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Maserati Biturbo Si Black – The World’s First Twin-Turbo Production Car

This is the Maserati Biturbo Si Black, just 105 of these were built between 1986 and 1988, and they’re powered by what was the world’s first production twin-turbocharged engine.

If you’re anything like me, and you grew up in the 1970s or 1980s, you likely have a soft spot in your heart for two very specific kinds of cars – wedges and anything with a turbocharger attached.

The Maserati Biturbo ticks both of those boxes admirably, not only was it the first production car to be fitted with two turbos but it was also the first production car to use three valves per cylinder – twin inlet and one exhaust.

The Maserati Biturbo

The Biturbo was developed under the watchful eye of company owner Alejandro de Tomaso to be a more affordable car that could function admirably as both a practical three-box daily driver and as a sports car when the owner was in the mood. In fact the car’s philosophy was somewhat similar to the earlier BMW 2002 and the BMW 2002 Turbo which had been the world’s first production car with a turbo.

From the outset Maserati knew they needed to keep the Biturbo in production for a number of years, and that it needed to be relatively affordable to build. They developed a stamped steel unibody shell for the car with body styling by Pierangelo Andreani.

Above Video: A period-review of the Maserati Biturbo Si by Motorweek.

Andreani used the origami-style for his design that had been popularized by Giugiaro and Gandini back in the late 1960s and 1970s. Interestingly, Gandini himself would be hired to revamp this car in 1988 and 1991 with facelifts to keep the styling current.

The Biturbo was fitted with a SOHC, 90º aluminum V6, it was an all-new engine that was somewhat influenced by the outgoing 2.0 litre engine used in the Maserati Merak. Interestingly the Merak engine had been based on earlier Maserati V8 Formula 1 engines, a fact which which was mentioned frequently by Merak owners at cocktail parties no doubt.

Keeping the car affordable whilst also staying true to Maserati’s sporting heritage were key criteria for the Biturbo, which was a large part of why a twin turbo set up had been chosen. It allowed a sub-2.0 litre model to be developed that would slide in under the hefty 38% value added tax (VAT) levied by Italy at the time against cars with an engine size of over 2000cc.

Maserati did offer larger engine sizes for export markets, including a 2.5 litre and a 2.8 litre, however the punchy 2.0 litre unit has always been popular. Power was sent back through a 5-speed manual or one of two automatic gearbox options to the rear wheels. The car rides on independent suspension with MacPherson struts up front and semi-trailing arms in the rear with sway bars front and back.

Although there were some early quality control issues with the Biturbo that led to bad press, the model was a success for Maserati – they sold almost 12,000 of them between 1981 and 1989 and the model would go on to live until 1994 with design refreshes.

Above Image: The fuel-injected, twin-turbo V6 used by the Biturbo Si producing 220 hp.

Today we’re seeing increasing interest in cars from the 1980s and many vehicles like the Biturbo are getting a second lease on life with new owners who love their looks and the analog driving experience.

The 1987 Maserati Biturbo Si Black Shown Here

The Maserati Biturbo Si Black is one of the rarest iterations of the Biturbo, the car had a two-tone black over grey colour scheme, and it featured the same drivetrain as the standard fuel-injected Biturbo Si – with 220hp at 6,350 rpm and a top speed of 228 km/h (142 mph).

This car was delivered to its first owner in Italy in June of 1987 and it still retains its original engine. Over the intervening years the car has accumulated just 35,410 kms on the odometer thanks to the fact it was carefully stored away for many years.

More recently the car was recommissioned by Milano Brianza and it’s been routinely maintained ever since. If you’d like to read more about the car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on RM Sotheby’s. It’s due to roll across the auction block in late February and it’s being offered without reserve.

The post Maserati Biturbo Si Black – The World’s First Twin-Turbo Production Car appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/maserati-biturbo-si-black/
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A BMW R100R Cafe Racer By UFO Garage

This BMW R100R cafe racer was built in Madrid by Efraon and Marcos, the two-man crew that makes up UFO Garage. Efraon is one of those people with an infectious enthusiasm for vintage machines, unlike many custom motorcycle garages UFO build both motorcycles and classic cars.

Efraon hosts regular dinners at UFO Garage, strictly on an invitation-only basis, bringing together some of Europe’s most influential people from the parallel worlds of vintage motorcycles and classic cars to enjoy good wine, fine food, and great conversation.

As one of the original co-founders of Cafe Racer Dreams, Efraon is no stranger to taking interesting vintage machines and giving them a second life. It was only a matter of time before he got his hands on a BMW R100R and set to work on it, it’s long been a personal favorite of his and he knew he could turn one into a daily rideable cafe racer.

