Rare Find: 1984 Lincoln Continental with Factory Installed BMW Straight-Six Turbo Diesel

Did you know that Lincoln offered its mid-1980s Continental sedan and Mark VII coupe models with a factory-installed BMW straight-six turbo diesel? It may sound bizarre -to say the least- but it is true.

The BMW-sourced 2.4-liter inline-six turbo diesel engine, which was used in the shark-nosed 1980s 524TD, delivered an output of 115HP and was backed by a ZF four-speed automatic transmission. It was available optionally in 1984 and 1985 on the Continental sedan and Mark VII coupe models instead of the standard 140HP 4.9-liter gasoline-fed V8.

One of these extremely rare [since few buyers opted for the diesel] BMW-powered Lincolns has been found for sale on Craigslist with the asking price set at $2,800.

Here's the seller's description:

"This is a limited edition from Lincoln, it is only 1 of 2500 ever made. It has a 2.4 liter BMW turbo diesel form the factory. This car is in very good condition, It has always been stored for the winters and has no rust. The mileage is unknown because the odometer is digital in it dosen't work. It runs and drive great. It was purchased from an estate sale about 5-7 years ago. This car is all original. Seats are NOT ripped but worn a bit. This is a Rare car you will not find another one of these for a long time."

Via: VWvortex , Source: Craigslist

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Found: Oldest Porsche Import in the USA is a 1952 356 Cabriolet

The owner of the "Strawberry Red" 356 Cabriolet pictured above has earned the bragging rights for owning the oldest Porsche model sold in America. The discovery was made as part of the My Porsche Classic Search, which was launched in August to celebrate the brand's 60th anniversary.

The Porsche Classic Search was conducted online with owners having to submit documentation that their Porsche was one of the earliest in its category to be retailed in the USA.

The oldest documented sale was this rare 1952 356 Cabriolet owned by Dr. Robert Wilson of Oklahoma City, Okla. According to the company, Wilson's car was imported in November of 1952 by Austrian businessman, Max Hoffman, in New York, who brought the first Porsche cars to the U.S. beginning in 1950.

The 356 Cabriolet, which is powered by a 60-horsepower 1.5 liter engine, was discovered in a salvage yard by Wilson many years after landing on this side of the Atlantic. Wilson bought the car and painstakingly restored it to its original condition.

Porsche said its search also yielded the discovery of an even rarer and older model, a blue 1950 356 Cabriolet owned by Richard Brumme of Annapolis, Md, which was one of the very first series production 356s built in Stuttgart, after the company relocated from Gmund, Austria. However, this car was not actually retailed in America so the title went to Wilson's 356.

Aside from the oldest Porsche sold in the US, the company also made a list of the oldest models in each range:

1965 911: Barry August of Clarksville, Md.


1965 912: Steve Torkelsen of Wilton, Conn.


1970 914: Ralph Stoesser of Marco Island, Fla.


1977 924: Jay Hoover of New Haven, Ind.


1977 928: Jim Doerr of Richmond, Va.


1983 944: John Denning of Covington, Wash.


1992 968: Jeffrey Coe of Trumball, Conn.


1997 Boxster: David Adrian of Worcester, Mass.


2004 Cayenne: Adam Reichard of Magnolia, Texas


2005 Carrera GT: Robert Ingram of Durham, N.C.


2006 Cayman: Eugenie Thomas of Martinez, Calif.

The Stuttgart-based firm said it plans to honor the owners of all of these cars with an exclusive badge issued by the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, and by featuring photos of the cars at the new "Sixty Years of Porsche in America" exhibit, which opened in the museum on Oct. 12. Furthermore, Wilson's 356 Convertible will make its way to Porsche's LA Auto Show stand in November.

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Motor Trend Classic resurrected, goes quarterly

We were just talking with a friend about his Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI. "How on earth did you afford that?" is the highly sanitized version of the question we posed to him. Answer: He bought used, and then explained to us that he would never buy a new car again, no matter what. A decision that's fine by us, but which buff book is our pal going to read if he's unwilling to ever walk into a new car dealership again?


Meet – or re-meet as the case may be – Motor Trend Classic. The fine folks at Motor Trend tried their hand at this classic car thing a few years back in 2005 but were forced to shutter the magazine in 2006. But that was then (and they were trying to sell 12 issues a year. Correction: Motor Trend Classic launched with two issues in 2005 and then went to six issues for 2006). Motor Trend Classic every three months is now.


The cost to entry is a good bit higher than your standard car mag (roughly three times). However, the new magazine is (thankfully) largely free of advertising and it features a unique format and higher quality paper. Hence the high price: $14.95 per issue.


Also of note, Motor Trend will be using this weekend's Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance to relaunch the Classic magazine. In fact, Amelia Island will feature a special "Motor Trend Class" devoted to cars found on the cover of Motor Trend, including the gorgeous streamlined Norman Timbs Special seen above that graced the cover of the October 1948 issue. Pretty nifty.

