Fast Coupes Of The Eighties And Nineties
Discussion
Rough101 said:
Had a sunflower yellow Megane Coupe and for a short while 6th Gen Civic coupe, which frankly was for pensioners.
I had a Civic EJ6 Coupe and found it to be tuned for comfort sure, after all they are USDM models. Or rather, USDM designed and built cars that found their way here. I know mine was built in Ohio. Accord coupes were also American i believe. Everyone else with the EU hatchback was basically driving a quite different motor as I understand.Pensioner I can understand as a description if the tune or setup is what you mean, and certainly the image of the car. In terms of pure performance and engineering I would say that Civic is one of the best platforms I have experienced even to this very day. I wish many modern cars could feel as good to drive as that Civic did.
It was such a shock too, no one would ever expect such a cheap car to drive anywhere near that good. Having double wishbone all round etc is a flex on a spec sheet, even today. but the actual joy they can offer a petrolhead with pocket change should never be underestimated. The smaller and lighter EG is one of few cars that I can think of that is that much joy for that price. Not to mention they come apart and go back together mostly with a 10mm socket!
williamp said:
That reminded me of the Peugeot 406 Coupe, i remember that was a cool car in the 90s, like legitimately desirable .Mitsubishi FTO is the one I would choose of this era even though I admit it is far from the most dynamic and fun of these small coupes. I think that looks wise they have aged better than some. Shares a lot with the Toyota Supra to my eyes
Wacky Racer said:
reddiesel said:
Wacky Racer said:
Thanks for the photo / copy of invoice. Capris were great cars back in the day. Back then, my Dad had a Triumph 2.5l TC - one day, when it was being serviced, he had a Capri as a loan car - fabulously exciting (exotic even) for an 11 year old car bore like me.
The invoice makes for interesting reading though.
The car came with a full tank of petrol at a cost of £9.88. Given the Capri's 12.7l tank, that works out at £0.78 per gallon or 17ppl.
Just for fun or to depress you re cost of fuel these days!, if you divide the cost of the car (£4365) by the £9.88 cost of a tank of fuel the fuel cost 1/442 of the invoice amount.
Today, assuming fuel to be (say) £1.60 per litre or £7.24 gallon it would cost £92 to fill the tank. Multiply that by 442 and the 'cost' of the car would be £40664
Ouch. Modern cars, are obviously SO much better than the 70's cars and are comparatively cheap compared to their 1970's equivalents.... at least in terms of the price of petrol*!
The daddy of them all:
When I was a young sales exec, the used car site I worked had a "pole position" right at the front, adjacent to a busy dual carriageway. I always tried to have something a bit tasty on that spot.
Another branch took in a beautiful 560SEC in a similar colour to the one shown. They were going to send it to auction but I managed to convince management that I should be given a week to sell it. I collected it, marvelling at its refinement and seatbelt butlers.
I placed it on pole position at 5pm, with an optimistic price sticker, and went home.
Next morning I arrived at 8am to be greeted by a gent who asked, "Am I too early to buy the Mercedes?".
When I was a young sales exec, the used car site I worked had a "pole position" right at the front, adjacent to a busy dual carriageway. I always tried to have something a bit tasty on that spot.
Another branch took in a beautiful 560SEC in a similar colour to the one shown. They were going to send it to auction but I managed to convince management that I should be given a week to sell it. I collected it, marvelling at its refinement and seatbelt butlers.
I placed it on pole position at 5pm, with an optimistic price sticker, and went home.
Next morning I arrived at 8am to be greeted by a gent who asked, "Am I too early to buy the Mercedes?".
paulmakin said:
Fiat Coupe Turbo
Alfa GTV V6
Honda CR-X
fast for the time ?
The first two certainly were. The GTV6 moved top speed in to 130s which was pretty rapid for the early 80's. At that price point at the time there weren't many competitors apart from the Capri 2.8i and, a bit later, the 205 GTI 1.9.Alfa GTV V6
Honda CR-X
fast for the time ?
