1966 – The Unmuffled Auto News

July 8, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, New car info, Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!, The History of Autos

How the Lamborghini V12 Has Evolved Over the Years

Lamborghini is perhaps best known for it’s screaming V12-powered supercars that seem to defy physics. Here’s how these screaming machines have evolved.

1966 Lamborghini Miura: The first Lamborghini supercar was the Miura, which debuted in 1966 at the Geneva Motor Show. It was the first of the big Lamborghinis. Of course, the big ones are the ones that scare you just by unlocking them. That’s how you know a car is fast. The Miura made 350 horsepower, which was more than enough to move a car that weighed under 3,000 pounds.
It’s one of the most captivating designs of the 20th century, especially in red.
1969 Lamborghini Miura S: It was basically a facelifted Miura with an extra 20 horsepower. Oh, and Miles Davis crashed one when he was high on cocaine. A man very revered in the racing world, James Glickenhaus, pulled the high and bloody Davis out of his totaled Lamborghini.
Lamborghini really delivered with this one…
1971 Lamborghini Miura SV: The final iteration of the Miura brought the power up to a then-absurd 385 horsepower, and lost the frilly eyelashes that previously surrounded the headlights. Lamborghini also came up with what was then a novel idea, splitting up the lubrication for the gearbox and transmission.
This was the best iteration of the Miura. The most power, lightest weight, and all of the kinks were ironed out.
1974 Lamborghini Countach: The curvaceous Miura was replaced by the blocky Countach, a car that looks like it was designed by a high school geometry student. It was a good car, but it was not without it’s flaws. Visibility was like looking out of a concrete bunker 50 feet below the ground. Another complaint was that the car was a much better pinup than it was a car. Just about every boy in the 1970s had a poster of a Lamborghini Countach hanging on his bedroom wall. The first version of the Countach had no massive wing and 370 horsepower.
1978 Lamborghini Countach LP400S: The LP400S lost 20 horsepower, but it also got wider wheels. The 1974-1977 models had skinny little wheels and tires that had no grip to them. That famous gigantic rear wing was an option that looked super cool, but cost you 10 mph.
1982 Lamborghini Countach LP500S: Just about the only change to the 1982 version of the Countach was the introduction of a 4.7-liter V12.
1985 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV: This is my dream Countach. The engine was a 455-horsepower 5.2-liter V12. Interestingly enough, when Lamborghini switched from carburetors to fuel injection on the very same engine, horsepower dropped to a still-impressive 414 horsepower.
It should be obvious why this is my dream Countach…
1988 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition: It was mechanically identical to the LP5000 QV, but it had a body that Horacio Pagani (yes, that Horacio Pagani) redesigned. It was a love it or hate it design, and most people fell on the side of hate. I don’t know why. It’s still blocky, but it’s a good looking car.
1990 Lamborghini Diablo: Marcello Gandini started the design, and Chrysler’s Tom Gale finished it. It had a 5.7-liter V12 cranking out 492 horsepower. It’s top speed was a then-diabolical 202 mph, which exceeded the initial target by six mph. It didn’t come with power steering.
I’m not sure I’d want to go 202 mph in a car with no power steering, especially with no electronic nannies to save me.
1993 Lamborghini Diablo VT: The Diablo VT was the first AWD car from Lamborghini. It could send up to 25 percent of it’s power to the front wheels, which drastically helped it’s traction. It also had redesigned intakes to improve cooling, a new interior, and various cosmetic changes to differentiate it from the “base” Diablo.
1995 Lamborghini Diablo SV: The SV was supposed to be the most diabolical Diablo out there. Because of this, it had 510 horsepower and RWD. It was also the cheapest Diablo available, which really doesn’t make sense.
Yes, those wheels are stock, and super cool!
1995 Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster: It’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a Lamborghini Diablo VT with an electric folding carbon fiber top. Power went up to 530 horsepower for 1998.
