1960's Automation Earl's Court Auto Show: Polls Part 2

Meanwhile, over at the Erin stand, we take a look at their range as it would have appeared in 1960…

The early days of the Erin Motor Company were very experimental. With quite literally no experience in making production vehicles, they made their first attempt in 1957 with the Liama, a car that was essentially a detuned prototype racer. A few years later, and they had hired a small team to develop the Erin range (just 6 people, including CEO Dominic Erin), who had begun two lines of sports cars, with a mid-range model called the Tegra and a top-of-the-end model called the Tierza.

Both were based off of the same chassis, originally an Erin Motorsport SP3-8. In practice, this sounds great, though Erin still hadn’t quite got past the whole “road car” and “not a race car” thing…

#1959 Erin Tegra


Erin’s idea of a mid-range sports car was an interior with some features and a smaller engine than their race-cars. Powered by a 2.5l V8 which produced 153 hp, the Tegra was good with performance, capable of 0-60 in 8.6 seconds and a top speed of 121 mph. It also marked the first Erin to come with a folding cloth roof!

Driving it, of course, was manic. The hard race suspension combined with with the racing-derived gearbox made it slippy and loose, though not as mad as it’s bigger brother…


#1957 Erin Tierza


This right here is one of the earliest examples of a true road-going racer. Barely any interior, slightly less power than its race car sibling and a complete lack of road-tuning. You did get a fibreglass roof to allow you to use it in the rain if you so wished, but aside from that, this was a car that would kill you if you let it.

Powered by a 3.2l V8 producing some 214 hp, the Tierza could do 0-60 in 7.4 seconds and top out at 135 mph. What really mattered though was how it behaved in the run up to that speed though; it would slide, understeer, oversteer and wheelspin all over the place, making it a lot of fun when you could control it but pretty much unusable the rest of the time.


Despite all these very clear flaws, enough of these cars sold to keep the Erin Motor Company going in the early days. A total of 166 Tierza’s and 98 Tegra’s were built at the small production facility in Nottingham, UK. Couple with the money being brought in by Erin Motorsport, and in 1961, they made their big break; the Merna and Lagana launched that year, and so began Erin’s rise to prominence.

These cars were never forgotten though; they highlighted the strong connection between motorsport and road vehicles which continues to be expressed to this day with the continued funding of and close relation to Erin[color=turquoise]Sport[/color] that the main company has.

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The tegra seems to be the best balance here…

#Summary 3
Hello once more folks, and welcome back to Earls Court. Whew! Let me tell you, champagne is one very easy drink to down when you’re in the mood. I wonder if this alcoholism runs in the family…

Let’s see what’s been going down in London these past few days!

Today’s music of choice is the wild Chuck Berry with You Never Can Tell!
Absolutely NO prices for guessing what film this is from. It should be mandatory to know this frankly. If I were in power, it’d be part of the school curriculum.

LVC showed of a concept of a thing they’re calling the ‘Land Yacht’. Unsurprisingly, it is from America, and is lavishly equipped with a plush interior and powered by a hunking great 6.0l pushrod V12. The chrome may be decadent, but boy we like sitting in it. You could land a plane on that bonnet, we’re fairly sure the time zone changes from one end of the car to the next. Will this sort of massive car catch on? Pah, of course not!

Petoskey wheeled out a soon-to-be classic today in the form of the Ventnor Premium. This lavish behemoth is a relic of the old days of true luxury motoring, harboring a 9.35l V12 under its bonnet, a hand made interior and enough leather to keep 10 cowboys happy for the next decade. One of these, the one on display, was famously owned by Dominic Bambino of the Gam…sorry, Bambino crime family in the 40s. After a meteoric car chase acorss the US, it was brought down - just - after a record 1187 bullets were fired into it. What a car!

