Rd. 3 RESULTS
Chapter 14: Consumer car segment 1964-1974 - sports cars pt. 1
Left to right: Resuki Ligera GT-Special @Repti, Vaughn Silverbird Coupé @Knugcab, Kinnister BL22 @ldub0775, Niichi Dynema Aquila MT30 @MisterRocketMan, Mitsushita Royale 2000 GTCi @conan, Vaughn Silverbird Rallye Convertible, Garland Valiente Prancer SR, Lombard Tenerife @ChemaTheMexican, Mitsushita Royale 2500 GT-RS, Vaughn Silverbird GTC, Zephorus Deagle 150 @Riley , Walkenhorst 2000 SPRT @Fayeding_Spray, Kamaka Draco 2500GT @LS_Swapped_Rx-7
Sports cars, where segment where the rubber hits the road; or rather, is supposed to. These cars typically are two-seater coupes or sedans, but as always there exists a grey area between segments, making some cars harder to classify - the segment benders. Regardless of how a sports car is classified, this segment held steady with 22 entries, maintaining a very healthy if not over-saturated market. From the small and nimble to the large and fast, every type of sports car is represented. Since there were no outright budget offering in this era, let’s see how the standard and premium sports cars did.
But first some unfortunate housekeeping...
I am terribly sorry, but I just noticed that there is one more bin. @Riley - the Zephorus Deagle 150 uses functional aero bits, which are banned for road cars. I’ve also already taken the group shot and retaking it would take too long, so it is in the line-up. Again, my apologies for only noticing this now and that I didn’t include it in the overall bins post.
The first sports car on the market was the 1967 Walkenhorst 2000 SPRT. This 2-seater coupe was on the more expensive side of the segment, almost breaching into the luxury price category. It had a sport interior and standard radio, sport compound tires and all-round disc brakes. It had a relatively small I4 engine, but because it was rather small and very light (only 831 kg), it had very good acceleration. Its top speed was not the best for a sports car (for some inexplicable reason it was gear limited to 165 km/h, despite the car capable of nearly 200). Just like the majority of sports cars, it was not the most comfortable ride, but chances are you probably wouldn’t be spending too much time in one anyway. Its brake set-up was also questionable with undersized rotors, underpowered front brakes and overpowered rears. And this car had one other major flaw: it catastrophically, fatally oversteered at any speed, which made it neigh undrivable. So despite being the only sports car on the market at this time, most people stayed away; for less price you could buy for example a Swanson 225 PF, that had better performance, more comfort, superb drivability and a racing pedigree to boost.
The Vaughn Silverbird Coupé was released in 1967; this car aimed straight at the lower standard segment and was the cheapest sports car on the market for a few years. It was a more practical car with 2/+2 standard seating and a basic radio, and definitely a more budget-minded offering with hard cross-ply tires and drum brakes on all four corners. So while on paper it might not have evoked the image of a fire-breathing monster, its styling was quite aggressive and hinted at a more aggressive nature. Indeed, it had a larger I6 engine with plenty of power. Its tires smoked rather that provided grip, so it was not the fastest off the mark, but it had excellent top speed at nearly 200 km/h; just about the cheapest way one could get to that speed was in a Silverbird. It was a one-trick pony, however. It was not comfortable and quite hard to drive, but reliability was decent. So really, it was only suitable for one thing: going fast in a straight line. And the youth who wanted to smoke their tires loved it too, and it became that nuisance car - parked in the strip mall parking lot surrounded by leather jacket wearing teens boasting about the latest skid mark they left two blocks away and leaving behind a pile of empty beer cans when they finally left the scene.
The Silverbird Rallye Convertible, released the same year, was a more… serious… car by Vaughn. Its price tag just put it at the bottom of the premium price point, splitting the difference between the Silverbird Coupé and Walkenhurst. It had the same 2/+2 standard seats, but improved the entertainment with a standard radio. It was a convertible with a removable top, which instantly made the car more desirable. It had an automatic gearbox, disc front brakes, and medium compound radial tires, which kept more of its large V8’s power on the road. But it was a very heavy vehicle, certainly the heaviest sports car in Letara, and overall in the top 5 of all cars - so it was still not very fast off the line. Top speed did break 200 km/h though. And similar to its cheaper sibling, it handled quite poorly and was most suitable to go fast in a straight line. It was slightly more comfortable and more prestigious, of course. Where the Coupé found a niche among the relatively poor and rebellious youths, the Rallye Coupe was seen as a slightly more mature offering and more often seen around college campuses driven by slightly older youths.