1999 Lamborghini Diablo: The 1999 model was the first year that the Diablo didn’t have pop-up headlights. Instead, the SV model, which was the base model, had the same headlights as the Nissan 300ZX. I’m not joking. It also got a new interior, ABS, and power was now at 530 horsepower. The Diablo VT got the same upgrades.
1999 Lamborghini Diablo GT: Talk about absurd. The Diablo GT was basically a race car for the road. It was stripped down, the bodywork was substantially different from other Diablos, and it had a new 6.0-liter V12 making 575 horsepower. It was incredibly fast.
Looks can be deceiving. It might look somewhat similar to the 1995 SV model, but it is very different.
2000 Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0: The final iteration of the Diablo got a redesign that made it look much smoother, thanks to Audi’s purchase of the company. The more subdued design, coupled with the engine from the Diablo GT made it a much better car to drive and look at.
2002 Lamborghini Murcielago: Yes, I know that it means “bat” in Spanish, but it is still a very intriguing car. Don’t let the name get to you. It was the first V12-powered Lamborghini to be designed and engineered in-house. It had 572 horsepower, and was only available with AWD. It also made extensive use of active aero and active cooling to keep the exterior of the car relatively clean-looking. It was also the first time that an automated manual transmission was offered in a Lamborghini. A roadster followed in 2004, with an overly complicated manual roof.
2006 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640: The big Murcielago now made 632 horsepower from its 6.5-liter V12, and it had a slightly revised body. Carbon ceramic brakes were an option, just in case you really wanted to show how well your supercar could stop.
2008 Lamborghini Reventon: The Reventon was essentially a rebodied Murcielago LP640. It was inspired by fighter jets, and as such, had creases and angles galore. It had an interior like a fighter jet cockpit, which meant it was extremely cramped, but it had a unique TFT display, instead of analog gauges like the Murcielago. Lamborghini only built 21 coupes and 15 roadsters.
2009 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV: The fastest Murcielago ever to leave the Lamborghini factory doors was the LP670-4 SV. It had 661 horsepower, a heavily revised body, a stripped interior, and came standard with a massive wing. The wing limited it’s top speed to 209 mph. The optional smaller wing brings the speed up to 212 mph, but also provides less downforce. You could get it with either the clunky automated manual or a true six speed manual. I really want to have one with the big wing and the six speed. Help me find one!
How can you not want something like this, especially when it reeks of awesome?
2012 Lamborghini Aventador: The Aventador picked up where the Reventon left off. It’s all creases and angles, and is one of the most intimidating-looking cars in the world. The 6.5-liter V12 pumps out 691 horsepower, and sends power to all four wheels through one of the worst transmissions ever. It can never replicate the same shift. You either get shoved back into your seat, or you get an imperceptible shift. For something that costs so much, it should have a good transmission. A roadster is also available.
2013 Lamborghini Veneno: Like the Reventon, the Veneno is another extreme styling exercise. Lamborghini really went all out this time in terms of design and price, as the car cost upwards of $4 million. There are four coupes (one is in the Lamborghini museum), and nine roadsters.
The styling might be quirky, but the performance is not.
2015 Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV: This might very well be the ultimate Aventador. It’s certainly the fastest. It proved itself by going around the legendary Nurburgring racetrack in 6:59. It’s just seconds off the Porsche 918 Spyder’s lap time of 6:57. The SV has 750 horsepower, AWD, heavily revised aerodynamics, and is 110 pounds lighter. And yes, Lamborghini has confirmed that they will make a roadster version of it.
And there you have it. The latest in a long line of high-performance cars. This is the most diabolical, yet civilized of them all.

