so quattro Audis are simply sensational in inclement weather….and DAMN fun to screw around with in the snow…—but how did Audis do before quattro in the snow? How much fun is it to screw around in the snow in a pre-quattro audi? well these people are making a bit of a mess with this pretty decent example of an Audi 100LS.
EDIT: it seems you can only watch this on youtube due to some copyright issues.
how damn cool do yer look, when you show up to the trackday, and pull this badboy off the trailer! A 70s Jaguar XJC-12 sedan…..special bodied coupes with a V12.
i absolutely love this. i still can’t figure out exactly why—-however there is something very ‘vintage’ and ‘futuristic’ about this design. I even liked the vulgarity of their previous model (Gumpert Apollo)—-however i have to say that this one is not vulgar at all—-in fact it is stunningly cool. I’m digging the rear taillights, the split window, the vintage pillars…epic cool.
Revealed at the Geneva Auto Show today/
Well today is my birthday and my wife ordered me exactly what i’ve been wanting! I’ve been trying to find this book for months now….but (A) it is damn expensive when i do find it ($250-$500), and (B) they were all in Europe so the shipping would be like $30 to get it here to New York City. There are 2 versions of the book; one in french and one in german. No english versions, i’m afraid. It is an absolutely beautiful piece of literature…..as i do know how to read very rudimentary french (think disabled french child-level french), I can understand bits and pieces of the text, however it is the photography which really stands out in this book; SO MANY rare and never before seen photos of Alpines.
Through the last 4 or 5 years, I have collected thousands of rare Alpine A110 photos from the web, and collected them into my digital storage—-however I really wanted a beautiful book to keep which displayed vintage photos of my favourite car in the world—and this one does exactly that. 400+ pages and what seems like multiple photos per page; this is the holy grail of Alpine books! And now it is mine! I thank my wife for getting me this…..finally! I am enjoying it very much.
This was published in 1982 by E.P.A Publishing. The author is Dominique Pascal and of course is out of print! In addition to the A110; It also covers the history of the Marque, as well as the A106, A108, A310, and prototypes for racing.
After the massive failure of this morning’s Alfa Romeo 4c debut in Geneva—–i was obsessed with the idea that this car has completely plagiarized the Artega GT. Then i looked at the photos—–and was astounded by the similarities. If this car is not an Artega GT, then Artega should sue the shit out of Alfa Romeo—–and Alfa Romeo should hang their heads in shame!
Let me be clear….i LOVE the Artega GT—it is truly one of my favourite sports cars on sale at the moment, and i am anxiously awaiting their arrival to the US—-but to see Alfa Romeo plagiarize a design so blatantly offends the side of me that loves Alfa Romeo (and yes, count me in the clans of Alfisti who have been waiting for Alfa to come back to this country)
Alfa Romeo have copied the Veyron. Alfa Romeo have copied an Artega GT. Alfa Romeo have made a thicker Elise. Alfa Romeo have copied the Seat Cupra GT Cup Car. I am utterly offended by this car. That is truly the first time I have said that about an Alfa in recent memory—-i even got excited when the Mito and the Giuletta were introduced; because at least they looked like an Alfa or had some originality. This truly looks like a 3rd rate copy of an Artega GT…..F for effort.
(bottom photo from Autoblog)
I absolutely love this….it’s smaller than a Jetta….and obviously smaller than an A4. The engine is an RS3 engine, tweaked—on the concept. In real life form, i’m guessing a small euro starting at 1.6 or 2.0L range going up to a 2.5T that’s in the TT-RS, RS3, and this concept. On a brand new platform as well (NON-Golf). That interior is beautifully minimalist as well. Nicely done, Ingolstadt. It is definitely coming to the US. (thanks to Z.D. for the pics!)
These are pretty shady ‘spy pics’ by Autoexpress—but i love sketchy looking pics. The Alfa 4c is very weird looking—-part of me loves it, and part of me is reminded of the…errr…last Ford Probe. HOWEVER, it is supposed to be mid-engined (i’m not sure how true this is…), rwd, and going to be priced in Cayman territory.
I will not judge the design til the final photos……however it seems that the whole thing could go either way (favourable/unfavourable). Supposedly this car will be released this week at the Geneva Auto Show—-and has tightly been kept under wraps for a while.
i should have known not to trust Autoxpress!!!!
