Mystery car pix

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

Help Shifty Out With This:

This isn't a contest. I really want to know what this is, if anyone has a clue

I think that's what they call an AmTrack (Amphibious tractor) or LVT (Landing Vehicle /Tracked). It's designed to be launched from a ship and crawl onto the beach with assault troops. That's a pretty small one, basically a tracked Jeep. They come in various sizes. Here's a bunch of LVT4s headed for the beaches of Iwo Jima>

Mr_Shiftright

Those pix you posted seem to show a much larger vehicle however. Same basic idea but...

andys120

Michaell said:

andys120 said:

Dino 246?

That's exactly right, it's a 1969 Dino GT. These are often referred to as "Ferrari Dinos" but they weren't badged as such by SEFAC Ferrari. They came about when Ferrari needed a good 2 liter engine to compete in a specific class of sports/endurance racing. They made a deal with Fiat to produce the Ferrari-designed V6 and it was used by Fiat for their Fiat Dino Spider and Coupe. Ferrari put in their Dino GT and GTS versions which IIRC were the first street-going Ferraris with the engine in the middle. Early versions were 206GTs but the motor was soon bored out to 2.4 liters enabling Ferrari to compete with the Porsche 911.

Neither the Fiat nor the Ferrari versions were huge commercial successes but the Dino 246 is highly regarded by collectors as the best Ferrari sports car of the era and one of the best looking as well. The Dinos got their name from Enzo's late son Alfredo (Alfredino) who died at a young age.

lostwrench1

M29 "Weasel".

Michaell

andys120 said:

Dino 246?

That's exactly right, it's a 1969 Dino GT. These are often referred to as "Ferrari Dinos" but they weren't badged as such by SEFAC Ferrari. They came about when Ferrari needed a good 2 liter engine to compete in a specific class of sports/endurance racing. They made a deal with Fiat to produce the Ferrari-designed V6 and it was used by Fiat for their Fiat Dino Spider and Coupe. Ferrari put in their Dino GT and GTS versions which IIRC were the first street-going Ferraris with the engine in the middle. Early versions were 206GTs but the motor was soon bored out to 2.4 liters enabling Ferrari to compete with the Porsche 911. Neither the Fiat nor the Ferrari versions were huge commercial successes but the Dino 246 is highly regarded by collectors as the best Ferrari sports car of the era and one of the best looking as well. The Dinos got their name from Enzo's late son Alfredo (Alfredino) who died at a young age.

Thanks for the complete story. I knew they weren't Ferrari badged and it was named after his son. 

Mr_Shiftright

The earlier 206 is much more valuable because it is so rare.

Mr_Shiftright

lostwrench1 said:

M29 "Weasel".

Oh, yeah, now I remember us discussing a "Weasel" some long time ago--maybe it was in the Studebaker topic, since Stude made 'em.

The one in the photo looks pretty shot to me--I do know that new tracks for any tracked vehicle are quite pricey. Restorable, I'm sure, but worth it? One wonders. Looks like you can buy one ready to roll and lookin' good for about $20K.

andys120

stickguy

British Ford from the 70s. Escort I believe. I assume that is one of the sporty rally types. RS?

andys120

Yup, a 1973 Ford Escort MK.1 special edition done up to celebrate their Mexico Rallye win.

andys120

Michaell

andys120 said:

280CE .. mid 70's vintage.

fintail

Pre-1974 by the bumpers, US spec lights, indeterminate model W114 coupe.

Mr_Shiftright

Very awkward in the coupe configuration IMO. Not every sedan looks better as a coupe---another example, the somewhat rare Jaguar XJ6 coupe.

andys120

fintail said:

Pre-1974 by the bumpers, US spec lights, indeterminate model W114 coupe.

Yeah it's a 1972 Mercedes-Benz 250C

Mr_Shiftright said:

Very awkward in the coupe configuration IMO. Not every sedan looks better as a coupe---another example, the somewhat rare Jaguar XJ6 coupe.

I beg to differ, My Dad owned the sedan equivalent, a '74 250 and I always thought it was a bit stodgy in styling. The pillarless hardtop gave the W114 a sporty flair the sedan lacked. It was designed by Paul Bracq who styled the brilliant W116 "Pagoda" sports cars and later the BMW Neue Klasse cars.

Mercedes and BMW were turning out pillarless hardtops into the 1980s, long after they's been abandoned by American makers.

texases

Coincidentally just saw one of these at lunch:

Michaell

texases said:

Coincidentally just saw one of these at lunch:

Early 90's 300CE, at the height of German arrogance.

I remember reading the review in C&D and they couldn't get over the fact that the base price was $75K.

fintail

The 300CE cabrio based for that much in the early 90s, I think the coupes were a bit cheaper. German arrogance, but the cars were pretty good, too.

MB has had at least one true hardtop model in production for every model year since 1961.

Pagoda is a W113, W116 is the big 70s era S-class

Michaell

fintail said:

The 300CE cabrio based for that much in the early 90s, I think the coupes were a bit cheaper. German arrogance, but the cars were pretty good, too.

MB has had at least one true hardtop model in production for every model year since 1961.

Pagoda is a W113, W116 is the big 70s era S-class

That's right, the cabrio.

This was released right when Lexus and Infiniti were beginning to rewrite the luxury playbook.

Mr_Shiftright

andys120 said:

fintail said:

Pre-1974 by the bumpers, US spec lights, indeterminate model W114 coupe.