April 29, 2015 zoomvroom Car Culture, Random, The auto dictionary. Look it up here!

The Evolution of Crazy

Pro Street is a popular form of hot rodding nowadays. It’s also incredibly easy to define, unlike rat rods or Pro Touring. Pro Street is classic cars with the rear wheeltubs dramatically enlarged for insanely wide tires. However, defining Pro Street gets a bit more difficult from there. Is it a fairgrounds car with big dirt tires? A street-optimized race car? A race-optimized street car? Or is it a full-on race car? It can be any and all of those. Pro Street has evolved throughout the years from essentially fairgrounds cars to street-optimized race cars. I’ve taken the pleasure of outlining important years and cars in the evolution of Pro Street. While your idea of Pro Street might differ, or not be there, I hope this helps.

1972: Grumpy Jenkins Pro Stock Vega: Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins essentially ushered in Pro Street with the advent of his groundbreaking NHRA Pro Stock tube-chassis Chevy Vega in 1972. Nobody had ever seen massive tires tucked under a production body before. Yes, the extreme Funny Cars had been using the look for a few years prior, but they had fiberglass body shells, so let’s not count those. Grumpy went all-out groundbreaking by using a completely tubular frame, which allowed him to run those massive 14-inch-wide and 32-inch-tall drag slicks previously reserved for Top Fuel. Every single Pro Stock car borrows heavily from that groundbreaking Vega in 1972.

1979: Scott Sullivan’s 1967 Chevy Nova: No, this beautiful 1967 Chevy Nova was not the first Pro Street car. Not by a long shot. However, it was the first car to get massive attention past a small magazine feature on it. It thundered onto the scene in 1979, just a year after the Car Craft Street Machine Nationals were launched to tire-burning success. It created the perfect test-and-tune environment for Pro Street. Sullivan has been known for setting hot rodding trends with just about every car that he builds. His 1967 Nova was no exception. It may not have been as innovative as his other cars, but it doesn’t make it any less beautiful, thanks to it’s highlight stripe and color-matched bumpers. It even had the perfect stance. Sullivan sold the car in 1984 to Pro Mod racer Ron Iannotti.

1980: Some Tubbed Street Machines: Many street rod builders of the late 1970s became brainwashed by Scott Sullivan’s beautiful 1967 Chevy Nova (see above), and completely redid their cars. Just about every car from this era had the back half of their chassis tubbed, and many builders simply moved the leaf springs far inside the chassis to fit the massive drag slicks. Seeing a car with a Roots blower sticking out of the hood was a must well into the 1990s.

1985: Fully Tubbed Street Rods: The cover of the July 1985 ‘Hot Rod’ magazine announced the “Fat Attack” of fully tubbed street rods. One of the cars on the cover was “Fat Jack” Robinson’s 1946 Ford coupe, painted in a vivid Coast Guard orange. The car was tubbed like a true Pro Street car, but it was intended to thunder down the drag strips of America. His car was the result of the first round of the nostalgia drag racing scene of the time. His car inspired several other pre-1948 fully-tubbed cars. Those cars on the cover of ‘Hot Rod’ showed how the Pro Street look merging into the vast world of street rods. It wasn’t long before you’d look around at a hot rod show and see a bunch of 1940s Ford coupes sporting massive rubber. Unfortunately for Fat Jack Robinson, his car ended up being totaled in a crash at Fremont Drag Strip.

1992: Trailer/Fairgrounds Queens: Dick Dobbertin’s nutso Pontiac J2000 Pro Street car arrived on the scene in 1986. You’re probably wondering why I said 1992. That’s because the trend of taking a lowly late-model FWD car being converted to a fully-tubbed, RWD car started then. It made it OK to build an over-the-top Pro Street car that only looked good, which have now been dubbed Pro Fairgrounds. Why Pro Fairgrounds? The show venue was the only place where these cars could really shine. I mean, who would really want to drive a car with more than 1,000 horsepower and a short wheelbase down a dragstrip? If you want that kind of crazy, buy a vintage Fuel Altered car. This radical Pontiac J2000 started the Dare to be Different movement in the automotive world, by starting battles to see who was able to build a bonkers Pro Fairgrounds car that nobody else had built yet. Soon thereafter, builders came to their senses and started the Dare to be the Same movement, which leads us to our next section.

1992: C.A.R.S. Camaro: Many of the builders of Pro Fairgrounds resented building cars they couldn’t drive. They wanted truly functional rides, not simple street rods with a big block, but cars that had gigantic rubber, big wheelies, and low drag strip times. Detroit and Ohio even started a large movement to build cars that were all-steel-bodied, fully tubbed, go eight seconds in the quarter mile, dress them up with bumpers and various trim pieces, cruise them up and down the iconic Woodward Avenue in Detroit with license plates, and then race them head-to-head all weekend. One of the first cars featured in magazines was the C.A.R.S. Inc.-sponsored Chevy Camaro of Rick Dyer and Danny Scott. That iconic Camaro served as the main inspiration for the ‘Hot Rod’ 1992 Fastest Street Car Shootout.