A few years on and the Fiat Coupe (20v) Turbo was winning top speed Top Trumps with over 150mph with the S14 200SX, Prelude VTEC and Corrado VR6 all in the mid-140s.
I ended up in the S14 partly because a certain J Clarkson ran first a standard then a modded one when he was writing for PC. I went down the same route. Various mates and colleagues had all the others. Well plus things like 944's and M3s but they cost conisderably more at the time so don't count at this price point.
I loved the look of the Calibra but found it horribly understeery. I also liked the S13-gen 200 SX, but never got to drive them and they seem to be nearly extinct, although once quite a common sight. Also the Supra, equally rare now.
Obviously the king of the fast coupes in the '80s was the Quattro.
Obviously the king of the fast coupes in the '80s was the Quattro.
The Corrado seemed to disappear just as quickly as the Calibra did and given the VW propensity for longevity I always found that pretty surprising . 205 1.9 GTI strictly speaking was a Hatchback but what a machine ! I got rid of an RS Turbo Escort ( the most crap car I ever owned useful only for pulling birds) to the late Tony Moore of Rickmansworth Sports Cars (anyone remember him ?) in exchange for a 1.9 GTI (H486TNG) . It was the only car up until then that I immediately wanted another of but sadly Production had ended shortly afterwards .
I'm lucky enough to have a Fiat Coupe turbo (owned 20 years) although its been in storage for the last 7 years.
A mate had a D reg Sud Sprint when we were younger, it was a nice car but no faster than my MG Maestro EFI or another mates Volvo 360 GLT.
The Sprint got new front wings not long after my mate bought it and they were starting to rust when he sold it 3 years later.
To the OP - if you're from Glasgow you probably know a town called Cupar from trips to the beach at St Andrews
.
There's a green Calibra V6 becoming part of the hedge in someones front garden there.
I periodically saw it around town until about 3 years ago but it had a blowing exhaust so I suspect it'll be heading to the scrappies eventually.
A mate had a D reg Sud Sprint when we were younger, it was a nice car but no faster than my MG Maestro EFI or another mates Volvo 360 GLT.
The Sprint got new front wings not long after my mate bought it and they were starting to rust when he sold it 3 years later.
To the OP - if you're from Glasgow you probably know a town called Cupar from trips to the beach at St Andrews
.There's a green Calibra V6 becoming part of the hedge in someones front garden there.
I periodically saw it around town until about 3 years ago but it had a blowing exhaust so I suspect it'll be heading to the scrappies eventually.
5 In a Row said:
I'm lucky enough to have a Fiat Coupe turbo (owned 20 years) although its been in storage for the last 7 years.
A mate had a D reg Sud Sprint when we were younger, it was a nice car but no faster than my MG Maestro EFI or another mates Volvo 360 GLT.
The Sprint got new front wings not long after my mate bought it and they were starting to rust when he sold it 3 years later.
To the OP - if you're from Glasgow you probably know a town called Cupar from trips to the beach at St Andrews.
There's a green Calibra V6 becoming part of the hedge in someones front garden there.
I periodically saw it around town until about 3 years ago but it had a blowing exhaust so I suspect it'll be heading to the scrappies eventually.
Suds and Sprints suffered from lack of development towards the end; at one point, 105bhp from the 1.5 Veloce was respectable in 1980 or whenever but over the following decade more and more manufactures started piling in with newer and more powerful options. A mate had a D reg Sud Sprint when we were younger, it was a nice car but no faster than my MG Maestro EFI or another mates Volvo 360 GLT.
The Sprint got new front wings not long after my mate bought it and they were starting to rust when he sold it 3 years later.
To the OP - if you're from Glasgow you probably know a town called Cupar from trips to the beach at St Andrews
.There's a green Calibra V6 becoming part of the hedge in someones front garden there.
