Rare ONES Still from the southern tip of the American continent, after some time ago we also had discussed some of the best automotive creations ever made in this Samba country such as the famous work of Toni Bianco ranging from the Fúria GT to the Bianco S, then there is also the Lobini H1 sports car which is reportedly also had shocked the blue continent of Europe in early of 2000s.
The Aurora 122C is touted as the most ambitious ever developed by the Valinhos, São Paulo based automotive company, which reportedly also spent quite a fantastic money of around 3 million American dollars in only 3 years. (Picture from: RareComponentCars)
So, this time what we will discuss is the Aurora 122C, which is no less great, and even said as the best work by a talented Brazilian automaker from the 1990s inspired by the best European sportscars made by Ferraris and Porsches. Moreover, this sports car is also touted as the most ambitious ever developed by the Valinhos, São Paulo based automotive company, which reportedly also spent quite a fantastic money of around 3 million American dollars in only 3 years.
The Aurora 122C was designed by Oduvaldo Barranca assisted by two Argentinean racing car designers, and starting to be built by Aurora Projetos Automobilísticos Ltda. in 1989. (Picture from: QuatroRodas.Abril)
As we could be seen, there's no Beetle chassis here; no less efficient backbone; nor is there the suspension of a large series car that is generally seen on other cars made in Brazil. Everything is done as it should be done by the supercar maker if it wanted to be ones. Even though the exterior looks a bit disappointing, while the interior is made in an extremely professional and quality manner. Well, what is shown here looks like a Brazilian sports car was finally coming of age.
The Aurora 122C's appearance adopts freestyle supercar proportions inspired by Ferrari, Porsche and another GT supercars of 1990s. (Picture from: RareComponentCars)
As quoted of Lexicar Brazil, the out-of-series unique car's appearance adopts freestyle supercar proportions inspired by Ferrari, Porsche and another GT supercars, was designed by Oduvaldo Barranca assisted by two Argentinean racing car designers, and starting to be built by Aurora Projetos Automobilísticos Ltda. in 1989.
The Aurora 122C is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder is equipped with twin horizontal Weber carburettors, and a Garrett turbocharger, which is said to be capable of producing more than 200 bhp. (Picture from: RareComponentCars)
At that time, it was stuffed by the automaker using a number of unique features that set it apart from its counterparts. As you can see, it's a mid-rear tranverse engined two-seater car design with the chassis was a fiberglass-reinforced plastic monocoque, coupled with unequal-length a-arm suspension and coil-over forks front and rear. Furthermore it also uses ventilated disc brakes on all four corners.
The Aurora 122C was a mid-rear tranverse engined two-seater car design with the chassis was a fiberglass-reinforced plastic monocoque, coupled with unequal-length a-arm suspension and coil-over forks front and rear. (Picture from: RareComponentCars)
Furthermore, its drivetrain is sourced from Brazil's Chevy Monza, the 2.0-liter four-cylinder is equipped with twin horizontal Weber carburettors, and a Garrett turbocharger, which is said to be capable of producing more than 200 bhp. This power is then used to drive the rear wheels, after being channeled through a 5-speed manual transmission system.
The back of the Aurora 122C is clearly taken inspiration of the Ferrari F40. (Picture from: RareComponentCars)
According to a Brazilian automotive magazine, Quattro Rodas, the Aurora 122C' performance was able to outperform all of its domestic rivals at the time, with a record time of acceleration from rest to 60 mph in just 8 seconds, and being able to reach a top speed of more than 140 mph. After it completion was shown for the first time as a concept car at the 16th São Paulo Automotive Salon 1990 and its production version debuted at the following year's exhibition.
It's too bad, as the domestic market was opened to imported competition, it's clear that the Aurora 122C can't compete and was rendered obsolete by cars made by European famous manufacturers such Ferrari F40, Porsche 911, and many others. As the result, only 3 production examples found buyers and by 1993 the automaker should be closed its doors, and burried Oduvaldo Barranco's dream of making five Auroras in a month. Today, one of the Auroras was sat on display at the Curitiba Automobile Museum. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | AURORA | LEXICARBRASIL | QUATRORODAS.ABRIL.COM | AUTOENTUSIASTAS | RARECOMPONENTCARS ]
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Unique Ones Talking about scooters, which had become a mode of transportation after the 2nd World War, because they were considered in accordance with the economic conditions of the people at that time, which were suffering due to the war. And of course you already know that this trend was originally pioneered by the Italian duo scooter maker companies, Piaggio and Innocenti, who were successful with their respective scooters.