1993: Mark Tate’s Chevy Camaro: That little Fastest Street Car Shootout gained so much popularity so quickly that it couldn’t sustain itself. The heavyweight champs, the Pro Street cars, were losing to flat-out Pro Stock-chassis cars. Those Pro Stock chassis cars were never meant to be driven on the street, unlike the Pro Street cars. Mark Tate joined the fray in 1993 with his stock-bodied Pro Stock-chassis 1967 Chevy Camaro. Then it was Tony Christian’s 1957 Chevy 210. After Christian, it was Bob Reiger and his radical Pro Stock Chevy S-10. Appeal for Pro Stock/Pro Street cars started to wane. These weren’t cars you could build in the garage for $10,000 anymore. These were cars racking up bills well over $100,000. People wanted fast cars that they could drive on the street for not much money.

2011: “Modern Pro Street:” This is a total niche created in the Pro Street world by those wanting a fast car with all of the modern mechanicals. Cars of this look have a Pro Fairgrounds look, street machine behavior, and sometimes a late-model body. These cars usually have the newest engines, turbos, EFI, and the wheels are usually gigantic with incredible tread. The beautiful Mustang shown here is the 2007 Ford Mustang from Fastlane Motorsports. It has a 2010 5.4-liter V-8 with an old-school Weiand 6-71 blower showing out of the hood.

2012: Larry Larson’s Chevy Nova: This is where Pro Street is now. Larry Larson owns a stunning 1966 Chevrolet Nova that has truly incredible performance. He’s run 6.90 seconds at well over 200 mph in the quarter mile after driving 80 mph on the highway all day. How does he do it? Modern technology. He’s got a bored and stroked Chevy big-block motor with twin turbochargers, EFI, and lots of other amazing technology. He’s able to drive it all day to a drag strip, run incredible times, turn around and go home without killing his car. He’s had a LOT of experience in the drag racing world, so he only uses the best parts. If Grumpy Jenkins were alive today, his mind would be absolutely blown. Mine is.

That’s where Pro Street is, and where it’s come from. These cars have state-of-the-art technology, and they are actually quite streetable cars.

March 4, 2014March 4, 2014 zoomvroom Car Culture, Movie Cars

The Top Movie/TV Show Cars

Many movies have cars that we love. Famous cars with famous actors – it goes together. Le Mans had a Porsche 917 and a Ferrari 512LM with Steve McQueen doing all of the driving in the 917. It also had a Porsche 911 Carrera S that went for $1.75 Million dollars at auction last year. The Ronin remake had Robert De Niro, a Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9, a BMW M5, and a nitrous-huffing Audi S8. Vanishing Point had Barry Newman, a 440-powered Dodge Challenger R/T Magnum, and a Jaguar E-Type V12 Convertible. Well, you get the idea.

While I know that last weekend was Oscars weekend, I still thought that the cars from famous movies deserve a proper recognition. Enjoy my list. I have also attached videos of the cars in the movies that they were in. I hope you enjoy the list and the videos!

