It is difficult some times when faced with the sea of bland modernity in our current car industry to remember that once upon a time cars were often distinctively different, not just in looks but in technology and engineering.  Even during their time though these cars stood out for being particularly unusual.  They all however managed to be successful in spite of, or some times because of, their difference.

RX7

 

 

Despite the lukewarm reception the NSU Ro80 received and the relatively limited life given to the first Rotary Cosmo, Mazda continued to develop it's rotary engines.  With rotaries available in its saloon and coupe line up Mazda had proven the technology.  The choice of engineering isn't what makes the RX7 suprising, although it is unusual, what makes the success of the RX7 more suprising is the economics around its launch.  The Rotary engine whilst certainly a high in quality and engineering principles wasn't great on fuel efficiency, so when the RX7 launch during the late 70's energy crisis it didn't look like a great idea on paper, boasting as it did a Bentley rivalling 19mpg around town.  It is however testament to the quality of the machine and the enjoyment of the drive that the RX7 lives on and is still a success today, in the form of the RX8.


VW Beetle

 

 

The bestselling car in the world ever, depending on who you ask, the Beetle is without a doubt the very definition of the word success, however it almost shouldn't have been.  A design arguably robbed from Tatra, unusual engine location with eccentric aircooled nature, then there is the whole Hitler connection and factory destruction during World War 2.  This doesn't add up to 'success'.  However due to the persistence of Ivan Hirst and some fantastically imaginative advertising, the people of VolksWagen managed to turn this into the little car that could.  What’s more it has shown its quality time and time again over the years, resulting in the sort of cult status most cars envy.


Mini

If the Beetle is a triumph of intriguing design and great marketing then the Mini is a triumph of ingenuity and practical problem solving.  The Sir Alec Issigonis penned design put a wheel at each corner and everything required to move a family of four around the country in relative comfort in between.  In a world of large lumbering family saloons and sleek Italian sports cars the dumpy little mini seems somewhat incongruous.  It may well be that stand out nature, its diminutive size and stylish simplicity that caused it to be the transport of choice for London's swinging set in the 60's.  Couple that with its rally success and you end up with an iconic car.  Now days transverse mounted front wheel drive small town cars don't seem such an unusual idea but in 1959 the concept really was a step out of the standard engineering box.  Oh and the door pockets are deep enough to fit milk bottles in, how many modern cars can boast that!?


Porsche 911

Really you could lump this with the Beetle, except it doesn't come with as much political baggage, the reason it has been separated is that the car is still living, still unusual, still being innovated, and really it shouldn't even work.  An air cooled flat 6 powered, sports coupe, with the engine mounted rearward of the back axle is a recipe for many many crashed cars and some eccentric handling characteristics.  However Porsche engineers and persisted with the design and layout long after most companies would have given up.  By sticking to their guns with the design the chassis and weight distribution has been gradually improved over the cars lifecycle, with the modern 911 derived cars boasting class leading performance and handling.  Of course the danger of driving the lunatic 911 Carrera of the 80's is missing now days, which may be a good thing for road safety.


Smart forTwo

So I said at the start that roads are currently a sea of bland modernity, there are still car makers that are willing to take risks and produce something different for that chance at the big prize, the cult car.  Some are lazily trying to reclaim or relive old glories, Smart on the other hand looked at the same problems that Alec Issigonis and came up with their modern solution.  A small, two seater city car, with changeable plastic exterior panels and a turbo charged three cylinder engine.  In the clogged up cities of Europe the risk paid off and despite a troubled start the Smart forTwo has become everything a cult car should be.  Expect to see these gracing the floors of classic car shows in years ahead, they already have owners clubs and Smart car shows.  Even if you are not a fan the Smart shows that innovation still lives in the motor industry, so the future is hopefully bright for those of us who love something a little bit different.

 

 

Posted on: October 16, 2008 05:31

A number of the cars that have featured in our rare cars category have been one offs or very limited run exotic cars.  Some times they have been from obscure short lived manufacturers or obtuse special editions.  This car is none of those things.  It is however still a rare car.

In 1965 Mazda unvieled the first result of working with car designer Bertone, the very pretty Mazda Luce.  Available as a 1500 or 1800 with a conventional 4cylinder engine the car was a relative success both in and out of its Japanese homeland.  At the time Mazda was continuing to develop its Rotary engine and supplied a Luce based car with its 13A called the Luce R130, or Mazda M13P.

The car differs from the standard 4cylinder Luce not only by being a very attractive 2 door coupe shape but by virtue of the fact that it is front wheel drive, the only Mazda rotary car to drive the front wheels.  Production numbered less than 1,000 cars, so it wass rare even when new, now days very limited numbers survive.  Mazda have one at their museum and we'd love to see any pictures anyone has of them "out in the wild".  At least one of the cars was used for racing in Japan as can be seen on the Okura Auto gallery page

The R130 was essentially a triumph of technology over sales volume, however the car served as a basis for the RX4 that followed, with at least one rotary powered car making up part of the line up of the Luce range until the final Mazda 929 in 1990.  

Posted on: September 4, 2008 03:52

It's time for some more old school rimmage!

