The S Series, introduced at the British International Motor Show in 1986, was TVR’s entry-level sports car. Riding the coattails of the mid-‘80s classic car boom, it abandoned the Lilley-era wedge profile for a shape that evoked the 3000S coupe of the 1960s
TVR’s tumultuous history began in 1947, and continues to this day, albeit after many management, ownership, and location changes. Founder TreVoR Wilkinson started TVR in Beverley Grove, Blackpool, building sports cars based on Alvis chassis.
Without a doubt – a homebuilt one-off, but nothing is known of the builder. Although it is a cute car that even incorporates McLaren F1 central steering, performance must be modest, with no suspension and its diminutive size. If anyone recognizes this vehicle, please let us know!
The Urba Centurion was a kit car designed by Quincy-Lynn Enterprises in 1982. A full set of plans, available through Mechanix Illustrated, cost a mere $17.00!
If you saw an Urba-anything in Mechanix Illustrated magazine in the 1970s-80s, it was a surely a design by Robert Q. Riley and David L. Carey of Quincy, AZ, doing business as Quincy-Lynn Enterprises. The UrbaCar seen here was their first design for the magazine.
If you saw an Urba-anything in Mechanix Illustrated magazine in the 1970s-80s, it was a surely a design by Robert Q. Riley and David L. Carey of Quincy, AZ, doing business as Quincy-Lynn Enterprises. The UrbaCar seen here was their first design for the magazine.
VAZ is a Russian auto maker that began producing cars, in collaboration with Fiat, in the late 1960s. The Model 1111, commonly branded for export as a Lada Oka, was developed out of a need to replace the simple and cheap ZAZ Zaporozhets, the Russian “People’s Car”. It was to be the car that “every factory worker can afford”.
The Velorex was developed in Czechoslovakia in 1936 by two brothers who ran a bicycle shop. After WWII, automobiles were very scarce and expensive, and the brothers realized the Velorex would be a cheap, affordable car for the masses.
The Velorex was developed in Czechoslovakia in 1936 by two brothers who ran a bicycle shop. After WWII, automobiles were very scarce and expensive, and the brothers realized the Velorex would be a cheap, affordable car for the masses. They used a Jawa motorcycle engine, wheels, and brakes.
French industrial planner Jacques Riboud, of Vitrex Industrie, promoted and designed microcars as a solution to increased urbanization in 1970’s Paris. He believed full-size cars to be too big and too expensive for the old city’s infrastructure.
Gabriel Voisin was a major manufacturer of airplanes during World War I. The end of the war saw him with a large fortune and an equally large factory, but a very small market for airplanes. In 1919, he decided to become a car manufacturer and acquired a ready-made engine design–a 3969cc sleeve-valve four which had been considered and turned down by Citroën as unsuitable for mass production. Voisin remained faithful to the sleeve-valve principle for the rest of his career as a car maker. Voisin built lightweight cars using techniques learned in his years as an aircraft designer. The type C28 “ambassade” body design was inspired by the art-deco period and was the last model Voisin was personally responsible for.
The Volkswagen Beetle is a car we are all familiar with. More than 20 million were sold. While the name “Porsche” is associated with expensive cars, Ferdinand Porsche had a life-long interest in a small car that an average working person could afford.
The Volkswagen Beetle is a car we are all familiar with. More than 20 million were sold. While the name “Porsche” is associated with expensive cars, Ferdinand Porsche had a life-long interest in a small car that an average working person could afford.
By 1993, Volkswagen’s North American sales had dropped to a mere 50,000 total units. Two VW designers, J Mays and Freeman Thomas, believed the key to future success was to resurrect the Beetle.
Underneath the futuristic Buck Rogers fiberglass bodywork beats the heart of a 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit diesel with a five-speed - no warp engines, sadly. The rear axle has obviously been narrowed, but otherwise, the drivetrain is intact, and reportedly gets over 50 MPG.
