A touch of racing livery

The F1 cars raced this weekend in Hockenheim which is about a one hour drive away from the Porsche headquarters in Stuttgart. So I thought I'd show you the Porsche which was next to the Porsche 356 Speedster replica at the Porsche gathering.

Porsche 911 with Gulf inspired livery

It was this glorious Porsche 911 in classic Gulf inspired livery. Now, I'm no Porsche enthusiast so I really don't know which year it is from. The only clue of the year I have is from the "whale tail" spoiler. It was fitted to different 911 models from 1973-1991. They were at first fitted to race spec 911's and later to sport spec Carreras and SC's. This and the single tailpipe has lead me to believe that this uniquely coloured 911 is either a 3.0 SC or a 3.2 Carrera. 

The redesigned front lip

The classic fixed spoiler called the whale tail

The mandatory Gulf Oil sticker

The Gulf livery is not official obviously but does make it stand out around all the other 911's from that period. It also has great looking black and orange wheels to round out the look. Also, I'm not so sure that bumper is an original to that car. The classic front lip is sort of missing which I think makes the car look more modern.



 
Much money has been invested to this 911 I'm sure. The Gulf colours are naturally attention seeking and rightly so. They were used on the legendary Porsche 917 that won Le Mans 24 hours in 1970 and 1971. Which means the classic colours are tightly woven to the Porsche racing history.

Porsche 356 Speedster: An iconic shape

There have been many shapes and sizes in the automotive history but only a few serve as an inspiration for future car design. But just a handful of those are so legendary that they are even replicated to the extent where the phrase 'copyright infringement' is under serious interpretation.

Porsche 356 Speedster Replica, some call this the Super Wide-Body.

We have seen the company Eagle leap into the car enthusiasts world when their Jaguar E-type inspired bespoke Eagle Speedster and Low Drag GT where featured in the - no introduction needed - TV show Top Gear. But there are many other companies that build cars which almost copies the shape of, usually, an iconic sports car. And to that note, I spotted a very beautiful Porsche 356 replica at a Porsche meet. I'm not a Porsche enthusiast and I don't mind a replica as long as it's exquisitely done, but I just can't help but wonder what the Porsche drivers in that meet thought about it. Maybe they turned their noses up at it, I don't know.

You could park a big block V8 in that rear end.

This one as you can see is not a straight up replica of the 356 Speedster. It has a much wider body, flared wheel arches, chrome bits missing in places and some chrome bits added. It is a much more track focused aggressive look compared to the original 1954 design 356A Speedster. Also I think it looks much more rounded and, dare I say, cuter than the original. Okay, there's quite a lot of bling going on as well. Even moles in their tunnels could see those wheels and the grills in front of the headlamps makes it look like a hamster going into battle. But somehow it works and adds character to the design. The elegant design from the 50's has been converted to something that could be described as childish. I like it.

The interior looks fantastic. Notice the driving gloves.

As for the performance, well, the original 356 produced between 1948 and 1965 had a power out put between 40 and 130 horsepower from engines ranging from a small 1.1 to a 2.0 litre four cylinder. As for the replica the engine can technically be whatever fits in the boot, but usually it is of the same size and out put as the original. Iets be honest it's more about looking good than going fast in this thing anyway.

A good Porsche 356 replica as this is quite expensive, nearly as expensive as an original in... ahem, not show room condition. So as a toy to show off a couple of times a year it is pricey. And then there's the problem of answering to a person who asks what it is. You have to say 'It's a Porsche 356 Speedster... Replica'. And I don't think I could live with that.

And finally, this is what an original Porsche 356 Speedster 1600 Super looks like.

Test drive: Toyota Celica 5th generation (T180)

The Toyota Celica has been gone for ten years now but after a production run of 35 years and seven different generations no wonder it is still one of the most iconic cars Toyota has ever produced.

I've recently driven the fifth generation Celica which in my view is also the prettiest of them all. When I got the opportunity to drive it I didn't think of the drive as a road test and that's why the pictures are pretty bad, well, they suck. But even though I still have some thoughts on it so here we go.

Toyota Celica 2.0 GT-i 16 in Black

This particular gen 5 Celica was the mid range 2.0 litre GT-i 16. The entry level was a 1.6 litre and the top of the range was the rally bred, turbocharged four-wheel drive GT-Four, which today may even be considered a classic. The 2.0 four cylinder is naturally aspirated as they usually were in the early 90's. It produced 156 horsepower through the front wheels which hurled the car to a reasonable 0-100 km/h time of 8 seconds dead. The car I drove was from 1993 but it had a tip top engine, gearbox and a completely new clutch. Which meant that it still had all that power left. The engine revved happily and the acceleration was sporty as it should be. The 2.0 litre engine is just powerful enough to make the car feel as special as it looks. The Toyota engine is reliable but what lets it down is a gearbox that wears out quite quickly. So that is what to look out for if you're thinking of buying one.

As you can see the age has taken its toll on the "organic" body.

The first generations of the Celica were quite angular, there were really no space for anything else than straight lines. But with the fourth gen Celica a change was made not only from rear wheel drive to front wheel drive but to also accommodate for some curvature in the styling. This was taken to whole new level with the fifth gen were the styling was called Super Round Organic Styling. Yeesh, that's some A-level design nomenclature. This style of design was highly debated and was and still is a love or hate look. This caused some problems though which are immediately apparent when you try to sit in the rear. It's not what you'd call... what's the opposite of claustrophobic? This quality is promptly forgotten when you remember this car has pop-up headlights. Which is the best exterior quality a car can have, end of discussion.

It does have a saucer-like shape to it

When the pillarless door is opened you notice a very driver centered interior, there's really nothing for the passenger to do. This particular Celica had working air conditioning which was nice. What I found to be the most interesting feature was that the steering wheel moved up when you took the key out of the ignition, and obviously moved down when the key was inserted in the ignition. This was for an easier exit from the car. It's a nice touch but the car or the seating position is not that low that the steering wheel needs to make room. But maybe I'm just short...

Everything in here worked even after 23 years, a plus for Toyota there.

As a conclusion, I think the 5th generation Celica has aged very well. Because it's front wheel drive it has also escaped the boy-racer image. This means anyone can own one. Now that Toyota brought back the affordable drift car in the GT86 and rumors are flying around the name Supra resurfacing how about a third comeback in the name of Celica.