Urban myths about cars
Discussion
carl_w said:
Twincam16 said:
That must be rubbish, or your figures are out, as they only needed 500 for Group 4 homologation in the first place. I seriously doubt they'd leave homologation examples of the most sought-after, hi-tech rally car of its day sitting in a field.
Well I guessed the figures because I couldn't remember if it was 500 or 1000 needed for homologation. But the story was on the back page of EVO IIRC, or maybe the article a few years ago with the lime green Stratos. Pretty sure it was a Peter Dron tale.
Justayellowbadge said:
The figures may be wrong, but I've heard the story several times, from fairly reliable sources.
Yes, is certainly an oft told story - but then urban myths usually are. 
In the version I recall the cars were in a one warehouse before lunch and were driven to another whilst the FIA official was being entertained... not as incredible as it seems, I suppose, given the Italian prediliction for 3 or 4 hour lunches!
But if you were Lancia, would you have gambled a multi-billion Lire rally programme on the hope that the homologation officer would be lax enough not to check chassis numbers, and to allow himself to be detained at lunch for several hours?
Interestingly, according to Nigel Trow's very well researched book on the Stratos, the FIA inspection was not carried out by some nameless official but by the racing driver and journalist Paul Frere who, of course, had strong Fiat/Lancia/Ferrari affiliations. It also seems certain that the paperwork provided before the visit was glaringly flawed and Frere apparently admitted later in writing that he knew all along that the required number of cars had not been produced.
...all of which tend to add up to indicate that a tacit background agreement had already been made to homologate the Stratos for the good of the sport and, perhaps, the 'drunken lunch' story is just there to make it look like a mistake by an amiable incompetent rather than an FIA/manufacturer handshake?
The one thing that is certain is that there were never enough Stratos' built for it to genuinely comply with homologation requirements.
peterbean said:
The best one I ever heard;-
"If you twist the hazard lights switch in a Vauxhall Nova it starts every time due to the ignition and lighting looms on the same cable..."
No if you take it out without breaking it, turn it aound and plug it back in. You could bump start the car."If you twist the hazard lights switch in a Vauxhall Nova it starts every time due to the ignition and lighting looms on the same cable..."
Edited by jatinder on Friday 14th March 13:01
mat205125 said:
m4tthew said:
Mk2 Gti 8v has more torque than the 16v 
Not peak, but I believe the useful torque was spread over a wider usable band, and could be argued to be the better car for normal driving where you don't want to thrash the tits off it and stir the gears constantly
Pic shows what people who've had both know - it feels like it has more torque, but in fact at no time does the 8v have more than the 16v.
I've had both, btw.
Edited by cg360 on Friday 14th March 13:20
ELAN+2 said:
The one that really annoys me(anorak mode) is that the Lotus 900 series engine was based on the Vauxhall slant 4 of the same era, in reality Lotus noticed the bore centres of the Vauxhall lump were the same as thier new engine and used the vauxhall blocks to speed up head development. A variation of this engine was used in the Europa shaped race cars. The engine Lotus supplied to Jensen was a totally Lotus design with an alloy block as also used in the Elite/Eclat/Excell and Esprit. A derivative was also used in the Sunbeam Lotus.
Mark
god yeah, I can see why, I'd be livid Mark
CraigW said:
ELAN+2 said:
The one that really annoys me(anorak mode) is that the Lotus 900 series engine was based on the Vauxhall slant 4 of the same era, in reality Lotus noticed the bore centres of the Vauxhall lump were the same as thier new engine and used the vauxhall blocks to speed up head development. A variation of this engine was used in the Europa shaped race cars. The engine Lotus supplied to Jensen was a totally Lotus design with an alloy block as also used in the Elite/Eclat/Excell and Esprit. A derivative was also used in the Sunbeam Lotus.
Mark
god yeah, I can see why, I'd be livid Mark
Hooli said:
tali1 said:
Poledriver said:
The Mitsubishi Stallion should have had it's model name communicated in writing, not verbally!
BTW, are there any Starions still on the road?
Pratt Clarkson wrecked the last Starion sold in UKBTW, are there any Starions still on the road?
http://www.starion-turbo.co.uk/
Hooli said:
DippedHeadlights said:
What about the 80s VW one that the Golf was originally going to be called the Gulf - theory being that the cars were named after winds and they had the Jetta and the Scirocco.
i thought it was the rabbit? or was that the original name for the polo?cg360 said:
mat205125 said:
m4tthew said:
Mk2 Gti 8v has more torque than the 16v
Not peak, but I believe the useful torque was spread over a wider usable band, and could be argued to be the better car for normal driving where you don't want to thrash the tits off it and stir the gears constantlyPic shows what people who've had both know - it feels like it has more torque, but in fact at no time does the 8v have more than the 16v.
I've had both, btw.
Edited by cg360 on Friday 14th March 13:20
In keeping with the 'winds' theme, this I found on wikipedia...
"The Polo name has been a source of speculation. Some people believed it was a reference to polar winds, in keeping with Volkswagen's penchant for naming its watercooled cars after winds and currents, but many fans insist that it is in fact a pun on the Golf's name, because "golf" and "polo" are both words (in both English and German) for upper-class sports. The fact that the Polo's original saloon derivative was named the Derby gives more credence to the latter theory, since derby, like polo, refers to an equestrian sport."
"The Polo name has been a source of speculation. Some people believed it was a reference to polar winds, in keeping with Volkswagen's penchant for naming its watercooled cars after winds and currents, but many fans insist that it is in fact a pun on the Golf's name, because "golf" and "polo" are both words (in both English and German) for upper-class sports. The fact that the Polo's original saloon derivative was named the Derby gives more credence to the latter theory, since derby, like polo, refers to an equestrian sport."
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