Rd. 2 RESULTS
Chapter 13: Consumer car segment 1955-1963 - sports (pt. 1)
Left to right: Popas Rushba 1500-2S-S II @Mikonp7, Levante Grifo 1750, Levante Grifo 1750 Barchetta Aut. @TanksAreTryhards, Saeta Tronada @Petakabras, Kamaka Destiny 2500GT @LS_Swapped_Rx-7, Levante Grifo 2400 GTS, Saeta Tronada Convertible, Zephorus Espion '55 Roadster @Riley, Saeta Tronada Spirit, Kamaka Destiny 2500GT Convertible, Zephorus Espion '55, Vausse Rainier Luxe, Vausse Rainier Sport @IDK158, Wolfe Cerberus 250 Executive Convertible @karhgath
Sports cars: where practicality stops and speed, agility, and handling begin. These are not for hauling your family, these are not for transporting your goods. These cars simply exist to put a smile on your face. Some will shine with pure straight-line speed on the highway, some will simply put others to shame pulling away from a red light, and others might not be as fast but be a delight on twisty mountain roads. And this is also the segment where the boundaries of engineering and technology get explored - perhaps even pushed (sometimes too far). In this first part we’ll explore the cheaper side of the segment: the budget, standard, and premium sports cars.
When it comes to sports cars, the market started off slow. The only manufacturer to offer a sports car in 1955 was Zephorus with their Espion '55 Roadster and Espion '55. Both were in the ‘premium’ price range, and were worthy successors to the Espion from 1950. Compared to the previous generation Espion, the Espion '55 upgraded to a unibody construction. The Roadster was the cheaper option with just two bucket seats, standard/standard interior, and medium compound tires. But it was a convertible, which gave it an immediate prestige bonus. The Espion '55 was a closed coupe GT-style car with four full premium seats and a premium radio. It was on sports tires, giving it a little more grip and sporty feel. Both cars were quite comfortable too, with the Roadster sacrificing some comfort of course. These were relatively long wheelbase cars, and they were not particularly fast for a sports car (still pretty quick compared to other classes, mind you), and had quite muted exhaust notes. Where they lacked a little in performance, they made up for in looks. They were simply gorgeous and well crafted cars that anyone would be proud to be seen in. For sports cars they were also exceptionally safe and quite easy to drive. So while not exceptionally sporty, they were the only sports cars on the market, and for the price you could not get anything better even from older generation cars. So while the market for sports toys has shrunk over the years - who in the remaining middle class could afford a second car? - those without families and a hunkering for something fun to drive got a Zephorus. The convertible Roadster was particularly popular despite being a little less comfortable and a bit slower - it did convey freedom in a way that the coupe didn’t. The coupe was instead slightly more popular among older “empty nesters” who wanted something more comfortable as they experienced their “second youth”.
Introduced in 1956, the Wolfe Cerberus 250 Executive Convertible came in at a hefty price tag bridging the ‘premium’ and ‘luxury’ segments. A bold car with an equally bold price tag. Yes, it was quite a looker, almost looking like an executive car. Indeed, it was a rather large car and had four full seats, it could also be considered a premium family car as it successfully blurred the lines between sports and family - and some in the family segment were persuaded to get one, as it was one of the few convertible options available to them. But in the end with so few sports car available at this time in Letara, it went down in history as more of a sports car. Now, what did you get for this hefty price tag? Quite a lot, actually. As mentioned, it was a nice looking convertible with four full seats. The convertible part was of the folding-away kind - a step up form the more common detachable soft-top. The interior had a very nicely luxury upholstery and a premium radio. Due to its bulk and the automatic gearbox it was not very fast off the line, but once it got going it had good speed. Flat out on the straights it was actually 10 km/h faster than the Zephorus - you just had to find a long enough straight stretch of empty road. It was quite a comfortable of course, but being relatively heavy it was a little harder to drive. So while the market for it practically didn’t exist, it saw moderate success by straddling segments.
