When someone tells you they drive a hybrid do your eyes light up and your tail start wagging as you picture a 327-powered Bizzarrini driven by the lady from the AT&T commercials? Or, do you scowl as if they just offered you a bite of their cat turd sammich, and picture a Prius driven by a Birkenstock-wearing Ed Begley, Jr on his way back from a hemp juice high colonic?
If it’s the former, then we have much to discuss.
Before the term was besmirched by the environmentalists and “hypermilers” hybrid used to mean a beautiful and impractical foreign-made body carrying some form of large and typically pushrod-equipped V8, built in the U.S. of A., or maybe Canada. The form factor arose in the fifties with cars like the Allard, but really took off in the Sixties as American V8s found their legs and foreign (mostly European) cottage car makers started sprouting like mushrooms, seemingly overnight. Considering that many are thought of as members of the most illustrious car club known to man, what do you think is the greatest hybrid in the world?
Image: Pinterest
Hooniverse Asks: What's History's Greatest American Engine/Foreign Car Hybrid?
By Robert Emslie
Mar 15, 2016
Jeff Glucker
One of my personal dream cars (that unfortunately will always be a dream given the coin they bring), Ghia 450SS. Sure it’s mostly a Plymouth Barracuda, but those lines. Those beautiful, beautiful lines…
http://mint2me.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Ghia-450SS-Front-top-off.jpg
“Sure it’s mostly a Plymouth Barracuda”
You say that like it’s a bad thing…
The one with the greatest engine, of course.
http://blogs.c.yimg.jp/res/blog-6f-57/komgarage2006/folder/1472318/59/45130259/img_0?1173018383
O HAI.
The Bristol Fighter, packing a Chryco V10 that would have otherwise wound up in a Viper. It’s not as quick as a Viper due to portliness, but Bristol claimed a 210mph top speed. Unknown whether that’s independently verified.
There was a turbocharged concept that never made it to production with over 1k horseponies, and Bristol claimed a 270mph top speed. Lew-duh-kris.
http://www.topcarrating.com/bristol/2007-bristol-fighter-t-4.jpg
https://www.boc.net/page.php?currPage=cars&sc=5 for some info. Wikipedia says 13 cars made, other sources say 15. Max Bostrom, the designer used to work for Brabham F1 and he designed a zero lift at both ends, car with a drag coefficient of 0.28. Mercedes Benz W124s and W220s given 500+ bhp can easily achieve 200mph, they have a similar drag coefficient and more frontal area. A McLaren F1 has 625bhp, a 0.31 Cd and a little less frontal area, ( much wider, but lower) and is rev limited to 240 mph i.e.redline at top speed, so yes 210 mph top speed sounds about right. They certainly didn’t make as many Bristols at the end as they did in their heyday.
http://www.bristolcars.co.uk/Banner/Cars-Past_04.jpg
That is an extraordinary photo – they only built 620 Bristol 401’s in 5 years so that must be 6 month’s worth in that one photo!
Things happen at a slower pace when they’re done by hand?
Of course, but there are what look like 8 painted body shells lined up in the centre of the shot plus another batch at the far right hand side, presumably in holding; this seems a disproportionate number of their annual output to have on hand at one time, part-way through the build process (freshly painted and susceptible to damage, and taking up space). Not six month’s worth, but I count 42 cars in the shot.
I suppose it depends in what size batches Touring delivered the bodies from Italy.
The market would probably say Bizzarrini GT 5300, one of which recently topped $1M at auction.
The Cadillac-engined Allard K2.
Carroll Shelby raced a Cad-Allard. Coincidence? I think not. That and its stellar race results is why the car needs to be in the discussion for GOAT.
I’ll give my vote to the Intermeccanica Italia.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/1972_Italia_Spyder.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/db/02/58/db0258657d2484dde6c07b6e2daf36c3.jpg
Not the greatest, but likely the least expected.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NozKTb16H1c/Tz-gMD2YFLI/AAAAAAAAI74/Ml8WYxCsNMg/s1600/mg%2B1.jpg
This packed a 32v Ferd mod 4.6L, yes?
Standard ohc 4.6 2v from the GT. That’s where the 260 comes from in the name.
Yes, though a ZT/ZT-T 390 with the supercharged, 4-valve “Terminator” 4.6 was planned.
I bet those engines ended up in the SV.
They made some supercharged models, 3 were included in the liquidators auction in Australia. I don’t know if any were sold before then.
Is this a Jaguar?
MG ZT 260… check it out.
