CSR 163 - Spontaneous Tomfoolery, Begin! [FINALS RELEASED]

1996 Katami Cheers T-S Supercharged - $4,988

If there ever had to be a picture attached to the word “car” this would be it.

Ad and lore things

The Katami Cheers was sold primarily to taxi companies and as a cheap boxy shitbox that was sold by the hundreds of thousands all over Asia selling from the mid-80s until 2005. Thanks to it’s RWD setup and a lot of them coming with manuals a ton of enthusiasts are using them as cheap drift/project cars.

Sure, you might think what makes this car any different from a brick on the road. Well, that was what Katami was thinking as well and for some reason decided to throw in an Inline 5 with a “supercharger” on top making it a brawler on the streets. It was quite peculiar as to why they did it and why they only did it for such a limited production of a mass market car. Maybe it was rushed to meet some sort of quota or just because they wanted to make a beast to compete with other sports cars.

I got this imported from Japan from the previous owner “Judgement Kazzy” he “apparently” worked at a taxi company in Japan I did hear some rumours that he was part of the yakuza, but it gives me a faint aura of a dragon. I am selling it due to having too many project cars and needing to free up space in my garage.

Some rust pockets on the rear and sides of the car although it is common and it is surface rust features some dents here and there. Reliable and easy to service. Good as a beginner project car. 200,000km on the odometer mint condition.

Mods include:
RKS exhaust system
PONI springs
JKS supercharger tuned for wangan races
Dunlap tires
New rubber bushings
Stage 1 engine mods
Upgraded 4 pot brakes
15" Work equip 02 rims
New subwoofers at the back
Factory LSD equipped
Asking for $4,988 will trade for a dirt bike

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Its front end somehow reminds me of that of a VC/VH Commodore… from over a decade earlier, but with wider headlights and a narrower grille.

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It’s supposed to resemble those old taxis you see throughout Japan and HK.

2009 Mara Zora Mk3 4.6 AMM Prototyp

This is a concept car that resulted out of a bet at AMM, Mara’s performance division, between a junior engineer and the chief engineer that it was impossible to put Mara’s Ekonom V8 into their city car, the Zora Mk3.

The junior engineer recruited a couple friends among the AMM employees and started a skunkworks project to prove the chief engineer wrong, while the chief engineer generously provided a former test mule engine and parts to support the junior engineer’s supposedly fruitless endeavour. In the end, the junior engineer won the bet with a working transversely-installed V8 into the FWD Zora.

Graciously accepting defeat, the chief engineer decided to go all-in and decided to have the rest of the car - exterior and interior - get the full AMM treatment (at least, as far as possible) by the same crew ‘for educational purposes’, and AMM displayed the concept car at the 2010 Kronagrad Autoshow to a puzzled reception.

The car was drivable, with topspeed exceeding 300 kph, as some trial runs illustrated, but a number rough edges remained, of course, such as braking capability, the limited wiring on the interior, or the electric non-variable steering stemming from the Zora’s city car roots.


All photos taken during the sole public appearance of the V8 Zora during the 2010 Kronagrad Autoshow

With no plans to put the V8 Zora into production (or even offer it as an AMM conversion project), what exactly became of the concept car after that is unknown… until it surfaced on c(omrade)Bay earlier this year.

(A beneficial side-effect for Mara was that some of the lessons learned from the Zora V8 project were integrated into the next-generation Kavaler which was also going to be transverse-FWD for the first time. There, they had an easier time engineering the regular production version of a transverse-V8 variant, but into a much more spacious engine bay designed for it, of course.)

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I’m amazed the V8 even fit there :smiley:

You would be surprised what you can squeeze in too tiny spaces, happens to me with my wardrobe every morning.

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I am not complaining…

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so heres the story.

once a son of rich oil magnat had an super car, the dad got executed and his riches seize and the son had too flee the country but he brought his super car with him to the new country where he lives for the last 12 years, being unable to acess any of his enormous wealth, hes being working at convenient store, using the car as a dailydriver, most of the money went for the gas to fill the tank but he didnt had money to pay for maintenance, so one day the engine kapput, and his co worker told him that he knew a guy that could put a new high displacement engine in it and take the old for himself plus some money for the workhours, a high displacement engine for very few bucks? the once son of a rich dad accepted to bring his car to this guy and let him work on it for two weeks, when he came back he was shoked to know that the high displacemet engine was from a truck, also the old engine was sold to help pay for the expenses. now the unantended sport suspension had colapsed under the weight of the truck engine, and it drove like ass. demoralized the once rich boy decided to put the car for sell for whatever money he could get for it, and bought an bicycle for his day to day commute. the end.