Two years later the Levante Grifo 1750 was released on the Letaran market. It solidly undercut the Zephorus, coming in at the bottom end of the ‘standard’ price bracket. This relatively small coupe had two premium seats (a very nice touch at this price bracket) and a standard radio. Its looks weren’t quite as refined as the Zephorus nor as prestigious as the Wolfe, but it was still very pleasing and sleek with just the perfect accents and attention to detail. It had a relatively small I4 engine, but being a small and light car it didn’t need more. It had superb handling and was just a joy to drive. A true driver’s car one might say, perfect for the twisties. It had good performance too with better acceleration and top speed than the Zephorus. Comfort was even on par with the Zephorus Roadster. So overall, this was just a fantastic proposition at its price, and those in the sports market ate it up. Especially with the economy the way it was, the Zephorus started to look less and less enticing, and the Levante single-handedly took over the took over the lower end of the sports market.
One year later the Grifo 1750 Barchetta Aut. was introduced. It was a slightly more expensive car with more premium features, such as a detachable soft-top, a premium radio, an automatic gearbox, and medium compound tires for a little added comfort. It was a little slower than the base Grifo, but it was significantly more comfortable - eclipsing the Zephorus Roadster and rivalling the Wolfe. Despite being a little slower, it was still a very good driver’s car with good performance. So this became the nail in the coffin for the Zephorus cars, because at this price range in this economy, it was simply a no-brainer. If you wanted a sports car with sports-car performance, and didn’t need four seats, then you got a Grifo, period. And while close on price, the two trims did split the market nicely into the pure sport enthusiasts who wanted the best performance at a good price, and those who wanted some more comfort, prestige, and an open top.
In 1960 the cheaper side of the sports segment opened up a little with four new cars. The cheapest of them all was the Popas Rushba 1500-2S-S II. This car was the only sports car that can be classified as ‘budget’ - in fact it was the cheapest car on offer in Letara during this entire period, in any segment. So for that simple fact, if someone just wanted basic and cheap transportation, and was satisfied with two seats, this is what they got. Simple as that. You could not go cheaper. Now, looking at the rest of the stats, is it really a sports car even? Well, it’s a two-seater coupe, that certainly sounds like a sports car. But it had quite outdated and quite non-sporty looks (the two-tone paint job is a nice touch though), it was on a ladder chassis, it had solid axles front and rear, an off-road skid tray, standard interior and basic radio, medium compound tires, and the only standard springs in this entire field. And it was quite painfully slow, had miserable comfort, and wasn’t the easiest to drive. So no, it was not what you’d call an outright sports car. So while it is classified in this segment, sports car buyers rather tried to save up for a Levante, or forego getting a sports car altogether. The Popas was then only bought by those who really couldn’t afford anything else… and there were unfortunately quite a few of them at this time in Letara.
The Saeta trio of the Tronada, Tronada Convertible and Tronada Sprint were also released in 1960. The base Tronada was price just in the ‘standard’ category and the Convertible and the Spring straddles the Espion Roadster in the ‘premium’ category. The base Tronada was slightly more expensive than the Levantes, but was overall much cheaper to run and maintain (cheaper than the Popas even), so overall it was a nice proposition. All three cars had nice modern looks. Not as flashy as the Zephorus, but equally as appealing in its elegant simplicity as the Levante. All three were two-seater coupes with premium seating. The base model and Sprint had a standard radio, and the Convertible had an upgraded premium model. Another upgrade in the Convertible was of course that it was a convertible - with a nice manual folding soft-top. All three cars pushed the cheaper end of the sports segment toward more performance both in terms of acceleration and top speed. They didn’t handle quite as nicely as the Levante pair, nor were they as comfortable. They were just quick. But was that enough? Well, the base Tronada could give you bragging rights to go 0-100 km/h in under 10 seconds and over 180 km/h, a first in this segment. So those that bought a car based on its statistics were persuaded - but those who knew how to actually drive one and wanted to have fun and be more comfortable doing it stayed with the Levante. As for the Tronada Convertible, it was a little slower despite having a larger engine, and didn’t manage the same benchmark acceleration as its cheaper sibling. So for its more premium price-tag, it was not really worth it, and didn’t manage to persuade many Levante Barchetta buyers to get a Tronada Convertible instead. Then the Sprint. It was a more pure sports-oriented car with sports compound tires and all-round disk brakes, even more light weight, and with even more impressive acceleration and top speed. Currently, it was simply the fastest moving sports car in this segment, and similar performance was only to be had at a much higher price in other cars. So if all you cared out was outright speed, and could afford the Sprint over the base Tronada, you did get the upgraded sports version. But of course, not many could afford such frivolous things in the middle-class anymore.
