Thunderstruck! Chevrolet’S Brutal V8-Powered Firenza Can-Am
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FACEL VEGA MERCEDES-BENZ 600 PULLMAN E-TYPE JAGUAR R47.00 incl VAT • October/November 2014 THUNDERSTRUCK! CHEVROLET’S BRUTAL V8-POWERED FIRENZA CAN-AM SUNBEAM TIGER FORD GT40 Celebrating 50 years A race car for the road STEPHEN LINE | MILLE MIGLIA | BRIAN GUSH FOR BOOKINGS 0861 11 9000 proteahotels.com IF PETROL RUNS IN YOUR VEINS, THIS IS A SIREN CALL TO THE OPEN ROAD... TO BOOK THIS & MANY MORE GREAT MOTORING SPECIALS VISIT proteahotels.com GEAR UP FOR THE GEORGE OLD CAR SHOW DATE: 14 - 15 FEBRUARY 2015 George lies in the heart of the Garden Route at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains. This sleepy town comes to life with the beautiful noise of purring engines once a year at one of the biggest Classic Car events in South Africa, the George Old Car Show. We invite you to be our GUEST with these all inclusive value for money packages. 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PHDS 30745/14 CONTENTS October/November 2014 HIGH OCTANE BIKES TO BENTLEYS 04 Robert Coucher drives old and 62 Brian Gush, Bentley Director of new Porsche 911 Targas Chassis, Powertrain and Motorsport NEWS & EVENTS SCANDINAVIAN FLICK 10 Latest from the classic scene 66 Taking a Volvo 144 back home THUNDERSTRUCK DREAMS & NIGHTMARES 18 South Africa’s brutal Chevy Can-Am 70 The ups and downs of the Mille Miglia EXPORT APPEAL 22 Facel Vega, French fl air with MOMENTUM! American muscle 76 Part 8 of our BMW fi rst car project A TYPE OF ENDURANCE TRACKING RECORD 28 Perhaps the only Jaguar E-Type 78 Les van Breda’s Suzuki TR500 Twin with a tow bar WINGING-IT STATELY AT A STRETCH 80 Wings & Slicks racing action 32 An ex-government Mercedes-Benz from Kyalami 600 Pullman Landaulet READER RIDES SA’S EYE ON THE TIGER 84 A pristine Triumph TR5 36 Fifty years of Sunbeam Tiger GEARBOX ON THE LOW DOWN 92 Classifi ed adverts 42 Cruising country roads in a genuine Ford GT40 LETTERS 93 Have your say MISSING CATS 48 Jaguar fi nally builds six lightweight E-Types as promised MIXING POTS 42 50 Jake Venter continues looking into engine layouts and cylinders TRACTION ATTRACTION 52 Citroën’s game-changer Traction Avant FIELD OF MEMORIES 56 Stephen Line, a world-class karter www.cpca.co.za | October/November 2014 | 1 KEEP YOUR JAGUAR 100% JAGUAR. IT’S A PEDIGREE CAR. KEEP IT THAT WAY. Only allow a Jaguar Approved Service Centre to fit Jaguar Genuine Parts and keep your Jaguar as alive as the day you got it. In the hands of our highly trained and qualified technicians, Jaguar Genuine Parts will always meet our uncompromising standards for quality, fit and durability. In addition, every Jaguar Genuine Part fitted by an approved Jaguar dealer comes with the peace of mind of a 12 month unlimited km warranty. For details, visit your Jaguar Approved Service Centre. JAGUAR.CO.ZA HOW ALIVE ARE YOU? 86002004_Genuine_210x276_CLASSIC-PERFORMANCE-CAR_v1.indd 1 03.09.14 10:13 EDITOR’S POINT OF VIEW Publisher Zig Zag Publishing Editor Stuart Grant [email protected] Sub-Editor Thora Paver Art Director Ronel van Heerden www.nineninetynine.co.za Contributors Robert Coucher, John W Smith, Graeme Hurst, Mike Monk, Rob Reneson, Jake Venter, Greg Mills, Gavin Foster, Howard Bates, Mandy da Nicola, Adrian Burford, Mick Russell, Dave Hastie, Johan Venter, Colin Black, Ilani Vonk, Darren Epstein. Advertising Sales APPRECIATING CLASSICS Derek Hulse [email protected] ecent international auction South African production. 082 451 3899 results show that classic South African specials continue with Marketing/Subscriptions & cars and bikes continue to the manic Chevy Can-Am homologation Accounts be sound investments. But units and Gavin Foster and Greg Mills [email protected] 082 921 4583 this is not the only reason talk about special South Africans in the Rfor owning an older vehicle. One only form of Bentley man Brian Gush and Northern Regions Sales has to see how many shows and events world-class karter Stephen Line. Dave Hastie [email protected] line the spring calendar locally to realise High-end luxury is covered by Mike 083 418 0372 that the main reason for ownership is the Monk’s feature on a presidential use and enjoyment of machines, and the Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman and John Subscriptions, Advertising & Editorial mates that we meet along the way. Smith tracks down