TL.DR the car is fitted with an heavy truck engine…

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“The Battlegeuse” by Wendigo Motorworks

“You were supposed to ‘modify your car appropriately’! This is the bloody coupe of Theseus!”
“I don’t know what you’re on about. This is the same car!”
“THE BETELGEUSE NEVER CAME IN DIESEL OR ALL TERRAIN TIRES, YOU MUPPET!”

luminous really reheats last csr's entry? no dignity.
gallery
pitch
This strange-looking coupe was one of three cars that appeared in a certain automotive show's 2008 Archana special, a cross-country trek in the most inappropriate vehicles they could find for the task modified to varying degrees to just barely suit the task.

Shockingly, this car was the cheapest as purchased despite being only three years old at the time of airing. It was quickly found out, however, that in mid-2007, this particular example had been subject to a rather profound Act of God that left it completely submerged and basically a writeoff, which would explain why almost nothing of the car’s original drivetrain or electronics remain. Ultimately, accounting for the modifications, this did end up being the most expensive car of the lot. That being said, because the changes were so extensive, it did actually end up doing rather well on a beaten path, much to the chagrin of the other hosts.

The most notable modifications Wendigo’s skunkworks made to the original car were, as follows;

  • The original 4.0l naturally aspirated flat-6 unit has been thrown out in favor of a 4.3l twin turbo diesel V6 sourced from a 2004-model Sumner Ballista C:S. Further modifications were made to raise its output to 421hp and 830nm.

  • The original ZF 6HP 26A gearbox that came with the AT-model Betelgeuse, in addition to having been submerged in water for extended periods of time, was also projected to be incompatible with the new engine’s sheer torque and the drivetrain it was to be bolted into. It was swapped out with the 6-speed manual from the same donor Ballista.

  • The original helical front and rear drives were also thrown out in favor of the 4WD system from an Ayatsuji Fraxinus GSR. An aftermarket manual locking differential was added in the middle to complete the setup.

  • The car’s original springs were also thrown out in favor of aftermarket air suspension. The rest of the suspension components were also swapped out for stronger aftermarket replacements to better handle the rigors of offroad driving, and the car was raised nearly 170mm and fitted with portal axles to increase its ground clearance. Skidtrays were added to the underside of the vehicle to protect key components. The car retains independent suspension as to be able to use the original mountings, though some viewers questioned the viability of this decision.

  • At the time this special was aired, the electricals were only fixed as far as the essentials like headlights, the bolt-on race cluster, the existing drive assists, and the air suspension controls. The original infontainment screen had been thrown out in favor of a comms radio setup, and the aircon basically blew uncooled air— debilitating since the windows didn’t open. In the intervening years since, a CD player has been fitted, the HVAC system has been restored, and the windows were fixed.

  • The exterior was subject to dramatic and extensive modifications that included the installation of an external roll cage, rock sliders, additional cladding to protect the bodywork, roof-mounted rally lights, a roof-mounted tent (which was stolen during that episode. A replacement was since fitted.), a deck-mounted spare tyre, and a hidden rear winch. One concern that came up was that the modifications made the rear hatch impossible to open, but since the entire rear storage was accessible from within the cabin, this was ultimately regarded as a nothingburger. A scoop was bolted onto the original hood to feed the intercooler. The exhausts were rerouted to exit through the tops of the rear fenders because “it looked rather fantastic”. Since this was before the time of wraps, the entire car had to be repainted proper into its current matte green.

All things considered, this car has remained in fairly excellent condition in the seven years since that airing, having spent half of that in storage and the other half in Wendigo’s workshop, mostly as an exhibit piece. The car’s aluminium bodywork and high-tensile steel construction have allowed it to survive the flood it suffered relatively rustless, and the CRDI Sumner unit seems to have survived the test of time as well despite being boosted beyond its original spec.

