Wednesday, February 14, 2024

1986 Porsche 959 Turbo Burago 1:24












El Porsche 959 es un automóvil deportivo producido por el fabricante alemán Porsche desde el año 1986 hasta 1988. Fue desarrollado para competir en el Grupo B y más tarde se fabricó como automóvil de calle para ser vendido al público, a fin de cumplir con la homologación de la FIA.
Fue el primer automóvil deportivo moderno en utilizar tracción a las cuatro ruedas con un embrague multidisco y reparto de par, con un 40% delante y 60% atrás, que proporcionó la base para el primer Porsche 911 Carrera 4 y llevó a Porsche a incluir la tracción a las cuatro ruedas en todos los Porsche 911 Turbo desde la generación 993. Durante su vida comercial, el vehículo tenía solamente un par legal con prestaciones comparables a las del Ferrari F40.
La corta producción del 959 fue solamente de 268 unidades de calle y las prestaciones asombrosas siempre han mantenido su precio en el mercado con valores altos.
El desarrollo del 959 (originalmente llamado Gruppe B) comenzó en 1981, poco después de que el entonces nuevo director general de la compañía, Peter Schutz, ocupase su cargo. El Ingeniero Principal de Porsche en ese entonces, Helmuth Bott, se acercó a Schutz con algunas ideas sobre el Porsche 911, o más exactamente, uno nuevo. Bott sabía que la compañía necesitaba un coche deportivo en el cual poder confiar en el futuro y que se pudiera desarrollar durante los años siguientes.

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

1928 Mercedes Benz SSK Mille Miglia Burago 1:24











The Mercedes-Benz SSK (W06) is a roadster built by German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz between 1928 and 1932. The name is an abbreviation of Super Sport Kurz, German for "Super Sport Short", as it was a short wheelbase development of the Mercedes-Benz Modell S. The SSK's extreme performance and numerous competitive successes made it one of the most highly regarded sports cars of its era.
The SSK was the last car designed for Mercedes-Benz by Ferdinand Porsche before he left to found his own company. The SSK is an evolution of the 1927 Modell S (S for Sport) which was based on the Modell K (K for "Kurzer Radstand" which means short wheelbase) variant of the Mercedes-Benz Typ 630. The SSK chassis was 19 inches (480 mm) shorter than the Modell S to make the car even lighter and more agile for racing, especially short races and hillclimbs.
Fitted with a supercharged single overhead camshaft 7-litre straight-6 engine producing 200–300 metric horsepower (150–220 kW) and over 500 lb⋅ft (680 N⋅m) of torque (depending on the state of tune), the SSK had a top speed of up to 120 miles per hour (190 km/h), making it the fastest car of its day. The supercharger on the SSK's engine was operated by a clutch that was engaged by fully depressing the throttle pedal and then giving the pedal an extra push. Backing off the throttle pedal disengaged the supercharger clutch.

Sunday, January 28, 2024

2001 Honda S2000 Convertible Motormax 1:24












El Honda S2000 es un automóvil deportivo producido por el fabricante japonés Honda desde abril de 1999 hasta junio de 2009. El automóvil fue creado para celebrar el 50º aniversario de la compañía, y continúa la saga de roadsters ligeros comenzada por el S500, S600 y S800.

Es un descapotable de dos plazas con techo de vinilo de plegado eléctrico, motor central delantero longitudinal y tracción trasera. Tiene un diferencial de deslizamiento limitado Torsen acoplado a una transmisión manual de seis velocidades.
El coche se lanzó originalmente en 1999 como un modelo del 2000, con la designación de chasis AP1. El modelo del 2000 contaba con llantas de 16" con neumáticos Bridgestone Potenza S-02.

Para el modelo del 2002, se revisó la configuración de la suspensión y se introdujo un pequeño deflector de aire trasero. El parabrisas trasero de plástico se reemplazó por uno de vidrio y se añadió el limpiaparabrisas eléctrico para el parabrisas. Otras novedades eran un equipo de música mejorado y una revisión de la unidad de control de motor (ECU).