1968 Dodge Charger “Bullitt”: While it’s a shame that I haven’t seen Bullitt yet (one of these days!), I’ve seen the epic car chase scene on YouTube countless times. I know. It’s not the same. The 1968 Dodge Charger from Bullitt is undeniably one of the most iconic cars ever to be used in a movie. Anybody, I repeat, ANYBODY, can watch the chase scene and then see a 1968 Charger in real life, and say, “I saw a car that looks similar to that one in Bullitt!” The two cars that really defined the words “muscle car” tore up the streets of San Francisco for real (no CGI, just a couple of sped-up shots). Both the Ford Mustang GT with the 390 cubic-inch V8 and the Dodge Charger R/T with the 440 cubic-inch V8 needed some modifications for the chase scene. Ex race-car builder Max Balchowsky modified both cars for film use. The Highland Green Mustang needed a TON of mods for the chase scene. The Charger, however, only needed heavy-duty shocks and springs to cope with the jumps. Both cars used prototype Firestone tires, but it’s possible to see different width tires multiple times on the Charger. According to Balchowsky, the Charger with it’s big 375-horsepower 440 cubic-inch V8 outgunned the 325-horse 390 cubic-inch V8 Mustang (pun not intended) so much that it required the stunt driver to slow down the car so that McQueen’s ‘Stang could keep up. Score for Mopar! While (spoiler alert!) one of the cars met a fiery demise at the end of the movie and was subsequently scrapped, some say that the other Charger is still around…somewhere. I’d sure like to think so! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lbs_nYW3-o
1955 Chevrolet 150 “American Graffiti”: Arguably one of the most iconic cars for hot rodding, let alone movies, the 1955 Chevrolet 150 from American Graffiti remains the benchmark for modified ’55 Chevy’s. Three 1955 Chevrolet 150’s were used for the filming of the movie. Two of said cars were used in 1971’s Two Lane Blacktop. Transportation supervisor Henry Travers picked the two cars up from the Universal Studios lot and painted them black. One car was a fiberglass shell, and it was used to film exterior shots and the actors inside the car. The other car, the stunt car, was used for the climatic drag race crash. Travers, who drove the car stunt Chevy for the Paradise Road finale couldn’t roll the car as directed by George Lucas – the car had to be heaved onto it’s roof by the crew. A third, non-running 1955 Chevy was picked up, spray-painted black, and a fake B-pillar was welded on to resemble to other two cars. It was burned to film the crash’s aftermath. The burn car was returned to the junkyard – it would have been impossible to get the car in running condition! Only the main camera car remains today. It has traded hands a few times and some dubious modifications have been made to it. In 2012, it was sold privately to a private buyer who plans to restore the car to it’s original American Graffiti appearance. Prior to the deal, the buyer apparently barely avoided acquiring his own burn car, built by George Barris. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOgqUHk-zDY
1976 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 “Ronin”: While the chase scene from Bullitt deserves lots of ink, the multiple chase scenes from the 1998 remake of Ronin make the leaping American stallions chase scene look about as exciting as a segway tour of Los Angeles. John Frankenheimer, the same speed junkie who directed the 1966 movie Grand Prix, directed Ronin. He hired a gaggle of stunt drivers, including F1 champion Jean-Pierre Jarier and sports car champion Jean-Claude Lagniez, and let them loose throwing muscular German sedans around Paris, Monaco, and parts of Souther France at opposite lock drift angles and mind-blowing speeds – on closed-off public roads. An Audi S8 and BMW rightfully grab a lot of attention in the movie, with Frankenheimer cleverly using right-hand-drive cars with fake left-side steering wheels so that the actors including Robert De Niro and Natascha McElhone could “drive” while one of the Frenchmen terrified them just a couple of feet away. Not to be outdone are the guys from Mercedes-Benz who sent a 1976 Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9, arguably the first German muscle car. Robert De Niro “drives” for a while, while French actor Jean Reno actually drove. The absolute mayhem begins with a Rockford pulled off in the Benz, and then De Niro and Reno chase down the bad boys who happen to be driving a Peugeot 406. The Peugeot and and Benz hurtle through the French countryside at speeds well over 100 mph, and then De Niro stands up in the sunroof and blows the 406 to smithereens. Post-explosion, the 450SEL 6.9 hurtles into the seaside village of Villefranche-sur-Mer, an outskirt of Monaco, where a good half of the movie was filmed, where it hurtles through tiny city streets trashing market stalls and cafe tables in search of whatever is locked inside of that mysterious locked case everybody wants. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMaG5WAmHvY