It is now 2015. Things don’t always go to plan. After some four years of flagging business due to unknown reasons, Wendigo is now looking to let go of some of its assets, starting with this one-of-a-kind improbable trail beast that used to be a Lumiere Betelgeuse, all for the frankly highway robbery price of $10,845.

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1998 Saberin Soaura 2000EX (Tri-Top Conversion)

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1998 sabering soaura 2000 Ex - 8324$


4wd estate rear engine torsen differetial 6 spd
2 liter boxer engine runs good
second owner have title
full convertible roof glass panels have metal panels too doesnt leak
serviced well
8324$ obo will not respond to msg asking if avaialble

check engine light is on

The Saberin Soaura

1996 saw the introduction of the fifth generation Soaura. Based off of a shortened Atarin platform, the SM5 Soaura ended the SM4’s (relatively unsuccessful) 16-year production run. Being a shortened Atarin made adaptation for a sedan much easier, as the top-cooling arangement was dropped with the SM4’s chassis. For the first time the affordable Soaura model was offered with a sedan option along with the coupe. Not that many people cared, unless you were especially weird, had an obsession with a ‘funny animal community’ or were a frequent viewer of Hetvesian television, in which case you probably wouldn’t want a rear-engine barge with questionable drivability in adverse conditions.

'96 SM5 Soaura 2000ES Sedan


'96 SM5 Soaura 3000R Coupe

'61 SM2/B model Soaura

Now the crackheads at Saberin decided that a coupe and sedan weren’t enough for their extremely niche set of customers and chose to develop a wagon variant. The Soaura L was offered in a handful of trims: the E, ES(i) and EX, along with a new “A” trim which was the most bare-bones model Saberin offered, surpassing even the Solsti E, oriented at customers looking for a heavy-duty-ish vehicle with lots of room.

[For comparison, the Sedan and Coupe were offered with E (base), ES (mid-trim), ESi (variable intake/lux), S (sport), R (performance), and Sabersprint RS (factory special).]

The -EX was the even more odd one out out of an odd model in of itself. This trim came with all of the luxury features of the ESi, along with a lift kit, offroad sway bars, wider all-terrain tires, factory mudflaps and plastic cladding around the vehicle to protect against chips. It also received the ESi’s sixth-generation X4 engine with the S-AIR (Sequential Automatic Intake Runner) variable intake system, producing 127kW at 6700 rpm and 206Nm of torque at 5100 rpm (with 80% torque available at 1300rpm). To aide in any adventures off-road, it received a part-time 4WD system and torsen limited-slip differentials. The modification also included a special six-speed manual transmission with a lower first couple of gears. Also included was a “trail handbook” containing some tricks to get a little more out of the car.

But Saberin wasn’t content with merely a weird luxury all-terrain estate. No, no. Soaura Works, the in-house special vehicle department, decided to do something nobody asked for. They chopped the roof off, made the pieces panels, installed slide rails and decided that was that and sold it as a factory modification. To address safety issues that put the EXS3 Atarin’s prestige in question, several reinforcing rails were installed to provide side impact resistance and strengthen the roof, along with side impact airbags standard on everything other than the E trim, redesigned for the chop top. The air conditioning system also received a significantly larger compressor and heat exchanger mounted in the front bumper to cool the cabin in case the glass top panels were installed and it was a sunny day out.

Why? At the time, Saberin seemed to have a sort-of identity crisis, as Ilaris Group (its parent company) ran in to financial issues after cancellation of several high-profile defense contracts. In order to bolster revenue management wanted the company to widen its reach and produce some special variants to produce some publicity for the public. These kinds of modifications to the lineup started to alienate Saberin’s main customer base by adding weight, putting the Soaura name in question of its future of being a sports car and moving upmarket by a fair bit. These reasons and other factors led to the 2003 bankruptcy, partial liquidation and restructuring of the company, the only thing keeping the company afloat being the first-generation e-Solsti electric car until the fourth-generation Solsti reignited full-scale operations. The SM5 Soaura production sputtered on until the factory was shuttered and left in a maintenance-only state for two years. Soaura production stopped until the SM6 Soaura released off of a new shortened Atarin chassis in 2014.

