Tokyo Auto Show, 1982.
Amidst the expected array of Japanese sports and luxury cars looking flashier than ever before, and the classy ETKs and other European imports, a dark horse arises.
After suffering through two fuel crises and a bevy of new regulations worldwide, last year we announced that the muscle car would truly be staging a comeback. “But the Mustang, Camaro and Charger have been produced this whole time”, I hear you say, to which we at VME can only laugh and say “That’s cute”.
Because this isn’t just any muscle car; this is the VME Valkyrie, a legendary automobile that can trace its roots back to 1964. Back then, the economy of our home country was booming, and customers became curious about the idea of buying a more affordable car with a powerful V8 engine, something which had previously been the preserve of our luxury models. So in that year, a 5.4L V8 found its way into the coupe bodystyle of the Antelope “Sportline”, the tighter-handling version of our midsize family car, and this trim was rechristened the Antelope Valkyrie.
The next year, in response to the launch of the Ford Mustang, the Antelope Valkyrie was restyled (while continuing to share the Antelope platform) to differentiate it from other trims, and simply renamed the Valkyrie. The six-cylinder sporty Antelope coupe received the same restyling and became the entry-level version of the Valkyrie, dropping the Antelope Sportline name. We then experimented with replacing the DAOHC cylinder heads with a 4-valve DOHC design; the resulting engine produced over 300 horsepower and turned our test car into a rocketship. In 1966, this new “Howler-Eight” motor was made available in the top version of the Valkyrie.
1967 brought the biggest changes, with the Valkyrie relaunched as a muscular-looking coupe built on an entirely separate new platform. 1968 marked the arrival of the big-blocks, with the Howler-Eight being upscaled to create the 6.5 to 7.2-litre Mighty-Eight family. More and more powerful engines were added until the Valkyrie reached its peak in 1971, being available with anything from an inexpensive 4.0L DAOHC inline-6 making 175hp, the DOHC Speedy-Six making 210hp, the old single-cam V8 with 245hp, through the Howler-Eight with 325hp, all the way up to the creme de la creme, the Tricolor Works Yugoloth - with a full five hundred and fifty horsepower from its hand-tuned 7.2L fuel-injected motor.
Alas, this was not to last, and with the fuel crisis and tightening emissions laws, the first dedicated Valkyrie was discontinued in 1973. It would only be completely dead for two years, mind you, but when it was revived in 1975 it returned to its roots as a sporty, restyled coupe (or this time, shooting brake as well) trim of the Antelope, with the big-block dead and none of the remaining engine options making over 270 horsepower.
So why did we laugh earlier? Because the new 1981 Valkyrie, now once again built on its own platform, is a muscle car capable of bringing Götterdammerung upon anything the Americans make. It has a 4-litre inline-6 with dual overhead cams that produces a full 220 horsepower, taking it to 62 in 7.5 seconds and up to a top speed of 149mph, and it does it using a pair of good old SU economy carbs - there’s not one failure-prone computerised component in sight. It’s fully compliant with American laws and those of other countries with stringent emission standards, too, boasting a 3-way catalytic converter. And the best part? That was just the base model.
But the tuning house Tricolor Works wasn’t content just to upgrade to the 260hp 4.8L V8, the 300hp 5.4-litre V8, the 320hp 5.4L V8 with common-rail mechanical fuel injection, or the former range-topping motor which they helped develop, the 360hp 5.4L per-cylinder mechanical fuel injected V8. They felt that the triumphant return of the muscle car could not be celebrated except with a Valkyrie that would not only blow audiences away with its overture of straight-line performance, but harmonise it into a complete symphony of driving pleasure.
Introducing the Tricolor Works VME Valkyrie Phoenix, a limited-production ultimate grand tourer which, along with all other versions of the Valkyrie, we are proud to introduce to the Japanese market for the first time as an official dealer import. It boasts a partially handbuilt 5.4-litre “Howler-Eight” engine with a performance intake, per-cylinder mechanical fuel injection, a reinforced bottom end and a high-compression tune that takes advantage of newly available high-octane unleaded petrol, plus an in-house-tuned upgraded sport suspension setup, 5-speed gated manual gearbox and completely revamped interior. It produces 410 horsepower, blasts to 62 in 5.3 seconds and can reach a top speed of 187mph.
“Keep in mind”, continues the salesman at the VME booth, “that despite the low bump in horsepower relative to the next best model with 360hp, Tricolor Works does not only work its magic in the engine bay. Of note, the bespoke interior upgrades found in all TCW editions have been taken a step further in the Phoenix. Not only is there the high-fidelity audio system - cassette this time - and premium leather upholstery that you’d expect (able to be swapped for ultra-high-grade cloth at no extra charge, only in the Japanese market), but the entire interior is of a deluxe sport design meant to be comparable to that in a Civetta or any other great European grand-tourer.* The adjustable-bolster sport seats can be reconfigured for more support during spirited driving or more comfort during easy cruising, and the car also features some of the iconic quirks that identify a vehicle as a VME Group luxury car, such as the extendable rack to aid in the serving of “your favorite non-alcoholic drink”, according to our PR department (who knew there were soft drinks that are served in shot glasses?) as well as a removable glovebox cigar humidor, the value of which will be wasted on our Japanese clients when they just fill it with packs of Lark and Mild Seven.”
“All in all, with the powerful engine, premium interior and track-honed suspension, the Tricolor Works VME Valkyrie Phoenix is a car that aims to deliver 90 percent of the exotic supercar experience for the much lower price of 23,700 AMU - plus more practicality, and a serviceable combined fuel economy of 14.79km/100L. Those excited by the prospect of owning the first insane muscle car built in the last 10 years are highly encouraged to sign up for a test drive.”
*The dashboard filler is not missing on purpose; it was too late to edit the car when I realised I had forgotten it.
- 1982
