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3 Aug 2011, 12:53 (Ref:2935376) | #126 | |
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Another fairly rare bird (though probably less so in Japan, and I recall a couple in Belgium) the Honda Civic
Ray Armes turned up with a Graham Goode-prepared example midway through the 1989 BTCC season, and was right on the pace in the 1600cc class from the start. http://www.flickr.com/photos/richard...in/photostream One of the Belgian cars at Spa the same year- think this is an earlier model. http://www.flickr.com/photos/richard_of_leicester/5836849363/in/photostream IIRC Mugen amongst others prepared these for the Japanese series, where they were very effective- the European privateer cars were less successful, we didn't really see the any results from a Honda in Group A until the Ray Armes car appeared in the UK We've mentioned this one earlier in the thread, but it's a much better pic than the one I posted- Alex Postan's Renault 5 GT Turbo in the 1986 TT http://www.flickr.com/photos/antspho...57608209176086 |
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10 Aug 2011, 14:20 (Ref:2938119) | #127 | |
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More Dan Morgan pics on Flickr- 1982 Donington ETC this time, with some of the less common early Group A cars- Camaros, RX7s, Opel Monzas and Audi Coupes
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mendama...th/6027392890/ |
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13 Aug 2011, 17:51 (Ref:2939287) | #128 | |
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...and exploring Richard Hilsden's pics on Flickr, another rare car in the BTCC- Mike Jordan's Peugeot 309
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richard...57627283400681 |
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13 Aug 2011, 18:23 (Ref:2939303) | #129 | |||
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Quote:
Jesper |
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16 Aug 2011, 15:48 (Ref:2941767) | #130 | |||
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Just found a pic of the AMG Merc 500SEC at the Nurburgring 24 hours in '89. A question comes to mind- with the ETC already cancelled the previous year, and RS500s etc having already proven, as you suggest, that big-engined normally-aspirated cars were very much yesterday's news in Group A touring car racing, I can't shake off the thought that building and developing the SEC for just two races seems like a lot of effort for not very much return. Did AMG have any further plans for the big coupe? With the Evo versions of the 190 already available to them, the SEC hardly seems a likely weapon for DTM or other sprint races by 1989- it's more the kind of car Mercedes might possibly have looked at if they'd wanted a potential outright winner in the ETC a few years earlier, before arrival of the M3 and RS500 changed the game... Great-looking car, but it would have looked slightly more at home fighting it out with 635CSis, XJSs, Rovers, Volvos and VK Commodores than it did with RS500s and M3s... http://www.flickr.com/photos/mendama...57627433803200 Last edited by KA; 16 Aug 2011 at 15:53. |
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16 Aug 2011, 19:26 (Ref:2941845) | #131 | ||
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Ah, seems my question from the Sierra thread has already been answered in the correct thread!!!
Good question KA, perhaps as you intimate this beast was originally conceived to compete a few years earlier but shelved for whatever reason? However I don't recall there being much mention of it in the motorsport press, it must've been a pretty good secret.... Or was it just some kind of mobile test bed for various electronics and running gear for something else - I can't imagine what for exactly but we know that manufacturers have done similar things over time with older cars to gather data for other stuff. Last edited by chunterer; 17 Aug 2011 at 10:55. |
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17 Aug 2011, 07:50 (Ref:2941996) | #132 | |
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I never remember seeing that SEC back in the day, but what a fantastic looking car ! It would have brilliant if the FIA had managed to get the rules in such a way that bruisers like this thing and the Commodore could have been competitive against the RS500s. I guess MB probably theorized that normally aspirated power would be more reliable in the 24 hour endurance events and if the lump was big enough, not at too much of a disadvantage in terms of straight line speed.
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17 Aug 2011, 14:50 (Ref:2942126) | #133 | ||
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Thinking about it, the 5.0 V8 was the same engine that powered the all conquering Saubers in the World group C championship at the time.