I seem to learn something new on a daily basis about the beloved Alpine A110. I had always known that the A110 was produced in Mexico under the name “Dinalpin”, however i did NOT know that the A110 was also manufactured in Brazil under the name “Interlagos” and ALSO that it was manufactured in Bulgaria under the name Bulgarlpine! What a crazy crazy name. I laughed when i first read it. So apparently they were produced under a private contract between Alpine and Bulet (bulgarian company). These cars were not sold on the regular market—-and apparently they were sold to private racing and rally groups. It is rumoured that less than 150 cars were produced in total, and the majority ended up being raced privately.
I can’t help but be fascinated by this mysterious twist in the A110 story……
EDIT:
N1KK3L (an IEDEI reader) is from Bulgaria, and added this very interesting information to the story:
“The Bulgaralpine was part of the Bulgarrenault initiative. A partnership between some Bulgarian industrialists and Renault which allowed the assembly (proudly labeled as a manufacture) of Renault 4 cars in Bulgaria.Which was unusual thing at the time as a Soviet satellite countries (like Bulgaria) weren’t allowed to partner with western countries.
The agreement meant that the Bulgarrenaut cars can only be sold in Bulgaria, but the Bulgarians (as usual) tried to outsmart their partners and earn some extra cash by exporting the cars. Which caused the Renault cars to end the partnership. That’s not mentioned in Wikipedia but that’s how we Bulgarians know it happened.Only a handful of Bulgaralpine cars were made and I’ve had the pleasure to see one in person. I suppose it’s identical to the Renault A110. Other interesting fact is that this car helped a very talented Iliya Chibricov win “Rally Bulgaria” (then it was called “Rally Zlatni Piasaci”). A first and only win for Bulgarian crew, until very recently(2008 I think). At the time all Bulgarian rally pilots only had access to Ladas and other Russian machinery which weren’t competitive. And the Bulgaralpine really made a difference”
Apparently, 2 of the cars even ended up rallying in the 1968 Rallye of Monte Carlo, driven by Iliya + Nikola Chubrikov & Atanas Taskov + Atanas Agura. Here is a photo of those 2 cars:
Porsche 911, by doudD
I love these photos. I first came across Matteo’s photos in one of my automotive magazines “Intersection”, however Matteo Ferrari is known for this type of time lapsed photography of cars and their owners—-showing the often long-term relationships with their automobiles. After owning the TT for 8 years, I am currently finding myself acknowledging the deep bonds between cars and their owners.
Here are some of the photos he has done… from his website
There’s no point in posting the ‘exterior’ of the new Lancia Ypsilon—because it is about as attractive as a pimple on a toad. After seeing the photo of the interior, however—i was reminded of something. But i couldn’t quite figure it out! I have never seen such an awkward pattern on the seats of a car….and then i remembered what it reminded me of! Surely the target audience has now been figured out.
BTW, this horrendous little car will be coming to the US as a Chrysler soon; not much of a surprise, i suppose. What an embarassing end stage to a great marque..
Formula 3 FTW!
(click to enlarge this wonderful pic)
the unbelievably sinister and brutal 1969 Mercedes-Benz AMG 300 SEL 6.8
Espada > 365 GT. from where i’m seeing this.
I found this interesting—-mainly because he is not a wealthy, powerful, man—-but because he’s a regular bloke who just likes mass produced attainable cars! Fascinating.
Mr Riddick’s least favourite models have lasted barely a week – his record was returning a car days after buying it because it didn’t fit in his garage.
Every single one has been a mass market vehicle as the retired building firm owner has no interest in luxury or sports cars and did not want to appear flash in front of clients.
‘I passed my driver’s licence in 1959 and bought an Austin A40 for £500. I was the first on the street to have a car and it just snowballed from there,’ said Mr Riddick, 67, who lives with his wife, Glen, in Shefford, Bedfordshire.
‘My wife doesn’t mind,’ he said. ‘It was just my hobby, I didn’t chase other women or drink – I just spent money on cars.’
Brad Automobiliac had sent me a video with a weird, fat looking Blue Detomaso Mangusta running laps….and that blue Mangusta has been stuck in my head for a couple of weeks now.
But i have found photos of it! At least I believe it is the same one….it is absolutely BRUTAL looking.
photographer: Antonio Rodrigues
from the 1985 Portugal Rally. Lancia 037.
a nice Alpine A310. check out the interior….funky indeed. As mentioned before, I am increasingly attracted to the A310, as a by product of my obsession with the A110.
http://www.springbok.de/fahrzeugbestand/details.php?id=ren_alpi
I had no work today, but when i woke up i looked out the window and saw SNOW! everytime this happens, the voice of an 85 year-old rural farmer comes into my head and says “FIRE UP THE QUATTRO!”—–so i did. driving in circles around my neighbourhood….it was lovely. Grabbed some breakfast….and took the time to take a photo representing my morning.
IEDEI 
