Homologation editions. Those glorious runs of a few hundred to a few thousand rare sports models built to satisfy manufacturing requirements for various sanctioning bodies. You’ve gotta love them, as they’re almost always roided out versions of the pedestrian cars they’re based off of.
Even harder to get your hands on when it’s a manufacturer that didn’t import a whole lot of cars to begin with. In this case, that would be the SBA Gracelet 2.0 Ti Integral.
We’ve already covered the “standard” 1.6 Swift Ti in another edition, but we’re concentrating on this one particular rare bird. 500 of them total were made, built for Group A rally homologation.
Of course, the actual rally car has the interior and accessories stripped out for weight reduction, but even the Integral version is quite nice, with leather seating, a hi-fi cassette stereo, and a 221 horsepower turbocharged 2.0 liter four-cylinder. Add in a 5-speed manual transmission and all wheel drive, and you’ve got a little pocket rocket to go play with at rallycrosses or on the club racing circuit.
But good luck finding one. It will, no doubt, command a premium price. It’s believed that fewer than 200 of the original 500 are still roadworthy at this point.
Scoring: Mainstream Culture - Retro Motorsports: High (Currently in 3rd)
This car was Epoch’s attempt at breaking into the US market with a car specifically designed to cater for American tastes above all else (evident by the lack of almost any sales in the home markets). Aiming for “affordable luxury”, the M30 Regalis had features and interior fitout normally reserved for cars twice the price. Handling and driving dynamics were… not its strong suit, however the car had almost no equal when it came to ushering passengers along interstate highways in comfort and quiet.
The Godhap and Whent Seax, built from 1960 until the end of 1974, was a 4-seat 2-door family oriented car. During its production run, there were 3 facelifts, and the introduction of two (non-concurrent) 6 cylinder engines, with up to 140hp. The '74 US version had, as top option, a whole 90hp available from the 2.7L (162 Cu In) I6, while the euro spec still had 120. On the plus side, it returned an average of 20 Mpg (US), and had a purchase price of $10,058 equivalent (plus on-road costs).
excuse me, there is some mistake in the writing, it was 1.6 Swift Ti Twincam Turbo, as this 2.0 Ti Integral is special homologation with 2 liter engine and AWD.
The Vega Saetta was Vega’s pony car, and the smaller sibling to the Alameda. It did sport a smaller version of the same v8 displacing 302 cubic inches and wide bias plys.
But the same couldn’t be said of the base model Saetta, sporting a much smaller slant six with less power, narrower tires, but it was still sort of sporty for the time, and despite its soft suspension, due to its relatively low weight and tail happiness. The original slant six version can also be had for much less money than the v8 version, so it’s a good base to tune too, if only the slant six doesn’t enjoy the same aftermarket support the v8 does.
Epoch had some rather interesting models across the years, particularly the pre-Malaise era. Normally known for small, reliable, uncomfortable cars, there were attempts to shed this image. Not all of them worked out well.
Enter the Epoch M30 Regalis, first released in '71. It was designed to be a full-fledged luxury car, offering high-end amenities such as leather, power seats and mirrors, and of course a ton of chrome. The ride was, indeed, quiet and comfortable. In theory it wasn’t a bad car, and it had a certain charm to its aesthetics, even if dated a bit at the time. In practice, well…
The M30 Regalis had a major Achilles heel. Its enormous 5.5 liter straight-six engine was, frankly, too big for the number of cylinders. M30 Regalis models started throwing rods after as few as 30,000 miles, oil pumps were prone to random failure, and valve lash adjustment had to be done at half the normally recommended mileage to keep the engine running in top order. Re-engineering fixes in later years only managed to mitigate the valvetrain issues, causing buyers to shy away from this engine.
Opportunity knocks for vultures, of course. Carcasses of M30 Regalises(eses? Regalisii?) were picked up for pennies on the dollars throughout the late 80’s and the 90’s, with many of them becoming either rat rods or low riders. Lack of parts and reliability of the engine didn’t bother these intrepid gearheads; many Epoch bodies ended up with power from other manufacturers under the hood, ranging from the similar-displacement Toledo Triple-Three to a rather ingenius front-drive refit from a 662 cube Sinistra Savage.
This could well be a cheap way to have a nice, unique cruiser, as long as your mechanical skills and your ambition are up to snuff.
Scoring: Mainstream Culture - RestoMods: Medium (Currently in 4th)
Here’s the quandary of the day, as we present it to our readers. When the overseas version of a car that’s imported here is vastly superior, where is the line drawn in making it “like the European version?”
Lovers of the Godhap & When Seax have posed this question more than once, and of course it causes controversy among the various schools of thought every time it comes up.