Jesper |
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26 Aug 2011, 14:36 (Ref:2946379) | #134 | |||
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Brands Hatch 1988 (the Group C meeting, the BTCC race best-known for the race-long Rouse v Soper battle for the win). Martin Wray's Prelude wisely tries to keep out of the way as Mike Smith pursues the Mike O'Brien Holden- The Smith/O'Brien scrap features prominently on the TV coverage from the onboard camera on the M3. (note the front bodywork damage on the M3, Mike was having a frustrating time trying to get past the big Holden, which was holding him up in the corners but pulling away on the straights, and had already given it what he described on the commentary as 'a little love touch to remind him I'm here', although I think the BMW had already taken a knock at the front earlier in the race) Will Hoy in Prodrive's third M3 follows on behind. http://www.flickr.com/photos/richard...57627283400681 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkfLQLlC79o Last edited by KA; 26 Aug 2011 at 14:45. |
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14 Sep 2011, 21:50 (Ref:2955642) | #135 | ||
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http://i448.photobucket.com/albums/q...eyerAudi-2.jpg |
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24 Sep 2011, 10:35 (Ref:2960341) | #136 | ||
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http://www.empire-auto.com/Duez/1983...pa_galerie.htm |
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27 Sep 2011, 19:53 (Ref:2961812) | #137 | |||
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shame we didn't get to see a proper factory blessed big Merc up against the Jags and Bimmers in the big class. |
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27 Mar 2012, 17:02 (Ref:3049520) | #138 | |
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The early seasons of Group A brought out some real oddities, mostly hangovers from Group 1 I suspect?
I don't think I've seen too many pics of this one before- the Talbot Horizon of Stoffel & Thierfelder at the 1982 TT... http://www.flickr.com/photos/karting...57628057466012 Anyone know more about it? |
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27 Mar 2012, 18:48 (Ref:3049587) | #139 | |||
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Looks like it's in American Chrysler front profile spec to me? |
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27 Mar 2012, 19:53 (Ref:3049621) | #140 | |
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Yes, see what you mean about the front bodywork.
It seems to have been run by Frensch Power from Germany- they're the guys who entered the little red 205GTi that ran around at the tail end of ETC grids in 1985/6 (with the same Haribo sponsorship) http://www.frensch-power.com/media/7...03694cc215.jpg http://www.frensch-power.com/media/7...03694ceaff.jpg They seem to be longtime Chrysler/Peugeot dealers/specialists, and raced things like Simca Rallyes- they had one of those at the same TT as the Horizon.... http://homepage.mac.com/frank_de_jon...lverstone.html They're still in business, and there's another pic of what looks like the same Horizon on their website, in what I guess might be some kind of Group 2-ish spec (no bumpers and a front spoiler at least!) http://www.frensch-power.com/media/7...03694c4159.jpg http://www.frensch-power.com/Galerie-80er.39838.html |
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28 Mar 2012, 13:25 (Ref:3050030) | #141 | ||
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Blimey if you can make a Sunbeam Horizon into a race car then you can make anything into one!
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You can't polish a turd but you sure can sprinkle it with glitter! |
28 Mar 2012, 14:04 (Ref:3050042) | #142 | |
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Maybe we want to sidebar this into the 'most inappropriate model made into a Group A car' ?
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3 Jun 2019, 07:14 (Ref:3907659) | #143 | |||
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A fantastic article giving the full history of the Biturbo in the 1987 WTCC as well as the national championships that it competed in afterwards: Boxy Breakdown - 1987 Maserati Biturbo |
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10 Jun 2019, 16:28 (Ref:3909146) | #144 | |||
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Maserati eventually got its act together with the Biturbo derived Ghibli Cup, which became a formidable weapon in the Italian GT championship in the mid to late 1990s. Numerous wins and podiums, and beating 355s and 911s on a regular basis. |
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2 Aug 2019, 03:39 (Ref:3920759) | #145 | |||
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The 500 SEC was developed in 1988 for the DTM, but the problem was the weight of 1340kg and 460bhp was too much for the tyres allowed in the DTM. Running harder compound tyres at a reduced pace at Spa, M-B and AMG believed that the cars would be able to last the 24 hours. What made the 500 SEC truly unique as a Group A car was that it retained the wood inlay dashboard and electrically operated windows of the road-going model. |
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"There's nothing wrong with Zolder that a bulldozer can't fix" - Tom Walkinshaw |
2 Aug 2019, 06:44 (Ref:3920776) | #146 | |||
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Incognito: An Italian phrase meaning Nice Gearchange! |
4 Aug 2019, 08:02 (Ref:3921091) | #147 | ||
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"There's nothing wrong with Zolder that a bulldozer can't fix" - Tom Walkinshaw |
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