revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Count Steer wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 6:54 am As a modern version of a classic (I remember an absolute animal Z on the RAC Rally)....I quite liked the look and sound of the 2019 Nissan 370z (last of the normally aspirated ones I believe) that was briefly behind me yesterday - then in front for the next 5 miles as I kept catching up when they met traffic and cyclists

That beast on the RAC Rally has stayed on my mind all these years...it popped, banged and crackled like a demented firework. Can't remember which number Z though. (240?)

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 4:57 pm Lancia Stratos, lovely looking, awful inside, a reputation for being horrible to drive, unreliable and should never have been allowed to rally as Lancia didn't make 400 of them, the rally Escort is a better car.

mangocrazy wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 4:49 pm I went to take photos at one of the RAC Rally stages in the grounds of Trentham Gardens in the late 70s and my worldview was forever changed by seeing a couple of Lancia Stratos (Strati - Stratae - Stratoses ?) coming through. The sight and sound of them were so impossibly exotic and out of this world compared to the humdrum Escorts etc of the era that everything else was pretty dull after seeing them. But then a Ferrari Dino V6 compared to a 4-pot Ford crossflow and a handbuilt limited edition car with futuristic styling compared to something plucked off a Dagenham production line will do that to you.

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 5:55 pm My old boss had one of them ^.

The top of the dash peeled in the sunshine

Potter wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 11:07 am

mangocrazy wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2024 4:49 pm I went to take photos at one of the RAC Rally stages in the grounds of Trentham Gardens in the late 70s and my worldview was forever changed by seeing a couple of Lancia Stratos (Strati - Stratae - Stratoses ?) coming through. The sight and sound of them were so impossibly exotic and out of this world compared to the humdrum Escorts etc of the era that everything else was pretty dull after seeing them. But then a Ferrari Dino V6 compared to a 4-pot Ford crossflow and a handbuilt limited edition car with futuristic styling compared to something plucked off a Dagenham production line will do that to you.

I'd take a special Ford of that era from their race development team all day long rather than a Lancia Stratos.

Potter wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 12:31 pm

mangocrazy wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 11:46 am
Your problem would be finding a special Ford from that era.

There are plenty, just look for anything with RS in the title, but even though they're relatively attainable they're expensive now because of demand.

I suppose it's a matter of perspective, but if Fiat gave me loads of money and Ferrari gave me an engine and Bertone did a design for me, then I'd have something special in front of you in short order. You could argue that Ford bought people in as well, but for me they made a really decent blue collar motor into something that we could all buy, rather than something like the Stratos where even if you could get one the door would fall off by the time you got to the end of the road.

mangocrazy wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 4:18 pm Now if you want a special Ford, get a GT40.

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 5:26 pm

mangocrazy wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 4:18 pm Now if you want a special Ford, get a GT40.

Actually a Lola

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Mon Mar 18, 2024 8:35 pm The newest GT is arguably a more appropriate successor than the early noughties one was. It doesn't look as classic and it has (whisper it) a V6 engine.

But it's also a ground up race car, like the original.