@NOT - Yeah, automatic transmissions were definitely common in the 70s, but not in the GT segment, and honestly, they still aren’t.
The Vantage was late seventies, and yes, it’s an Aston, and it was decidedly upmarket, but the V8 Vantage wasn’t out until the late 70s, and really… really… it was just a bit too “muscle car,” albeit a top-tier one. The '71 Vantage (not the later V8 Vantage, a different model) was a straight-six, but I have no clue as to whether or not they had an automatic option.
Mercedes had plenty of automatics, two-speed and three-speed, yep, but nothing they put out was really a GT car back then (save for the SL, but that was a bit earlier) - they made beautiful cars, but they were luxury cars, or sporty luxury cars, not exactly a GT… Somehow they lacked both the flair, and the simplicity, to be a real GT.
Okay, the T-Bird… The T-Bird was never a GT… I don’t care which motor they used, how appointed the interiors were, they were not even close to a GT car, especially by the 70s.
Lastly, the first automatic Ferrari road cars weren’t out until 1976/7, and that was the 400… it wasn’t a slouch, but it definitely took the hit an automatic brings.
The 1971 Rennen LaLune Luxury Coupé boasts a 4-Liter V12 with exceptional comfort while providing a supple amount of sportiness to your daily drive. Styled by the best in the business, the LaLune was the halo car for Rennen of the 1970’s.
I agree, voting on this contest is going to be so difficult. This particular contest has inspired some of the best looking cars, I’m not sure mine stands a chance!
Also KLinardo, I totally just tried putting in a 13L V12 into the giant not-Cadillac body to see what would happen. Even running an AFR of 15:1 and getting 1060hp, I still couldn’t get the damn thing to the minimum required fuel economy! (The end result, however, did make me lol… still not as good in terms of scoring or track performance as my car, just a much higher top speed…) I am guessing that your entry is right on bumping the fuel economy limit.
I really should let my designs sit for a while before I submit because whenever I return to it I always manage to find ways to squeeze some more points out of it, in this case about 3.5. Sure its not much, but it was there
I’m a little ashamed of my car now because I’ve placed a big wing on it which is more (modern) racing GT than 70s high society continent tourers, but I’ll show and tell too. I went with hide-away/flip lights which are meant to hide a quad light design. I just couldn’t get the look I wanted by making them outright visible. I tried to capture what a European design team influenced & backed by Americans might create. Its called the Belmonte. Created by Fabricacion de Automoviles de Sevilla Espana or FASE and named after arguably the best bullfighter ever Juan Belmonte (a native of Seville). the Belmonte was designed to compete with the likes of the Miura. Like its namesake, the Belmonte was meant to be the slayer of bulls.
shameless plug For those that might be interested in a muscle car turned GT I posted my runner-up choice over on in my car thread:viewtopic.php?p=90708#p90708
Seeing more mid-engine submissions makes me feel better about my submission, which looks a lot rounder and smoother than pretty much every other front engine submission. Maybe standing out a little is a good thing, although if the majority of voters are fans of muscle cars I may be in some trouble . Aside from people who haven’t shared their submissions yet, it appears I made a unique body choice. Can’t blame anyone for overlooking it. The old body desirability penalty is probably holding me back a bit. I really like the way it looks, though.
Thanks guys! I’m with you guys on the wing now looking back. Without it though the I generate a good amount more wheel spin so it does need something to aid it in that respect. I didn’t think I had a smaller wing/spoiler until I found one. I could have done the ole’ flipped lip trick to get it the same color, but I’ve found it doesn’t quite work as well.
Edit: Actually I have quite a few I could have gone with apparently, but was blinded by the Countach.
heh, yeah that’d be about right. That said, if following the rules of this tournament, it is a bit harder to hit the requirements when you use only 2v/cyl. Also, fibre glass panels in a GT-P???
. Aside from people who haven’t shared their submissions yet, it appears I made a unique body choice. Can’t blame anyone for overlooking it. The old body desirability penalty is probably holding me back a bit. I really like the way it looks, though.
