Who am I ?

[balthazar]

I am found in a Road & Track compilation of sports & GT cars. I am a V-8-powered RWD coupe with a manual trans. My motor is between 3.5 & 5.5 liters and it's aluminum. I am rather new, tho my name was used before. I am not japanese, and I am merely 1 full second slower in the 1/4-mile than the porsche carerra in the same issue. Be that as it may, my inclusion in this compilation, by many accounts, would easily be termed 'unexpected'... despite the fact that I am quicker than the majority of vehicles whom I share pages with.

[chevelle454]

Mustang GT

[balthazar]

Incorrect, sir.

The car in question was new (in it's 2nd year), but another vehicle, quite different but from the same marque, used the same name. That would not apply to the Mustang.

[Robert Hall]

Hmmm..the clues in the 2nd email lead me to think Hyundai Genesis coupe, but it's not available w/ a V8. Unless this is sometime in the past, not 2010.

[Z-06]

Aston Martin Vantage V8? I do not think it will be slower by a second compared to a Porsche.

[Drew Dowdell]

Carrera GT was built between 2005 and 2007.

Have there been any sub-4 liter V8's lately? So that really means the engine is between 4.0 and 5.5.

It's not the GTO, that was 5.7

Thunderbird had a 3.9 but was not available with a manual.... and was a convertible rather than a coupe.

[Robert Hall]

Carrera GT was built between 2005 and 2007.

Have there been any sub-4 liter V8's lately? So that really means the engine is between 4.0 and 5.5.

It's not the GTO, that was 5.7

Thunderbird had a 3.9 but was not available with a manual.... and was a convertible rather than a coupe.

Well, he wasn't specific about which Carrera... the 911 Carrera 4 is still current... without knowing the specific model years, it's hard to determine what car it is.

[balthazar]

Well if I outright give you the years, I haven't much challenged you all, IMO.

Oh all right : 1962.

Edited March 3, 2010 by balthazar

[Camino LS6]

Very early for an aluminum V8...

[Camino LS6]

Almost has to be the Buick V8 later sold to Rover.

Now what did they name the car?

[Robert Hall]

Hmmm...the original compact Olds F85 and Buick Special used that engine, I think. I don't believe the Pontiac Tempest/LeMans used it.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Camino LS6]

Did some research, and now have the answer.

Right engine- wrong brand.

I'll let the mystery stand until Balthazar gets back here.

[Z-06]

I am rather new, tho my name was used before.

That is what got me for the newer vehicles. But then the clue is Balthazar, even 1962 is like brand new for him.

[Robert Hall]

Got to be the Buick Special. That car had the small aluminium V8, it's name was used previously, '62 was it's second year. The Tempest and F-85 also used that engine, but those names weren't used before. And the Porsche reference would be to a 356 Carerra of the day.

1962 is so long ago, might as well be 1902..but through the power of the internet, lots of facts can be uncovered.

[balthazar]

See; posting the year blew the bottom out of it.

Some sort of well-tattered R&T compilation issue (cover's long gone- starts on page 5- I have no idea what the title is).

Full front-2-back with road tests of 'sporting' cars, Alfa-Romeo, 3 different AC models, Aston Martin DB4, Austin Healey 3000, DKW, Ferrari 2+2 & 4.9, Hillman, Volvo, triumph, porsche, Jag, Rover, Simca, etc etc.

American cars are the AC-Ford Cobra 260, Corvette, Avanti... and the '62 Buick Skylark (why am I hearing that said in Marisa Tomei's voice ?). Was I right- unexpected inclusion, no?

First off, all these cars (Corvette aside) are SLOW.

Porsche Carrera 2L, 2220 lbs, 152 HP, 4-spd, 1/4-mile : 16.9 @ 83

Buick Skylark, 215 V8, 2980 lbs, 190 HP, 4-spd, 1/4 mile : 17.9 @ 79

Corvette, 327 V8, 3030 lbs, 4-spd, 1/4 mile : 14.9 @ 95

Just thought it a interesting chance at hoodwinking you guys with the mention of the carrera.

[Camino LS6]

Interesting, I went with a much more powerful version of the 215.

The turbo version in the '62 Jetfire.

[balthazar]

<<"But then the clue is Balthazar, even 1962 is like brand new for him"<<

Close. For me, automotively & still to this day, 1980 is 'new' to me.

'62 would merely be within the range of 'the usual'.

-- -- -- -- --

>>"I went with a much more powerful version of the 215."<<

Buick 215 was available in all 3 of the compacts, but only Olds got the 215/215 turbo in their '62-63 Jetfire.

Edited March 3, 2010 by balthazar

[Drew Dowdell]

I would have been happy with just the decade.

[Camino LS6]

Make sure to read the second page:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1962-1963-oldsmobile-f85-jetfire.htm

[Z-06]

Very interesting. More of this please.

Very good point you bring up about the Corvette. It has hardly gain any significant weight since past 50 years. Accomplishment indeed, when all other cars gain girth by tons with every passing evolution. Corvette blew the 1/4 mile as it was sitting with nearly 340hp on tap. A performance pretty much inline with what you can expect.

[Robert Hall]

<<"But then the clue is Balthazar, even 1962 is like brand new for him"<<

Close. For me, automotively & still to this day, 1980 is 'new' to me.

'62 would merely be within the range of 'the usual'.

Strange..different perceptions of time, I guess. 1980 is pretty old to me..6 years before I was driving. 30 years ago. Of course, for 1/2 or 3/4 of the C&Gers 1980 is ancient--before they were born probably.

Edited March 4, 2010 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[balthazar]

And 1962 is well before I was born, but as I've stated before; I fail to see how that matters. Things of passion, things of quality, things that stir the soul and go on to become 'classics', these things are worth learning about, embracing, remembering, nurturing. Few manufactured items approach the widespread allure of the automobile, a terrifically difficult & expensive thing to restore and even maintain... yet millions do and get great reward in return (beyond dollars).

1980 is old, I know this. I'm only borderline delusional. I too started driving in the '80s and I remember well the deplorable vehicles that were the norm then. They were -for the most part- so unremarkable & disposable, most are not worth studying. Who cares? Can anyone imagine repro parts for an '81 Citation in 2021 like there are for the '69 Camaro today ??? No; because it will NEVER happen. The Citation is now 30 years old and it is still an unloved baseball, still getting smacked around.

In '62 IIRC, Chevy ran a few ads featuring the '57 Chevy (I believe it was for the OK Used Cars ads). They did this because even then, even the corporate ad men caught wind of that car's appeal. And that appeal has never diminished; it has only grown... because (and despite the fact that I am sick-tired of it) it. was. greatness. History has proven that 'wind' correct a billion times over.

I do not remember C-57s in use as daily drivers, I'm not old enough. I never saw them outside car shows or junkyards or the backyard garages of lucky owners. But I sure as hell am not going to ignore it because it's outside my sphere of experience.

The Citation IS from my sphere... and I have chosen to reject it. That 'wind' may never lose it's stink. Much of what blows since 1980 stinks, too.

[Camino LS6]

Amen, Balthazar, amen.

[Sixty8panther]

Moltar:

I wish 1902 was almost like 1962.

Seems like i pay a lot more 4 for my magazines, books & antiques from the turn of the century than I do for the same from the early 1960s.

Should've traded my1962 Special for a Brass Era Car. =/