So who bought this? Did the Tri-Top sell despite the odds? Not at all. The Tri-Top conversion was a fairly big flop, never achieving the sales figures that a later Solsti chop top got. A few factors were responsible, like it being only on the wagon version, being fairly expensive, requiring your vehicle to be converted after delivery to the dealer, leaking issues after some time, and many people operating the manual slide top incorrectly resulting in bruised fingers or broken top glass. Owners were provided with glass panels and the metal panels, in case of issues or bad weather. Many just left them in a garage or outside since they took up a lot of space, even stuffed in the frunk.

pictures

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Lore

Perata is a Malaysian car company founded in 1980. They mainly focus on cheaper passenger cars and vans. Their name is an abbreviation of Perak Automotive Tooling and Assembly.

The 1996 Milano was Perata’s first attempt to conquer the North American market. It sold very poorly, selling about 5,500 units throughout its 5-year production run. It was much more successful in the Southeast Asian and Oceanian markets, selling well over 120,000 cars there. Since it was their biggest sales success thus far, Perata decided to make a racing version of it. Unfortunately, it never happened due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Regardless of there not being a race version, Perata made 521 homologated examples under the name SV4, about 75 of which were exported to the US and Canada. Oh, and it revs past 9,000 RPM

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Announcement


I'm extending the deadline till 8th of September!

Long story short, I got a new job not too long ago and I’ve worked hard to the point the manager has noticed my efforts and wants to promote me into a slightly higher position. The training modules and paperwork kept me quite busy for the last week or so which delayed the judging process, AND some people did ask for a small deadline extension.

All things kept in mind, I’d like to extend the deadline till: September 8th, 11:59 PM (UTC+10)

Thanks for understanding, the entries have been a joy to see so far, looking forward for the last few head turners!!!

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Congrats on your hard work being recognized and rewarded! Looking forward to hearing the final results here. Thanks for hosting!

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Modified Formula Theta Racecar for Sale

The Formula Theta was an entry level spec formula series that ran from 1987 to 1993. There were two main categories: 771cc and 821cc. The former was the more popular of the two and the one this car raced in.

I’m selling my modified 1990 Superlite Theta 64R. I was modifying it to make it road legal, but I had to stop for reasons I’m not gonna get into and I never completed homologation. The chassis and body are in perfect condition, and all the lights work correctly. It needs some maintenance on the mechanical side, but nothing too dramatic.

It’s powered by a 771cc boxer 4 from a second gen Tarquini Vita, so it’s cheap to run and service. Additionally, it run on standard 95 fuel so you don’t have to around looking for high octane fuels. It makes 64hp which might not seem like much, but since it only weights 409kg, it’s a blast to drive. If you’re looking for something comfortable, look somewhere else: it has an open diff and no ABS, TC, power steering or downforce. This is a car for true drivers.

This fun little guy can be yours for just $8824.

Gallery:

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My lactose-intolerant ass would like to personally thank Wrekt for this surprisingly cheeseless (and, in a sense, casual) CSR. I wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole otherwise - that's more than enough sweat for one summer.

mizuiro_new_temp

On January 1st, 2000, people across the globe rang in the new year, and the new millennium with it. This included a number of sponsored events by entertainers, artists, and governments alike, but not so much those in the car industry.

Well, with an exception being the Rinkai Motor Company, based in Japan.

Founded in 1974, the comparatively young automaker, while moderately successful in its own right, decided to look to the future in the wake of economic stagnation in the early 1990s. To that end, it drew up a plan to join forces with motorcycle and luxury car manufacturer Sanekiyo, which would take effect come the 21st century.

With the ambitious endeavour involving a reworked brand strategy and the development of more than one new vehicle platform and engine architecture, it seemed at first glance as though everything was accounted for. By 2001, though, although Sanekiyo’s motorcycle division was largely unaffected by the shake-up, its luxury vehicle offerings had yet to make a return, and most importantly of all, the rebranding of Rinkai export models to Mizuiros failed to attract any more attention outside of Japan.1

Thus began an effort led personally by CEO and founder Kouei Ishii2 to convince the world that in spite of the name change, his car company’s new lineup still had what it took to appeal to the customer base it was now at risk of losing.

