The X1/9's purpose in life, just an observation
- Thread starter Dr.Jeff
- Start date
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Earlier in this thread I mentioned the new market for "newly produced" cars based on classic models. Essentially re-engineered, modern technology, improved designs using vintage cars - not modern concepts or retro redesigns. Here are a few more examples:
journal.classiccars.com
journal.classiccars.com
journal.classiccars.com
That last one - based on the Porsche 914 - is likely the closest thing to what a newly re-engineered classic X1/9 might be like.
E-Type being ‘unleashed’ by British specialist restoration shop
No electric conversion for this series of E-Type Jaguars. Reimagined versions getting boosted V12 horsepower and other updates from British workshop
journal.classiccars.com
Classic Recreations launches resto-mod Bronco builds
Prices start at $224,900 for Classic Recreations new series of updated 1966-77 Ford Bronco off-roaders, updated with modern engines, chassis and more.
journal.classiccars.com
British rally team resto-mods the classic Porsche 914
British specialist Fifteen Eleven Design will start production of a resto-mod version of the targa-topped, mid-engine 1970s Porsche 914.
journal.classiccars.com
That last one - based on the Porsche 914 - is likely the closest thing to what a newly re-engineered classic X1/9 might be like.
kmead
Old enough to know better
The 914 is pretty OK. The Jag, meh, the 12 was always an overweight pig. The Bronco was always nice, the horsepower seems a bit ridiculous. Nice stuff in any case.Earlier in this thread I mentioned the new market for "newly produced" cars based on classic models. Essentially re-engineered, modern technology, improved designs using vintage cars - not modern concepts or retro redesigns. Here are a few more examples:
E-Type being ‘unleashed’ by British specialist restoration shop
No electric conversion for this series of E-Type Jaguars. Reimagined versions getting boosted V12 horsepower and other updates from British workshop
Classic Recreations launches resto-mod Bronco builds
Prices start at $224,900 for Classic Recreations new series of updated 1966-77 Ford Bronco off-roaders, updated with modern engines, chassis and more.
British rally team resto-mods the classic Porsche 914
British specialist Fifteen Eleven Design will start production of a resto-mod version of the targa-topped, mid-engine 1970s Porsche 914.
That last one - based on the Porsche 914 - is likely the closest thing to what a newly re-engineered classic X1/9 might be like.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
That is part of my amazement about this latest trend; in the last few years there have been a number of shops specializing in such builds, and all of them are ridiculously expensive. However several have a long waiting list with buyers that have given a deposit. Seems there is money out there for such stuff.
carl
True Classic
$225K for a Bronco seems a bit too rich for me. Can you honestly see one of these being driven off road...it might get dirty.
I was at the Carlisle Import/Kit car show several years ago and was looking at Manx type cars. To build one now, at least from the vendor selling them, would cost around $30K at least. I would love to have one but not at that price.
Maybe an Xkart would be interesting, along the same lines as a Vettekart and the Miata Deathkarts.
I was at the Carlisle Import/Kit car show several years ago and was looking at Manx type cars. To build one now, at least from the vendor selling them, would cost around $30K at least. I would love to have one but not at that price.
Maybe an Xkart would be interesting, along the same lines as a Vettekart and the Miata Deathkarts.
Dr.Jeff
True Classic
Just saw the latest "retro design" remake of a former model by the manufacturer. This time it is the Lambo Countach. The styling is intended to be something of a 'modern take' on the classic Countach (sort of):
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www.goodwood.com
The new Countach has broken cover | GRR
The ‘70s icon is reborn, even if it does look more Diablo...
www.goodwood.com
LarryC
Curator of #10105275
Ha! Well, old trucks are bit different. The wife and I take our Twilight movie-veteran and book cover Bronco into the mountains all the time. Literally go to the show the next week. The standards are a bit different. Body rash is considered a badge of glory with old iron. Now a high-zooy X 1/9 I might be dis-inclned to park in a shopping center lot.
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Dr.Jeff
True Classic
This is not so much a "remake" or even a "restomod" of sorts, but it's kind of cool.
