Mystery car pix

stickguy

you mean like a 2.5 ton Porshche station wagon (er, SUV)?

Gotta remember who it is probably being targeted to.

Mr_Shiftright

Certainly not anyone who understands the history of Porsche.

ateixeira

Yeah, they wouldn't need 500+ hp if they were designed better from the get-go.

I can tolerate a Porsche SUV if it keeps them in business, I suppose. Sedan, too. Even an Aston Martin Rapide....

I'm quite happy with a 168hp Miata, though I'm looking forward to the ND model, which is supposed to be even lighter.

andys120

New Lotus Elite, a porker (3700 lbs) with a V8 in it.

At that weight it's probably twice the weight of the original Elite ca. 1959.

Curiously it is a four seat mid-engine convertible.

andys120

stephen987

'71 Buick GS400 Convertible.

ateixeira

Yeah, just read about it on Autoblog. They say 3600 lbs, but it's got a folding hard top.

Well, so does my Miata - and it's more than half a ton lighter.

Let's not even compare to Lotus' own Elise.

andys120

lemko

The white car looks like a 1968 Ford Falcon, the rear of the green car looks like a 1968 Ford Custom 500, and the hood of the black car is a 1971 Cadillac.

jwilliams2

Possibly a '72-73 Cadillac, a Falcon sedan, and an early 60's Pontiac?

explorerx4

Is that scene from one of the Dirty Harry series?

andys120

Yup, that was from the original DH.

BTW, the black car on the right is a '68 Ford Custom, Dirty Harry's prowl car.

andys120

...with a couple of golden oldies:

ateixeira

BMW 2002 tii

Lotus Elan?

wgrafer

But nobody gave any respect to the black '71 Cadillac on the left!
It's like it was invisible.....

stephen987

Not an Elan but a Fiat 850 spider in the same dark green as the one I drove in high school!

7000 rpm on a pushrod engine. Good times indeed.

andys120

BMW 2002 tii

No way to tell if that is a tii because there's only small lettering on the rear deck and in the grille which isn't fully visible. The little bit of grille you can see is black so it is definitely a 2002 rather than it's little brother, the 1602 (silver grille).

Lotus Elan

Sorry, you got fooled by the BRG paint but that is not an Elan...... next!

explorerx4

Thanks. That '68 is what clued me in. I thought it was a really bad job of parking.

andys120

Stephen is correct, that's an 850 Spider and from that angle it does resemble an Elan with it's lights up.

stephen987

Quite different to drive, though, with the Fiat having only about 58 hp!

andys120

jwilliams2

Looks like a 1939-41 Lincoln Continental V-12....

lemko

It's newer than that. It's a 1946-48 model of the Lincoln Continental.

wgrafer

It's got a post-war grille, so I'll go with a 1947 Lincoln Continental Mark I.

ateixeira

from that angle it does resemble an Elan with it's lights up.

You guys might laugh but the sole reason I guess Elan is because it looked like a car that would have inspired the NA Miata that I owned for 8 years.

Simple, clean design. Timeless.

andys120

1947 Lincoln Continental Mark I.

Yup, of course they didn't call it a Mk. I because they didn't yet know there'd be a Mk. II (c. 1955).

andys120

lemko

1967 Dodge Polara?

andys120

Yep, exactly.

berri

Personally, that backwards sloping rear window look seldom comes off cleanly to me. Too much dead space between the bottom of the rear window and the C pillar. Still, not a bad looking car though and Mopar did distinguish their coupes from GM and Ford during that period.

andys120

jwilliams2

That's a DeTomaso Mangusta....

andys120

Yep.

Mr_Shiftright

FACTOID--- Mangusta is the "mongoose", which is the mortal enemy of the snake, or "Cobra". Get it? Not that the Cobra had much to fear, with its Autozone mechanicals so much easier to keep running than that of some tempermental Latin machine.

andys120

Not that the Cobra had much to fear, with its Autozone mechanicals so much easier to keep running than that of some tempermental Latin machine.

True but mechanically the Mangusta was not very Latin. Power was via the same all-American 289 Ford small block as the Snake and the ZF transaxle was from Germany.