The BMW R100R

BMW released the R100R in 1991 as what we would today call a retro bike, essentially a motorcycle designed to evoke the styling of years going by but incorporating some modern technology and everything you need to pass current emissions requirements.

In order to keep development costs low BMW engineers essentially raided the parts bin. They took the R100 engine and transmission, they used the fuel tank from the GS, they brought in suspension from Showa and front brakes from Brembo, and they rolled it all together into a large, comfortable touring bike designed for road use only – hence the second “R” in the model name.

BMW used their venerable 980cc boxer twin for the R100R, a relatively simple air-cooled motor with pushrods and two valves per cylinder producing 60 hp and 56 lb ft of torque. Power is fed to the rear wheel via a 5-speed transmission and a shaft drive that incorporates a single sided swing arm and monoshock.

Above Image: The BMW R100R is powered by a traditional air-cooled 980cc horizontally-opposed twin.

BMW kept the R100R in production until 1996, it didn’t prove to be a huge success however the models have become a popular target for customization due to their bulletproof engines and the fact that they can be turned into everything from scramblers to cafe racers.

The BMW R100R Cafe Racer By UFO Garage

The build process with this bike began with a full teardown, the key to any successful cafe racer build is to reduce weight, increase power, and add classic parts like clip-on handlebars, and a single seat with a bump stop.

Efraon and Marcos do almost all their work in-house, on this build they only outsourced the intake and exhaust fabrication, though they did the design work themselves. The intake is one of the standout features of the build, it’s a meticulously welded one-into-two design that takes air in from under the seat and then feeds it into each of the 40mm Bing carburetors.

The exhausts each tuck in and run down along the side of the sump, it was fabricated by GR Sistemas de Escape and it uses slim, low profile mufflers. The carburetors were tuned to take advantage of the new freer flowing intake and exhaust, giving the engine more power and a more immediate throttle response.

Above Image: The bike has classic cafe racer lines and it benefits from a vastly upgraded induction and exhaust system.

A pair of clip-on handlebars were added with bar end mirrors and indicators, and a new set of indicators and a brake light were fitted to the rear of the subframe. The original RF100R fuel tank, considered an eyesore by many, was removed and replaced with one of BMW’s most popular fuel tanks – the humble toaster tank.

New alloy front and rear fenders were fitted, the brakes were serviced, and the engine received all new gaskets and seals. The original Showa forks were kept in place as they do their job well, but the original monoshock was replaced with a new YSS monoshock offering full adjustability and allowing the owner to tune the bike to suit his preferences.

The completed bike has now been delivered to its owner in Madrid where it can regularly be seen making its way through the streets and alleys.

If you’d like to see more from UFO Garage you can visit their website here.

Follow UFO Garage on Instagram here.

The post A BMW R100R Cafe Racer By UFO Garage appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/bmw-r100r-cafe-racer/
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A Rare Datsun 240Z “Super Samuri” – A British High-Performance Special

This Datsun 240Z has a remarkable history, it was bought new by a British Army Captain while on a tour of duty in Cyprus and not long after he was ambushed by insurgents resulting in a bullet hole in the rear deck.

The car was shipped back to the UK and the next owner took it in to the legendary British Datsun tuner Spike Anderson for conversion to “fast road” Samuri specification at the end of 1974.

The owner then entered the Samuri 240Z in a series of production car races before dropping it into a ditch on the way home one night and parking the car up in a barn where it would remain untouched for years.

The Datsun 240Z

The Datsun 240Z is one of the most beloved Japanese cars of its era. It combined beautiful styling with excellent performance by the standards of the era, making it one of the best value sports cars in the early 1970s.

The original styling of concept was drawn up by Count Albrecht Goertz for Datsun, he used cars like the Jaguar E-Type and the Porsche 911 for inspiration, and he created a style language for Datsun/Nissan that the company is still using to this day.

Above Image: This car’s engine has been completely reworked, it now produces over 180 bhp in part thanks to triple Weber 45DCOE carburetors.

Under the skin of the steel unibody the Datsun 240Z features independent suspension all round with MacPherson Struts up front and Chapman-links in the rear.

The car has rack and pinion steering, front disc brakes, a 5-speed gearbox, and a 2.4 litre, straight six, overhead-cam engine developing 150 bhp and giving the car a 0 to 60 time of 8 seconds with a top speed of 125 mph.

