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The Tamiya Lotus Super 7 Series II 1:24 Scale Kit

This is the Tamiya Lotus Super 7 Series II, a 1:24 scale model of a car with one of the longest production runs in history, if not the longest outright.

Lotus famously came up with a clever scheme to get around new car tax when they released the original Lotus 7 as a kit car. If they sent an assembly manual with the car it would classify as a car sale and it would be taxable, so they sent each kit with a disassembly manual that the builder would follow in reverse.

The driving experience of the Lotus 7, and its modern licensed iteration the Caterham Seven, is one of the purest experiences you can have behind a steering wheel. The cars typically weigh in at around 545 kilograms or 1,200 pounds, they have excellent steering feel, firm suspension, and the experience is probably best described as driving a road-legal go kart.

The company Caterham used to be one of Lotus’ biggest dealers in the UK and in 1973 they took over production of the Lotus 7, calling it the Caterham Seven, and only updating it slowly and incrementally over the intervening decades.

You can still buy a kit from Caterham today and many people do, though now they come with the assembly instructions printed the right way around.

If you’ve always wanted to build yourself a 7 but lack the garage space or finances to do so, Tamiya have released their own Lotus Super 7 Series II kit. When building your kit you can choose to go with either the road car or Clubman racer set up, both are included in the kit.

On the finished model the hood, or bonnet, opens to show an accurate Ford Kent engine with dual side draught Weber carburetors and a finned valve cover. The suspension is accurately depicted, as is the interior of the car, and when completed it measures in at 139mm long, 61mm wide, and 41mm high.

Visit Tamiya Here

Images courtesy of Tamiya

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Documentary: The Devil At Your Heels – The Man Who Attempted To Jump A Car From Canada Into The USA

The Devil At Your Heels is a 1981 documentary about stuntman Ken Carter and his years long mission to build a rocket-powered Lincoln Continental and jump it a distance of one mile across the Saint Lawrence River from Canada into the United States, before crash landing it in a bed of roses on the other side.

As absurd as that sounds, Ken does a remarkable job at getting the ramp completed, getting the car built, getting the funding, getting the required permits to jump a car between two countries, which all eventually resulted in the car getting launched down the ramp by Ken and up into the air with the rocket engine blazing.

But which Ken was behind the wheel?

This film was created by filmmaker Robert Fortier who initially thought it would only take a couple of weeks. As it happens, the he ended up filming a series of remarkable events as they unfolded over a period of five years.

Above Image: Ken Carter was a legendary stuntman, jumping the Saint Lawrence River was to be his final great stunt, and by far the biggest car jump of all time.

Fortunately the National Film Board of Canada agreed with Fortier when he said he believed it was a story worth telling, and they continued funding it as the weeks stretched into the months, and the months stretched into years.

The fact that the film includes characters like Evel Knievel and a man named Kenny Powers (the real Kenny Powers) has led to people question whether the events that take place are real.

Astonishingly it’s all authentic, the events recorded in the film all really happened, the people are all real, and sadly the eventual results of the effort are real too.

I can’t go into too much detail here about what actually happens as the film unfolds as it would ruin the story – a story that’s entirely unpredictable and could never possibly happen in the modern day.

If you’d like to read more about this film you can click here.

Film and images courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada.

The post Documentary: The Devil At Your Heels – The Man Who Attempted To Jump A Car From Canada Into The USA appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/the-devil-at-your-heels/
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A Pulse Jet Powered Jaguar S-Type by Bob “The Rocketman” Maddox

Bob “The Rocketman” Maddox is one of the most interesting people in the world of custom vehicle creation. He has single-handedly advanced pulse jet engineering from the somewhat primitive designs used by the Nazis in their V-1 “buzz bombs” during WWII. Now thanks to him, regular people can build them in their garages and run them on easily sourced fuel.