To back up a little here, it helps to understand that the 1960-1974 Seax was built with two completely different, non-concurrent straight sixes. Whereas the Euro version could have up to 120hp depending on the year, the US version might have had, say, 90, as is the case with this 1974 shown here.
To the true purist, you leave it alone and just keep it in as close to original position as you can. To the Euro elitist, you import one from whichever European country suits your fancy as far as steering wheel position. A “mostly purist” will convince you it’s okay, now that they’re old enough not to be bound by smog regulations, to import the European engine and put it in the American chassis.
And then there are the, shall we call them, “impatients.” These are the ones who want the power of the Euro version but have neither the time nor the money to go hunting for one overseas for importation. Instead, they take advantage of one particular stateside vendor that offers a “Euro feel” package to install in the American engine. It’s a full rebuild kit (so you can revive your toasted engine if needs be) that includes, along with the typical rebuild components, an impressive list of mods to do while you’re in there. High compression pistons. New aggressive camshaft. Tubular exhaust header. New intake manifold and twin Brolex sidedraft carbs. Engine restored, 120 horsepower achieved, and you can go take your Seax to the track or on a cruise instead of spending your time dealing with a passive aggressive French farmer wanting to dicker over his spare motor.
Isn’t the internet great?
Scoring: Counter Culture - Spiritual Classics: Low (Currently in 10th) Counter Culture - Motorsports: Medium (Currently in 8th)
In the late 60’s, the Vega Alameda was all the rage. Brawny, comfortable, and beautiful, and reasonably priced too. Vega, however, was not content to sit on their duffs and leave out the potential downstream market. Instead, they launched a wildly successful pony car to go with the flagship stablemate.
There was a lot more vinyl inside the, and the suspension wasn’t nearly as nice as on the Alameda, but the quite-inexpensive bottom line of the base-trim Vega Saetta 220 EM was attractive to many. A number still paid for the upgraded version with the 302 V8 from the factory.
The Saetta remains noteworthy to this day due to its availability, adaptability, and design. Even base models look great at a cruise-in or roaming around the streets, and the engine bay makes a V8 swap a reasonable proposition for those intent on putting their pony on steroids.
Even better still? A completed six-cylinder Saetta can be found, in running condition, for about a thousand bucks. Even today, the Vega Saetta proves that it is a bargain, and a great way to enter the field without a huge outlay.
Scoring: Mainstream Culture - Muscle Cars: Medium (Currently in 3rd)
Morton’s Corsair III, introduced in 1985, put the nameplate back on track after the underpowered second generation disappointed longtime fans. As the first Corsair with multi-point EFI as standard, it was not only more powerful than its predecessor, but also more drivable and economical, making it a better everyday proposition than before.
With 225 horsepower on tap, it could exceed 141 mph and go from 0 to 60 in just 6.3 seconds, while recording a quarter-mile time of 14.7 seconds. Also, it could pull just over 1g on a skid pad, proving that the brawny Corsair could compete with domestic and imported rivals not just in a straight line, but also in the corners.
The Corsair III 5.0 sold very well during the model’s lifespan, and thanks to strong aftermarket support, still enjoys a devoted following to this day.
Your car’s trim year is outside the eligibility period for this thread - if you feel like you have to post the '97 M10 Ansom, do it somewhere else instead.
Pick your poison. Mine is ridiculous malaise luxury. Such as the 1981 Monolith A480DLS Permanent. An incredibly exciting name for an incredibly odd vehicle.
As you can see the A-Series is in fact a full size Pick-Up truck, a very american vehicle then. Even still, the A-Series was still manufactured in Germany, which resulted in one major problem. The Chicken Tax, a 25% Import tariff for foreign made light trucks that drastically increased the price of such vehicles, and caused many to either build manufacturing plants in NA or pull out of the market altogether. Not so Monolith. IMPs heavy trucks had been sold in the US, Mexico and Canada since the 1950s, with reasonable success too. But those weren’t affected by such tariffs and also included many locally sourced parts (Engines, Transmissions, Axles, Brakes etc.). Knowing that Monolith couldn’t compete with makes like Deer & Hunt on price alone, Monolith had to find a niche to remain a veritable option. As such Monolith was the first brand to offer diesel engines in light trucks as early as 1966, and from then on simply kept adding luxury features to their trucks. A north american Monolith between 1966 and 1985 nearly always came loaded with features such as AM/FM Radio, automatic transmission, Cruise control, Air Conditioning, electric windows and seats, cloth or leather upholstery, auxiliary working lights and a fridge for drinks etc. The only options were the choice between a Gasoline V8 engine of 4.1 or 4.5L Displacement or a 4.1/4.8L Straight six Diesel engine, and in case of the A-Series Pick-Up two or four wheel drive (The only other model was the 4WD M111/M112 Station Wagon).