Another car from [Cornaldie]9http://discourse.automationgame.com/t/1960s-automation-earls-court-auto-show-day-5/20534/53?u=deusexmackia) was the stunning Bonkers 195 GT. We’re not too sure about the name, but the styling is most certainly approved by us; it’s a classic 30s aerodynamic coupe affair, yet underneath, it’s thoroughly modern. 4 Bar Carbs, massive 17" wheels and double wishbone suspension put this right at the cutting edge. Truly a beautiful blend of old and new.

Rennen gave us a glimpse of one of these new damn-fangled supercars, called the Kusanagi. Powered by a 3.0l V6 that produces 223 hp, it’ll do 0-60 in ~6 seconds and tops out at 150 mph. We can expect it in 1967, by which time it’ll be as fast as the fastest cars from today. We can’t wait for the days when those looks are a standard of sports cars too. I mean for god’s sake, just look at it!

A challenger to that style crown came from Astranti with the Visconte SS Prototype, which is even more powerful than the Kusanagi, with a 4.2l mid-mounted V8 that is good for 356 hp. Its smooth, angular body means it’ll top out at 170+ mph at the top end, which will make it the fastest car in the world upon release…as in, 5 years from now.

G&W gave us a weirdly low quality image of their new family car, the Seax. The cute mini-sedan looks to be a cheap and cheerful runabout for the every man, sporting charming looks and an entire 60 horse powers! That 4 speed manual is certainly a big plus, and should make it quite fun to drive with any luck.

AB Sundets Bilar gave us the Mk 3 S-PB, which some are calling a “muscle-car”. Packing a 6.5l V8, 544 Nm of torque and 400 metric tons of chrome, this menacing coupe might be a little divisive with its looks but will no doubt impress everyone with its huge amount of power and sheer sense of grandeur.

ADM annoucned their line up for this year, announcing that they will now be selling cars across the American continent for the first time. The new Madero entry-level sports car and Rivera luxury sedan really took main prominence, both being praised for their new and modern styling. We certainly look forward to seeing how the Madero stacks up against European sports cars in its class.

Alongside this stood the new family cars from ADM, the Quijote and Villa. Although we won’t see them here in the UK, there’s no denying that they carry similar values of practicality, usability and reliability that we expect on such vehicles here in this country. The extra chrome of these American cars (because more is, of course, always better) set them apart from rival European models.

Finally, Le Mans racers-turned-road car maker Erin showed off their two current sports cars, which are availible on a made-to-order basis and are…well, quite bare by modern standards…

That does it for today’s round-up! We’ll be back again next week as we continue to see what the 60s will be brining us in the world of the automobile. Cheerio for now!

- Gordon Anderson

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The rest of the IMP/Monolith portfolio:

The smallest and oldest car, the Teuton, that had been a critical success in mainland Europe now goes into its 6th year of production with a small facelift to adopt the elliptic headlamps of the larger cars. Price for the entry level Teuton 130 is £885.

The new family car by IMP to broaden our market presence, simply called the Europa. It features a brand new range of short-stroke, overhead camshaft four cylinder engines with up to 100bhp in the 1900S model. The price for the basic 1500 model is expected to start around £1200, and an Estate variant is about to follow soon.

The second generation of our L6 Flagship, the unibody chassis has been improved with a DeDion-tube rear axle and a thoroughly modern bodyshape with improved rear leg- and headroom and standard Kalt-Wert air conditioning. The familiar 3.8 Litre Inline 6 has been tuned to 190bhp, while the GM Hydramatic transmission remains unaltered.
The L6 costs £4484.

The M120 is the short-wheelbase version of the innovative M110, and also available with smaller 2.3 Litre engines, a 100bhp Petrol engine and an all new four-stroke Diesel with 65bhp.

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The next day LVC presented its sports car that that will come out in 1961.
It’s called Parrot. The name is silly we know, but the car is meants to be a sports car for the masses.
The engine is a 2.1 liter inline 4, 8 valves, the engineers managed to get 100 hp out of the engine.
Power is sent to the rear wheels via a 4 speed manual gearbox, top speed of the car is 190 km/h and it can do 0-60 in 9.5 seconds. The statis may not be the best, but we think that this car is the best for the young car enthusiast who just got its driving license.