Press Release

Norman Timbs Special Headlines First-Ever Class For The Concours

JACKSONVILLE, FL; MARCH 1, 2010 --- The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance Foundation, Inc. announced today that it will feature a class devoted to Motor Trend cover cars of the past during the 15th annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, March 12-14, 2010. It is believed to be the first time a concours has featured cover cars as a judged class.
The Motor Trend class will include:

• 1948 Norman Timbs Special - October
• 1948 Davis Devin - August
• 1949 Kurtis Sports Car - Issue 1, Volume 1
• 1951 LeSabre - March
• 1953 Hudson Italia Prototype - December
• 1955 Ghia Streamline X "Gilda" - September
• 1955 Flajole Forerunner - September
• 1956 Firebird II Concept Car - April

Motor Trend will use the Amelia weekend to re-launch Motor Trend Classic, a publication devoted to the great cars and automotive designs of the past, according to Matt Stone, the publication's new editor.

Headlining the class will be the Norman Timbs Special. Constructed in the late 40s over a period of about three years, it was the cover car for the October 1949 issue of Motor Trend. General Motors will be displaying the LaSabre, created by their famed auto stylist Harley Earl, along with their futuristic Firebird II Concept vehicle, which took a number of styling queues from the jet designs of the '50s.

"The idea for this class came about when I was talking with Ken Gross about displaying a large shot of the MT cover that featured the Timbs Special, and he suggested doing an entire class of cover cars; I thought that was a great idea," says Amelia Founder and Co-Chairman Bill Warner. "Besides the Timbs car, people will love the Hudson Italia and the Ghia Streamline X Gilda. In future shows, I can see us doing a class for many of the automotive magazines out there from hot rods to muscle cars."

Tickets for the 15th annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance are $45 for adults purchased in advance and $50 the day of the show. Students ages 12-18 are $20, and children under 12 are admitted at no charge when accompanied by a paying adult. Event tickets can be ordered in advance at www.ameliaconcours.org or can be purchased at the door.

From Concept To Reality: Ford's 2005 Mustang Coupe and Convertible

Ford's Mustang, the quintessential pony car, is one of the oldest nameplates in the business. During its 45+ year run, the Mustang has provided a variety of power trains under its hood, from 4-cylinders to coachbuilt (and Lamborghini-sourced) V10s.

It has also provided people with near-endless variety. From the mainstream Shelbys and California Specials (both of which have returned for up-and-coming red-light racers), to lesser-known variants like the Twister and High Country Specials, the Mustang has always offered something for everyone.

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SHELBY GT500CR PROTOTYPE MAKES FIRST APPEARANCE IN VEGAS

Classic Recreations 1967 G.T.500CR makes first public appearance in Las Vegas the same weekend as the NASCAR Shelby American Race


Yukon, Okla. (Feb 25th, 2010) - Less than four months after custom coachbuilder Classic Recreations announced the Officially-Licensed 1967 Shelby G.T.500CR continuation car program at the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the first prototype made its debut in the same city but with a very different setting.


Details of the reborn supercar have been a closely guarded secret, but on February 25th, 2010, the first GT500CR prototype was photographed near the Shelby American facility in Las Vegas, prior to an all-Shelby weekend where car owners and NASCAR fans gathered to celebrate the legendary mark during the NASCAR Shelby American GT350 stock car race.


The G.T.500CR is the first official 1967 Shelby Mustang continuation car ever built, and each hand-built vehicle features a 427 cubic inch (7.0L) engine, model specific bodywork, custom paint and hand-stitched upholstery.
Every has an official Shelby serial number, badges and will be included in the Shelby World Registry. The prototype that appeared in Las Vegas is the 545 horsepower Performance Model, featuring a fuel injected, naturally aspirated engine, modern coil-over suspension with rack-and-pinion steering and more.


About Classic Recreations

Classic Recreations founder Jason Engel, and his company's team of skilled technicians and craftsmen, have been modifying and custom fabricating high-performance vehicles for more than 10 years. Each built-to-order G.T.500CR takes approximately four months (nearly 2,500 man hours) of painstaking assembly. Find out more about how to get your own hand built vehicle at www.1967fastback.com.


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eBay Find of the Day: C/D Pinto Project Race Car

Time was, automotive magazines used to do stuff that was awesome. This IMSA Pinto is evidence of that. Car and Driver built this car in 1974 to illustrate that racing on a big scale for a modest budget was possible.The car grabbed the pole position in half the races it entered that season and won outright at its second race at Charlotte. Surely more powerful than the emissions- and oil-crisis choked street Pintos of the day, this race car is better suited to road courses than hugging the wall at Talladega, but it's likely loads of fun either way.