The result was the unorthodox Seigun MR-Spec.

Proudly adorned with a storied FR compact sports nameplate,3 underpinned by a bespoke lightweight monocoque chassis, and driven by a mid-mounted 3-litre V6, the 2002 Seigun MR-Spec is equal parts flashy sports car and unadorned runabout, just as suited for daily driving as it is for being pushed to the limit.

The Seigun MR-Spec is a high-risk, high-reward car, though moreso for the company than the customer thanks to clever packaging and extensive reproportioning of the original design meant to aid in both weight balance and frunk space.

Other styling changes include a subtle aero kit and larger haunches for the wider rear wheels, but perhaps the most notable difference from the standard front-engined Seigun is the Kamm-style rear liftgate. Striking a balance between the hatch size of a full notchback liftgate and the low weight of a conventional trunk, it allows for easier access to the already sunken-in engine bay.

Able to produce over 250 hp (184 kW) from a smooth, linear power curve as well as achieve fuel economy figures of less than 8 L/100km, the Seigun MR-Spec’s HC30D DOHC V6 is equipped with variable valve timing and lift and paired to a tried and true six-speed manual gearbox.

Despite the Seigun MR-Spec’s value proposition being based almost entirely on its odd layout, it was never intended to be a volume seller. As such, a total of 500 units, including those retained for display by Mizuiro and not sold to the public, were produced.

Specifications
Name Mizuiro Seigun MR-Spec '02
Price (New) $36,000
Price (Second-Hand) $10,724
Colour Eventide Blue Metallic
Displacement 2997 cc
Max. Power 256 hp (188 kW) @ 6,500 RPM
Max. Torque 307 Nm (227 ft-lb) @ 4,900 RPM
Drivetrain MR
Aspiration NA
Transmission 6MT
Footprint (L x W) 3.91 m x 1.67 m
Weight 1016 kg (2240 lb)

Notes
1: The Mizuiro brand was used in Japan ever since the inception of the Rinkai Motor Company, but cars were sold in most export markets as Rinkais until 2000-2005 due to the name being perceived as easier to pronounce.
2: 磯井興栄, Ishii Kōei (b. 1951)
3: In production since the late 1970s, the Rinkai Seigun (星群), later Mizuiro Seigun, is a compact sports coupe akin to the real-world Starion, Silvia, and 86/BRZ. It has had no different export names throughout its history.

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![image|690x429](upload://u0eaZhWR064LeWCwUJdypeqCJY1.jpeg) ここで聞いてください。 私はあなたが好きではない。 今からあなたに向かって吠えます。 ワンワン、バークバーク。 ワンワンワン、バークバーク。 ワンワンワン、ワンワンワン、バークバークバーク

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✦ Lore
*Sellers note: The following is an excerpt from Japanese automotive magazine detailing the debut of this rare sub-model of the Hiyunzari Quartz. The car being sold is one of the few hundred built to satisfy GT3 homologation regulations. It is finished in Liquid Aluminium with the standard black/red split interior. The original custom tires have been preserved, the original owner swapping them out for default Trofeo R's at the time of purchase. The car has the typical wear and tear of a weekend driven track car with 42,069 miles on the odometer. This piece of Japanese performance history can be yours for only $15,746.

Hiyunzari are known for taking what may seem to others to be outlandish concept cars and bringing them to market. Sweeping curves, fiddly detailing, and extreme proportions are all made production ready with Hiyunzari’s high levels of reliability and precision. Their engineers follow the avantgarde whims of their designers and are always up to the challenge. Said engineers also do not back down when asked to do the nearly impossible. Not even when it’s the drunken challenge of a shareholder to beat the Nürburgring production car lap record with the most niche car in Hiyunzari’s lineup.

Enter: The 2010 Hiyunzari Quartz Castella GTZ.

Understanding the Quartz Castella GTZ is like unwrapping the layers of a carefully packed bento. The regular Hiyunzari Quartz is your typical lightweight Japanese sportscar: small N/A inline 6, excellent cornering dynamics, driver focused interior. The Quartz Castella asks the question of “What if the Quartz had been made in the 1930s at the peak of the art deco aero coupes?”. The wheelbase has been stretched. The body has been given a massive retro overhaul with a large formal grill and friendly oversized headlamps. The suspension has been softened for a more luxurious ride. It’s a more sedate sub-model of a lively sports car. The Quartz Castella GTZ turns everything the original Castella and even the original Quartz knew on their heads. Gone is the sedate retro modern coupe and in its place is a fire breathing, high revving monster.

