Sorry for the delay guys! Here’s part 1 of the reviews. I’ll get part 2 and the final results up tomorrow.
Welcome to our car show! All the guests are invited to walk around, look at the cars, have a chat, etc. Several members of our production team will be browsing the cars and writing notes of what they think.
Stanton is the head of our marketing department. He’s primarily going to be concerned with the looks and wow factor, and also how well the car’s story fits into our documentary.
Martin is our financial guy. He’ll determine whether the car is a good fit for our budget.
Mike is our lead technician and grease monkey. He’ll be critiquing the performance, design, and engineering of the cars.
Without further ado… let’s get started!
Lordvader1 - Turtle
$18400 - 77PU - 27.9ET - Limited Production x1
Stanton:
What car is this? I’ve literally never heard of it before. The seller is rattling off a list of specs but he hasn’t said anything of the car’s history. He literally can’t even name the company that made it. Not that the specs are anything impressive, either - with this car’s small size and tiny engine, it’s not surprising that no one can remember this car at all. The rather bland appearance doesn’t help either.
Martin:
I can’t find much information on this car either, but it did apparently have a small sized production run, mostly held back by its aluminum panels. It’s within our budget, but this is definitely not a car we are interested in.
Mike:
Nothing to write home about here. This car understeers like crazy despite its rear engine. The 50hp inline 3 is pretty laughable in comparison to some of the other cars here. Braking performance is poor. Also, it’s super cramped in here.
Madrias - Devillain DR6
$20800 - 73/28PU - 34.5ET - Limited Production x0
Stanton:
I love the looks of this car. The flowing chrome trim is amazing, and the large side vents are really cool. I’m sure it will look good on camera. The DR6 is also fairly well-remembered, a result of it being being both prestigious and common for its era.
Martin:
This car certainly falls within our budget, as it is one of the cars that was actually mass-produced. This car is clearly designed for mass production, and it is impressive that it can achieve what it does with only the most standard technology of the time. Plus, we can fill it up at any regular gas station.
Mike:
One of a few cars here designed to run on any kind of fuel, which is pretty interesting. While that certainly does it make it easier for us, it also means the engine is terribly unoptimized. Compression is terrible and ignition is extremely delayed. I think that the engine could have been far better - or far cheaper - if it was optimized for the leaded fuel of the time.
The handling of the DR6 is unimpressive. The thin tires have little grip, meaning lots of wheelspin and poor braking. Not that the crappy brakes would have been able to keep up, anyway. I think that some investment in more advanced technology could have made a large difference, without hurting production capability too much.
Abg7 - NMI Raven
$22600 - 81/37PU - 38ET - Limited Production x2
Stanton:
I have a hard time believing the seller’s story that the NMI Raven was a “runaway commercial success.” And it certainly couldn’t have “inspired” a wave of affordable sports cars when it wasn’t the best - nor the most affordable - sports car of its own time. It’s got a decent amount of prestige, but far from the most. And its unassuming styling won’t impress anyone on the camera.
Martin:
The seller claims that there over 1000 still surviving examples of the Raven. I highly doubt this, considering the difficulty of producing spaceframes and aluminum panels. It’s on the high end of our budget and there are definitely more impressive cars.
Mike:
Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that sellers to tend to overstate their car’s abilities. But I had to balk at the claim of “peace of mind drivability” after trying this car’s brakes. The stopping distance of over 65m is absolutely abysmal, and it gets worse after each stop. The handling also tends too far towards understeer for its sporty pretenses. There are cars which can live up to these lofty claims, but the Raven is not one of them.
Vri404 - Handen Ebi “Shrimp”
$22000 - 71/24PU - 35.7ET - Limited Production x1
Stanton:
This car is certainly unique, but I’m not sure it would fit our documentary. It’s not particularly prestigious or common, and I don’t think many people would remember an obscure Oregon track car. The styling isn’t particularly notable either, aside from the lack of tail lights.
Martin:
With a production run of less than 100 units, this car is probably too rare for our budget. It’s no wonder the production was so limited, any car with a spaceframe chassis is going to be difficult to build in large quantities.
Mike:
Holy crap it’s cramped in here! Yeah, I know it’s supposed to be a track car, but these seats are really tiny and uncomfortable, and the suspension totally bottoms out. Speaking of suspension, this car seems to understeer quite a lot for a track car.