Was a FWD, converted to RWD. Odd duck.
Wow, talk about platform engineering.
The rumor is the MG was developed in part with the BMW 5 which left a trans tunnel and rear subframe that could be converted to RWD.
It really is an interesting car.
Wasn’t it born as a botched BMW 6 labelled Rover 75?
I think it was more along the lines of the Pacifica and M Class. Enough wiggle room for FWD/AWD/RWD.
The 75 and ZT were twins. Not sure if any 75 V8 was created.
That would have been cool…
Of course there was a Rover 75 V8.
http://i615.photobucket.com/albums/tt237/jskitter/Rover-75_V8_2004_1024x768_wallpaper_01_zps611bb13e.jpg
http://www.yakimamagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Heres-Johnny.jpg
Auto only on the Rover, (maybe one manual made.)
My uncle owned a six cylindre 75 for a long time, bought new. BRG paint and tan interior. Very nice car, but the “faked dandyism” inside was just too much to bear. It’s from his dealer that I heard that BMW was developing a 6 series at the time they bought Rover, but they found out the car would do better there. I guess the whole adventure was a solid miscalculation.
No.
BMW stuffed up.
They never understood Rover and it’s design heritage and thought they were buying BMC/Austin Morris with LandRover attatched. They botched the launch at the first motor show by insulting the workers and management and Britain in general.
A truer test of the car’s worth was achieved when,(specially in Europe) Rover 75s vastly outsold the Jaguar S-Type which was launched at exactly the same time and motor show and which had roughly twice as many dealers selling it for about the same price to a similar prospective customer.
Actually, my uncle went for the Jag first, with the XJ in mind. But with his slightly homeless-on-a-binge dressing style, he wasn’t treated well (or at all) at Jaguar, and went over to Rover quite quickly. What they didn’t know, and shouldn’t even had to think about – all customers are supposed to be treated equally – is that he earns a head-of-medical-department-salary. That can be a substantial lump of money in good old Germany. So maybe the desperation at Rover at the time lead to a much more friendly approach to customers than they had across the street at that other foreign-owned British make.
Rumour not backed by fact according to Rover engineers, like the one about all the first new MINI engineering being done in Germany by BMW. But it fits BMW’s marketing message.
Judging by the side marker lights, that’s the prototype Pantera for the U.S. market.
Another shot of the Intermeccanica Italia Spyder:
http://www.supercars.net/gallery/119513/1860/778868.jpg
The NEEEEWWWWWWW Allante!
Has your car been on a plane (other than a certain KV Mini)?
It also inspired the Bundy Bounce.
http://sfcitizen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/bb.jpg
As far as I know, only my KV parts car has been on a plane. I believe Bruce Weiner brought the other one from France as part of a large group of microcars that he had crammed into a shipping container.
Definitely not the greatest, but maybe had the best american engines so far.
http://www.zastavki.com/pictures/1920×1200/2011/Auto_Other_auto_wallpapers_Spada-Codatronca_Monza_031006_.jpg
http://www.conceptcarz.com/images/Bertone/09-Bertone-Mantide-DV-10-Q_02.jpg
The Devon GTX was cool too.
http://o.aolcdn.com/dims-global/dims3/GLOB/legacy_thumbnail/750×422/quality/95/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/08/02-devon-gtx-live.jpg
What is that thing?
Spada Codatronca
Bertone Mantide
Devon GTX
The top two are fancy bodied zr-1s and the last is a clean bodied viper.
I had (and may still have somewhere!) a 1/43 scale diecast, in this color:
http://mycarquest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/AUSE.jpg
Iso Rivolta, with Corvette power.
Got the same diecast! Does yours also had a caravan behind it?
Can I cause trouble and suggest that it was every Aston Martin since 1999 with not one, but two Duratec V6s under the hood?
If that is the case then everything with a Rover/Buick V-8 qualifies.
Well yes, but it was developed so far beyond the original Buick 215 that it only barely qualifies as the same engine.
The original Aston Martin Duratec*2 was identical in displacement, vee angle, and power output to two Duratec 3.0s.
The Sunbeam Tiger, of course.
http://www.wheelsacrossthepond.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Sunbeam-Tiger.jpg
Ford GT Mk I.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1969-06-01_Ford_GT_40_von_Kelleners-J%C3%B6st.jpg
Supervan, too.
http://blog.caranddriver.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Ford-Supervan-1.jpg
Tuesday-ish answer.
http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/35814/file-13815406-jpg/images/morgan-3-wheeler.jpg
A big dream that I won’t likely be able to fulfill ever:
http://www.bildilla.no/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/facel-vega.jpg
The truth is that it’s a toss-up between the Facel Vega and the Cad-Allard.
