Saturday, June 28, 2008

2005 Morgan Aero 8 Burago 1:18












The Morgan Aero 8 is a sports car built by Morgan Motor Company at its factory in Malvern Link, England (an area of Malvern in Worcestershire).

The Aero 8 shape evolved in the traditional Morgan way of form follows function and the main players were Chris Lawrence, Charles Morgan and other members of the Morgan Engineering Team, and Norman Kent of Survirn Engineering Ltd - especially for the tooling of the Aero wings.

The AeroMax, Aero Supersports and Aero Coupe were designed by the firm's designer Matthew Humphries. Matthew sent the basic design of it to Charles Morgan when he was at Coventry University and joined Morgan on a KTP programme.

Radshape were heavily involved in the chassis (Graham Chapman, the current MMC Development Director was working for them at that time) and Superform with much of the body panels, both companies eventually producing for MMC when the car was launched.

The Aero 8 is notable for several reasons, primarily because it is the first new Morgan design since 1964's +4+. It was touted as Morgan's first supercar and undertook a comprehensive development programme including endurance testing at BMW's huge proving grounds L'Autodrome de Miramas. It does not use anti-roll bars, an oddity in a modern sporting car. It is also the first Morgan vehicle with an aluminium chassis and frame as opposed to traditional Morgan vehicles ("trads") that have an aluminium skinned wooden body tub on a steel chassis.

The engine first powering the Aero 8 was a 4.4 L BMW M62 V8 mated to a 6-speed Getrag transmission. In 2007, the Series 4 Aero 8 was released which had an upgraded 4.8 L BMW N62 V8 with an optional ZF automatic transmission. All Aero 8s are assembled at Morgan's Malvern Link factory, where they are able to produce up to 14 cars a week (Aeros and trads).

It has been criticised for its "crosseyed" look which originally was justified by the manufacturers as conferring aerodynamic benefits. In response, Morgan changed the design from 2005 (Series 3 and all subsequent Aero iterations), using Mini rather than VW New Beetle headlights.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

1954 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Burago 1:24












El Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (código de chasis W198) es un automóvil deportivo biplaza producido por el fabricante alemán Mercedes-Benz entre los años 1954 y 1963. Se fabricó inicialmente con carrocería coupé y luego también como descapotable. Algunos consideran al 300 SL uno de los primeros superdeportivos fabricados en la historia.

Se le dio el apodo de Widowmaker ("hacedor de viudas"), porque muchos conductores murieron al estrellarse con su 300 SL.

El 300 SL es conocido por sus distintivas puertas de ala de gaviota y por ser el primer automóvil en montar un motor de gasolina con inyección directa de combustible. La versión "Gullwing" (alas de gaviota) se fabricó desde 1954 hasta 1957.


Saturday, June 14, 2008

1975 Ferrari 308 GTB Rally Burago Made In Italy 1:24












The Ferrari 308 GTB berlinetta and targa topped 308 GTS are V8 mid-engined, two-seater sports cars manufactured by the Italian company Ferrari from 1975 to 1985. The 308 replaced the Dino 246 GT and GTS in 1975 and was updated as the 328 GTB/GTS in 1985. The similar 208 GTB and GTS were equipped with a smaller, initially naturally aspirated and later turbocharged, two-litre engine, and were sold mainly in Italy.The 308 had a tube frame with separate body. The 308 GTB/GTS and GT4 were mechanically similar, and also shared much with the original Dino. Both 308s sit on the same tube platform, however the GT4—being a 2+2—has a longer wheelbase. The engine was a V8 of a 90 degree configuration, with two belt-driven overhead camshafts per cylinder bank. It was transversely mounted in unit with the transaxle transmission assembly, which was below and to the rear of the engine's sump. All models used a fully synchromesh 5-speed "dog-leg" manual gearbox and a clutch-type limited slip differential. Suspension was all-independent, comprising double wishbones, coaxial coil springs and hydraulic dampers, and anti-roll bars on both axles; four wheel vented disc brakes were also fitted. Steering was unassisted rack and pinion.

The 308's body was designed by Pininfarina's Leonardo Fioravanti, who had been responsible for some of Ferrari's most celebrated shapes to date such as the Daytona, the Dino and the Berlinetta Boxer. The 308 used elements of these shapes to create something very much in contrast with the angular Bertone-designed GT4. GTS models featured a removable roof panel with grained satin black finish, which could be stowed in a vinyl cover behind the seats when not in use.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

1940 Ford Woodie Hot Wheels 1:64










From Fandom:

"To termites it is a meal on wheels, but to those of us with wood grain on the brain, the Woodie is a true taste of the west coast surfer culture - conjuring images of warm summer breezes, bikinis and the sun setting into the Pacific Ocean."

This casting was first released into the lineup in 1980 as a "Hi-Raker". This was a special series that allowed the rear axle to change its height when pulled down, changing the angle of how the vehicle sits, giving it a "raked" hot rod appearance. Only the very first release of the '40's Woodie had smooth side panels. All other versions released afterwards have a wood-grain texture to the side panels.