Obscure Performance Saloon Spin-offs e.g. Jetta 16v
Discussion
Great thread.
Not hugely rare or anything, although most people don't seem to have heard of them. Lexus IS300 saloon. I ran one years ago for two years. Zero issues. Good all rounder. Same MPG as the IS200 but with way more shove. I sold it in mint condition for peanuts, about £2500. I should have kept it as a spare car. I bet it will run for another decade with zero spent on it.
Not hugely rare or anything, although most people don't seem to have heard of them. Lexus IS300 saloon. I ran one years ago for two years. Zero issues. Good all rounder. Same MPG as the IS200 but with way more shove. I sold it in mint condition for peanuts, about £2500. I should have kept it as a spare car. I bet it will run for another decade with zero spent on it.
The Don of Croy said:
coppice said:
Notable that nearly all candidates are 80s and 90s.So here's one from the 60s- the Ford Cortina Savage-made in limited numbers by Jeff Uren (well known tuner of the time ) and looked like a normal Mk 2 Cortina except that instead of a wheezy crossflow with 80 odd bhp he installed the 130odd bhp 3litre V6. Lovely Q car - and almost as obscure as the Corsair Savage which had the same recipe except the V6 replaced a throbby V4 normally found in Transit vans . (And - pedant alert- yes,the earliest Corsairs had a straight four).
I think this is an estate version - snapped at JD Classics in Maldon (apologies to thread purists but no saloon was available on the day) ;
coppice said:
Notable that nearly all candidates are 80s and 90s.So here's one from the 60s- the Ford Cortina Savage-made in limited numbers by Jeff Uren (well known tuner of the time ) and looked like a normal Mk 2 Cortina except that instead of a wheezy crossflow with 80 odd bhp he installed the 130odd bhp 3litre V6. Lovely Q car - and almost as obscure as the Corsair Savage which had the same recipe except the V6 replaced a throbby V4 normally found in Transit vans . (And - pedant alert- yes,the earliest Corsairs had a straight four).
Anybody mentioned the bats
t bonkers Fiat Abarths of the Sixties yet ? Fiat Cinquecento with double the (not very much)bhp, giant megaphone exhausts, semaphore wipers and propped open bootlids, Very successful on track.
You reminded me of this I saw in a old Classic and Sports Car magazine, not a saloon, but worthy of a mention nonetheless...Anybody mentioned the bats
t bonkers Fiat Abarths of the Sixties yet ? Fiat Cinquecento with double the (not very much)bhp, giant megaphone exhausts, semaphore wipers and propped open bootlids, Very successful on track. 
coppice said:
Anybody mentioned the batst bonkers Fiat Abarths of the Sixties yet ? Fiat Cinquecento with double the (not very much)bhp, giant megaphone exhausts, semaphore wipers and propped open bootlids, Very successful on track.
I believe it was Moss who found a way of making his car competitive against the Abarths, via a sneaky little nudge from behind. Boot-lid drops, and a few laps later they retire through over-heating t bonkers Fiat Abarths of the Sixties yet ? Fiat Cinquecento with double the (not very much)bhp, giant megaphone exhausts, semaphore wipers and propped open bootlids, Very successful on track.
DrSteveBrule said:
Has the Peugeot 405 Mi16 been mentioned yet?
Always at risk in the home market from one of these 
Edited by Leins on Saturday 16th April 14:22
Leins said:
coppice said:
Anybody mentioned the batst bonkers Fiat Abarths of the Sixties yet ? Fiat Cinquecento with double the (not very much)bhp, giant megaphone exhausts, semaphore wipers and propped open bootlids, Very successful on track.
I believe it was Moss who found a way of making his car competitive against the Abarths, via a sneaky little nudge from behind. Boot-lid drops, and a few laps later they retire through over-heating t bonkers Fiat Abarths of the Sixties yet ? Fiat Cinquecento with double the (not very much)bhp, giant megaphone exhausts, semaphore wipers and propped open bootlids, Very successful on track.ote]Edited by Leins on Saturday 16th April 14:22[/footnote]
Cannot remember who recounted the tale now though
Leins said:
coppice said:
Anybody mentioned the batst bonkers Fiat Abarths of the Sixties yet ? Fiat Cinquecento with double the (not very much)bhp, giant megaphone exhausts, semaphore wipers and propped open bootlids, Very successful on track.