Yeah it's a 1972 Mercedes-Benz 250C

Mr_Shiftright said:

Very awkward in the coupe configuration IMO. Not every sedan looks better as a coupe---another example, the somewhat rare Jaguar XJ6 coupe.

I beg to differ, My Dad owned the sedan equivalent, a '74 250 and I always thought it was a bit stodgy in styling. The pillarless hardtop gave the W114 a sporty flair the sedan lacked. It was designed by Paul Bracq who styled the brilliant W116 "Pagoda" sports cars and later the BMW Neue Klasse cars.

Mercedes and BMW were turning out pillarless hardtops into the 1980s, long after they's been abandoned by American makers.

Doesn't work for me. Reminds me of the Bertone Volvo 242 or American malaise-era hardtops.

fintail

Yep. I want to say cabrio is MY 1992+ for this market, but I might be wrong. Could be 93, but I don't seem to recall them in 91. The price was a big deal, as a nice S-class or 500E (the Porsche one) wasn't much more expensive. Those cabrios still have some value, depreciation floor for a nice one is about 15K, and truly mint ones can bring more.

The newcomers definitely shook up the market. Funny thing is both have had a very hard time competing with the Germans for coupes/cabrios, and I read Lexus is thinking about dropping the GS now.

Michaell said:

That's right, the cabrio.

This was released right when Lexus and Infiniti were beginning to rewrite the luxury playbook.

andys120

I'll admit that the huge rear overhang makes for funny proportions from that angle but it's still prettier than the sedan

andys120

Mr_Shiftright said:

andys120 said:

fintail said:

Pre-1974 by the bumpers, US spec lights, indeterminate model W114 coupe.

Doesn't work for me. Reminds me of the Bertone Volvo 242 or American malaise-era hardtops.

Speak of the devil, this wasn't a h/t but it was trying hard to look like one.

Mr_Shiftright

Also the Chrysler Maserati TC is another car that jumps into my mind every time I see one of those hardtops.

fintail

I think the boxy lines of a W114 don't do it favors for being a 2 door HT. MB people seem to generally consider the W123 coupe to be prettier.

berri

Personally, I think that Volvo looks more out of whack than the MB. maybe it is the shorter greenhouse glass.

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

I think the boxy lines of a W114 don't do it favors for being a 2 door HT. MB people seem to generally consider the W123 coupe to be prettier.

Definitely

stickguy

the MB looks fine to me. The Volvo was always a curious chop job that looks kind silly.

qbrozen

Guess I'm the only one who likes the volvo

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

Guess I'm the only one who likes the volvo

I'd say that I like it, too.. But, that would be a lie.

I do like the XJ coupe, and the Mercedes coupe, if you get a little later, where it loses the big upright grill.
Too many of those '70s coupes had vinyl roof. That doesn't help.

andys120

fintail

I can see kind of a funny malaise era charm in the Volvo, but I don't think it is exactly pretty, looks like a normal car chopped an inch or two. I suspect it was considered fairly avant garde or chic around 1978 or so. I also imagine it having finicky emissions controls, and maybe delicate automatic transmissions, but those are just assumptions and can be true for many cars of that era. I think the XJ and W123 coupes carry it off better, maybe because they don't look chopped.

qbrozen

fintail said:

I can see kind of a funny malaise era charm in the Volvo, but I don't think it is exactly pretty, looks like a normal car chopped an inch or two. I suspect it was considered fairly avant garde or chic around 1978 or so. I also imagine it having finicky emissions controls, and maybe delicate automatic transmissions, but those are just assumptions and can be true for many cars of that era. I think the XJ and W123 coupes carry it off better, maybe because they don't look chopped.

Nah. Volvo 240s are legendary for their reliability.

qbrozen

andys120 said:

I think those are so damned ugly. Yet really like the square back version.

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

Guess I'm the only one who likes the volvo

I think there is one other person somewhere in Wyoming

andys120

stickguy

1970s Ferrari 512BB boxer?

fintail

Either a 512 BB or the earlier 365 GT4 BB, the former made until around model year 1984, I believe.

andys120

It's a 1983 Ferrari 512 BB (Boxer Berlinetta), the 365 BB and 512 BB are nearly impossible to tell apart.

Mr_Shiftright

Yours for a mere $350,000 these days. And don't forget to replace the cam belts every 3 years---and the engine has to come out. Figure $10K-12K for that.

tjc78

Mr_Shiftright said:

Yours for a mere $350,000 these days. And don't forget to replace the cam belts every 3 years---and the engine has to come out. Figure $10K-12K for that.

Party pooper!

Mr_Shiftright

Hey, don't shoot the messenger!

andys120

qbrozen

That might actually be cool if the forward headlights, ridiculous amber lights, and bumper overriders were all deleted.

Michaell

Is that an Alpine?

berri

It needs some surgery for those front end tumors

andys120

Michaell said:

Is that an Alpine?

Yup, but it's not made by Renault/Alpine, it was built in Mexican City under license by Dinalpin thus it's a 1965 Dinalpin A110

As for the plethora of lights on the front, that's typical of FIA Rally cars then>



and still is>



Given that the A110s were built specifically for the WRC, I wouldn't have mine any other way.
Apparently they still feel that way at Alpine>

qbrozen

The porsche lights are tacked on, though, while the Alpine has them built into the bodywork. Makes for a very awkard front end, IMHO

Mr_Shiftright

Well you have to remember WRC cars are built to be destroyed.

magnette

Love those Alpines - the original is a very small car though...

The 512BB is the only Ferrari I have ever sat in.... (London Motor Show stand 1984 or so)