While I'm not a fan of electric vehicles, this actually might be one that makes sense. The electrification of a particular vintage car that otherwise is useless with its stock drivetrain.
www.magnetomagazine.com
While I'm not a fan of electric vehicles, this actually might be one that makes sense. The electrification of a particular vintage car that otherwise is useless with its stock drivetrain.
Magneto drives The 2CV Shop's new EV-converted 2CV - Magneto
The 2CV Shop has launched its EV-converted 2CeV and Magneto travelled down to the company's headquarters in Wiltshire for a first drive of this reimagined French icon.
www.magnetomagazine.com
Lowtechprime
Retro Grouch
JMHO....I agree that this would never be a commercial venture... The market is just too small with how manufacturing works today.. There will be those who try, but they most likely will always be in the over $100,000 range...
To me, it's of dubious value anyway. My whole mentality of car ownership and modification is applying modern/high end materials (titanium/carbon fiber isn't technically 'modern', they've been around for quite some time) to older cars. I realize though that I am not the most impartial candidate as I am of the opinion that there haven't been any real improvements to the automobile since the '70s... A modern engine? Computer controlled, miles of vacuum tubing going who knows where, doing who knows what? A plastic cover hiding most of the engine? Need to plug it into a computer just to find out that the Pfetzer valve is 'out of range'? No thank you.. If my car won't start, it's one of 3 things. Gas, air, or spark. I'd take an oversquare, Lampredi SOHC with carbs over that any day... Plus, all the use of plastic parts that should be metal in modern cars is INCREDIBLY frustrating.. This is cost cutting, not weight saving as BMW would have you believe.. I think I've replaced the clutch pedal twice in my wife's Z3 M Coupe.. The next time it fails I'm fabricating an aluminum one.. I've already replaced most of the cooling system with metal replacements, as well as the master cylinders... Master Cylinders in Plastic??! Really? That car's 20 years old, it's only worse now... If all these 'modern' materials where supposed to cut weight, why is every new car well over 3000 pounds? Even a new 'Mini'...
Anti lock brakes? That's your right foot. Traction control? Buy good tires and learn how to drive properly... Power steering is unnecessary if your car is under a ton, and only serves to numb the driving experience... All of these 'improvements' are making this new generation some of the worst drivers on the road. If you can't parallel park a car on your own, you've got no business driving a car, get an Uber.. There's a girl at work, 24ish, whose brand new car was in the shop so they gave her a loaner that was just a few years older. Both cars automatic, but her's doesn't require you to hold the brake at a stop light. It stays stopped until you press the accelerator. Her loaner of course did not have this feature. She of course rear ended somebody 4 miles from the dealership.. She wanders in and out of her lane because the car doesn't warn her she is doing it. They don't treat driving like something they need to pay attention to, I've never been more terrified/horrified on a 2 mile drive to lunch... I can't count how many modern cars I see driving down the road at night with the lights off.. Used to be easy to tell, if the dash lights weren't on, your lights weren't on... That's not the case anymore.
What was wrong with an accelerator cable? That item rarely needs any service, but how many of those 'drive by wire' cars drove away from their owners causing accidents? You know that's not a performance enhancement, it's to make manufacturing 3 cents per car cheaper, and no longer owner serviceable...
My biggest beef with older cars are things like interiors fogging up or leaking in the rain, or the strange way Fiat wired their cars so that most accessories only see 10 volts.. But those problems can be fairly easily solved. What are you left with then? A cool, fun to drive car that doesn't look like it's had cheese melted over it and isn't hard to tell if it's a different car than the one next to it at a stop light...
I'd be ALL for a carbon fiber bodied X19 with titanium suspension arms, 6 piston brakes and carbon rotors that I can stuff under 13", negative offset wheels and a 2 litre Fiat Lampredi SOHC with a bank of 4 flatslide carbs. But no company is going to build that and sell it to you for 40 grand.....