Aside from the understeer, driving the Shrimp is pretty fun. With its light weight, grippy tires, and advanced brakes, the handling of the Shrimp is well above most of the other cars here. I’m also quite a fan of the sprightly inline 4 engine, although the vibrations are unpleasant.
JohnWaldock - JHW Harrier
$27000 - 128/70PU - 33.6ET - Limited Production x0
Stanton:
This Harrier looks respectable, but very bland in comparison to some of the cars at the show. It just doesn’t stand out in any particular way, besides maybe its cylinder count. The practicality is pretty nice… but how many cars are remembered for their practicality?
Martin:
This car had a production run of about 600 units, which puts it on the rarer side. While we may be able to fit it into our budget, I think there are better options for the price.
Mike:
This car is pretty interesting. While it doesn’t use any production techniques that are excessively difficult, it does use quite a few rare and advanced technologies for its time. Unlike most of the other cars, which spent of time designing brakes, the Harrier went for a complicated suspension system. Also, the V12 is extremely expensive, with intricate top end, bottom end, and fuel system parts. It could have been much less expensive, and probably better, with lighter pistons and conrods, fewer carbs, a smaller exhaust, and better octane usage.
TheUltimateD00M - blekaca
$39000 - 109/148PU - 51ET - Limited Production x3
-DISQUALIFIED- due to not being produced in the 40s (Engine engineering time over 48 months)
Denta - Elland Type C29
$30600 - 158/67PU - 37ET - Limited Production x2
Stanton:
The C29 has quite appealing exterior styling. The focus on aerodynamic performance is apparent, with its smooth curves and sexy fastback. The car has some prestige from its racing pedigree, but both the car and the company were ultimately unsuccessful in the market. It’s decent, but doesn’t match up to some of the other cars here.
Martin:
Elland only made 68 of these cars, so it’s almost certainly out of our budget.
Mike:
The most striking thing about the design of the C29 is without a doubt its fantastic aerodynamics. The thing is, I’m not sure it was really worth it. Sure, more speed is good for a race car like this one, but the real limiting factor in this era was braking, and less drag actually makes that harder.
The inline six also has a lot of (probably unnecessary) quality in the top and bottom end, but runs on 80RON fuel. It seems contradictory to have a meticulous performance engine run on such low quality fuel.
TheBobWiley - Ankomst Automotive Bombardier
$35200 - 87/84PU - 40ET - Limited Production x2
Stanton:
I love the looks of this car! From the “A” logos in the front and back, to the swoopy chrome trim and fastback, to the badass vents, the styling of the Bombardier is definitely on point. And with a huge 5.9L V12 producing 305hp, the Bombardier certainly has the prestige to match its looks. This is the first car here that can really go toe-to-toe with some of the other cars we’re planning on having on our show, at least based on fame.
Martin:
The seller says that only 1500 of these cars were sold, and based on his asking price I would believe him. It’s not the rarest car here, but it’s definitely on the high end of our budget. Considering how crazy the engine is, I’m surprised that there were that many made!
Mike:
Under the mile-long hood of the Bombardier is a properly insane 305hp V12. Ankomst was lucky to be able to purchase the engines, because there’s absolutely no way they could have produced this monster engine themselves. The power easily overwhelms the 165mm tires, resulting in lots of wheelspin and poor braking performance. Despite the advanced technology, the stopping distance is still inadequate and it gets worse with each stop. And there’s nothing prestigious about having a two speed manual.
TR8R - Shado Straker
$18600 - 77/19PU - 35.7ET - Limited Production x1
Stanton:
I’ll be honest, the Shado Straker doesn’t look like it belongs in the 40s at all. The pop-up headlights and blocky vertical tail lights suggest 80s. Like the Shrimp, this is a track car, and isn’t particularly prestigious (not with that 1.4L inline 3), nor is it very common. Probably not a good fit.
Martin:
While this car wasn’t able to be mass produced (because of its aluminum panels), it’s still common enough to fit into our budget. It also has impressively low running costs, although it uses leaded fuel.
Mike:
This car is very similar to the Handen Shrimp, but manages to be better in most ways. The Shado Straker was able to fit an AM radio and high quality tires into a surprisingly low original price. Handling is superb, with very good braking performance. There’s still a bit too much understeer for track car, though.
That’d probably have been enough to soil the pants of most everybody short of Carraciola.