Maddox has been making his own pulse jet engines for 18 years now, slowly perfecting them to the point where you can now order one of his off-the-shelf kits and build your own valveless pulse jet engine that runs on regular diesel (instead of pressurized propane), and they can be started without the use of a leaf blower or other external device.

Over the years Maddox has become famous for his startlingly beautiful pulse jet powered motorcycles which can be built with one jet or two. More recently he’s built go karts powered by multiple pulse jets, a pulse jet powered skateboard, a twin jet powered race car, and most recently a 1965 Jaguar S-Type powered by a 13 foot long pulse jet engine producing 1,200 lbs of thrust.

Above Image: The pulse jet powered Jaguar S-Type underway with Jesse James at the wheel.

The ’65 Jaguar was built alongside popular motoring TV host Jesse James for an upcoming episode of his show Monster Garage on Discovery.

The Jaguar S-Type was first released all the way back in 1963 as a follow on to the popular Jaguar Mark 2. The Mark 2, and its forebear the Mark 1, had become known as the “Gentleman’s Express” due to the fact they were fitted with a version of the Jaguar XK straight-six engine.

This engine had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans fitted in the front of the Jaguar D-Type, so Mark 2 buyers were essentially getting a saloon car with very real racing pedigree.

Above Image: The famously elegant lines of the S-Type have never before looked quite like this.

As a result of this the Mark 2 became popular with British gangsters and bank robbers, as it allowed them to transport five adult men and their bags of money at considerably higher speeds than any of the police cars of the time could manage.

It’s unlikely that any of the designers or engineers who were involved in the S-Type project ever imagined that one day across the Atlantic in the United States a man named Bob would fit a giant pulse jet to one of their cars, then sending it screaming across the desert with the descendent of a famed outlaw gunslinger at the wheel.

If you’d like to see the car in action and find out how fast it went you’ll need to catch the episode of Monster Garage.

If you’re curious to see more of Bob “The Rocketman” Maddox in action his YouTube Channel has been taking off, he has countless videos of his pulse jet-powered creations in action and it’s well worth a visit.

Visit Bob “The Rocketman” Maddox’s YouTube Channel here

Above Image: Bob “The Rocketman” Maddox is rapidly becoming one of YouTube’s fast rising stars.

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from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/pulse-jet-powered-jaguar-s-type/
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The BMW 2002 Turbo – The First Turbocharged BMW Production Car

The BMW 2002 Turbo was the fastest and most desirable version of what was arguably the Bavarian automakers most important fast saloon car – The BMW 2002.

The fundamental design ethos of the BMW 2002 would lay the foundation for the company and help establish its reputation for building “driver’s cars” that extends all the way to the modern day.

BMW 2002 Turbo History – A Speedrun

The creation of the BMW 2002 happened as a result of an engine swap and a request from famed BMW-importer in the United States Max Hoffman. The car that would become the 2002 started out as the BMW 1602 – that is a 1600cc engine in a car with two doors, or 1600+2 or 1602.

As you may have guessed, the 2002 has a 2000cc engine and the same two door body, and it was named the 2002.

The great secret to the enduring success of the 2002 is the fact that it’s essentially two cars in one – you get a standard looking three box car with seating for four adults and trunk space, but under the skin this sensible looking vehicle is actually a sports car with excellent handling and plenty of power (by the standards of the day).

Above Image: The bodykit on the 2002 Turbo proved controversial, particularly the reversed “Turbo 2002” text on the front air dam.

This combination of practicality and fun perfectly suited the needs of many, particularly businesspeople and parents who needed a respectable daily driver that was also a little bit fun. This basic philosophy of vehicle design has stood BMW in good stead over the decades, with vehicles like the E30 M3 and more recently the M4 and the M2.

When the BMW 2002 was first released in 1968 it proved immediately popular both with the motoring press and the general public who bought them in droves. The early single-carburetor “Zero Two” of 1968 was followed by the twin-carbureted 2002 Ti, followed by the even more powerful 2002 Tii.