The first step in turning the Quartz Castella into the “Beautiful Assassin” that is the GTZ was to swap the 2.77 Liter IS28-DE inline 6 out for the much more powerful 4 Liter UR39-DSE V8 that had been developed for homologation in the GT500 segment of Super GT. This 500 hp behemoth barely fit within the engine bay of the Castella with the exhaust now being routed within the side running-boards to facilitate easier servicing. The original manual box was swapped out for a snappy 6 speed DCT that isn’t untenable in everyday driving.

The second step involved sending the testbed vehicle out to Zacspeed for an aerodynamics and handling overhaul. Using their experience in F1 as a guide, the team at Zacspeed tinkered and toiled away untill there was nothing extraneous or unnecessary left to keep the Quartz Castella GTZ from being an extreme track weapon. Wider, grippier tyres were sourced from Pirelli to tame the shear amount of power the car was putting out. The car was lowered a good 2 inches and the front air dam taken from glitzy chrome bumper to aggressive shovel feeding into an equally aggressive undertray that makes full use of ground effect aero principles. A massive touring car esque wing was added on top of a trunk extension. The rear was reworked with a massive diffuser with incorporated rain light, hinting at what Zacspeed and Hiyunzari both hoped could be accomplished. Numerous louvers were also cut in the front fenders to alleviate lift that was building there during testing and in the hood for extra cooling. When the car was turned back over to Hiyunzari, it resembled a much meaner, more aggressive and imposing specimen than what had left their workshop.

Now that they had the heart and soul of the Quartz Castella GTZ squared away, Hiyunzari set about the rest of the legalities of making it truly road legal and viable as a product. They kept the interior much the same as it was in the regular Quartz Castella except for a few key differences. Firstly, the plush seats were substituted for more supportive Zacspeed sport seats. Second, the gauge cluster was updated to reflect the astoundingly high, newly tested top speed of 215 mph. And Finally, the center console was fitted with a high tech, fully customizable display to help prospective buyers keep track of lap times and other track day diagnostics. After their testing and road legality status were solidified, Hiyunzari was finally ready to take the Quartz Castella GTZ overseas to conquer the green hell.


*Track times shown from the full Nürburgring 24Hrs circuit the day of the record setting lap.

And conquer it they did. The above is an internal snapshot of the diagnostic screen from that testing run. It shows a staggering time for the Nürburgring 24Hrs layout and other data from the test gave a similarly fast time for the Nordschleife at 6'47.300. This pace thoroughly beat out both the Gumpert Apollo Sport and Radical SR8 LM, the two most recent record holders. Hiyunzari took this success and geared up for full production of the Quartz Castella GTZ. As of the writing of this article, after around 50 examples of the car have been produced, Hiyunzari have made a repeat of that original run, firmly securing the lap record for a production vehicle on the Nurburgring Nordschleife. It is rumored that a large sum of money changed hands from that shareholder to the company that is now funding both the Super GT and GT3 effort Hiyunzari is making with the Quartz Castella GTZ. This retro modern track weapon is available now for $44,900 as a special order from most Hiyunzari dealerships.

(TL:DR Shareholders bet that Hiyunzari couldn’t build a road going GT3 version of the Quartz Castella and Hiyunzari said hold my sake and now we have a retro modern monster.)

Specs

✦ 4 L UR39-DSE DOHC V8
✦ 501 horsepower @ 7900 RPM
✦ 355.9 Ft-Lb of torque @ 6900 RPM
✦ 1079 Kg
✦ 6 Speed DCT
✦ 17 in Advan RCIIIs with custom Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R semi slicks (245/40R17 front, 295/35R17 rear)
✦ 3.39 second 0-60
✦ 215 mph top speed

© 2009-10 Hiyunzari, 2010 Zacspeed, All Rights Reserved

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image
(a collaboration with @That-S-cop)

Lore
In 1993, Bradford's project "Elisa" has finally been unveiled to the public, aptly named the "Stargazer". The Stargazer is marketed to young adults who want to experience the utilitarian lifestyle without all the drab that is associated with it. Unlike all the previous lineup of sportscars in Bradford's history, the Stargazer is the first (relatively) tame vehicle to come out of the Yorkshire firm. Despite that, Bradford stated that the Stargazer is built with "rallying pedigree" in mind, sporting a rally-inspired fascia with oversized fog lights based off the 90's Group A WRC cars.

