ZIL 114

The ZIL was a large limousine built for high ranking communist party officials in Russia. It was targeted as a replacement for the ZIS, which had been nothing more than a 1941 Pack hard under a different badge. The tooling had been bought off the Americans after the war. Through heavy influenced by contemporary American design, the ZIL was more its own car. It has a 220 bhp V8 engine, with light alloy cylinder heads and a push button two speed automatic gearbox. ZIL drivers enjoyed luxury unknown to the average Lada or Moskvitch owner, including power steering and electric windows.

The earlier 111 G limousine had a 5 liter engine and could manage 105 mph, but from 1967 there was a longer wheelbase 114 model with a 7 liter V8 and a claimed 300 bhp. These cars had squarer more modern styling and came with disc front brakes and air conditioning as standard. No one has been able to come up with information on what types of options were available.

As Communism crumbled and Russia began to open up there was less need for a special state party officials limousine and ZIL production finally finished in 1987. The ZIL was one of the luxuries of that high ranking members of the party enjoyed and there was never any problem with other traffic. No one driving a Lada or Moskvitch foolish enough, to halt the progress of a person in a ZIL.

Willys-Overland Jeep

The Idea of a universal military vehicle surfaced in 1939. The Jeep (from the initials GP, General Purpose) soon surfaced. US military wanted a replacement for the aging motorcycles with side cars used in World War 1, and the Model T Ford had proved itself too fragile for the job.

The Willys Military Model MB Jeep, or, as the army called it, “Truck, quarter-ton, four, and command reconnaissance”, was mechanically simple. The 4 cylinder engine could run at 4000 rpm for 100 hours without a break, and without challenging the three speed manual transmission. Oil and air filters were easily accessible, as we the simple fold back cloth roof. The head lamps were on swinging levers, so that they could be pointed at the engine for repair work at right. It could tilt fifty degrees left or right, drive up a forty degree slope, and pull other vehicles through mud. Jeeps even served as ambulances, card tables and alter on occasion.

The sheer numbers of Jeeps in production, there were forty being made every hour, made sure that they became forever linked with the US army. After the war, there was a lot of demand. Serviceman all wanted Jeeps of their own, and the US department of Agriculture wanted them for hundreds of different purposes. Willys responded with CJ-2A. CJ reputation for Civilians Jeep, and you possibly would find them all over the place, mostly where other vehicles could not get to. It in fact could do the whole thing expect bake a cake.

Porsche 911

When the 933 series Porsche 911 was launched, it was the ultimate expression of the same basic car that had been launched in 1964. While the car’s core remained the same, the front and rear was completely re-styled and the sophisticated rear suspension from the cancelled 989 five door projected fitted.

The 989’s wide track was suspension gave the 993 a very distinctive look, but it finally ensured that the 911 would keep its grip in nearly all conditions. Porsche engineers had also managed to further upgrade the flat six water cooled engine to produce more power.

However, it was now clear to Porsche that the original incarnation had reached the end of the developmental line. The company would have to finally re-invent a true automotive icon. Porsche also re-invented the flat six engine, switching to conventional water cooling. However, this move allowed the engine to meet new noise and emissions regulations that would have killed off the old water cooled engine.

The 996 and mid engined Boxster convertible shared the same structure engine, transmission and electrical system as well as some more obvious parts including the headlights and much of the interior. There were misgivings from some enthusiasts, concerned the 996 shared too much with its cheaper sister car and it had become much more of a relaxed GT, compared to the more frenetic and engaging 993 series.

McLaren Mercedes SLR

Mercedes had long been associated with the British McLaren F1 team and in 1998 it decided to build an all out supercar. The Vision SLR would both celebrate the classic 300SL gull wing racer and its 1998 victory in both the F1 driver and constructor’s championship. The new car would also be constructed with cutting edge F1 technology Mercedes exhibited the gull winged Vision SLR concept at the Detroit motor showing January 1999. The car was striking for its styling, which was both futuristic and recognizably Mercedes.