Although the car itself is built from a ’72 Pinto, the team chose to use the larger 2.3-liter I-4 introduced in 1974, and had its block modified by Doug Fraser Racing Engines. A number of other changes, including a Corvette radiator, full roll cage, tall 4.10:1 and 4.30:1 rear axle ratios, and brakes and a steering box cribbed from a ’74 Pinto, were all part of the recipe.


Overall, the experiment was a success -- the Pinto won its second race (at Charlotte), and managed to garner two pole positions in the four races it was entered in. Although it was relatively underpowered, the car’s forte was handling, and it could more than hold its own on tight road courses.


The car had been sold off by Car and Driver back in 1974, and was subsequently restored by Don Sherman, now of Automobile Magazine, but a C/D alum, in 2005. Sherman had his nostalgic fun with the car before selling it to Fox Motorsports. Fox has added some more beans to the Pinto's powerplant, and now has it up for sale on eBay Motors. You've got seven days to scrape some dough together and go vintage racing in the car that started Pat Bedard's respectable – if short – racing career.

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Largest Parade of Alfa Romeos

To celebrate Alfa Romeo's 100th birthday, one of the Italian firm's UK dealers, Allams Alfa Romeo in Espom Surrey, attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest ever parade of the brands cars this past weekend. To break the record, a minimum of 200 cars were required to take part in the two-mile drive.

Alfa Romeo owners responded to the dealer's call and on Sunday 7th February, a total of 312 cars including an Alfa SZ Coupe and a Spider 2000 Veloce, arrived at the Epsom dealership shattering the previous record.



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Lancia Delta HF Integrale EVO Stretch Limousine

With the popularity of the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Evo, it'd be easy to dismiss the likes of the Lancia Delta HF Integrale as a relic of the past. But make no mistake about it: The roadgoing version of this Italian rally machine is as exotic and desirable as any supercar to come from the same country. All the more reason, then, to be appalled at this unfortunate conversion job.


It appears that some garage in Italy has taken an Integrale (possibly two, according to reports), chopped it up and stretched it into a limousine. If you're thinking that an all-wheel drive hot hatch is the worst possible candidate for limo-ification, we're with you. Whether the conversion job retains the all-wheel drive system remains a big question mark, however, with power coming from either the Integrale's eight-valve 2.0-liter turbo four or the Evo's 16-valve version.


If the two limos are based on original Delta HF Integrale cars or on standard Delta hatchbacks, and if they feature the Integrale's four-wheel drive system or not are questions that we don't have the answers to.


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From Concept to Reality: Honda S2000 Roadster [Video]

Japanese manufacturers, residents of the BLAND unit in the trauma ward that is the modern auto industry (for the most part), put out some huge and extremely popular sports cars in the 90's.

Toyota had the twin-turbo Supra; Mitsubishi had the 3000GT VR-4; Mazda had the twin-turbo RX-7 and Nissan had the twin-turbo 300ZX and Skyline GT-Rs. And Honda? Well, they tried to pick a fight with Ferrari with their naturally-aspirated V6-powered NSX, but as for the common man? That's where the SSM concept stepped in, foreshadowing the S2000 roadster.

1995 HONDA SSM CONCEPT


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Mercedes-Benz museum showcases 120 years of automotive history

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is the only museum in the world that can document in a single continuous timeline over 120 years of auto industry history from its very beginnings to the present day. On nine levels and covering a floor space of 16,500 square metres, the museum presents 160 vehicles and over 1,500 exhibits. As a place of innovation, it also demonstrates that history can point the way ahead.


The exhibition not only presents the fascinating history of the Mercedes-Benz brand, it also affords illuminating insights into the future. This dual function is also reflected in the architecture of the Mercedes-Benz Museum, designed by the UNStudio of Dutch architects van Berkel and Bos, Amsterdam.


The building's interior is inspired by the double helix structure of the DNA spiral that carries the human genome. This in turn illustrates the Mercedes-Benz brand's philosophy of originality – to continuously create radically new products to advance the cause of human mobility.


During a two-hour tour of the exhibition, visitors experience a unique journey through automotive history. Transported by lift to the uppermost level of the museum, the visitor arrives back in the year 1886, where two museum tours gradually spiral their way down through the extensive collection and back to the museum exit.


The first of the tours consists of seven Legend rooms which narrate the chronological history of the brand. The second tour groups the wealth of vehicles on display into five separate Collection rooms, which thematically document the breadth and diversity of the brand portfolio and collection.


The visitor can switch from one tour to the other at any time. Both tours finish at the banked curve entitled Silver Arrows – Races & Records. The exhibition is rounded off by the Fascination of Technology display, which offers a glimpse into day-to-day work at Mercedes-Benz and also presents topics concerning the future of the automobile.

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