Introduced in 1961, the Levante Grifo 2400 GTS was a direct answer to Saeta with a price tag under the Tronada Convertible. It introduced a larger, more powerful engine into the Grifo line-up. Other than that it combined the best of its siblings into one package: premium/premium interior and sports tires - making it the perfect combination of sportiness and comfort. It’s performance was superb too. It matched the Tronada Sprint in acceleration, sharing top spot in this segment. Its top speed, however, eclipsed the Tronada by a margin - over 190 km/h! Truly unheard of a this price range. And while doing all this, the GTS didn’t lose any of its agility and drivability, remaining a top “driver’s car”. On top of all, it also had a super-luxurious black paint with rich metallic flake, adding a lot to its prestige and desirability. So it was not only an answer to the Saetas, it was a solid trouncing. So the sports segment was once again fully dominated by the Levantes, as the pure performance junkies swung back to the Grifo.
The Kamaka siblings - the Destiny 2500GT and Destiny 2500GT Convertible - were introduced in 1962. These cars were similar to the Wolfe in that they straddled the family premium and sports premium segments. They were mid-size ladder frame cars with four full-size standard seats and premium radios. For all intents and purposes they were identical cars, except the Convertible had a nice fold-away soft top. In terms of price, the 2500 GT slotted in between the base Tronada and the Grifo GTS, and the more expensive 2500GT Convertible slotted in between the Tronada Sprint and Espion (convertible). These cars were quite solid offerings with acceleration 0-100 km/h just north of 10 s, and a top speed almost 180 km/h - both handily beating the Wolfe. They had a nice modern look too, even if it wasn’t overly fancy. They were relatively easy to drive and had a decent amount of agility, but it was a harsh ride. Indeed, the major drawback of these cars were their comfort. Indeed, the 2500GT Convertible was only slightly more comfortable to sit in than the Popas, and the regular 2500GT was, although more comfortable than the Convertible version, also below anything else on the market. So while not a bad car, it simply could not compete with the already established sports cars in the segment. It also didn’t quite pull off the ‘segment straddling’ as the Wolfe, because by now the family premium offerings have also caught up a little and there were a few sportier versions available there too.
Last on the market in 1963 were the Vausse sibling cars: the Rainier Luxe and Rainier Sport. These were both priced in the upper echelon of the ‘premium’ segment, just under the Wolfe. However, both had very expensive long-term upkeep costs - more expensive than any car in Letara in any segment! Their service costs were expensive, sure, but on par with other high-end premium cars or luxury cars. What hurt was their fuel consumption: over 30 L/100 km of 98-ron premium gas. So whoever bought one of these had to be quite careful about how much they actually drove it… and how far, having to plan ahead where the next fuel station is. These were large ladder-frame cars, and both had 2/+2 premium seating and a premium radio. Medium compound tires and front disks rounded out the package. They did have the largest displacement engine in this segment: a 4.9L 60-degree V8 with older pushrod technology. Despite having disk front brakes, they were woefully under-powered, and the car only managed to stop from 100 km/h in over 63 m, making stops also something to plan ahead… The main difference between the two cars was that the Luxe version had a cheaper detachable soft-top, while the Sport was a regular coupe. These cars were a true handful to drive and offered a modicum of comfort. In terms of performance, they were not the most agile or particularly quick off the line. The Sport had perhaps a small claim to fame of almost making it to 200 km/h, but it couldn’t quite make it. Letarans who were in this price bracket and wanted that top speed were better off saving a bit more money and buying one of the more luxurious sports cars that did make it over 200. So the Vausse cars never made a big dent in the market.
…to be continued…