The BMW 2002 Turbo would follow these predecessors, first appearing at the 1973 Frankfurt Auto Show. The public and press reaction to the 2002 Turbo was mixed to say the least. The car was powered by a modified version of the inline-four cylinder M10 engine from the naturally aspirated 2002, with a single overhead cam, and two valves per cylinder.

The compression ratio was reduced down to 6.9:1 in order to prevent knocking, and it was fed by a single KKK turbocharger with no intercooler. Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection was used, with a boost enrichment feature, and power was listed as 168 hp at 5,800 rpm and 177 lb ft of torque. This was a considerable increase over the 128 hp available in the previous king of the 02 hill, the 2002 Tii.

Above Image: The turbocharged 2.0 litre BMW M10 engine is capable of 168 hp and 177 lb ft of torque, not bad for a car with a curb weight of approximately 2,290 lbs or 1,038 kilograms.

The performance of the new car was excellent but there were some eyebrows raised about the body kit, the rear lip spoiler, and the front air dam with “Turbo 2002” written in reverse script – presumably so the person in front of you on the Autobahn could read it in their rear vision mirror and promptly get out of the way.

Perhaps the key reason the 2002 Turbo would end up with low sales numbers was the 1973 Oil Crisis that kicked off in October of that year. The 2002 Turbo had been unveiled just a month earlier in September at the Frankfurt Auto Show, and skyrocketing fuel prices caused by the Oil Crisis turned consumers away from higher performance, more thirsty automobiles.

Just 1,672 examples of the BMW 2002 Turbo would be produced, and today they’re by far the most collectible cars in the 02 model family.

The 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo Shown Here

The 1974 BMW 2002 Turbo you see here benefits from a three-year rotisserie restoration, and it now carries a BMW Classic Certificate.

Above Image: The interior of the 2002 Turbo is surprisingly practical, with seating for four adults and a decent amount of trunk space.

The car has been repainted in its original shade of Chamonix with color-matched fender extensions, and the exterior is accented nicely by the classic Turbo graphics, a chrome beltline, and chrome rear bumper.

It’s sitting on a set of Alpina wheels shops with sticky Toyo Proxes R888 tires, and it has the desirable front air dam, rear spoiler, and center exhaust. Inside you’ll find Turbo-specific sport seats, a sunroof, VDO instrumentation and boost gauge, as well as a MotoMeter clock.

The car is due to roll across the auction block with RM Sotheby’s on the 22nd of January with an estimate of $120,000 to $140,000 – exactly what we would expect for an immaculate 2002 Turbo.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

The post The BMW 2002 Turbo – The First Turbocharged BMW Production Car appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/bmw-2002-turbo-vintage-car/
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The Monsters of Group B Rally by We Are Ink

The Audi S1 E2 was one of the true monsters of the Group B rally world, the bodykit alone looked lethal but underneath it you’ll find a turbocharged inline five-cylinder engine producing upwards of 600 bhp and feeding power to all four wheels via a rally-winning, all-wheel drive system.

The Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 was first introduced at the end of 1985 as an update to the Audi Sport Quattro S1 and its Quattro predecessors that had fundamentally transformed the world of rallying.

Audi with their all-wheel drive Quattro system had first landed in 1980, it sent other rally manufacturers scrambling to develop their own all-wheel drive systems, and in a few short years it would be the de facto drivetrain for almost all top flight rally cars.

This series of prints by the team at We Are Ink were created to strip away the colors of the original racing livery and showcase the design of the Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 with no distractions. Unfortunately the car never raced with this paint scheme, which seems a shame given how great it looks.

There are four prints in total, all shown below, and they can be ordered in sizes from A1 to A2. For reference A1 is 594 x 841mm or 23.4 x 33.1 inches, and A2 is 420 x 594mm or 16.5 x 23.4 inches.

