Classics That Look Great But In Reality Underperform

[Keep it stiff]

I will start the list with two, the DeLorean and the Karmann Ghia.

[sortedcossie]

Outlier, I've always liked the presence of an 80's Trans Am, but good god they drive awful and for the size of motor don't set the world alight, even back then.

[CanAm]

sortedcossie said:

Outlier, I've always liked the presence of an 80's Trans Am, but good god they drive awful and for the size of motor don't set the world alight, even back then.

I think they peaked around 1972 (with the SD 455?), then USA went silly with their emission regs and it all went rapidly downhill.

[Lotobear]

Opel GT

Fiat X19

[Getragdogleg]

If you wake the opel Gt up with a 16v engine or even the old 2.4 lump it's a way better car.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Loads of American stuff qualifies for this, how they got so little horsepower out of such large engines was impressive. The late 70's Ford Mustang had a 5L V8 but took 11 seconds to 60mph and topped out at 104mph.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

The Saab Sonett III



0-62mph in 13 seconds and all over at 103mph.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Volkswagen SP2



17.4 seconds to 62mph and just manages 100mph.

[aeropilot]

CanAm said:

sortedcossie said:

Outlier, I've always liked the presence of an 80's Trans Am, but good god they drive awful and for the size of motor don't set the world alight, even back then.

I think they peaked around 1972 (with the SD 455?), then USA went silly with their emission regs and it all went rapidly downhill.

All US muscle stuff peaked in 1970, all makers downrated their stuff for 1971 model years (other than Chrysler that kept the 426 Hemi option unchanged for one more year into 1971)

Peak Trans-Am was thus the 1970 Trans-Am with the Ram-Air IV option, but only 88 people ticked that box, so very rare, and thus very expensive as a collectable now.
SD-455 was 73 and 74, but was just a little below the RA IV option of 1970. It has a lot more special bits, but the emissions stuff now added dropped it below the RA IV.

[wjs1968]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

The Saab Sonett III



0-62mph in 13 seconds and all over at 103mph.

Who cares - still want one!

[Castrol for a knave]

Pontiac Fiero - saddled with the Iron Duke engine in what was originally going to be fast and light.

The Smart Roadster was a bit disappointing - could have been a really fizzy little thing.

Ford Cougar 2.5 V6 was also a bit meh. I had one and it was a nice enough car and sounded good, but it was not especially firebreathing, despite looking aggressive. A bit more work on that Duratec and it could have been a real performer - same engine as per the Noble, so not exactly lacking in tuneability.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

It's all a bit irrelevant comparing things to modern performance though. It really isn't that long ago that a fast (affordable) car would be something that did 0-62mph in 7 or 8 seconds. Now people are driving electric cars that will do it in sub 5 seconds. In respect of the Saab Sonett, 13 seconds to 62mph in 1970 was probably comparatively quick. The Fiat 128 was the 1970 Car of the Year, that topped out at 85mph (if it didn't explode before then).

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Castrol for a knave said:

The Smart Roadster was a bit disappointing - could have been a really fizzy little thing.

I still really fancy one, although the gearbox is supposed to be awful.

[Lotobear]

Getragdogleg said:

If you wake the opel Gt up with a 16v engine or even the old 2.4 lump it's a way better car.

I'm sure that's true (for the GT and many cars), however I didn't think this was about restomods?

[classicaholic]

Fantastic looking car but drives a bit like a truck! Still loved it though!

[Mr Tidy]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

It's all a bit irrelevant comparing things to modern performance though. It really isn't that long ago that a fast (affordable) car would be something that did 0-62mph in 7 or 8 seconds. Now people are driving electric cars that will do it in sub 5 seconds. In respect of the Saab Sonett, 13 seconds to 62mph in 1970 was probably comparatively quick. The Fiat 128 was the 1970 Car of the Year, that topped out at 85mph (if it didn't explode before then).

But to be fair it only had an 1,100cc engine and in 1970 BL were still knocking out 1100s and Morris Minors, Ford were selling 1,100cc Escorts none of which would have managed to get to 85!

And IMHO the Fiat 128 was better looking.

A Capri 1.3 has to be a contender!

[richhead]

Anything before the late 90's was pretty crap
I years ago ran a garage and a customer came in with a db5, i did the road test, i to this day wish i hadnt, it was crap.
it looked and sounded fantastic, but was like driving a bus, and so slow, as for the brakes.
never meet your heros

[Heaveho]

Matra Murena. Lovely looking thing, not backed up by much in the way of shove.