a very rare Facel Vega. [email protected] This month we feature two readers’ Perhaps not luxury but definitely high- Stuart: 082 921 4583 Fax: 086 568 0193 cars that have enjoyed some serious end on the price scales, Rob Reneson use lately with Howard Bates taking takes one of only seven GT40 road cars P.O. Box 987 his South Africa Volvo on an 8 000km for a spin on public tarmac. Jukskeipark 2153 trip through Scandinavia, while Arthur Of course the usual classified adverts, Wassenaar conquered the Mille Miglia readers’ letters, news and events pages in a Johannesburg-based Triumph. find a home and we’ve introduced a Graeme Hurst looks at a Jaguar E-Type ‘Reader Rides’ page, so feel free to send in that has not only done regular trips a brief story and images on your car, or a from Zimbabwe to the South Coast trip you’ve done with your car. Send this of KwaZulu Natal, but could well be and any classified adverts or letters to me The publishers makes every effort to ensure this magazine’s contents are correct. All material the only E-Type with a tow bar and at [email protected]. published in Classic and Performance Car Africa the accomplishment of towing a full Please enjoy, and with the weather is copyright and unauthorised reproduction is forbidden. The opinion of contributors, as household content, including a 21-foot turning, the blossoms flowering and published, are not necessarily the opinions held by the publishers or editors of Classic and yacht and two goldfish. While doing this temperatures rising, get out there and Performance Car Africa. The publishers and editors make no representations, nor do they give story he stumbled across the owner’s make use of your appreciating investment. any warranties, guarantees or assurances, for any goods or services advertised herein. Sunbeam Tiger and celebrates the brutal Brit’s 50th in fine style with a look at Stuart www.cpca.co.za | October/November 2014 | 3 HIGH OCTANE For some years Porsche’s Targa versions of the pre-‘73 911s were regarded as being somewhat lesser than the more sporting coupé models. That’s no longer the case as Robert Coucher discovers. nevitably, motor cars are as the sporting option although the Unsafe at Any Speed published in 1965. affected by fashion, both hood arrangements were rudimentary Fortunately, it didn’t happen. modern and classic alike. Here and not particularly effective. Sports Porsche unveiled its first 911 model in Britain, in the Thirties, big cars of the Fifties and Sixties continued at the Frankfurt Motor Show in engined motor cars were all the the tradition but automobiles in 1963, as a coupé. But Porsche’s first Irage and heavy, standard saloons were the biggest car market in the world, 356 No. 1 was in open configuration chopped to become open sports cars so America, had generally morphed into and the German engineers wanted to wealthy ‘chaps’ could indulge in a bit large two- or four-door sedans. Open continue this tradition. So in 1965 it of light motor racing at Brooklands or cars were becoming rarer because launched its ingenious Targa, an open over on the Continent. American legislators were planning car with fixed roll hoop. Initially the After World War II, motor cars to ban automobiles without a roof Targa featured a removable vinyl roof became smaller and lighter by as ‘unsafe’, helped along by anti-car and soft plastic zip-out rear window. In necessity but open cars were still seen campaigner Ralph Nader and his book 1968 the fiddly and leak-prone soft rear 4 | October/November 2014 | www.cpca.co.za Robert Coucher was born in Cape Town but has lived in London since 1988. Previously the editor of Classic Cars and the Bentley magazine, Robert started Octane magazine ten years ago and it now sells around the world to discerning motoring enthusiasts and racers. www.octane-magazine.com window was replaced with fixed glass. sporting car driver wants. But most of the Fifties and Sixties. But there are The Targa models were always all, the new 991 Targa is one of the best- precious few decent classics of the ‘70s, popular but expensive and ran through looking Porsches. Ever. apart from Porsches. The Ferraris of the the Porsche range over the decades. As most of you probably know, period, like Dinos, are too expensive; Porsche recently launched its new 991 the values of early Porsche 911s have Aston V8s are too ponderous; BMW Series Targa 4 and 4S to much acclaim.