The prints cost £50 for A2 and £150 for A1, and they’re shipped out rolled up in a protective cardboard tube.

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Paul Walker’s 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 FAM Is For Sale

This 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 is one of just two special “FAM” edition vehicles that were built, it was personally ordered by Carroll Shelby and it formerly belonged to the late actor Paul Walker of “The Fast and the Furious” movie franchise.

Walker was just as famous for his expansive collection of cars as for his breakthrough role in The Fast and the Furious films. His taste in cars was genuinely eclectic, and his collection included everything from classics right the way through to modern supercars.

The Shelby Cobra – A Speedrun

Shelby Cobras were famously invented by Shelby back in the early 1960s after he retired from a successful career as a race car driver due to a heart condition. He used the tried and tested recipe of dropping a powerful American V8 into a small, lightweight, and nimble European sports car – in this case the AC Ace from England.

Above Image: The distinctive wide body look of the 427 Cobra is hard to miss.

Initially the Cobras had a 260 cu. in. (4.3 litre) Ford V8 before switching to the 289 cu. in. (4.7 litre) Ford V8 also used in the Mustang. The final, and most lethal, version of the car used Ford 427 cu. in. (7.0 litre) V8 producing upwards of 485 hp at 6,000 rpm and 480 lb ft of torque at 3,700 rpm – all in a car weighing just ~2,300 lbs.

Despite the car’s fame less than 1,000 originals were built between 1961 and 1968, and just 343 of these were the fire breathing 427 cu. in. V8 variants.

Carroll Shelby always had a soft spot for the Cobra and demand for them remained high, so high that he made a few additional production runs of the model to help meet satiate the market.

One of these additional production runs took place in the late 1990s, 14 CSX1000 examples were made, and it was planned that 10 “FAM” cars would be built. As it transpired just two FAM cars would be made and this is one of them.

Above Image: The highly-modified Ford V8 fitted to this car produces 550 hp.

If you’re curious about the name, “FAM” is said to stand for “Ferrari’s ass is mine” a statement made by Carroll Shelby after his team lost the 1964 World Manufacturer’s Championship to the alleged shady maneuvers the Ferrari team engineered at the end of the season.

Shelby stayed true to his word, he returned to Le Mans with the might of the Ford Motor Company behind him and wiped the floor with Ferrari in 1966 and 1967 with the Ford GT40. The GT40 would go on to take additional wins in 1968 and 1969.

Paul Walker’s Shelby Cobra 427 FAM

With 550 hp on tap and a curb weight of approximately 2,300 lbs, this Shelby Cobra 427 FAM provides a driving experience like very few cars on earth.

Above Image: The side pipes have been known to burn unsuspecting car show attendees who get too close when the car is still warm.

Realistically only professional racing drivers would be able to fully utilize the car’s output, however Paul Walker’s high-level of ability behind the wheel has been well documented and he was a part-time racing driver himself when not on camera. Much like other stars like Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Patrick Dempsey.

The 427 FAM has a hand-rolled aluminum body built by AC Cars, a one of a kind interior with FAM series gauges and badging, a matching-numbers Shelby 427 FE aluminum 550 HP V8 engine, and a Tremec TKO600 5-speed manual transmission.

Funnily enough the car has a Ferrari signature color combination of Rosso Corsa with a Tan leather interior, which I’m sure was no mistake, and it has 4-wheel independent suspension, Wilwood brakes with Shelby calipers, and Halibrand-style 15 inch pin drive wheels.

The car is due to roll across the auction block with Mecum in mid-March, if you’d like to read more about it you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Mecum

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from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/paul-walker-shelby-cobra-427-fam/
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Iso Grifo 7 Litri – A Rare Italian GT Car Capable Of 186 MPH

The Iso Grifo 7 Litri was to be one of the fastest road-legal production cars of its time, with a claimed top speed of 186 mph.