Another odd-baller.
http://cdn.stangtv.com/files/2010/08/shogun1.jpg
But…but…”history’s greatest”?
Hang on, hang on.
So, it’s a DOHC Japanese-designed engine based on an OHV Ford engine, which is then stuffed into the wrong end of an American-branded, Korean-built, Japanese-engineered vehicle.
My head hurts.
Exactly.
This isn’t the greatest but it’s so much the greatest. 427 Frua: basically a Cobra with a cabin (powered by a Ford 427, 428, or 429).
http://cdn.boldride.com/ac-cobra/1973/thumb/ac-428-frua-coupe.654×436.May-27-2013_07.33.21.005192.jpg
Fun factoid time: this car is similar to the Maserati Mistral (also Frua bodied).
I sort of assumed this would be some low-hanging fruit.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/AC_Cobra_-_50th_Annyversary_Cobra_Limited_Edition_CSX8000_(02).jpg
Away w’ye and yer obvious answers! We’re all in here trying to out-obscure one another!
I didn’t list it because most of them are US-built bodies housing Chevy engines.
… and rightly so on the latter.
Darn, I got all excited that I made it this far down the list without seeing one of these and thought I’d get to bring out the super low-hanging fruit. Oh well, well-played.
Monteverdi High Speed with a 440. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1971_Monteverdi_375C.jpg
Toyota Land Cruiser BJ used the Type B 6 cylinder, which was a licensed copy of the Chevy Stovebolt straight six. https://www.google.com/search?q=toyota+land+cruiser+bj&client=ms-android-att-us&prmd=ivsn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjVyZPu_MLLAhXKFx4KHa8_BPwQ_AUIBygB&biw=360&bih=559#imgrc=DRmSFVpHLnDqOM%3A
Iso Grifo
http://www.oldtimeraustralia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/g34.jpgp://www.oldtimeraustralia.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/g34.jpg
When I hear that name, all I think of are the hideous hood scoops some of them have. Completely destroys a wonderfully organic design.
http://s.petrolicious.com/2014/market-finds/05-may/iso-grifo-1.jpg
Only the “7 Litri” version had that. As the name suggests, they needed it to accomodate their 7 liters engine.
I too prefer the cleaner lines of the “lesser” models.
That’s always looked like an accordion-sided pop-up to me, which results in a strange urge to push it down until it locks back into place flush with the rest of the hood.
Yes! It looks very much like something that’s supposed to be pushed down.
Finally! Can’t believe the thread went this far without it being mentioned and in a similar vein, the Bizzarini 5300GT
https://www.classicdriver.com/sites/default/files/styles/two_third_slider/public/cars_images/147_1_1.jpg?itok=Gb8y39h2
Here’s a Bizzarini version with the single headlight per side nose. Try this in your Ferrari without it breaking.
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–HMmBcmzY–/c_fit,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/19fz9y9980r4sgif.gif
When Britain meets Chrysler and Chevy.
I love Marcos’s (what ever the plural i?s Marci? Group adjective: An Imelda of.. ), the thinking mans TVR.
Quite fancied the idea of an older Ford V6 one, thinking they’d be relatively affordable relative to a classic TVR or Lotus. They’re not. 🙁
The Pantera’s prettier parent, the Mangusta. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N5ZzMGkSFFk/U-tU_-KcWWI/AAAAAAAAA64/IyNmAyRdrO0/s1600/1969-De-Tomaso-Mangusta-1.jpg
Fun fact : the Mangusta was to be sold as a Shelby. Then some stuff happened, the deal fell through and that’s how the car got it’s name : the mongoose is the only animal that eats cobras in the wild.
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–jDtK8Nzc–/1325451229648210318.jpg
And as I recently was reminded was in Kill Bill where the Mongoose wasn’t lost on the character names.
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–N7aqwjGF–/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/18ltyweqh4w8sjpg.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Apollo_5000_GT_Coupe.jpg
I’m not sure if the Apollo GT qualifies as being a foreign car, since the bodies were made in Italy by Intermeccanica, but the companies that installed the Buick V8 and sold them were based in Oakland, later in Dallas, and finally in Pasadena.
You can’t fool me, that’s a Thorndyke Special!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CApsEXsWQAA-h9m.jpg
This is the reason the internet exists.