1980 Lamborghini Countach “The Cannonball Run”: If you can, keep your eyes ON the car, not IN the car! It sounds easy, but Tara Buckman and Adrienne Barbeau are inside. When Hal Needham and Brock Yates (arguably one of the most iconic auto journalists ever) thought up the plot for The Cannonball Run, a highly fictionalized version of the illegal cross-country Cannonball Run races of the 1970s, they knew that only one car could keep a teenager’s eyes off of Buckman and Barbeau – a 1980 Lamborghini Countach. The entire opening sequence of the movie focuses entirely on the Countach. The V12 shrieks up and down through the gearbox, and the two ladies stopping just long enough paint an “X” across a 55 mph speed limit sign before the car screams off onto the American prairie highway again. The car taunts a police cruiser by coming up extremely close in the rear view mirror, pulling alongside, and then disappearing into the horizon. No wonder this movie, which Yates himself calls “a pretty lousy picture!” grossed more than $72 million dollars – in the U.S. alone! Of course, Burt Reynolds and Victor Prinzim are the official stars of the movie with their fake ambulance, but don’t tell that to any teenage boy who saw the movie in the 1980’s. After filming, the car was used by Hawaiian Tropic as a promotional vehicle for 28 years. Then, a private collector in Florida bought the car in 2009, and restored the car to factory condition. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh9L6LrpmTQ
1970 Porsche 911S “Le Mans”: Most of Le Mans focuses on a frenzy of screaming prototypes, howling sports cars, furious air wrenches, and cheering crowds of adoring fans. Not for the opening sequence, though. Before reaching the Le Mans circuit, McQueen’s character, troubled racer Michael Delaney, gently pushes his 911S across the French countryside and a quiet village. Soon, he will strap into a howling Porsche 917 for 24 hours of 240+ mph battle against a Ferrari 512LM. But, for now, it’s just the man and his steed. The Slate Gray 911S stands out in it’s timeless, understated elegance. Kind of like McQueen himself. It’s no wonder that he took the machine back with him to California to join his rapidly growing sports car and motorcycle collection. Since he owned a nearly identical 1969 model, the 1970 911S was soon sold to a Los Angeles-based attorney who kept the car hidden away for the better part of 30 years. The car changed hands two more times before going up for auction at RM Auctions Monterey, where it fetched a tidy $1.375 Million dollars, the most EVER paid for a 911 at auction. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JlyQsWXrqA
1966 Jaguar XKE V12 Convertible “Vanishing Point”: Most people my age today probably wouldn’t understand the tagline from Vanishing Point: “Tighten your seatbelt. You never had a trip like this before.” But in 1971, the phrase fell on plenty of knowing ears and cars. Enter Barry Newman as Kowalski, Congressional Medal of Honor Winner, ex-cop, ex-istentialist, as well as ex-race-driver. His mission is the stuff of any Hollywood movie legend, or any car buff’s legend – drive the car from Denver to San Francisco in record time. Hollywood being Hollywood, Kowalski encounters everything from rattlesnakes to sun-hardened old-timers, pre-“Bette Davis Eyes” Kim Carnes music, and deranged religious prophets. But, his most memorable meeting was against a goggles-wearing, giggling desert rat hell-bent on some hoonage in his Jaguar XK-E V12 Convertible. Said Jag driver literally begs for it – he even bangs his car into the Challenger to get Kowalski’s attention. Since this is Hollywood, Kowalski takes the bait. Big time. It’s wire rims against mag wheels, Dover Sole versus Alaska Salmon, tea cakes versus beefcake. A one-lane bridge looms ahead. Kowalski gives the big 440 full throttle, fender swipes the Jag, and the Jag flies off the road in a splendid, um, horrifying fashion. After several barrel rolls and a gigantic drop, the Jag ends up on it’s side in a mud-caked riverbed. Since the driver of the Jag was a stunt driver, he’s OK. Kowalski gives him a quick check, and is back on his way. I can’t say the same for the Jag – it ended up as a total write-off. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBTup5WH0a0
