my head, dang it. So did my father. I trusted both. My dad was my dad, and the magazine had been handing out the Golden Calipers trophy since 1949. So when I read that voting for the ’83 Alliance was unanimous, I was intrigued. Who wouldn’t be? This is the sentence that really got me: “A unanimous result is usually a sign of a completely engineered automobile.” Key word: Usually.

The magazine wasn’t alone in its praise. Road & Track called the new Alliance—which was the first product from the American Motors-Renault partnership—“an efficient sedan that lives up to its name.” AutoWeek labeled it “an automotive bargain.” And Car and Driver proclaimed, “If we were some other magazine, this would be our car of the year.” With all that positive press, I would have been a moron not to at least consider what appeared to be the greatest Franco-American product since SpaghettiOs. Right? Anybody?

So I ran the idea past my father, and we test-drove an Alliance. I enjoyed the drive, but considering that a ramshackle Chevette was my mode of transportation at the time, I probably would have appreciated the road manners of a 1941 John Deere. Plus, I was practically incapacitated by that new-car smell.

My dad gave the Alliance two thumbs up, too. Seriously, it seemed like EVERYBODY loved this thing. I’m certain there was a method to Dad’s madness, however. Since the car offered little output (64 horsepower from its 1397-cc inline-four engine) but provided great gas mileage (37–52 mpg), it was the best of both worlds for my father, who had some concerns about his lead-footed youngest son. Dad’s only caveat: Buy a four-door. “Trust me,” he said, “you’ll be glad you did.” And I was. At least he never said, “Someday you’ll thank me.” A lifetime of therapy would not have healed that wound.

Under the guise of practicality, I thumbed through the Alliance brochure about a dozen times, took a second test drive, and then kicked things around in my head for a day or two. And then it happened. I pulled the trigger on an Alliance L in Deep Night Blue, a car “for the buyer who knows real value when he sees it.” While I appreciated the back-slapping affirmation from AMC, my choice really had less to do with my good sense and everything to do with dollars and cents. I liked the car but couldn’t afford the DL or Limited versions. The L, on the other hand—with an MSRP of about $6000—provided a more manageable loan payment. Sadly, it also came with so much more.

My decision to save a few bucks and go with the L meant—surprise!—the front seats didn’t recline. And since reclining seats are a gateway drug to horizontal hijinks, I’m pretty sure my father knew this little detail before I bought the car. He said nothing. I think he did, however, have a smirk on his face when I signed the papers.

Also, while I expected the car’s lack of power to cause a certain amount of frustration, I didn’t expect to be passed by Yugos, Beetles, and the occasional jogger pushing a baby stroller. (OK, that’s a stretch. I was never passed by a Yugo.) But the gist is this: An uphill climb in a new automobile shouldn’t be a trip that requires packing a lunch.

From the start, mechanical problems were commonplace. For instance, the clutch cable on the Alliance seemed to be made of braided rubber bands. Twice I stepped on the pedal to shift gears and, with a loud snap, found myself stranded in the middle of busy intersections. Passersby offered choice words and sage advice on both occasions, but I don’t recall any of them shouting, “Hey, dude, sweet Alliance!”

And the car’s CV boots wore out faster than flip-flops. No wonder the Alliance got such great gas mileage. Testers must have included the number of miles you were forced to walk while the car sat in the shop.

I also discovered that the plastic center piece on the Alliance’s steering wheel was removable. Since things sometimes popped off the car whether they were supposed to or not, this was a feature I found by happenstance. However, I chose to consider it an “option,” since it provided an awesome hiding spot for cash — on those rare occasions that I had any.

Alas, you can’t put the toothpaste back into the tube. We have to live with our mistakes and move on as best we can, hoping that perhaps we have learned a valuable lesson or two along the way. Some choose to ignore the skeletons in their closet (no apologies from Motor Trend); others just come out and admit they blew it. Car and Driver did exactly that in 2009: “Here and now, in vivid HTML, Car and Driver formally apologizes for naming the Renault Alliance to the 1983 10 Best Cars list. For the past 26 years, it’s been gnawing at our collective gut like a shame-induced ulcer. The car was trash. We should have known that back then, and it’s taken us too long to confess our grievous mistake. Let this frank admission be the start of our penance.”

I also paid my debt to cardom and lived to tell the tale. Better still, I eventually sold the Alliance to my older brother, the fool. Pretty sure he gave me a hundred bucks for it, but it definitely cost him more in headaches and irritation. That’s what he gets for picking on me when we were kids.

(Editor’s note: In March 2022, Motor Trend defended its choice of the Alliance as its “Car of the Year.” Sort of.)

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