The 240Z was introduced into the American market in 1970 and it sold well until 1973, it was replaced by the Datsun 260Z in 1974 however this was mostly the same car with a larger engine. The 260Z would be succeeded by the 280ZX, the 300ZX, the 350Z, the 370Z, and in late 2020 the Nissan Z Proto was unveiled which bears a striking resemblance to the original 240Z.

The Datsun 240Z “Super Samuri” Shown Here

Eventually after spending many years in the barn, this car was rescued by none other than James Morris, a marque expert and the author of the Haynes Super Profile books about the Datsun 240Z/260Z/280Z.

In 1997/1998 a full restoration was carried out by Morris and rally-driver and “Z” specialist, Kevin Bristow – the project was guided by Spike Anderson himself.

Above Image: As a “road race” specification Super Samuri the Datsun wears a unique bodykit, it’s been de-bumpered, and it has covered headlights.

During this restoration Spike Anderson assisted the two men in upgrading the car to “road race” Super Samuri specification – up from its original “fast road” Samuri specification. It’s important to note that the spelling “Samuri” was chosen as it wasn’t possible to trademark “Samurai” at the time due to the common usage of the word.

In the car’s history file is a document signed by Spike confirming that this car was built by Samuri Conversions as a fast-road Samuri for Eddie Stephens. It also confirms that he assisted in the Morris/Bristow restoration to “road race” Super Samuri specification in the late 1990s.

These documents are important as there are a number of non-original cars around, and it can be difficult to spot a fake.

There is no bigger name in the world of British Z-car tuning than Spike Anderson, he founded the Samuri Motor Company in the 1970s to provide high performance rebuilds and performance parts for Datsuns and became a Carroll Shelby-like character.

Anderson had started out in the world of tuning working for BMC tuning firm Broadspeed in the 1960s, mainly working on Minis and Big Healeys for competition. He was well-known for focussing not just on the engines but on the whole performance package, so that the cars were faster, better in the corners, and better able to slow down.

Above Image: The interior of the car is set up for both road and track use, with race seats and harnesses, a roll cage, and a fire suppression system.

This conversion to “road race” Super Samuri specification on the car you see here is highly detailed, however the major work completed included an engine over-bore to 86mm for a capacity of 2,565cc, a gas-flowed big-valve head, a “works” high-performance cam, a Mangoletsi manifold, triple Weber 45DCOE carburetors, a heavy-duty transmission, and uprated brakes/suspension.

The external changes to the car are immediately noticeable, it’s been de-bumpered, fitted with extended wheel arches and spoilers, and finished in the correct Super Samuri livery with hand-applied signwriting. The car also has covered headlights, a roll bar, racing seats with harnesses, and an internal fire suppression system.

In its current trim this car is producing 183.1 bhp at 6,300 rpm as tested on the rolling-road at BD Engineering at Newington. It’s showing just 5,821 miles on the odometer and it’s road registered in the United Kingdom.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on Silverstone Auctions, it’s due to roll across the auction block on Saturday the 27th of March and at the time of writing there’s no price estimate.

Images courtesy of Silverstone Auctions

The post A Rare Datsun 240Z “Super Samuri” – A British High-Performance Special appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/datsun-240z-super-samuri/
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For Sale: A Ferrari 641 Formula 1 Car Body Cover – Ex-Alain Prost 1990

This is the body cover, or the upper part of the body from the legendary Ferrari 641 (Ferrari F1-90) Formula 1 car from 1990.

This would be the car that Alain Prost very nearly won the Driver’s World Championship in, he was neck-and-neck with Ayrton Senna in the standings until the famous crash between Prost and Senna at the Japanese Grand Prix in 1990.

The Ferrari 641 was essentially a development of the earlier John Barnard-designed Ferrari 640. Barnard is a British designer who was famously headhunted away from McLaren by Enzo Ferrari on the condition that he be allowed to work remotely from a new Ferrari head design office based in Shalford, England.

The work of Barnard and his team resulted in a car capable winning races and challenging for the championship. After the Ferrari 641 it would be a long seven years until Ferrari were once again able to battle for the championship.

Today the Ferrari 641 remains one of very few cars on display in the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Above Image: The original livery is all intact with a little patina due to the time passed, it’s important to note that the “Marlboro” cigarette logos have been blurred in the images due to cigarette advertising legislation.

This body cover measures in at 62 cm (24 1/2 in) high, 328 cm (129 in) long, and 142 cm (56 in) wide. The weight isn’t listed however it will be exceedingly light.

The auction listing mentions that it’s made of fiberglass which seems unusual, you’d expect it to be made from some blend of carbon fibre and Kevlar. It may be worth checking into this before placing any bids.