The third car by Vaughn, the Silverbird GTC was the most expensive of them, aiming for the upper half of the premium segment. With its styling including hood-scoops and a decal stripe it aimed - and succeeded - to look the most sporty of the line-up. Upgrades included a larger displacement and much more powerful V8 engine, clutched differential, sport compound tires, but retained the standard/standard interior. The GTC sacrificed some comfort and reliability, and was indeed quite hard to control at times, but it did have proper acceleration and top speed numbers (6.4 s 0-100 km/h and 247 km/h), beating other sports cars in the category at this time - indeed it was the cheapest way to go this fast in 1967. So it could be said that for each individual price point, the Vaughns were simply the fastest cars at release. The GTC, then, attracted a similar clientele as its cheaper siblings: the slightly rebellious buyer who just wanted to kick and then smoke tires, go fast in a straight line. But with its price point, it attracted the older crowd: still donning leather jackets, but with less hair at the top of their heads, and not hanging out at the strip mall, but drinking beer in front of each other’s suburban garages. Yes, it was the staple car of that obnoxious recently-divorced neighbour.
The most expensive premium sports car was also released in 1967: the **Kamaka Draco 2000GT. This small car was much more sleek and nimble than the others on the market. The coupe had two premium sports bucket seats and a premium radio. Rounding out the sport car image, it had a clutched differential, five-speed manual gearbox, semi-clad bottom, sport compound tires, and four-wheel disc brakes. It didn’t have the most power from its relatively small I6 engine (in fact only about half the Hp compared to the Silverbird GTC. Despite the power deficit, it was still just as quick 0-100 km/h as the GTC, and its top speed was still a very respectable 225 km/h. Despite its smaller size, it was more comfortable than the GTC and it was comparatively a breeze to throw around bends and corners. With a superb track record at the Lerance Raceway in the R1 category, this car also benefited from from the brand’s positive image. So overall, it did quite well in the premium sports car category, but being on the cusp of the luxury market, it didn’t do quite as well as as it might have due to some of the cars on offer there (namely, from its stable mate the 2000GT Convertible - but more on that in the next chapter).
Two sister cars were released in 1968: the Garland Valiente Prancer SR and the Lombard Tenerife. These cars were priced nearly identically and both between the Silverbird Rallye and Silverbird GTC; the notable difference was the Prancer SR’s very high long-term upkeep due to high service costs. The Prancer SR was the more sports-oriented car, starting with its more aggressive fascia and blacked out hood with scoops. It had 2/+2 sports seats and a basic radio (a bit of a disappointment at this price point), manual gearbox, clutched differential, and sports compound tires. It had a large all-aluminium V8 engine with nearly 380 Hp, making it one of the most powerful cars seen thus far. Its sporty nature did bring one issue with the car: the single simple muffler was inadequate to bring engine noise down to legal levels, so buyers had to install an aftermarket muffler before driving off the lot. Was this worth it? Well, it was by nature a similar car as the Vaughn cars: fast in a straight line, but don’t try to turn. In the case of the Prancer don’t try to turn at all at speed, because the back-end will overtake you in a hurry. So while it was indeed a very good price-speed proposition, it didn’t quite manage to displace the Vaughn cars. The issues it had didn’t quite overcome its shortcomings.
The Tenerife aimed to be a more reasonable and comfortable offering. It looked less aggressive and more prestigious than the Prancer. It had four full size seats of premium quality and a luxury radio. It featured the same engine as the Prancer, but downtuned to 310 Hp; thus an automatic gearbox, open diff and medium tires sufficed to keep the grip levels acceptable. It was indeed quite a comfortable car, rivalling the premium and even some luxury sedans, while maintaining good performance figures. It was then a segment-bender, being cross-shopped by family buyers, but was considered more of a sports cars with its two-door design. Nevertheless, it still had one major flaw - similar to the Prancer, it had terminal oversteer issues at speed, giving it a dangerous reputation that kept safety-conscious family buyers away. So while it did get a warmer reception than the Prancer, its sales never really took off.