Here is she a metallic green the 1956 Honda Juno JB (on the left) posed along a white-colored the 1963 Honda Juno M85 (in the middle). (Picture from: OOCities.org)
It turns out that the scooter trend is not only spreading in Europe, but also across the ocean to be precise in the land of the rising sun aka Japan. So it was not surprising that at that time pioneer scooters made by Japanese manufacturers began to appear, starting from the Fuji Rabit and the Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon after the war. As we could say that the scooters made by those Japanese manufacturers above were one of the first to appear after the Italian-made scooters becoming a trend in the era.
Here is she a a white-colored the 1963 Honda Juno M85 (in the front) posed along with with its predecessor, the 1956 Honda Juno JB (in the background).(Picture from: GridOto)
Then what about other Japanese manufacturers such as Honda Motor Co.Ltd. which was later also listed as one of the Japanese manufacturers who were also exposed to this trend and unmitigated the company was made scooter production up to 2 generations, even if they don't make any profit from the sales. The story began when, in the 1950s, Soichiro Honda, the company founder of Honda, interested in producing scooters after seeing that the promising motorcycle market in that country was being dominated by the two scooter brands above, Fuji Rabit and Mitsubishi Silver Pigeon.
Here is the first Honda-production scooter, 1954 Honda Juno KA is powered by a single-cylinder 4-stroke engine with a capacity of 189 cc with 7.5 hp. (Picture from: GridOto)
In short, Honda produced its first generation scooter in 1954 under the name Honda Juno. At that time, the single red-wing logoed company was produced the Juno in two variants, namely the KA, and JB types. By design, the Honda Juno scooter looks similar to the Vespa, but has a difference, namely that the body is made large coupled with the deck was not flat.
The Honda Juno first generation headset coupled with instrument panels (unknown model or year) might be that's 1956 JB type. (Picture from: OOCities.org)
At that time, Honda described its scooter as a "future" scooter figure. Why is that? Because the Honda's scooter has been provided with some pretty good details, name it the electric-starter, height windscreen capable to protect the rider from the wind exposure, and its turn signals positioned near to the windscreen..
The first generation of Honda Juno (in pictured the JB type) has large-sized body coupled with the deck was not flat, and came in two variants, namely the KA, and JB types. (Picture from: GridOto)
Well, if you examined, the 1st generation of Honda Juno scooter could be said a tourer scooter. As for the propulsion, the Honda Juno KA is equipped with a fairly large engine, namely a single-cylinder 4-stroke engine with a capacity of 189 cc with 7.5 hp. Meanwhile, the JB types are equipped with a 220 cc single-cylinder 4-stroke engine capable of producing 9 hp.
The first generation of Honda Juno (in pictured the JB type) already provided with several features a head its time, such the electric-starter, height windscreen, and its turn signals positioned near to the windscreen. (Picture from: Moto-Collection.org)
Unfortunately, even though it's equipped with a fairly large engine and a large body as well, it does not necessarily make this first generation Honda Juno last long on the market. This is because the body which is made of FRP (Fibre-Reinforced Plastic) actually makes it heavier, and in addition, the engine considered quickly overheat and the price was too expensive. So it's no wonder that the production of the first generation Honda Juno was ceased in 1955, after successfully selling about 5,856 units.
The second generation of Honda Juno had
many changes that made it look different from its predecessor, such as
by removing the windshield and the design lines which looked more like
the Honda Cub series. (Picture from: EnoAnderson)
But the failure of the first generation of Honda Juno above did not dampen Soichiro Honda's interest in making scooters again. Thus, the second generation of the Honda Juno was launched, and began its production in 1961. It came in two variants, namely the M80 and M85 types. The second generation of Honda Juno had many changes that made it look different from its predecessor, such as by removing the windshield and the design lines which looked more like the Honda Cub series which was successful on the market at that time.