Desde su creación en 1999 hasta el 2003 el S2000 se fabricó en la planta de Honda en Takanezawa, Tochigi, donde también se producían el supercar Honda NSX y el Honda Insight híbrido. En 2004 la producción se trasladó a la planta de Suzuka.

Sunday, January 21, 2024

1999 Chrysler Howler Motormax 1:24











You’ve heard of the Plymouth Prowler – now meet the Howler, the Mopar factory hot rod and successor to the Prowler that never was…
The name’s double meaning is enough to make you cringe, but, if anything, it was more amicable to the car that bore it. The Chrysler Howler was the factory hot rod that the smallest of Detroit’s Big Three should have made instead of the Plymouth Prowler which was a missed opportunity if ever there was one. With its wild styling and perfect stance, the Prowler represented an incredibly bold statement from a mainstream manufacturer. Nevertheless, performance was anaemic thanks to it packing a decidedly ordinary 3.5-litre V6 rather than a snarling bent eight. It was allied to a four-speed automatic, too.
Quarter-mile times of 16 seconds didn’t exactly scream road scorcher, but then there was the small matter of practicality. Nobody ever bought a hot rod mistaking it for a station wagon, but here the lack of boot space – any kind of storage space – was laughable. There was none. Chrysler Corp’s answer was to offer a trailer… The Howler rectified all of these matters and more. However, to label it a Prowler redo is to underestimate the amount of work involved. While there is inevitably a bit of debate over the precise timeline, what is known for sure is that the Howler was dreamed up by Cliff Williams.

Nevertheless, the end product bore only a token resemblance to his initial renderings. Scroll back to the late Nineties and Christopher Schuttera was a young designer within DaimlerChrysler’s Advanced Packaging studio. The recent graduate was tasked with evolving Williams’ ideas. Matters took a turn thereafter when Jon Rundels became involved.

The Concept and Speciality Vehicle Executive was seeking ways to promote the Jeep PowerTech V8 and a hotted-up factory hot rod seemed just the ticket. A preproduction Prowler test mule served as a basis for the initial proof of concept, but then matters took further twists and turns. The definitive end product was essentially a Prowler pick-up, but the new rear bodywork was beautifully integrated into the Tom Galepenned original. Distinct from the car that bore it, the Howler had a lift-off hardtop rather than a convertible hood. In order to free up cargo space in the bed, the Prowler’s bulky transaxle was replaced with a regular rear differential. This also freed up room for a larger petrol tank, which was just as well given that power came from a 4.7-litre V8 allied to a five-speed manual ’box.

Unveiled at the 1999 SEMA Show, the Howler became a media darling, but sadly there never was any talk of it making it into production. It was a runner, though, rather than just another exhibition ‘pushmobile’. When viewed in retrospect, there is one slightly nettlesome issue in that the stats don’t lie. The Howler may have sounded the part, but it was producing a rather middling 250bhp at 4000rpm. Nevertheless, this was accompanied by a useful 300ft-lb of torque at 3200rpm.

As for performance figures, your guess is as good as ours. We have yet to see any. The regular Prowler soldiered on until 2002, being given a power hike along the way. It wasn’t the car would-be customers wanted, but it served its purpose in making Chrysler Corp appear a bold, design-led firm.

It is easy to wonder what the takeup might have been had it produced the Howler instead. But it didn’t. Instead, it became just another show car forgotten by history.

Sunday, January 14, 2024

1949 Ford Coupe Police Motormax 1:24











Después de la buena aceptación del modelo Ford 1941 versión 1948, Ford rediseña los coches para el año 1949, se trataba de un coche nuevo, manteniendo los motores de 6 cilindros en línea y el motor V8, con mejoras de potencia.

Los Ford 1949 debutan en una fiesta de gala que se realizó en el Hotel Waldorf-Astoria de Nueva York en junio de 1948. La nueva estructura de acero integrada fue anunciado como un "cuerpo de salvavidas", e incluso el vagón de madera era de acero en su interior.

Las líneas de lujo y superlujo fueron sustituidas por una nueva norma, los coches tenían un aspecto moderno con guardabarros trasero completamente integrada y una defensa en el frente y en la parte posterior del automóvil muy vistosa de acero cromado.