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Love that front grille design

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#MBS at Earls Court 1960:


Hello! Good Day and welcome to the MBS Stand! Here today is out current lineup of cars and a new concept car that we would like to show!

#MBS Monaco: Luxury Made Affordable!
So here is the new facelifted MBS Monaco! This new model features new premium leather seats, a sparkling new phonograph, silky smooth 3 speed automatic transmission and a comfortable ride. The car may be powered by a measly 1.0L i3, but speed doesn’t matter when everyone is stuck in gridlock and you’re in your car sipping your finest wine. And at only £4,000 this car is affordable for even the working class man!



#MBS Valiant: The Car for the People!
The MBS Valiant is the true car for the British public! At only £3,450, this first rate automobile is not only economical, but reliable, something that cannot be said for other British car manufacturers! Inside, you are greeted to standard interior, nothing fancy here, but look closer and you will find a that the car has not just one, but two disk brakes, something unheard of in this era. Not only that, the car has advanced safety features making this car one of the safest automobile on the road! The Valiant currently comes in 4 trims, two of which are are on display today, the 1.7L i6 Sedan and Estate, although a much smaller 1.0L i3 is also available!
Sedan i6 (Brilliant Blue)




Estate i6(Rose Red)

#MBS Vole Concept: The Car for the Future City!
And now for something completely revolutionary, the MBS Vole Concept! The brains behind this marvel of engineering is Jaqcues Bourcet from our good old friends France! This new Vole is what he describes as a ‘Supermini’. Yes this car is just as small as the Mini Cooper, faster, more powerful, more spacious and much more reliable than the Mini Cooper. So watch out for this one for it will be here soon probably! (OOC The MBS Vole Arrives in 1966…much later than anticipated)

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Luke Sinistra raced towards the Earl’s Court auto show, the sharp scream of his car’s engine echoing around him. Unlike most American cars, the engine note this car was sporting was that of a V6, with single-overhead cams and multiple valves.

Looking for a spot as he approached Earl’s Court, he found one, then violently threw the car into the parking space, in a huge cloud of tire smoke. Many, many years later, that act would have been classified as drifting, but in this time, there was no such term for it, other than someone being stupid behind the wheel.

He shut the growly V6 down, opened the door on his car, grabbed his cane, and stepped out. Appearing to be in his mid-40’s, with long light-gray hair and a beard, Luke Sinistra seemed no different up close than anyone else. He looked through his glasses with sharp, ice-blue eyes, standing six-foot-four as he looked around the venue.

Luke opened the trunk of his car, taking out a bundle of fabric and a few poles, as well as a weight that was a little-too-heavy for a normal 40-year-old man to be lifting comfortably, though he managed with ease. Within minutes, he had a banner up over the car, the Sinistra Aerocoupe.

“This,” he said, his voice carrying surprisingly far, “is the Sinistra Aerocoupe. An American car from an American company, but carrying few typical American traits. Most American cars have a big V8, some 350 to 400+ cubic inches, with way too much power going to the rear wheels to even be sensible. They sit on leaf springs or coil springs out back, on a solid rear axle that provides a ride quality you’d expect in a truck. They get fuel efficiencies barely over 7 miles per gallon, and they slug down super-leaded fuel like an old drunk and his whiskey.”

“So how is our car different? We have a 170 horsepower V6 mated to a four-speed manual gearbox, and semi-trailing arm rear suspension. The front of our car rests on sporty double-wishbone suspension, which means you have fully-independant suspension. Our V6 has a displacement of 3.5 liters, or 213 cubic inches, so it’s big, but not massive. And, it will do almost 20 miles per gallon of regular leaded fuel. Mind you, this is with your fancy DCOE carburettors, nothing tricky from the United States here.”