The car was an extraordinary achievement from a company that had started out making refrigerators before developing their own line of small-capacity motor scooters and the Iso Isetta bubble car that would become a celebrity in its own right.

The team behind the development of the Iso Grifo was an all-star collection of some of Italy’s finest automotive mind.

Developing The Iso Grifo

The project was overseen by Renzo Rivolta, company founder and the man who had seen Iso’s rise from a maker of refrigerators to a globally respected sports car manufacturer. The engineering was done by Giotto Bizzarrini, the man who designed the Ferrari 250 GTO and had a hand in developing the Lamborghini V12 engine used in the Miura and many other Lamborghinis.

Above Image: The unusual hideaway headlights and the famous “penthouse” hood scoop would typically denote a Series II 7 Litri.

The styling was done by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone, one of the greatest automobile designers of all time if not the greatest outright, and the man responsible for a remarkable array of cars from the Volkswagen Golf Mk1 to the DeLorean DMC-12 and the De Tomaso Mangusta.

Iso Autoveicoli founder Renzo Rivolta was a passionate but practical man, he knew he didn’t have the funds to develop his own engine capable of taking the fight to Lamborghini and Ferrari, so instead he did the same thing men like Carroll Shelby and Alejandro De Tomaso had done – he took reliable American V8s and used them instead.

The decision to use V8s from across the Atlantic made a lot of sense, and it provided automakers like Rivolta access to affordable engines and transmissions, and to an extensive parts catalogue. Skipping forward decades into the future to the modern day, and cars like the Iso Grifo 7 Litri are typically an order of magnitude less expensive to maintain than their rivals from Ferrari and Lamborghini.

Iso Grifo – Specifications + Engines

Over the course of the 1965 to 1974 production run, the Iso Grifo was offered with four major engine choices depending on year, from the 327, 427, and 454 cu. in. V8s from Chevrolet to the 351 cu. in. V8 from Ford towards the end of the production run. The 427 cu. in. V8 was capable of an advertised minimum of 425 hp, an astonishing figure for the era.

Of these, the Iso Grifo 7 Litri was the most powerful, with either the 427 or 454 cu. in. V8 fitted – engines that were so large the car required a strengthened chassis, an enlarged engine bay with reinforced mounts, and an unusual hood with a “penthouse” top to allow the engine to fit.

In 1970 the Iso Grifo Series II was unveiled, this newer version featured a few changes – perhaps most notably the hideaway headlights which provide an easy way to identify Series II cars.

Above Image: The 427 cubic inch V8 was capable of over 400 hp, propelling the car to a claimed top speed of 186 mph.

Three transmission options were offered over the production run, a 4-speed BorgWarner manual on earlier cars and a 5-speed ZF manual on later cars, as well as a 3-speed automatic if you were so inclined. The factory claimed the 7 Litri could attain a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph), however it’s not known if this has ever been tested.

The suspension and braking systems used weren’t unusual for the day, with double wishbones and coil springs up front and a De Dion axle and coil springs in the rear. Brakes were discs all around and the curb weight varied depending on model and engine chosen, falling within the range of 3,150 to 3,550 lbs (1,430 to 1,610 kgs).

By the end of production 413 Iso Grifos had been built, 330 Series I and 83 Series II cars, just 90 of them were the 7 Litri or “7 Liter” versions.

The 1969 Iso Grifo 7 Litri Series I Shown Here

The car you see here is an unusual 1969 Iso Grifo 7 Litri Series I, it’s unusual because it was sent back to the factory in-period to be upgraded to Series II specification including the hideaway headlights.

It was completely restored in 1989 and it’s listed as still presenting very well today, it has Bordeaux paintwork with the correct “7 Litri” badging on both b-pillars, and the large hood scoop known as the “penthouse” for obvious reasons.

The car is due to roll across the auction block with RM Sotheby’s on the 22nd of January, it has no reserve and the estimate is $500,000 to $600,000 USD. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.