1963 Apollo 3500 GT Thorndyke Special “The Love Bug”: When was the last time you saw The Love Bug? It’s a cute movie, and the support vehicles are, well, spectacular. In any given racing scene, cute little Herbie the Love Bug is surrounded by all sorts of cars you’d expect to see at a period SCCA road race, from Triumph TR6’s to Shelby Cobra’s to MG TC’s. The most memorable supporting vehicle is the black and yellow car driven by that crook Peter Thorndyke in the final El Dorado race. Thorndyke drives everything from a Jaguar E-Type to a Ferrari 250GT (a replica car that long ago disappeared) Tour de France on his way to campaigning the Thorndyke Special. The Thorndyke Special is, for all of it’s Italian looks, is an Apollo 3500GT. It may have Italian styling, but it was made in Oakland California. The Apollo cars started life in Italy, where the bodies and chassis’ were made by Intermeccanica. They would then be shipped to Oakland, where the engines and transmissions would be installed. Most of the engines were 350 cubic-inch Buick V8’s mated to either a Muncie M-22 “Rock Crusher” transmission or a Buick three-speed automatic. 42 cars were built between 1962 and 1964, when the company ran out of money and closed. Max Balchowsky specifically modified two cars for the movie with their well-known paint scheme. At least one car still exists today, with the restoration in Toronto, Canada started many years ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCmUQo2r33g
1969 Lamborghini Muira “The Italian Job (1969)”: For us car lovers, the opening scene of the 1969 The Italian Job starring legendary British actor Michael Caine is beautiful and haunting. An orange 1969 Lamborghini Muira P400 is making its way through the beautiful Swiss Alps with the actor Rossano Brazzi behind the wheel, cigarette dangling like they are in commercials. He’s wearing driving gloves, a perfect suit, and designer sunglasses. Matt Monro crooning “On Days Like These” accompanies the scream of the 3.9-liter V12 of the Muira. What could go wrong? Everything, as the Muira enters the tunnel at high speed, and comes out crumpled in the bucket of an earth mover at the other end. A roadblock set up by the bad guys takes the blame. And, the once-raging Muira is dropped over 100 feet into a river. Was the orange Lambo actually destroyed? Yes and no. Two Muira’s were used for the scene. The running and driving one was not wrecked, as it was a press car for Lamborghini; that honor goes to a crash-damaged frame of a Muira with new bodywork and no engine. Rumor has it that when the crew came down to the river the next morning, not a single piece of the wrecked Muira was to be found. Creepy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQIRbV_noi8
1964.5 Ford Mustang GT Convertible “Goldfinger”: While the Aston Martin DB5 seems to get all of the credit (rightfully so – it’s AWESOME!), the first Ford Mustang ever in a movie co-starred with the Brit. Tilly Masterson’s gold 1964.5 Ford Mustang GT Convertible was a preproduction model, and was run off of a Swiss mountain after Bond’s tire slicing hubcap sticks out. Ford REALLY wanted the Mustang to be part of Goldfinger, and had originally specified for a fastback to be used in the film. Unfortunately, the fastback Mustang would start production too late in 1964 for filming purposes. Ultimately, the Goldfinger Mustang fastback was built with special gold metallic paint, and it featured a roof panel with 007-inspired switches. It was used as a promotional vehicle for both Bond and Ford for many years, and it still survives in private ownership. As for the Mustang GT Convertible used in the film, it is believed but unknown by either Ford or anybody that it was sold after the film and repainted and currently with somebody. Who that somebody is beats Ford and everybody else. I’d sure like to know. Other Ford vehicles were used in Goldfinger: A 1957 Ford Thunderbird was used by Secret Service agents, a 1964 Lincoln Continental was driven to the junkyard and crushed by Oddjob, Goldfinger’s lethal assistant, and a 1964 Ford Ranchero was used for Oddjob to drive away from the junkyard with the crushed Continental in the bed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLuNstLjP1c
1967 Ford Mustang GT500 “Gone in 60 Seconds”: The menacing-looking 1967 silver-grey Ford Mustang GT500 from the 2005 remake of Gone in 60 Seconds is a 1967 Ford Mustang GT Fastback. It has body panels and GT500 badges to make it look like a GT500. It had a hopped-up 390 cubic-inch V8 made up to perform and sound like the 428 cubic inch Cobra Jet V8 found in the GT500. Three cars were made for filming, and one was scrapped. The other two survive in private ownership. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMv-X0tG2KQ