The biggest feature point that brings the namesake to life are the glass roof panels that are laid across on top of the van for driver and passengers to look up upon.

Inspired by many a Japanese van, the Stargazer is equipped with a 4WD system developed in-house in collaboration with Comet-Bar, a leading offroad enthusiast group in Australia that specializes in offroad packages for anything that can be fitted with such.

One of the Stargazer’s party piece is the second-row as dubbed by Bradford the “Lounge Couch”, which can be positioned in the center or to either side, and has the ability to rotate 90 or 180 degrees facing the 3rd row passegers, which allows the passenger to configure the back passenger space to whatever they desire.


Powering the Stargazer is a potent turbocharged 2-litre 4 cylinder, making 275 hp to either only the rear wheels or all wheels. The drivetrain has been developed for all streneous usage, including on-road performance driving.


In 1995, Comet-Bar released a dealership offroad package for the Stargazer, dubbed the “Esperance” based off a town in Western Australia, known for striking scenery and clear water. The Esperance package equips the Stargazer with a roof rack designed for the Stargazer as to minimize the blockage of the glass roofs but maintaining usability. It also comes with a nudge bar, side steps, and a towbar. Most importantly, it comes with bigger wheels with thicker tires, making the Stargazer more orientated for offroad driving.

AD
Presented to you in pristine condition, our 1995 Stargazer Esperance is ready to be sold off to another adventurer who will explore the world like we did.

All the original kit that was installed from the dealer comes with it, mechanically refreshed (replaced injectors, timing belt, headgasket; changed engine and transmission oil before being sold)

Rust has been looked after and has been treated, paint has been refreshed to original factory paint code.

Price is firm ($14971) but is still negotiable to the right person…

Contact us at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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Gerald does not know what Facebook marketplace is

Lore

The 1994 Winsonette Topaz was an evolution of a “car” released in 1973. Much like a Reliant Robin, it was a 3-wheeled vehicle that one could drive with a motorcycle license and have lower tax and running costs than an actual car. These sorts of vehicles were popular with working class citizens that otherwise couldn’t afford a car in Britain.

Original 1973 model

By 1994 the car had already seen a facelift, and the 1994 revision would be a slightly larger update. The update was needed tohave any hope to keep the lights on in the Winsonette division, a struggling motorcycle / 3-wheeler division of the larger Winson brand. Winson as a whole was struggling during the 90s, having a tough time selling cars facing Japanese and mainland European competition.

WinsoNET website front page, 1996

As an attempt to make the Topaz into something “cool”, it became a new sort-of mascot to the Winson website, WinsoNET, where it would be a convenient helping hand when it came to finding things on the website. It was also the first model to be showcased on the website, as early as 1995. Unfortunately the website was hacked in december of 1995, and the hackers had replaced all pictures of Topaz with pictures of car crashes, pointing ridicule towards the controversial 3-wheeledness of the “car”, due to the questionable safety when compared to conventional cars of the time.

WinsoNET website, Topaz information page, 1996

Another factor in destroying sales of the Topaz was a review of the vehicle by Jeremy Clarkson in autumn of 1996, where he described the car to be an “elderly pig with all the lipstick thrown on it, except the pig is made out of recycled buckets and it’s missing a leg”. At this point the writing was on the wall for one of the last 3-wheelers being made in Britain, and production ended in 1998, the last hundred examples being special edition Topazes in metallic orange paintjobs and fully leather interiors. During its 4-year lifespan however around 500 units were exported in the United States as motorcycles by an enthusiastic businessman, who was sure it would become a popular city car.

Gallery

Collaboration between me and @Tsundere-kun

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God I don’t think my funny taxi car can compete with this beast lol.