“But why stop there? We somewhat know the future, we can see the end of Leaded Gasoline approaching. So we’ve done things to prepare. We’ve hardened the valve seats, so she’ll be fine when lead is banned. We’ve left a little breathing room in how close the fueling tolerances are, so that you can still drive it when they take the lead away. Why? Because we know you would be very annoyed if you spent this much on a car only to find out you can’t drive it anymore.” Luke said.

“So, what other features have we brought to the market? By now, you’ve all noticed the center glass panel in the roof. We’d like to say it has practical merit, but really, it’s great for letting some light in. I suppose you could say it’s our way of telling you to look toward the future.”

With all the formalities out of the way, Luke opened the hood and let the crowd get a good look at the engine.

“Most importantly, this car is for the 1960’s market, and goes on sale this year. We hope you enjoyed seeing it here. Now, I’ll be here for only a couple days, and this is the only car we’re unveiling, but I will answer questions, if they’re asked intelligently.”

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Good day! As a reminder this is the SECOND TO LAST DAY of the show! If you’ve got something to show, now would be the perfect time! :slight_smile:

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I’ve found the thread right now… Damn… It will be for the next time.

Sadly if there is a next time, it will be set in the 70s, so there might not be anywhere to post 60s cars

Astranti Obscuro 4.8 SS

The Obscuro had started in development after the Visconte but we kept the engine in the usual placement. With a 4.8 litre V12 boasting 365bhp at 6000rpm gives racing car speed, whilst you sit in comfort.


The interior is fitted with 2 rich black leather seats, wooden dashboard with an aluminium centre console and speedometer right infront of the driver. A sleek body allows the Obscuro to travel up to 179mph and independent suspension all round prevents the snap oversteer, that was prominent in the Visconte.

Set to park along the French Riviera in 1967 for $16300.

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Petoskey is not done yet, in fitting with the trend of Nuclear-powered concepts (Which every other manufacturer has by now dismissed as unfeasible) Petoskey Motors is proud to unveil the Isotope Concept:


While other manufacturers focus on Nuclear power for their cars, we are designing ours to run on the awesome power of Antimatter! That is, once we figure out how to create and store the stuff.

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AND Today is the last day. If you have anything post it now! Technically yesterday was the second to last day, Im just an idiot and i though it was the 7th yesterday, but today is actually the last day…so tomorrow the polls shall begin!

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#Summary 4
Welcome back to Earls Court, folks, for the final day of this year’s show. It’s one rip-roaring-extravaganza of an auto expo, and I’m almost sad to see it go! Some members of the Royal family were court touring the displays, which certainly drew plenty of attention. I hear the young Princess Anne was particularly fond of the Visconte SS, perhaps because it’s green, though we couldn’t determine why.

Let’s see what the final days had in store for us at Earls Court!

Today’s music of choice is a band from the future! Why, it’s the mighty Rolling Stones with The Last Time!

IMP & Monolith revealed the rest of their current lineup at a special presentation. The smartly designed Teuton opened the display; we were impressed back in 1955 when we were first saw it at Geneva that year, and its new facelift ensures it no longer feels outdated. We certainly hope to see a continuation of this line in the future. Sitting next to it was the new Europa, aptly named for its market and featuring a new range of SOHC engines, something that’s still quite new for this market. More variants will be following, though we certainly like the looks of the saloon.

The gorgeous, premium L6 looked stunning in piano black paint (at least we think it’s that, remember that colour vision hasn’t been invented in some parts of the world yet!), and the specs real of this 2nd gen model is simply incredible; 190hp, automatic transmission, LWB design, air-con and a unibody chassis. The Germans may have little in the way of soul, but boy they know how to do luxury.

Another budget sports car was announced by LVC. Called the Parrot, this nippy little 2.1l, 100hp coupe features some great chrome work upfront and sweet, sweet power delivery. It’s nippy, neat and fun. Fairly comfortable for this bit of the market and quite fast too, meaning it certainly ticks all the boxes. And, most importantly, it’ll comfortably hit 100+ mph, which is certainly fast for 1960! We can expect it to arrive next year.

