Tag Archives: sports car

1979 Puma GTE at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2023

Posted on by
Reply

The 1970s saw a surge of interest in fiberglass kit cars built on a Volkswagen chassis. Cars such as the Bradley GT and Fiberfab were popular at the time.

The Puma GT is based on the chassis of a Volkswagen Brasilia chassis. The Brasilia was a 3-door economy hatchback, but here it has been reimagined as a 2-door, rear engine sports car.

This car is titled as a 1979 Puma GTE and features a 1600cc engine paired with a 4-speed manual transmission. The car has a leather interior, air conditioning, power windows, alarm system, and touchscreen audio system.

The Puma 1500 GT was first revealed at the 1970 Ibero-American Exhibition in Seville, Spain. Later that same year, the engine capacity increased to 1600cc and the car evolved to the 1600GTE.

The Puma GTE, the most famous sports car made in Brazil at the time, was produced with a fiberglass body and Volkswagen boxer engine from 1970 through 1980. This model was based on the Puma GT; the letter “E” added to the nomenclature means “export” or “Europe” according to other sources. This was the more successful Puma model with a higher-volume production.

I see a little bit of Porsche, Datsun, and other cars in the design and styling of the car.

This car sold for $23,650 at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2023 collector car auction. What do you think about the Puma GTE?

Intermeccanica Indra 2+2 Coupe

Posted on by
Reply

Now HERE’s something you don’t see every day! In fact, I would be quite surprised if you had heard of an Intermeccanica Indra before. I certainly had not, until I was standing in front of this one at the monthly Cars and Coffee car show in Scottsdale, Arizona. I was vaguely familiar with Intermeccanica because of the Italia, the car which took me years to figure out what it was.

Founded in Torino, Italy in 1959, the company began producing small numbers of sports cars such as the Apollo GT. I think the design of the Indra is very representative of what was happening in Italy in the 1970s. You can see a little bit of everything in this car, yet it doesn’t look like a carbon copy of a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or DeTomaso. The Intermeccanica has some distinct design elements, like the shape of the quarter windows, the flares over the wheel arches, and the vents on the front fenders.
The Indra is an exceptionally rare car, with only 127 examples completed between early 1971 and mid-1974. According to the website intermeccanica.org, the breakdown was approximately 60 convertibles, 40 coupes and 27 two plus twos. That makes this yellow 2+2 the rarest of the rare! This one is well-equipped with an automatic transmission, power windows, air conditioning, a stereo, and a full complement of gauges.With a Chevrolet 350 under the hood, maintenance is both affordable and easy on the powertrain. I spent a few minutes chatting with the owner of this wonderful and unique car. He told me the car has had a complete restoration on the paint and body, with everything sorted out. Standing next to it, I can attest that for a 1970s Italian car, this one was in stunning condition.

The one custom touch the owner made was to have the Intermeccanica logo embroidered on the seats – he said it didn’t come that way from the factory, but he really liked it.

The car was on Dealer plates from South Dakota. A sign in the trunk said that the car was restored by Executive Touch Restorations in Sioux Falls, and that the paint and body work was done by Pierre’s Body Shop, also in Sioux Falls.

It rides on a set of Cromodora 6Jx14H2 14-inch wheels with period-correct Michelin XWX tires.

I really enjoyed learning about this interesting piece of automotive history, and I hope that you enjoyed reading about it!

 

Datsun 280ZX with Chevy LS1 V8 Swap

Posted on by
1

datsun-280zx-ls1-swap-frontFor the second post in our series of engine swaps, I bring you this Datsun 280ZX with the rumble of a Chevrolet LS1 engine! Somebody really took their time and effort to make this an all-around fun car.

Besides the engine, this car has also been upgraded with Wilwood disc brakes, a nice stereo, custom gauges, and other comforts. The body looks sharp in red with chrome trim and a subtle body kit on the front and rear.

Continue reading →

1971-1975 Opel Manta

Posted on by
1

opel-manta-frontIn the United States, there are stereotypes associated with drivers of certain types of cars.

For example, if you drive an air-cooled Volkswagen, people may assume you are a hippie. If you drive a BMW, people will assume you are both affluent and inconsiderate – the type of driver who would change lanes without signaling. And finally, if you drive a Honda Civic or other “tuner” car, you might be associated with street racing punks.

I have recently learned that such car/driver stereotypes are not unique to the U.S. In fact, there’s a popular one in Germany about Opel Manta drivers: that they are dull, lower-class, macho guys who drive aggressively, love their cars, and have a blonde girlfriend who works as a hairdresser.

Continue reading →

1969 Opel GT 1.1L Coupe

Posted on by
1

1969-opel-gt-frontToday’s post is about an interesting little car from Opel, the German arm of General Motors. The Opel GT was a small, sporty car with an inline 4-cylinder engine that was produced from 1968 to 1973.

There were two engine choices available: a 1.1L engine and a larger 1.9L engine. The 1.1L engine made 67 horsepower and 62 lb-ft of torque and was coupled to a 4-speed manual. The 1.9L engine could be ordered with an optional 3-speed automatic transmission if desired. Buyers overwhelmingly chose the larger motor, causing Opel to discontinue the 1.1L engine after 1970.

Continue reading →

1974 Jensen Interceptor III

Posted on by
Reply

Walking around the SEMA show last year, I happened upon this cool ride in a parking lot near the convention center. It’s a 1974 Jensen Interceptor III, a rare British car that you don’t often see.

Between 1966 and 1976, just 6,400 of these cars were built  – which is an extremely small number for a production car. I have to wonder how many of them were left-hand drive and how many are in the United States? Probably not very many, which makes this car all the more special.

Continue reading →