I periodically saw it around town until about 3 years ago but it had a blowing exhaust so I suspect it'll be heading to the scrappies eventually.
They took it out to 1.7 and that was that. Shame, it's a great configuration as Subaru went on to prove with their boxers putting out twice as much and them some in the 90's/00's.
5 In a Row said:
I'm lucky enough to have a Fiat Coupe turbo (owned 20 years) although its been in storage for the last 7 years.
A mate had a D reg Sud Sprint when we were younger, it was a nice car but no faster than my MG Maestro EFI or another mates Volvo 360 GLT.
The Sprint got new front wings not long after my mate bought it and they were starting to rust when he sold it 3 years later.
To the OP - if you're from Glasgow you probably know a town called Cupar from trips to the beach at St Andrews.
There's a green Calibra V6 becoming part of the hedge in someones front garden there.
I periodically saw it around town until about 3 years ago but it had a blowing exhaust so I suspect it'll be heading to the scrappies eventually.
I would have thought there will be a few Fiat Coupe Turbos laid up in storage awaiting increasing values . I remember the publicity for the final editions often in Blue or Black with red brake callipers and those lovely alloy wheels that only Italian Carmakers produce . A mate had a D reg Sud Sprint when we were younger, it was a nice car but no faster than my MG Maestro EFI or another mates Volvo 360 GLT.
The Sprint got new front wings not long after my mate bought it and they were starting to rust when he sold it 3 years later.
To the OP - if you're from Glasgow you probably know a town called Cupar from trips to the beach at St Andrews
.There's a green Calibra V6 becoming part of the hedge in someones front garden there.
I periodically saw it around town until about 3 years ago but it had a blowing exhaust so I suspect it'll be heading to the scrappies eventually.
Turbobanana said:
The daddy of them all:
When I was a young sales exec, the used car site I worked had a "pole position" right at the front, adjacent to a busy dual carriageway. I always tried to have something a bit tasty on that spot.
Another branch took in a beautiful 560SEC in a similar colour to the one shown. They were going to send it to auction but I managed to convince management that I should be given a week to sell it. I collected it, marvelling at its refinement and seatbelt butlers.
I placed it on pole position at 5pm, with an optimistic price sticker, and went home.
Next morning I arrived at 8am to be greeted by a gent who asked, "Am I too early to buy the Mercedes?".
You must have been pleased with yourself getting the SEC shifted . Forrest of Paisley was an Animal Slaughtering concern and its owner and his wife had a pair of these and that was the first time I saw the Model in the flesh . Solid , Imposing and Over Engineered was my initial impression . Many years later browsing one in a Classic Car Garage it seemed to have lost much of its stature and I don't really know why When I was a young sales exec, the used car site I worked had a "pole position" right at the front, adjacent to a busy dual carriageway. I always tried to have something a bit tasty on that spot.
Another branch took in a beautiful 560SEC in a similar colour to the one shown. They were going to send it to auction but I managed to convince management that I should be given a week to sell it. I collected it, marvelling at its refinement and seatbelt butlers.
I placed it on pole position at 5pm, with an optimistic price sticker, and went home.
Next morning I arrived at 8am to be greeted by a gent who asked, "Am I too early to buy the Mercedes?".
Panamax said:
What you really need is a Ford "Probe". Or perhaps not.
Few people will remember the Probe even existed in the 1990s. It was Ford's version of the Mazda MX-6 and a well styled 3-door FWD coupe with pop-up headlamps - so there should have been a lot to like. But everyone wanted a RWD 2-door BMW instead and sales fell way below Ford's expectations.
Mind you, Ford then followed up with the even less successful Cougar - essentially a Mondeo coupe.
Remember the Probe, everyone fell on the medical connotations. The Cougar, I'll have to google that one.Few people will remember the Probe even existed in the 1990s. It was Ford's version of the Mazda MX-6 and a well styled 3-door FWD coupe with pop-up headlamps - so there should have been a lot to like. But everyone wanted a RWD 2-door BMW instead and sales fell way below Ford's expectations.