MBS gave us the rundown of their 1960 lineup as well as few upcoming vehicles. The understated Monaco has now been facelifted and continues to offer an excellent budget luxury experience. While it’s as soft as an over ripe peach, its sweet little i3 engine and automatic gearbox really do give it some character, and it is superbly well equipped for a car of this size.

Then, shock and horror occurred. I dare say genuine panic filled the display halls. MBS unveiled a car called the Valiant, with rectangular headlights. Rectangular! What is this? Some science fiction comic? The Valiant is certainly one of the most unusal cars we’ve ever seen, and even more amazing is that it’s being marketed as a people’s car. Which people, we don’t know. Still it’s, certainly cheap and practical.

A new concept of a “supermini” was also unveiled, called the Vole, which will be here soon apparently. We await announcement of similar cars from rival companies.

Sinistra showed as a sleek American V6 coupe. Called the Aerocoupe - a name that could only have come from the States - it’s an advanced and modern look into a very different US car. Decently efficient, great amounts of power from its 3.5l engine and great comfort.

It even has parts that are ready for a potential lead ban from petrol, which seems a little extreme but it’s certainly innovative. The superb glass sunroof is a really great feature, and we think it certainly looks good to. Oh, and the engine has plenty of chrome on it, and we can NOT argue with that.

And then, the most expensive car we have ever seen came along. Astranti revealled the Obscuro 4.8 SS, once again giving us one of the best names for a car ever. The Obscuro looks, sounds and goes like something from the future - incredibly smooth design, those dang-fangled pop-up headlights and a massive 4.8l V12. Producing 365 hp, it’s exceptionally powerful, and will top out at 179 mph.* While it only sits two on the inside, the interior is incredible, with the low roofline counteracted by the wrap-around windows that make it feel thoroughly futuristic. We half expect it to take off and fly out of the exhibition hall!

*will, when it arrives in 1967, which in turn also makes that price slightly more reasonable. Slightly.

Of course, however grand an ending to the show the Obscuro is, we can go one further, or rather Petoskey can. Meet the Istotope Concept, another nuclear-powered car of the future. While they themselves admit that it’s a dead idea already, they’re still giving it a try, and the fact that it’s in a coupe is nice. And, it will run on antimatter, apparently. Though, when they said “we are designing ours”, they seem to imply that the car is actually still be finished. Somehow, we aren’t sure how far it’ll get.

And that’s that folks! Earls Court closes for another year. We’ve seen a great many vehicles this year and we certainly have plenty to look forward to in the future it seems.

We can expect some sort of awards process to follow shortly, so stay tuned for that. For now, I’ve been your host, Gordon Anderson. Good bye for now!

-G. Anderson

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Sounds of three cars can be heard from some distance. Two with a sluggish tone, low but mighty. The other raspy and… did the driver just intentionally ran it into that high count of revolution?
One can now see that it was coming from a rather worn yellow car, an estate to be exact. It turns in with unexpected velocity, and bears a wing on the rear and a number on its side like a race car.


The engine shuts down, the hot metal doing a bit of clicking as it cools down from a possibly arduous trip. At least the condition of the driver seems to indicate that, as he left the car.
W: “Across two continents, just t’prove a point, they said! Half-a-way across the world, they said! And we ain’t even in time.”
A curious elderly bystander approached: “Sir, did I hear that right that you have been travelling across two continents?”
W: “This I did, Mister!”
B: “With this here vehicle?”
W nods, as he was leaning on the car, lighting a cigar.
All the while, two bulky and old looking platform carriages arrive, each is carrying a car that looks similar to the yellow estate parked here, just in red. One of them is a coupe on which the racing features of the yellow estate would look much more appropriate on.
W: “Wanna have a taste? A commie told me those were Cuban. Could believe that.”
B takes the offer and looks past the race car towards the coupe on the truck, which was in clean condition.