If you’d like to read more about this interesting piece of Formula 1 history you can click here to visit the listing on Artcurial. It’s due to cross the auction block in February with a price estimate of €20,000 to €30,000 – it’s likely going to make some well-heeled bidder an eye-catching wall feature.

Images courtesy of Artcurial

The post For Sale: A Ferrari 641 Formula 1 Car Body Cover – Ex-Alain Prost 1990 appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/ferrari-641-formula-1-car-body-cover/
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A Rare Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside – America’s Answer To The VW Type 2

The Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside was produced alongside its siblings in the Corvair 95 model family to challenge the popularity of the VW Type 2 – otherwise known as the VW Bus or VW Kombi.

In much the same way the Chevrolet Corvair passenger car had been developed with no small amount of inspiration from the VW Beetle, with its air-cooled, rear-mounted, horizontally-opposed engine, and swing axles.

The Corvair 95 Rampside

Of all the vehicles in the Corvair 95 family, the Corvair 95 Rampside would be produced in the lowest numbers – just 3,210 were made between 1961 and 1962 when it left production. The “Rampside” name for the model came from (as you may have guessed) the fact that it had a fold down ramp on the right-hand side.

This ramp allowed for easy loading and unloading including the ability to roll cargo down the ramp when needed – they were used by the Bell Telephone Company because it vastly simplified the process of loading and unloading of cable drums.

Above Image: The side ramp allows easy access to the cargo area.

The Corvair 95 series can be separated into two main varieties, the vans and the trucks. Both vehicles used largely identical underpinnings, and the vans proved more popular overall.

Often referred to as the Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier, the Corvair 95 vans could be ordered in a variety of configurations including the panel van (Corvan) with no side or rear windows, and the Greenbrier which had windows all around and could be set up with up to three rows of seats.

The Corvair 95 trucks came in two primary configurations, the Rampside and the Loadside. The Loadside had what was essentially a normal rear tailgate, and the Rampside had both the rear tailgate and the side ramp.

Although the Corvair 95 vehicles never really challenged to wildly popular VW Type 2 they did have a number of advantages.

Corvair 95 engines had a significant power advantage thanks to their larger six-cylinder 2.4 and 2.7 litre horizontally opposed engines, versus the 1.1 to 1.6 litre four-cylinder engines in the Volkswagens.

This additional power allowed them to carry more weight at higher speeds, though they were more expensive to buy and operate. Chevrolet kept the Corvair 95 series in production for a relatively short time, just five years from 1961 until 1965.

Above Image: The “Flat Six” air-cooled engine was largely the same unit used in the Corvair road car.

In recent years the surviving examples of the Corvair 95 series have become popular with collectors, sadly many succumbed to rust and neglect over the decades and it’s now relatively rare to find one in good original condition.

The 1962 Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside Shown Here

The vehicle you see here is an original Corvair 95 Rampside, it has a somewhat unusual history as it spent much of its life in Europe, it was bought in 2017 in France and shipped back to the United States for a full restoration before being shipped back to Europe.

The vehicle’s recent restoration is still immaculate throughout, it was finished with an eye-catching orange and white two-tone paint combination, and it has the Deluxe exterior trim package.

Due to the popularity of the Chevrolet Corvair and the parts commonality between the Corvair 95 and its road car sibling, it’s still relatively easy to source spare parts for most Corvair model variants.

If you’d like to read more about the Rampside you see here or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing on RM Sotheby’s, it’s due to roll across the auction block in February and at the time of writing there’s no estimate.

The post A Rare Chevrolet Corvair 95 Rampside – America’s Answer To The VW Type 2 appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/chevrolet-corvair-95-rampside/
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For Sale: A Reliant Regal Supervan III From “Only Fools and Horses”

This is a Reliant Regal Supervan III that was used during the filming of one of Britain’s most loved comedy TV series – Only Fools and Horses.

Although three-wheeled Reliants have long been a popular target for British comedy, featuring in Mr Bean, Top Gear, and Only Fools and Horses to name just three, the vehicles were built entirely seriously and used extensively in Britain in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Due to a tax loophole, the UK has been spawning unusual three-wheelers for over a century. Morgan three-wheelers were being produced all the way back in 1911, and they were the first vehicles produced by the storied marque.

The tax loophole is that three-wheeled vehicles are classed as motorcycles rather than cars. This means it’s far cheaper to buy them, register them, and insure them.

Reliant And The Legendary Supervan

Reliant developed almost their entire business model around this loophole and they achieved no small amount of success – over 105,000 Regal vans and saloon cars were built between 1963 and 1972, and that number doesn’t include the company’s other models.