 

  Sportmax 002:

Hot on the heels of the Konig Rewind rims (see New Old School Wheels - Part One) came the 002 from Sportmax which came in great sizes (7 or 8 inches wide with a +15 or 0 offset respectively in 15 or 16 inch diameters), a variety of colours (black, gold, gunmetal, silver and red) and a great design, albeit with a feature that brings positive and negative aspects - the double-drilled centres. Multiple PCDs (114.3mm and 100mm) mean a compromise in looks, but also brings the cost down...check on ebay.com for unbelievable prices. There's a downside to that bargain price though - Sportmax wheels have become a victim of their own success and have suffered image problems in some scenes (a BMW forum even has a 'say no to Sportmax' smiley!). 

 

Sportmax 512: 

 Not an official line but it seems reasonable to assume that the 512 was intended as a replacement for the 002. It comes in the same sizes and colour combinations but with a slightly different design (less successful than the 002 in my opinion). As with the 002, these suffer from snobbery in some circles but if you're on a budget these offer fantastic value for money if you can get someone to ship them to you (from my experiences US sellers are reluctant to send these to the UK).

 

XXR 513: 

A rebrand (Sportmax changed their name to XXR - perhaps to counteract the snobs?) and another new style sees Sportmax, sorry XXR on track for some more success with the Minilite/Superlite/Watanabe-esque 513 - interestingly the designers opted to leave off the fake split rim bolts this time - an improvement perhaps? Still in the same great sizes and colours...and remaining at a wallet-friendly price. In fact, I've got a set in my front room waiting for tyres as we speak!

 

SSR MkI: 

Yep, one of the most desirable of the old school favourites is available new from SSR - the MkI. It's available in 12, 13, 14 and 15 inch sizes with widths from 4.5 to 9 inches. Their three piece construction means all sorts of offset configurations are available. PCD wise just about any four stud from 98mm to 114.3 is possible with five stud PCDs an option on the 15" only. Check www.more-japan.com for details on all SSR rims, but sit down before you look at the price!

 

SSR MkII: 

My favourite Japanese wheel ever, available new?  No need to pinch yourself, it's true! 13, 14 and 15 inchers are available in widths covering 6 to 9 inches in half-inch increments. The four spoke design limits the PCD to four stud only (100-114.3mm). Just to make sure that you haven't got the same rims as everyone else the MkII can be ordered in any one of nine different colours! Mini fans might be surprised that a very similar wheel - the FL-II is available in 6 or 6.5 x 10 sizes just for them.

 

SSR MkIII: 

We had Konig B-bombs in the last instalment, but these babies are the originals. If you're willing to spend the money than you can be rollin' the real thing...sizes, bolt pattern and colour options are the same as the MKII above, it's just down to your personal preference to which style you'd go for I guess - a hard choice, but one I'd love to be in a position to make.  

That's all for now scenesters...expect (finally!) some Hayashi action in part three and maybe some morsels from the Mooneyes range.  Watch this space.

 

 

Posted on: April 2, 2008 05:02

Having been on the hunt for some rims recently I found an increasingly large amount of wheels with an old school slant - either in terms of size, design or both. Clearly the manufacturers have seen a market and think that there's a niche for them. Some are new, some are inspired by rims from the past and some are re-releases...here's a brief round up of a few:

Axis Banzai: 

More than a hint of the classic Hayashi wheel here. Sizes range from 15x8 (0 or 25mm offsets) to a jolly un-retro but interesting 17x9. All the images of the wheel I've found so far are a rather unnattractive boring offset version...but if the 0 offset variety have got some more dish then it'll be a very good looking rim. 4x100 and 4x114 options cover a plethora of 'our' cars.

 

Axis OldSchool:

Someone at Axis likes his JDM rims! This time the influence is the Work 03. These appear to be available in one size only - 15x8 with a +25 offset. The only PCD available is 4x100, intended fitments being Honda and MX5 owners chasing some old school cred but I can see the design working well on Golfs too.

 

Axis OG Racer-X:

 

 

  Crazy! The Racer-X is insane enough already with it's slim in the 38mm offset four-spoke design, but in what appears to have been an accident in the design stage they've produced a -27mm offset 15x8 option with a gigantic five inches of dish. These are 4x100 too - quite what they are planning on fitting them to is a mystery to me! Excellent!

 

Konig B-Bomb:

  No, they're not SSR MkIIIs! Hey, if a design is good, why not? We'd all rather have the real thing, but you can get 'the look' and save money with a set of these - according to my research these are available in two sizes - a girly +38 15x7 and a much more macho 15x7.5 with a dishy 0 offset. Both sizes are available in 4x100 and 4x114.3 PCDs but old school Mazda (and a few Toyota) fans will be amazed to see a 4x110 7.5x15 in the line up.

Konig Rewind:

  Konig got in on the old school act with the Rewind wheel a few years ago - a Watanabe/Minilite/Superlite style rim available in 14, 15 and 16 inch sizes with 'proper' offsets made this a popular wheel for the AE86 boys when it was first released.

Work Equip 01: 

  This time it's the real thing! These are a remanufactured version of a JDM classic, available in masses of sizes thanks to their three-piece construction. Diameters of either 14 or 15 inches with rim widths ranging from 5 to 11.5 means you can get the arches filled to perfection - but you'll have to get your wallet out!

Work Equip 03:

  Hang on...are they fake Axis Oldskool wheels? Of course not...these are the real deal. Available in the same sizes as the 01 (above). Bolt patterns appear to be the usual 4x100 or 4x114.3.

 

That's it for now folks....next time: Sportmax, SSR, Hayashi and anything else I find between now and then! 

Posted on: March 24, 2008 03:25