Mr_Shiftright

That's the argument all right, with some truth in it, but really, those American mechanicals were all modified as well as attached to all kinds of non-American sub-systems. Electricals, engine cooling problems, and access issues just to name a few. I mean, who exactly was going to be rebuilding ZF transaxles? Not your local Ford dealer or repair shop of those days. But just about anybody could work on a Cobra. You could take things off the shelf, just like Shelby did.

andys120

Despite the name, I don't think the Mangusta was intended to be a Cobra rival. Wasn't more it of an Americanized Miura or Dino? IIRC it's little brother, the Pantera outsold the Cobra handily.

stephen987

Mangusta was introduced in 1966, so it predates the Dino and the Pantera, though not the Miura.

Introduced in 1971, following Ford's acquisition of a stake in De Tomaso, the Pantera wasn't a "little brother" to the Mangusta, it was the Mangusta's replacement, designed to be easier to manufacture and to adapt to US safety regulations--and to take De Tomaso into the big leagues in production numbers.

And yes, the Pantera outsold the Cobra, by about a factor of ten.

andys120

Mangusta was introduced in 1966, so it predates the Dino and the Pantera, though not the Miura.

Well, that's kind of my point then, in 1966 a mid-engined sports car was really exotic and had an appeal that transcends that of the relatively conventional Cobra. Don't get me wrong, given the choice I'd opt for the Cobra for the reasons cited by Mr. S as well as the Shelby's place in racing history.

I'm just saying the Mangusta had/has a different appeal (aside form being really good-looking).

Maybe I should have called the Pantera the "kid" brother as the two do share much DNA.

Mr_Shiftright

the name Mangusta is just too suspicious and too close to the Cobra debut to be discounted as a "finger in the nose" gesture (which the Italians are actually quite good at).

that's right...there were only 1009 Cobras made (if you include the 6 Daytona coupes) but almost 10000 Panteras.

The Mangusta is rarer than the Cobra but alas not worth nearly as much---perhaps "only" $100K-120K, Panteras $40K-65K.

But you'd be hard pressed to find a really nice Cobra under 1/2 million these days---you might score one for less but not that much less.

Fakey-do Cobras are one of the few replicas I personally approve of (well, la-di-da Shiftright).

stickguy

happened to be watching the BJ auction on Speed the other day (the Vegas one), and they ran a "real" Cobra. Actually one of the shelby 4000 continuation cars. 482ci engine, and a tremek 5 speed, but basically the same body, etc (although are these glass or aluminum?)

anyway, closer to a real cobra than any of the kit cars, and this one gavelled at ~82K, so just a little bit cheaper than a 60's model! double a nice kit car though.

Mr_Shiftright

Cobra collectors don't consider them "real" Cobras and really they are no different than a kit car build by the Shelby company. You might as well just go for the kit, because your continuation Cobra will always have the *asterisk. What could be more annoying that being shoved to the back of the lot at all the Cobra events, after spending $82K to get there?

stephen987

Fakey-do Cobras are one of the few replicas I personally approve of (well, la-di-da Shiftright).

Same here, Shifty, though lately I've been fantasizing about one of these "re-engineered" with a mid-mounted Subaru engine.

Mr_Shiftright

They are nose-heavy brutes, it's true, and it would be a blessing to get all the engine heat behind you. Not sure it would "sound" right, though. Maybe with a blower!

stephen987

I see the picture didn't come through--I was actually aiming for one of these with Subie power:



A bit less of a nose-heavy brute, eh?

Mr_Shiftright

Well you would get rid of that anemic 4 cylinder Porsche engine, that's true, Takes some guts though to cut up a $40K car and my compliments to the fabricator who manages to fit all that to a "frame" made out of sheet metal.

I'd be more inclined to do this to a 356 replica, some of which look pretty good and only cost $12K--$20K used----or buy a new tub kit without the mechanicals.

stephen987

Actually, that one is a Subaru-powered replica, albeit a $35k one. No VW floorpans in sight, either.

Ah well, back on topic:

Mr_Shiftright

I really don't like the 356 replicas when they use the VW floorpan because it raises the shift console way up---and it just doesn't look right in there. It's jarring to a 356 fan.

fintail

Looks like Austin A35 ~1955

stephen987

Precisely, fintail. It's an Austin A35.