Facel Vega II
I’m mobile at the moment, so could somebody help me with a courtesy embed or two?
My votes are for the Gordon Keeble GT,
And the astonishingly beautiful and impressively obscure Franco-American Monica.
http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/classic_cars_archive/60_gordonkeeble.jpg
Gordon Keeble GT
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/170/433463504_43cb22f36d_b.jpg
Monica
Much obliged!
And the Monica brought to us by Chris Lawrence who later brought us this.
http://roa.h-cdn.co/assets/cm/14/47/546b52ec844ef_-_morgan-aero-8-lg.jpg
Perhaps not the greatest, but one of the more unusual ones: Panther 6.
http://oldconceptcars.com/wp-content/uploads/Panther_Six_1977_3.jpg
Genuine 1970’s kitsch!
I had to look up what engine it had – a 500 ci Cadillac mid-mounted with a UPP transaxle
I don’t know whether it’s the greatest, but the Nash-Healey was certainly super, man.
http://www.jimnolt.com/graphics/GeoNASHHEALEY.jpg
Can’t wait for the follow up “Hooniverse Asks:”
Foreign engines in American cars.
(Nash Metro for one, BMW Diesel in Lincolns…. just a thought)
How strict would the rules be on what is American? Pretty much any captive import would have an American nameplate and a foreign engine.
Chassis of North American source.
That’s how I was able to sneak in the SHOgun in this exercise,.
So captive imports that are made in the US should count? (Think NUMMI)
For the sake, yes.
That’ll be a short list.
Chrysler had a lot of engines made my diamler, hyundai and now fiat.
Also, NAFTA happened. That list ain’t too short.
For the sake AND the bourbon: NUMMI was only partly Japanese owned. 😉
I’m taking huge liberties with this, but the T-Car was of European origin, and 500+ cu in is pretty American.
http://photos1.blogger.com/img/292/1503/400/hotrod.jpg
I’m going to take liberties too, a foreign Ford car with an American engine… 1972 XA Ford Falcon GT-HO Phase IV, the car that was killed after one pilot build car went down the line due to political pressure. Why? Well the 170 mph top speed had a bit to do with it! (pictured one of the 3 aborted factory race team builds)
By that reckoning, I’m surprised that no-ones mentioned the GT40, which I believe Lola in the UK built the chassis for, being essentially an evolution of an earlier Lola design.
http://classiccarclubmanhattan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/CCC-cars-Ford-GT40_1.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/2004_Pontiac_GTO_2_–_02-26-2010.jpg/1280px-2004_Pontiac_GTO_2_–_02-26-2010.jpg By IFCAR – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9582709
Do race cars with no road car counterpart count? In which case, the Lotus Type 49 and pretty much most of the F1 grid for the 60s and 70s running a Ford DFV (if that counts as a fully American engine given Cosworths involvment?) http://www.conceptcarz.com/images/Lotus/67-Lotus-49-num5-DV-11-MH-01.jpg
Not sure the DFV would count, did Ford have any involvement beyond writing cheques?
The Opel Diplomat V8 used a Chevy 327 engine.
On an Opel tip, does the Opel Speedster Count? Built in the UK by Lotus (essentially an Elise 1.5), powered by a GM Ecotec 2.2, both NA and turbo versions. Then again these particular engines, whille the same as what you’d find in a Chevy Copalt could be found in many regular Opels and was probably assembled in the UK or Germany so where do you draw the line on what’s an American engine?
http://srv2.betterparts.org/images/opel-speedster-turbo-07.jpg
On the topic of not quite an Elise, there’s also the Tesla Roadster, manufactured as a glider from Lotus, then assembled with a US motor.
Forgot about that with the Model S and X hogging the limelight these days. Also Detroit Electric SP01 if that’s a thing and not vaporware. http://www.topgear.com/sites/default/files/styles/fit_1960x1102/public/news/carousel/2015/04/Large%20Image_9357.jpg?itok=axe-g8nE
Still no Jensen Interceptor?
Shame!
Originally with Chrysler V8s( from Canada) , recently relaunched with the ubiquitous LS, (and Jag IRS)
http://cdn.wp.driving.co.uk/get/2014/12/JensonInterceptor.jpg
and of course the AWD ABS FF version with the longer wheelbase to fit in the extra hardware, hence the extra vent.
https://www.joc.org.uk/images/ff3.jpg
Excellent piece. Quite a few I’d forgotten about
Let me add the LaForza (Ford)