Such was the case with this 1981 A480DLS model, notable for being equipped with permanent four-wheel drive, hence the name extension “Permanent”. The Name also gives away the 4.8L naturally aspirated diesel engine that produced a healthy 140hp. By no means fast, it was as capable as any competitor, with respectable economy to boot. Differences to the world market models were minimal, with sealed beam headlights, red indicators and side marker lights. Curiously absent from all 1978 to 1985 Monolith was Chrome, an intentional decision to give the vehicles a unique visual appearance from the norm. Monolith would not start to locally manufacture their trucks and SUVs until 1986, but when they did, the sales numbers unsurprisingly went through the roof.
(Note: as the truck is running a faksimile Diesel engine, and I could not find reliable information on contemporary regulations for Diesels in NA the truck in fact requires 98 Leaded fuel. If this is a violation of the spirit I’ll modify the submission.)
In the early 50’s, Bogliq USA set up an independent subsidiary in Brasil, called Bogliq SA, to build variants of Bogliq USA cars tailored to local tastes. This included an engine plant as well as the main car factory. Bogliq SA started production of the first generation Alpha Four and continued to do so right up until the current day. The template for this engine was the same engine tune as in the 1952 Corso de Fruinia, which, as a package, was both sporty and frugal in equal measure.
The Mackaw was the Mutineer re-badged, then later re-designed, for the Brasillian market. In the mid 60’s it was decided that the market was mature enough for a re-bodied spin-off, dubbed the “Touring”. Designed to bridge the gap between stylish and practical, the Mackaw Touring was designed to turn heads without snapping them!
the 1971 update reached the US market via the new model sharing system devised by Konstantin Bogliq. A number of wealthy dealers in Miami, Florida saw a niche that the Mackaw Touring could fill and ordered as many of them as Bogliq SA could supply. Unfortunately, these numbers were less than the dealers hoped, since the demand in the local market for the Touring was strong and the factory was having difficulty keeping up with demand…
Still, the Miami dealers were able to average sales of 100 units per month with sales remaining strong until the Mackaw was refreshed in 1976.
DAAG G11 (G01) shown in an advertisement of the time.
DAAG G Series (G01)
Built by DAAG from 1968 to 1977 and sold in Germany, Eastern Europe and a few South American countries. It was the first generation of the brand’s mini car.
This vehicle was made to compete with the economy cars of the time, while still aiming to be a little bit more upscale and a more fun vehicle to drive. It’s the brand’s smallest car ever built and that’s where its got it’s name from, G is the acronym of Gnom, which literally translates to “gnome”.
Powertrain wise, this specific unit comes equipped with a naturally-aspirated, reverse-flow head, 1.1 L I3 engine located in the rear, with a single overhead cam and two valves per cylinder, delivering 43 hp and 81 Nm of torque. Paired with a 4-speed non-syncronous manual transmission, power is sent to the rear wheels through an open differential. There was also a sportier version called the G11 DR that came equipped with a high lift cam, DCOE carburetor, sport exhaust and a 5-speed manual, among other modifications, that bumped the power from 43 to 74hp.
Chassis wise, the G11 has linear-rate springs and twin-tube shocks in all four corners. Combined with MacPherson suspension in the front and double-wishbone suspension in the rear, this ensures the user adequate levels of grip, comfort and handling in most situations.
In the interior, passengers will find seating for five, with two seats in the front and a bench in the back. In the technology department, the car comes equipped with a basic AM radio that plays sound through a single speaker mounted to the left of the device.
The reason behind the engine being in the back of the vehicle was to allow the passengers to have more room in the interior -because there were no exhaust nor transmission hump- and for the brand to experimentate with engine-free crumple zones.
TECHNICAL SPECS
DAAG G11 (G01)
ENGINE:
Code: DZMA-11-E.
Displacement: 1127 cm³.
Bore and stroke: 75 mm x 85 mm.
Material: cast iron block and head.
Valvetrain type: 2 valves per cylinder SOHC.
Fuel system: eco-tuned single barrel carburetor.
Exhaust manifold: compact header.
Mufflers: single reverse flow mufflers.
Horsepower and torque figures: 43 hp @5300 RPM / 81 Nm @2500RPM.
Type: galvanized steel monocoque chassis.
Front suspension: MacPherson struts.
Rear suspension: double wishbone.
Wheels and tires: basic design, steel, 135/80R12 front and rear hard compound tires.
Brakes: 205 mm drums on all four wheels.
Curb weight: 634 kg.
PERFORMANCE FIGURES:
Top speed: 124,3 km/h.
0-100 km/h: 16 s.
Combined fuel consumption: 9,0 l/100 km
Skidpad: 0,78 G.