Mind you, Ford then followed up with the even less successful Cougar - essentially a Mondeo coupe.
reddiesel said:
You must have been pleased with yourself getting the SEC shifted . Forrest of Paisley was an Animal Slaughtering concern and its owner and his wife had a pair of these and that was the first time I saw the Model in the flesh . Solid , Imposing and Over Engineered was my initial impression . Many years later browsing one in a Classic Car Garage it seemed to have lost much of its stature and I don't really know why
I know what you mean. I think it's because, taken in the context of today's styling, they're actually quite bland. Beautifully proportioned, well built, elegant and classy - but a bit plain-looking.Still would, though
** If my garage were 2ft bigger in every direction
Skyedriver said:
Panamax said:
What you really need is a Ford "Probe". Or perhaps not.
Few people will remember the Probe even existed in the 1990s. It was Ford's version of the Mazda MX-6 and a well styled 3-door FWD coupe with pop-up headlamps - so there should have been a lot to like. But everyone wanted a RWD 2-door BMW instead and sales fell way below Ford's expectations.
Mind you, Ford then followed up with the even less successful Cougar - essentially a Mondeo coupe.
Remember the Probe, everyone fell on the medical connotations. The Cougar, I'll have to google that one.Few people will remember the Probe even existed in the 1990s. It was Ford's version of the Mazda MX-6 and a well styled 3-door FWD coupe with pop-up headlamps - so there should have been a lot to like. But everyone wanted a RWD 2-door BMW instead and sales fell way below Ford's expectations.
Mind you, Ford then followed up with the even less successful Cougar - essentially a Mondeo coupe.
Not that the 1994 Mustang SN95 was any great shakes in the styling department until the New Edge facelift.
The Probe was meant to create a new Capri, in Europe but the styling and fwd failed to excite anyone. As for the Cougar, it was too big and the styling was er, challenging.
Skyedriver said:
Panamax said:
What you really need is a Ford "Probe". Or perhaps not.
Few people will remember the Probe even existed in the 1990s. It was Ford's version of the Mazda MX-6 and a well styled 3-door FWD coupe with pop-up headlamps - so there should have been a lot to like. But everyone wanted a RWD 2-door BMW instead and sales fell way below Ford's expectations.
Mind you, Ford then followed up with the even less successful Cougar - essentially a Mondeo coupe.
Remember the Probe, everyone fell on the medical connotations. The Cougar, I'll have to google that one.Few people will remember the Probe even existed in the 1990s. It was Ford's version of the Mazda MX-6 and a well styled 3-door FWD coupe with pop-up headlamps - so there should have been a lot to like. But everyone wanted a RWD 2-door BMW instead and sales fell way below Ford's expectations.
Mind you, Ford then followed up with the even less successful Cougar - essentially a Mondeo coupe.
Skyedriver said:
Panamax said:
What you really need is a Ford "Probe". Or perhaps not.
Few people will remember the Probe even existed in the 1990s. It was Ford's version of the Mazda MX-6 and a well styled 3-door FWD coupe with pop-up headlamps - so there should have been a lot to like. But everyone wanted a RWD 2-door BMW instead and sales fell way below Ford's expectations.
Mind you, Ford then followed up with the even less successful Cougar - essentially a Mondeo coupe.
Remember the Probe, everyone fell on the medical connotations. The Cougar, I'll have to google that one.Few people will remember the Probe even existed in the 1990s. It was Ford's version of the Mazda MX-6 and a well styled 3-door FWD coupe with pop-up headlamps - so there should have been a lot to like. But everyone wanted a RWD 2-door BMW instead and sales fell way below Ford's expectations.
Mind you, Ford then followed up with the even less successful Cougar - essentially a Mondeo coupe.
TBH the Probe was, IMO, quite a good looking car (though the 3-spoke alloys on the 4 -pot were
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