Mystery car pix

qbrozen

The Mach 5?

tmart

Lucra LS470

Mr_Shiftright

Kudos to tmart---pulled that one out. 2000 lbs carrying 520 HP. (New owners soon to appear on YouTube's Car Crash Compilation #7)

Mr_Shiftright

andys120

90s Chevy Caprice w lift kit

fintail

Looks like it doesn't have composite lights, mid 80s.

Mr_Shiftright

I'm not sure of the year either. I just liked the photo

andys120

Michaell

andys120 said:

Chrysler TC - with Maserati input

andys120

Well not much Maser input, other than the Trident in the grille it got a 4-banger which was a joint product of Maserati and Cosworth Engineering. The bodies were turned out by the former BMC subsidiary, Innocenti (makers of rebodied Sprites and Minis.

Less than 10,00o were made.

Mr_Shiftright

At the time, the most prevalent criticism of the TC was that by using a Chrysler engine and a Maserati body, you were combining the worst of two worlds.

andys120

Michaell

andys120 said:

Pontiac Torrent - Equinox clone.

texases

No fair if you read the article:

andys120

Looks like some sort of variant of the Chevette, there were many but I'd guess that one is from Africa or perhaps South Asia.

texases

kind of yes/no/no

andys120

texases said:

kind of yes/no/no

Ok a Chevette variant from Latin America, they were all over the place when I was in SA in 1976 but I don't recall that one, perhaps it's Mexican.

texases

Further south (much further). 5000 or so made. 

andys120

Brazilian or Argentine, those two countries account for most of the cars made in South America. Since I don't recall that particular look from my Rio holiday I'll say it's from Argentina.

magnette

That is based on the estate version of the HC Vauxhall Viva so I would say its a GM product, and the grille looks vaguely Pontiac I suppose.

andys120

I found it! I wasn't familiar w the Vauxhall Viva so I looked it up. Apparently, the UK Viva HC, the US Chevette and the German Opel Kadette were all variations of the Opel Kadette C and were manufactured under many names in many places including Uruguay (who knew?) by an outfit called Grumett (?) where it was sold under the name Grumett Indiana

It says something about the awful state of automobile design in the 1970s that such a piece of rolling junk should be so successful. I rented a Chevette once and still consider it the worst car I've ever driven.

The Indiana sported fiberglass bodywork and really looked like crap>

fintail

Ah the 70s - at least some of the music could be good, as so much else was awful. What happened? Too much hard drug use in the prior decade? Diminished expectations and subconscious repentance for the sins of others brought by the 60s activist crowd? I've long said that for the most part, the best cars of the 70s were used cars from the 60s.

andys120

Fortunately things have improved a bit since the 1970s>

texases

Yep, the world-famous Grumett Indiana!
Here's where I found it:
http://jalopnik.com/of-all-the-cars-named-after-u-s-states-this-is-the-one-1790187296

berri

Paint that car brown and it would look like a turd

magnette

That estate body was the Viva HC, it wasn't shared with our Chevette or the Opel Kadett. My mum had a Viva HB, and one of my first cars was a Vauxhall Chevette - The Chevette effectively replaced the Viva and wasn't really the same body shell at all. It may well have had the same floorpan though. If this Uruguayan thing had a fibreglass body they must have taken moulds off the Viva HC estate and fitted it to a chassis of some sort.
In fairness the Viva HC estate was better looking than this Uruguayan thing..

andys120

Lets take a break from the ugliness of the Viva/Kadette, Chevette etc and identify this latest beauty from Maranello>

Michaell

Isn't that the new limited edition Japan-only Ferrari? The name escapes me, but it has something to do with Ferrari being available in Japan for 50 years.

tmart

It's called the J50.

andys120

It's a version of the 488 called the Ferrari 488 J50 . I'm not sure how it differs from the 488 GTS or whether it will eventually be offered outside Japan. Nor am I sure where you would ever be able to drive a Ferrari as it was meant to be driven in a crowded place like Japan.

It's nice to see Ferrari making good looking cars again!

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy

I can tell it is an Alfa. No clue beyond that

Mr_Shiftright

The hint is in the nose/grille design. It's weird isn't it?

stickguy

Looks like a hillbilly brush guard from a 1975 Chevy C10

tmart

andys120 said:

It's a version of the 488 called the Ferrari 488 J50 . I'm not sure how it differs from the 488 GTS or whether it will eventually be offered outside Japan. Nor am I sure where you would ever be able to drive a Ferrari as it was meant to be driven in a crowded place like Japan.

It's nice to see Ferrari making good looking cars again!

Granted it's a version of the 488, but per the license plate, it's a J50.

fintail

Alfa Junior Zagato.

Mr_Shiftright said:

Mr_Shiftright

Correct! 1970 Alfa Romeo Junior Zagato 1300

Mr_Shiftright

tmart

Mr_Shiftright said:

No picture, sorry.

tmart

Weird, the Mustang showed on the post!

Mr_Shiftright

So everyone can see it now?

lostwrench1

1967 Mustang Shelby G.T. 350 or 500.
Hmmmm.
Ok, I see a clue.
It's the 350.

qbrozen

Aren't the grille and badge wrong, though? Those are from a '66, I believe.

Mr_Shiftright

Correct. That is a genuine, original 1966 Shelby GT 350. This one even has the rather rare magnesium transmission case. This is considered the "purest" form of the Shelby Mustang, but it's a pretty rough and ready Shelby creation, and many new owners had a long list of complaints. I bet the ones who held onto the car aren't complaining now however.

qbrozen

so what is the next car to the right? Looks interesting.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, I didn't put that up because it's kind of a one-off in a way. The car itself is "common" but its history is not.

I'll put it up though and you can see what you make of it. It's not a replica race car, it's the real deal. Of course, it's been restored from its dirty old race days, but it still does vintage racing in a certain class.

texases

'66 Chevy II?

andys120

I'd say it's a '67 ChevyII Nova off-hand, never saw one in SCCA racing and I've seen a lot of SCCA races. I think that's a badge for a 283 V8 on the side.

Mr_Shiftright

It's a '66 Nova, ex Trans-Am car, packing a 302 cid. It was the only Nova to race in Trans Am, which was derived from SCCA A and B sedan racing-----and well, it didn't do very well. Currently there is a niche for ex-Trans Am cars in vintage racing, and also club racing for ex Trans-Am car owners.

It never looked so good. It still races, but it's beautifully restored and right up to date with all safety equipment and racing gear. Almost hurts to think of it on the track.

Alfa also ran the original Trans Am, competing in the then under 2.0L class, with Minis, BMW, Datsun, Saab and VW. It won the first Trans-Am race in its class, at Sebring. (Alfa GTA).

andys120

Oh yes the Trans-Am Series was a blast to watch with Alfas and Minis duking it out with Camaros, Mustangs and the like. The Nova would've been heavy compared to a Camaro or any of the other Pony cars in the over 2L class.