W: “This ride’s been through a lot! Began in '65 when I was participating in the rally from Dalnit to Bralka. Even made a first!”
B hands back the cigar to W and asks: “Your name is?”
W: “Pierce. Walker Pierce.”
B: “Good day to you, Mr. Pierce! You care to elaborate something about the cars on the lorries?”
W: “Other than that this here coupe is the real deal and the red estate can somehow run on goat piss? The coupe, you’d have to experience, but I’m afraid I ain’t allowed to hand you the keys to unleash the 250 or so goats, as much as I’d appreciate the assistance. If you excuse me, I have to visit certain facilities.”
B then wondrously looked at the cars, back at Walker who is walking away, and back at the red estate, wondering what he meant with ‘goat piss’.


As appeared:

’65 Taore Pratinum DBR65
Rally Car, 1.9l DAOHC Inline 6 producing 117 hp
Despite the purpose, it featured a radio and overstuffed seats including 2 rear seats. Rough terrain couldn’t really stop it thanks to a 4x4 system taken with one of the estate trims.


’67 Taore Pratinum C 47 V8
‘Muscle’ Car, 4.7l DAOHC V8 producing ~250 hp
As a conclusion to their struggle at the sprint stages of the DBR, the newly found ‘Motorsporting’ division of Taore found that there wasn’t any considerable performance car in the lineup so far. So it was on to change that. Not only has there been a slight facelift, but the coupe version of the Pratinum, the Pratinum C has been designed. This one has not only received an aggressively advancing front, but also a V8 engine driving the rear wheels. The V8 is a first for Taore, the design being based off of two I4 engines. It even retained the same crankshaft design of the I4. It was however more refined than the engine of the Kozmino Sport. Twin barrel carburettors however were just not ready to be used yet, so it uses a set of three single barrels. Inside one can find another set of overstuffed seats and a dashboard partially made of wood.



’66 Taore Pratinum TTL 'Landlord’
Estate/Saloon Car ‘SUV’, 2.3l DAOHC Inline 4 producing ~75 hp on ‘goat piss’
The facelifted version of the original Pratinum the DBR model once has been based on. Comes with a new and more modest interior, but still with a radio and the TT 4x4 system. A special feature of the L version is its ability to run on really low quality petrol/gas. This combined with good offroad capabilities makes it a rather handy personal vehicle in rural backwater areas.

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##1960 Canada Motors Toronto

Saved for the last day of the show is the second generation of the luxurious Canada Motors Toronto! Shown here is the first of two Regal models made for official visits by the royal family. The 6.0L V8 returns from the previous generation and these high-tech aluminium beauties are still partially hand-built.

######Edit: Whoops, guess I’m a little too late. Thought I still had a bit of time.

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#And the doors to Earls Court are closed again for another year. Polls for best in show coming soon

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Sweet!
And excuse my blunder, I assumed that the show was the 1960’s in general, and played as if the show was some time around 1966-'67, with the Pratinum V8 being a brand new concept model they would’ve wanted to present in the show. The intentions to build it would’ve only arisen in 1965, it wouldn’t even be thought of in 1960.

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#Earls Court Best In Show Polls Part 1


Here they are, the long awaited Earls Court Best in Show Polls Part 1!
The Polls will run so that a company can have only 1 car in a poll, meaning if you made 2 luxury cars, only one of those cars will be placed in the poll.

For Part Two, I will take the winner and runner up of each poll and put it into a poll for best in show!
You have until Saturday 15th at 23:00 GMT to vote!

(N.B Since many people thought this was not year specific, I will treat this poll in a similar way, so only cars labeled concept will be placed in the concept category. I also may have skipped some cars since there e.g. Vans and Offroad since there isnt enough of them)

##Best Sports Car

##Best Luxury/Premium Cars

##Best Family Cars

##Best Concept Cars

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