To me, it's of dubious value anyway. My whole mentality of car ownership and modification is applying modern/high end materials (titanium/carbon fiber isn't technically 'modern', they've been around for quite some time) to older cars. I realize though that I am not the most impartial candidate as I am of the opinion that there haven't been any real improvements to the automobile since the '70s... A modern engine? Computer controlled, miles of vacuum tubing going who knows where, doing who knows what? A plastic cover hiding most of the engine? Need to plug it into a computer just to find out that the Pfetzer valve is 'out of range'? No thank you.. If my car won't start, it's one of 3 things. Gas, air, or spark. I'd take an oversquare, Lampredi SOHC with carbs over that any day... Plus, all the use of plastic parts that should be metal in modern cars is INCREDIBLY frustrating.. This is cost cutting, not weight saving as BMW would have you believe.. I think I've replaced the clutch pedal twice in my wife's Z3 M Coupe.. The next time it fails I'm fabricating an aluminum one.. I've already replaced most of the cooling system with metal replacements, as well as the master cylinders... Master Cylinders in Plastic??! Really? That car's 20 years old, it's only worse now... If all these 'modern' materials where supposed to cut weight, why is every new car well over 3000 pounds? Even a new 'Mini'...
Anti lock brakes? That's your right foot. Traction control? Buy good tires and learn how to drive properly... Power steering is unnecessary if your car is under a ton, and only serves to numb the driving experience... All of these 'improvements' are making this new generation some of the worst drivers on the road. If you can't parallel park a car on your own, you've got no business driving a car, get an Uber.. There's a girl at work, 24ish, whose brand new car was in the shop so they gave her a loaner that was just a few years older. Both cars automatic, but her's doesn't require you to hold the brake at a stop light. It stays stopped until you press the accelerator. Her loaner of course did not have this feature. She of course rear ended somebody 4 miles from the dealership.. She wanders in and out of her lane because the car doesn't warn her she is doing it. They don't treat driving like something they need to pay attention to, I've never been more terrified/horrified on a 2 mile drive to lunch... I can't count how many modern cars I see driving down the road at night with the lights off.. Used to be easy to tell, if the dash lights weren't on, your lights weren't on... That's not the case anymore.
What was wrong with an accelerator cable? That item rarely needs any service, but how many of those 'drive by wire' cars drove away from their owners causing accidents? You know that's not a performance enhancement, it's to make manufacturing 3 cents per car cheaper, and no longer owner serviceable...
My biggest beef with older cars are things like interiors fogging up or leaking in the rain, or the strange way Fiat wired their cars so that most accessories only see 10 volts.. But those problems can be fairly easily solved. What are you left with then? A cool, fun to drive car that doesn't look like it's had cheese melted over it and isn't hard to tell if it's a different car than the one next to it at a stop light...
I'd be ALL for a carbon fiber bodied X19 with titanium suspension arms, 6 piston brakes and carbon rotors that I can stuff under 13", negative offset wheels and a 2 litre Fiat Lampredi SOHC with a bank of 4 flatslide carbs. But no company is going to build that and sell it to you for 40 grand.....
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Dr.Jeff
True Classic
I hear what you are saying @Lowtechprime. I've gone through various phases over my many decades of playing with cars. From wanting the latest, greatest, newest technology, to wanting nothing but vintage, old school, non-technology, and everything in between. And that shifts around every now and then as I develop new interests in the constantly changing automotive scene.
As far as the market/commercial interest goes, you'd be surprised. The automotive aftermarket industry is a multi billion dollar a year market. On top of that is this stuff (restomods, modernization of vintage cars, etc), also a huge dollar annual market (I'd have to dig out this year's report for the number). So apparently there are enough people with the money and desire to keep it thriving. I'm glad because when the government finally puts a halt on all of it - which they have been trying to do for some time, and are little by little getting there - then I will be very bored with nothing to do.
As far as the market/commercial interest goes, you'd be surprised. The automotive aftermarket industry is a multi billion dollar a year market. On top of that is this stuff (restomods, modernization of vintage cars, etc), also a huge dollar annual market (I'd have to dig out this year's report for the number). So apparently there are enough people with the money and desire to keep it thriving. I'm glad because when the government finally puts a halt on all of it - which they have been trying to do for some time, and are little by little getting there - then I will be very bored with nothing to do.