The Kinnister BL22 was released in 1969, slotting in to the middle of the standard sports segment price wise. This was a little bit of an oddball car in many aspects and Letarans didn’t quite know what to make of it. It was a midsize sedan with two doors, two premium seats and a premium radio, hinting that it is a premium sports car. But then it had an under-powered yet torque-y I4 engine, a three-speed manual gearbox, off-road skid tray, and all-terrain tires, hinting at a more utilitarian vehicle. For its size and price it was quite comfortable, but it was quite hard to drive with terminal oversteer at speed. And with its 77 Hp, it was quite slow, especially in the sports segment. It had reliability issues too, not the least due to its engine being tuned to 96.2 octane fuel, leading to common knocking issues. So what was it? Well, Letarans decided it was best to just have some slow-speed fun with it on dirt and gravel roads, and countersteer it around corners. So after initial trepidation and uncertainty, it did find a small niche among the emerging rally crowd who just wanted something cheap to throw around in the dirt, and didn’t mind to tinker on their own cars. The pushrod design made this easier, and most surviving examples now have replaced heads that allow for lower compression in the combustion chamber.
The cheapest sports car of the era was released in 1970, the Resuki Ligera GT-Special. The Resuki was relatively well-equipped for its price: it had two premium seats and a standard radio, a five-speed manual gearbox, medium compound radial tires and four-wheel disc brakes. Its small boxer-four made just 100 Hp, but that was enough to propel this small sedan 0-100 km/h under 10 seconds and a top speed of 173 km/h. This was of course not Earth-shattering performance, but it did it without sacrificing comfort too much, having really good reliabilty and offered an easy driving experience not seen in any other dedicated sports car. Indeed, the setup of this car was top-notch from the factory, giving its owners zero headaches at any time of ownership. So for those that wanted a cheap sports car that handled well and was fun to drive on the twisties, and were willing to sacrifice some straight-line speed, this was the car for them.
The Resuki’s main competitor was the Niichi Dynema Aquila MT30. It was slightly more expensive, but still in the standard price category. It was a larger and more practical car with two doors, four premium seats and a premium radio - so in that sense it was also similar to the Tenerife, being cross-shopped by family car buyers. But it was a more sports oriented car with a coupe body style and sports compound tires. Similar to the Resuki, however, it had a relatively small I4 engine making just over 100 Hp, thus this car too was not the fastest among the bunch. But similar to the Resuki, it too was superbly set-up, had good cornering ability and a delight to drive on twisty roads. With its four seats it was overall not as comfortable or reliable as the Resuki, but it made up for it with its family-friendly practicality. So those who didn’t have a family yet could opt for a Resuki, and those who did could try a Niichi. And with that there emerged a split in the sports segment: those cars that were exceedingly powerful and went fast in a straight line, and those that weren’t as inherently fast or powerful but were much easier to drive and excellent at cornering. Over time two rival camps started to emerge among the sporting-plebs: the ‘straight-liners’ owning Vaughns and Garlands, and the ‘twisters’ owning Resukis and Niichis.
Two cars were released in 1973. In the standard sports category the Mitsushita Royale 2000 GTCi slotted in between the Niichi and the Silverbird Rallye. It was a mid-size coupe with four full-size standard seats and a premium 8-track player in the dash. It had sports tires and discs all-round. It’s I6 engine was not the most powerful at 122 Hp, but due to its light weight under one tonne it still accelerated faster than its nearest rivals. Top speed was electronically limited to 200 km/h. So it was also a more practical family-oriented car, similar to the Niichi - but it was slightly more comfortable, and slightly more reliable. It wasn’t quite as nimble as the Niichi, but was still very well set-up from the factory. So while not quite as pure of a driver’s car as the Niichi or the Resuki, it was still miles more fun to drive than anything in the family segment at the same price point. So smaller, younger families thought the Mitsushita Royale 2000 was a worthy upgrade from a Niichi if they were in the family-friendly sports-car business.
The same year the more expensive, premium Mitsushita Royale 2500 GT-RS was released. This car had a larger, more powerful I6 with more advanced features, providing 218 HP and giving this car an appropriate performance boost. It was the fastest car in this segment off the line with a 0-100 km/h time of 5.47 seconds and a very fast top speed above 250 km/h, helped with a semi-clad undertray. It managed to keep this power down and in control with a clutched differential and sports compound tires. But for all this extra money, you only got two standard seats and a basic radio, which was well below par at this price range. And in the pursuit of speed, the engineers forgot to also think about comfort: they build a proper race car (it almost looked it too!). But with a comfort as bad as the Vaughn Silverbird Coupé (on cross-ply tires and solid rear-axle, and $9k cheaper), it was just a hard sell, because as much as it wanted to be a pure track/race car - for which such low comfort would be forgivable - it did not measure up to them either. So while the Royale 2000 was mostly a hit, the 2500 was mostly a miss on Mitsushita’s part.
…to be continued…