Above Image: The unusual three-wheeled Reliant Regal Supervan was cheap to run but required careful cornering so as not to tip over.

The Reliant Regal first appeared in 1953 to replace the earlier Reliant Regent. The Regal initially had a wooden frame with an aluminum body all mounted to a steel box section chassis, and it was powered by a 747cc side-valve, water-cooled engine.

These cars were entirely built by hand and were cheap to run, so they became moderately popular and Reliant continued developing them over the 1950s and 1960s with a slow shift to cheaper fiberglass bodies and increasingly powerful engines – though the term “increasingly powerful” is being used loosely here, most Regals produced between 20 and 30 hp.

Reliant became industry experts in the use of the still new material called “fiberglass”, by 1956 they were building the Mark 3 Regal with a 100% fiberglass body. In 1962 they debuted the Regal 3/25 with a fiberglass body of unit construction doing away with the wooden frame entirely and making the the bodies in two main parts – the inner and outer body, which were then bonded together to form a rigid, lightweight structure.

The optimistically named Supervan III used by Derek “Del Boy” Trotter his younger brother Rodney Trotter was one of these 100% fiberglass Reliants, in many episodes of the show you can see that the props department has applied fake rust to the body of the car to give it a more rundown look, which of course amused the people who knew the car was made of glassfibre and therefore couldn’t rust.

Above Image: The interior of the Supervan III is spartan but functional, it can be equipped with seating for four, or the rear seats can be removed for carrying cargo.

Reliant offered the Supervan in three variants including the Supervan, the Supervan II, and the Supervan III. The use of the word “super” in the model name has been the subject of much comedy over the years due to the somewhat limited performance capabilities of the vehicles. That said, later versions of the Supervan III could reach speeds of 70+ mph (112 km/h), although you’d need to be a much braver man than me to try it.

Only Fools And Horses

Only Fools And Horses was a British sitcom that ran between 1981 and 2003. The show featured two hapless brothers named Del Boy and Rodney Trotter, Del Boy was the wheeler dealer and Rodney was the younger brother who was invariably pulled into Del Boy’s schemes.

The graphic on the side of Del Boy’s bright yellow Supervan III said “Trotters Independent Trading Co., New York – Paris – Peckam.” The Reliant was the families only form of transport for much of the show and it was central to many plot lines. A number of Supervan were used over the course of production, one was blown up, another jumped over a bridge and fell apart, and some just broke down.

Above Video: A classic scene from Only Fools And Horses showing the Reliant Supervan.

The 1972 Reliant Regal Supervan III Shown Here

The Reliant you see here is a 1972 Supervan III, it’s on offer from the private collection of John Mansfield, formerly of the BBC. It comes with some BBC documents and it’s believed to be a rare survivor from the television show – making it a highly collectible car in the United Kingdom.

It’s currently road registered in the UK with the registration number JPL 725K and it has 97,000 miles on the odometer. As you would expect the car has all the external patina that was added to Del Boy’s Reliants for comedic effect, as well as the suitcase in the roof rack, and some fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror.

At the time of writing there’s no estimate attached to the car, and it’s due to cross the auction block with Silverstone Auctions on the 27th of March. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Silverstone Auctions

The post For Sale: A Reliant Regal Supervan III From “Only Fools and Horses” appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/reliant-regal-supervan/
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Documentary: The Mini-Trac – Antarctica’s Quirky Tracked Mini

This film by Callum Gillies is about one of the strangest vehicles to ever turn a wheel on the icebound southern continent of Antarctica.

Called the Mini-Trac, this vehicle looks like it was built as a fairground attraction or for some long forgotten Hollywood film. In reality it was a surprisingly sensible vehicle for use on snow and ice due to its low weight, small size, and ease of maintenance.

Since the introduction of the first Mini in 1959 the little car has taken over the world, millions were made and they’ve been driven on all seven continents one of very few cars that can make that claim.

Perhaps the most important contribution the Mini made to the automotive world was the layout it pioneered – it uses a transversely mounted inline-four cylinder engine driving the front wheels.

This layout is now used by most new road cars manufactured in the world, and it contributed to the Mini’s unusually spacious cabin. With the development of the Mini-Trac it also allowed the front wheel drive system to operate the front sprocket wheel that propelled the vehicle forwards.

I won’t go into too much detail about the Mini-Trac here as I don’t want to ruin Callum’s film, it’s a fascinating story and if you do know the whereabouts of any of the surviving Mini-Tracs please get in touch with us via the Contact Us page and we’ll tell Callum.

Read more about the history of the Mini here or click here to subscribe to Callum’s YouTube channel.