The second generation of Honda Juno came in two variants, namely the M80 and M85 types. (Picture from: GridOto)
Then for the engine, the Honda Juno M80 is powered by a 125 cc two-cylinder 4-stroke boxer engine with 11 hp, while the M85 type uses a 170 cc two-cylinder 4-stroke boxer engine with 12 hp power. It was like experiencing deja vu, this second generation of Honda Juno met the same fate as its predecessor which was also unable to reap success in the market, and during its production period from 1961 to 1963 only 5,880 units were sold.
The second generation of Honda Juno is powered by by a 125 cc two-cylinder 4-stroke boxer engine with 11 hp for the M80 type, while for the M85 type used a 170 cc two-cylinder 4-stroke boxer engine with 12 hp power. (Picture from: GridOto)
By looking at the failure of those 2 generations of Honda Juno mentioned above, the Executive Vice President of Honda then, Kihachiro Kawashima, called it an extraordinary failure for the company. However, that is part of the journey that has been passed by a successful company that is now transformed into one of the Japanese industrial giants that not only produces motorcycles and cars, but has also ventured into many other advanced things such making private jets, robots, etc.
Kept
spur your adrenaline on the power of two-wheeled monster and stay alive with the true safety riding. God will forgive Your sins and so does the cops....... *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | HONDA | GRIDOTO | WIKIPEDIA | OOCITIES ]
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Rare ONES You must have often heard about this brand of cars called Jeep originating from America. This car was previously assigned to make the MB Willys which was used as a military vehicle in the World War II.
An advertisement of Jeep FJ-3 Fleetvan in 1961. (Picture from: MotorSmarter)
In addition to the MB Willys, Jeep has been producing many powerful cars with various models and types for a long time. For example, there are Wrangler, Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, Wagoner, and many more.
But do you know that it turns out that Jeep has done some special types that are rarely heard and seen by many people. Here are the first part of 7 types of Jeep cars that are counted very rarely owned by ordinary people.
1. Jeep CJ-6
This car was made before the Jeep CJ-5 with an additional 20 inch wheelbase. And the CJ-6 was made to meet the off-road vehicle market that was becoming a trend at that time because the Wrangler was at that time. This car was present in 1955 and go on sale in 1956 up to 1975.
But in the reality, this type of Jeep is actually quiet and does not run well in the automotive market. Sales records from CJ-6 also went very slowly because in 20 years only 50,000 units were sold.
Some of these cars are sold in South America, and there are also in Sweden. In America alone this car is converted into 4 doors and is often used as a 4-door Gov's service vehicle. But actually CJ-6 already existed three years before this CJ-6 was present. They call it M170 with a military version which is basically the same as M38A1 or CJ-5.
To distinguish military CJ-6 and civilian CJ-6, is on its spare tire. For the military version the spare tire is in the car which allows the stretcher to be hung behind the door.
2. Jeep CJ-10
Then there is the Jeep CJ-10 made based on the Jeep J10 model. This car is sold in large quantities to the international market, especially to Australia. And in Australia, this Jeep is very well known as "1 Tonner". Besides this Jeep is also said to be the most aesthetic Jeep ever built. This can be seen from the grille that is very dashing and very cool in its day compared to other off-road cars.
This car uses three choices of engine types, namely 4.2 L AMC inline 6, 2.5 L AMC 4-pot, and Nissan 3.2 L diesel. While on the transmission they also have two choices, namely 4-speed manual and 3-speed automatic transmissions.
In addition to CJ-10, it was also made another version with the name CJ-10A which was limited to 2,000 units. And this special version was only used to serve in the United States Air Force in 1980.
3. Dispatcher Jeep
Then there is a DJ which stands for 'Dispatcher Jeep' and debuted in 1955 and is a modified version of CJ-3A. The Jeep uses a 3-speed manual transmission with a 4-cylinder L-Head Hurricane engine like the Willys MB engine of the World War II era.
This DJ series is often used as a shipping service vehicle like the United States Postal Service. For choices, they also offer this car in the form of hard top or soft top.