I believe it was Moss who found a way of making his car competitive against the Abarths, via a sneaky little nudge from behind. Boot-lid drops, and a few laps later they retire through over-heating t bonkers Fiat Abarths of the Sixties yet ? Fiat Cinquecento with double the (not very much)bhp, giant megaphone exhausts, semaphore wipers and propped open bootlids, Very successful on track.DrSteveBrule said:
Has the Peugeot 405 Mi16 been mentioned yet?
Always at risk in the home market from one of these Edited by Leins on Saturday 16th April 14:22
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=117...
LuS1fer said:
Not obscure but very rare now and extremely valuable
Fark me - just posted in the Aus forum that the local super-duper-expensive-classico car place has one of each of these for sale right now. AU$95k for the Mk2, no price yet for the Mk1...Have a look at www.classicthrottleshop.com.au - the Mk1 isn't being advertised yet, but I have seen with mine own eyes!
Amirhussain said:
BricktopST205 said:
Renault Safrane BiTurbo. Engine lifted out of a Alpine 610 couple to a manual box and 4WD. 260BHP with 4WD would have been one quick machine in 1994.
I was watching some car vid on YouTube which featured this..just came to post about it on this thread. MDMA . said:
EnglishTony said:
E 36 M3 4 door. 89 exported to Britain. That's rare.
How many of the current 6 Series are there in the UK with 4 doors?
There was 694 uk rhd e36 m3 sedans. 89 would have been just one colour.How many of the current 6 Series are there in the UK with 4 doors?
Polynesian said:
Not quite a saloon but i've never seen a celica like it!
It's a USDM 5th gen Celica, they sold tens of thousands of them but only in America where they like coupes with boots and not so much hatchbacks. Performance wise, it had either a 1.6 or 2.2, neither matching the European or Japanese market 2.0 NA models, never mind the GTFour. The convertible runs a very similar rear end. I had a Jetta 16v, loved it, it was definitely a Q car, 90% of other drivers had no idea what it was, and it handled and went pretty well:
A good awful photo of my one, I sold it back on '03 for 400 quid, its no longer on the road, which is a shame, if I could buy if back, I would (anyone know where H698 CCD is ??)
A good awful photo of my one, I sold it back on '03 for 400 quid, its no longer on the road, which is a shame, if I could buy if back, I would (anyone know where H698 CCD is ??)
I too had a Jetta 16v, bought to replace an ailing mk2 Golf 8v.
Mine, registered E33WUM, was a lovely petrol blue, and drove well at the upper reaches of its range. The lack of low down torque was noticeable over the 8v, but I wound it up to 130mph on the Mulsanne straight back in 1991.
Unfortunately, it was sold on due to spiralling insurance costs, only to be stolen from the garage where I part exchanged it, and stuffed into the central reservation of the A1 near Catterick by the incompetent bafoon who stole it.
Memorable fact; probably the worlds longest post back-box exhaust section!
Mine, registered E33WUM, was a lovely petrol blue, and drove well at the upper reaches of its range. The lack of low down torque was noticeable over the 8v, but I wound it up to 130mph on the Mulsanne straight back in 1991.
Unfortunately, it was sold on due to spiralling insurance costs, only to be stolen from the garage where I part exchanged it, and stuffed into the central reservation of the A1 near Catterick by the incompetent bafoon who stole it.
Memorable fact; probably the worlds longest post back-box exhaust section!
Jimmy Recard said:
PomBstard said:
5ohmustang said:
Dodge Omni Shelby Glhs (Goes Like Hell Some More). I did not make that up.
Fwd turbo, light, tons of torque steer, the grandfather of srt4s. Similar to the talbot sunbeam.
Talbot Horizon???Fwd turbo, light, tons of torque steer, the grandfather of srt4s. Similar to the talbot sunbeam.
Lots of Jetta 16v ex-owners it seems, and I had know idea they sold many of them
dscam said:
I had a non-Evo E36 M3 saloon in Dakar Yellow. I had the stats in my head at one time but confident to say there were only ever a handful in the UK and very few in that colour overall. Was a fantastic car but always irked me that the saloon got the 'wood' trim in lieu of the perfectly adequate standard trim of the coupe.
I personally look on the wood trim now as something of an ownership litmus-test, in that if it's still there then the particular car probably hasn't gone through an unfortunate phase of its life like so many others haveGassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff