The 1990s were an exciting time for automotive design. Engineers were really starting to push the envelope of performance thanks to a better understandings of aerodynamics and computer-aided design. From 1984 to 1994, the title of “World’s Fastest Production Car” changed hands six different times! One of these victories was claimed by one of my favorite supercars from this era: the 1994 Jaguar XJ220.
Have you heard? The Lamborghini Countach is back.
This is my own observation, but it feels like I’ve been seeing the car everywhere lately. It’s been mentioned in Motor Trend’s Aventador vs. Rat Rod video, it’s been featured on Petrolicious, and oh yes, Jay Leno has one. On top of all that, I’ve even spotted three of them in the past year at my local Cars and Coffee cruise-in.
The Countach was the catalyst that sparked the modern supercar era. It is one of the most ridiculous, over-the-top designs to ever come out of Lamborghini’s factory. The car’s abundant vents, scoops, and giant wing make it look like a fighter jet with wheels. And who could forget those vertical doors!
By a show of hands, how many of you have heard of the British supercar manufacturer Noble Automotive? Not very many. Well then, even less of you have heard of the Noble’s sister car, the Rossion Q1. This is a pretty unusual car that deserves some attention, but before we delve into the Q1, it is necessary to cover a little backstory first.
What is it that makes certain cars more collectible than others? Certainly the car’s condition, its documentation, and any unusual factory options can affect a car’s value. However, I think the most important factor is rarity. The less common a car is, the more valuable it becomes.
Sometimes car manufacturers deliberately make small runs of cars, ensuring that they will become instant collectibles. Take a look at some recently produced exotic cars and their prices:
Lexus LF-A Supercar – 500 units – $375,000 each
Aston Martin One-77 – 77 units – $1,000,000 each
Lamborghini Veneno – 3 units – $3,000,000 each
It boggles my mind that automakers can produce a run of $1 or $3 million dollars cars and have no trouble selling all of them. However, it wasn’t always this way. There was a time when automakers had a hard time finding buyers for hyper-expensive cars. One of the first manufacturers to create a ridiculously high-priced supercar was none other than the Hudson Motor Company.
Last year when we covered SEMA 2012 we had an opportunity to check out a local Cars and Coffee chapter. Though I was a little underwhelmed by the small turn out considering it was Vegas and SEMA week, I was happily surprised to see my favorite muscle car, the Oldsmobile 442, out in full force. It’s really odd to see this many Olds cars out at one event, so I imagine someone on an Olds forum must have coordinated it. My post about the GSX made me remember I had all these pictures that I had yet to share. So to my fellow Rocket-loving Oldsmobile fans, here’s some hot 442 action after the jump: Continue reading
We love to talk about the 1970s when it comes to cars. The decade that started out with the best that Detroit had to offer and ended with the worst the world had ever seen. The 80’s were only slightly uplifting in the sense that sporty cars became sporty once again, but your daily beater was more than likely going to be a front-wheel-driver that might (or might not) have been made better than cars from the 70s, but was worthless once you were done with it. It couldn’t be made into some kids hot rod after a few years thanks to it’s transverse engine and complicated engine management systems. It just got crushed. Continue reading