In addition to the DJ version, there is also a Jeep DJ Surrey which is arguably special, because this Jeep is specially prepared as a servant vehicle at the hotel resort. This car is sold in various colors, ranging from blue, pink and green. But for this one they chose dappled blue from the roof to the upholstery.
4. Jeep FJ Fleetvan
Next,
there was also the Jeep FJ in circulation from 1961 to 1975. The
manufacture of this car was based on FDJ-3A and sold by Willys Overland
in collaboration with Kaiser-Jeep with a focus on the United States
Postal Service. They made 2 models namely FJ-3 and FJ-3A, for version 3A
they made it a little longer than the regular version.
Unfortunately
the dominance of FJ-3 had to lose to FJ-6 on the basis of the latest
CJ-6 in the 1960s. Then FJ-6 was replaced by FJ-9 at the end of 1975
which was the last era of FJ. For machine use, the average FJ still uses
Hurricane F-Head with two transmission options, namely 3 manual and
automatic acceleration.
Rare ONES Although it bears the name of a fairly well-known manufacturer, in fact this one British car was not known widely and we're also sure you have never heard of it before. The mentioned car was produced by AC Cars, a British automaker is perhaps better known through its collaboration result car with an American famous automotive designer, Carroll Shelby back in the 1960s named the AC Cobra. Here's she the AC 3000ME, one of sports cars made by the British manufacturer during 1979 to 1985.
The AC 3000ME is started its life story as a sports car prototype called Diablo was engineered by Peter Bohanna in collaboration with Robin Stables back in 1973. (Picture from: AROnline)
The car begins its life story as a sports car prototype engineered by Peter Bohanna, a former Lola Cars employee in collaboration with Robin Stables, a former racing mechanic and Lotus dealer back in early 1970s. As quoted from AROnline, the controversial AC 3000ME sports car is the fruit of the creative thinking of both whose said directly influenced by the legendary motorsport success of the Ford GT40 and Lola T70.
The Bohanna-Stables Diablo concept looked impressive enough to convince AC Cars top brass to put it into production. (Picture from: AROnline)
Uniquely, this glassfibre-bodied two-seater sports car prototype was reportedly created afters hours in Lola's drawing office and concieved as a kit car, and powered by a mid mounted 1.5 liter Austin Maxi engine. However, this was a delicately-styled concept car was far more than a pretty body. Furtermore, it's already featured independent coil springs and wishbones all round, subframes front and rear, and a rigid tub structure.
The AC 3000ME is a two-seater sports car produced by AC Cars during 1979 to 1985, is featured with a wedge-styled, and a unique pop-up headlights. (Picture from: AdrianFlux)
Originally, the mentioned above prototype named the Bohanna-Stables Diablo (nothing to do with the Italian-made Lamborghini Diablo) was first unveiled at the 1972 Racing Show in London, and immediately drew favourable comparisons with Italian exotica, such as the Dino 246GT and De Tomaso Mangusta.
The AC 3000ME is a 2-door coupe introduced at the London Motor Show in 1973, but did not hit the road until 1979. (Picture from: AdrianFlux)
After the exhibition ended, it seems that the Bohanna-Stables Diablo prototype managed to attract the British car maker AC Cars attention due to its design is considered capable of filling the UK sports car market niche. At least that's what Keith Judd of AC Cars believed when he spoke to the car creators and then drove the Diablo prototype over to the AC Cars factory in Thames Ditton to show the car to his boss, Derek Hurlock.
The AC 3000ME later version chassis was a
perimeter frame whose central tub was made of folded sheet steel with an
integrated roll-over bar.. (Picture from: AdrianFlux)
In short, AC Cars done several car test series upon the one-off running prototype at the time. It seem during the tests, the Bohanna-Stables Diablo concept was appeared impressive enough, so it managed to convince the British company top brass to purchase the car production rights, and as soon as possible put it into the company production lines. All then went quiet, nothing happens until the British automaker shown off a revised Diablo (non-runner) model as the AC 3000ME at the 1973 Earls Court Show. The car named after its 3 liter, mid-mounted engine it has.