The German company said the car would be built by McLaren at a new factory in Working in the UK, and would go on sale in 2003. Mercedes also predicted that the global market for supercars would grow to 2500 units per year, and the SLR would account for 500 of those sales. When the production model appeared in 2003, it had gone through a transformation. The reason for this old packaging was the Mercedes and McLaren engineers had decided to mount both the engine and the exhaust system between the front wheel and the bulkhead, forcing the front of the car to become rather elongated. The SLR arrived in the late 2004 and was built around a carbon fiber monocoque chassis and was powered by a supercharged 626 bhp 5.4 liter V8, engine making it one of the most powerful cars of the time.

Porsche Carrera 4

Even though the Porsche 911 was saved from extinction in 1981, it was the best part of the seven years before the heavily revised 911, codenamed 964 was launched. Despite the looking like a more modern and slightly more aerodynamic version of the old car, the 964 was actually 85 percent new. The roof section, doors and bonnet were retained from the old car, but the whole floorpan had been redesigned, as had the rear section of the car and the newly sculpted aerodynamics nose and tail sections, in place of conventional bumpers. Inside, the 964 was also newly re-designed, although it remained true to the classic 911 styling heritage.

The redesigned floorpan was a major expense but necessary to accept the new coil sprung suspension and to accommodate the productionised version of the 959’s four wheel drive transmission. The first of the 964 series to be announced was the Carrera 4, a sort of down to earth 959. Although it lacked turbochargers the engine was bigger (3.6 liters, up from 3.2) and it developed 250 bhp.

The Carrera’s new found stability and all weather confidence transformed the 911’s reputation. The previous model was little changed from the original 911 launched in 1962, and was a tricky car to drive. The Carrera 4 offered thrills without overwhelming risk. In pure performance terms, the car also offered some truly fabulous pace.

Porsche 911 Carrera Rs 2.7

After sales of the Porsche 911 started to fade in the early 1970s, the company decided to develop a range topping version that would capture the imagination until planned turbocharged 911 was unveiled in 1975.

Above everything, the 911 Carrera had to be very quick. The first move was to take the capacity of the flat six engine up to 2.7 liters, which required new cylinder barrels so the bore could be increased to 6mm to 90mm, through the stroke remained the same. Porsche used the advanced Nikasil coating process inside the barrels to reduce friction and wear. With both mechanical fuel injection, the engine produced 210bhp.

The effectiveness of the new engine was increased by making the rest of the car mush lighter than a standard issue 911. The RS’s body was made of thinner gauge steel and windows were also thinner than normal. Other weight saving measures included the deletion of soundproofing and the replacement of the steel bumpers with one piece plastic units.

The resulting 911 Carrera RS, with some 150kg knocked off the kerb weight and a much more powerful engine, was capable of hitting 60 mph in just 5.5 seconds and could get up to 149 mph. Most of the cars were produced in white with the now-classic Carrera livery running across above the still and small ‘duck tail’ spoiler mounted on the engine lid. Despite the go-faster looks, this spoiler massively reduced rear axle lift at high speeds. Porsche also produced a slightly more civilized and self effacing version without the spoiler called the RS Touring.

VOLVO 240

From the late 1960s Volvo had been working on an experimental safety car (VESC), developing features such as airbags, anti lock brakes and telescopic bumpers. Now it was time to introduce these features to the public. Volvo took the old 144 and stuck a new nose on it. They fitted a new range of overhead cam engines, improved the front suspension with MacPherson struts and grafted on the safety features from the VESC. Offered as a two door, four door and five door estate, the 240 was the archetype safe ‘brick’ with which Volvo became synonymous. It was used as the benchmark for safety standards in the United States was renowned for its built quality and handling.

A diesel unit was added in 1979 and then, in the 1980s, came greater performance. First came the 240 GLT producing 140bhp, and then the 240 Turbo producing 155bhp. For those wanting power and space, 1983 saw the introduction of the Turbo Wagon, offering the performance and handling of the Turbo in an estate car. Volvo kept the changes to a minimum from then on, but commemorated the end of the run in 1993 by producing around 2000 special edition 240 Classics, with some nice trim touches and an edition number. By the time the 240 line came to a halt, it had produced close to three million cars.