The 3000ME’s interior was so well-appointed by the standards of that era
that it even featured a gated shifter for the AC-designed 5-speed
gearbox. (Picture from: Silodrome)
The sports car appeared in a distinctive wedge-shaped and in accordance with the trends of the time, while the price wasn’t confirmed, although AC management hinted that it would be between £3,000 to £4,000, and that deliveries would begin in July 1974. As a result, during the exhibition the company managed to collect as many as 250 orders for this car. By 1974, the styling was finalised. The shape of the Diablo was retained with some modifications to the nose, a higher roofline and improved air intakes design. During the 1970s to 1980s, many comments that arose related to the 3000ME
performance were considered less impressive.
AC-Ghia Concept based on the 3000ME’s running gear looked different from its donor car. (Picture from: AROnline)
So some third parties
then make an increase in performance so that the car can run faster.
Unfortunately none of those third party work was adopted by AC Cars to
be applied to the production car. Besides that it turns out that this 3000ME car design had got a touch of design one of the Italian famous coachbuilders, Carrozzeria Ghia, as part of vague possibility of joining forces with the American manufacturer Ford Motor Company.
AC-Ghia Concept based on the 3000ME’s running gear looked different from its donor car. (Picture from: AdrianFlux)
For the reason then AC Cars sent two 3000MEs to the Italian coachbulider. In short, the Ghia design studio given a
touch of Italian style to the British-made sports car, and called of the AC-Ghia Concept, after completed, the car shown off at the 1981 Geneva Motor Show. Unfortunately, Derek Hurlock
was not interested by the Italian-style car, even though the car was
actually not disappointing in terms of appearance and performance. Of course this caused the joint production effort with Ford to fall apart.
AC-Ghia Concept based on the 3000ME’s running gear looked different from its donor car. (Picture from: AdrianFlux)
It's not only Ford who is interested in the 3000ME rescued, it turns out that there are other potential applicants from America who are also interested, namely Barry Gale of one of the US De Tomaso Pantera importers with the aid of Carroll Shelby. They considered selling the AC 3000ME in the US under the named of Shelby ME is powered by a 2.2-litre Chrysler turbo engine. Nothing came of the plan, and only a single car was made in the end of 1980.
Barry Gale was attracted to the AC 3000ME with aid of Carroll Shelby to sell it in the US under the name of Shelby ME, and powered by Chrysler drivetrain. (Picture from: AROnline)
But what happened next, no one had ever imagined before, the car failing its first 30 mph frontal impact test, and that led to changes to the structure and underpinnings were needed to be re-engineered in order to allow the car passed the test, that's a time consuming process. Apparently it did not affect the company to continue promoted the 3000ME at several major auto shows at the time, but deliveries were no longer being promised. As a result until 1976 the company managed to get 1,200 orders for the car. AC's engineers worked hard to get the 3000ME into production by re-engineering it for the Ford Essex 2,994 cc V6 drivetrain.
The AC 3000ME weighed about 2,487 lbs and had a 40/60 front-to-rear weight distribution. (Picture from: Silodrome)
Unfortunately the large number of orders was not a blessing for AC Cars, rather a new problem, because their finances were not able to handle all of those orders. Not to mention that most of them have an unusually high bespoke content, which makes the conditions even more difficult to deal with. After extensive delays, the first 3000MEs were delivered in 1979, six years after its debut, and at the time, AC Cars could only produced just 76 examples. The first production car rolled off the line in 1978 (there were 11 prototypes before that), and the initial reactions in the media were very positive indeed.
The AC 3000ME featured an in-house suspension system
comprising upper and lower A-arms with coil springs and telescopic shock
absorbers both front and rear. (Picture from: Silodrome)
Once again the bitter pill must be swallowed by the company, it didn't seem like the right time to market a new car, because it was in 1979 that later known as the Second Oil Crisis, fuel prices were rocketing, and the world heading towards a rather unpleasant global recession. It’s therefore unsurprising that AC was struggling to sell the 3000ME in anywhere near enough numbers to allow it to break even. In 1984, and after 76 cars had been built, Derek Hurlock decided to sell the company, and immediately looked for a buyer.
The AC 3000ME is powered by a mid-mounted Ford Essex 2,994 cc V6engine coupled with 5-speed Hewland gearbox. (Picture from: AROnline)
In his search for the company buyer at the time, Derek Hurlock had experienced health problems. Shortly thereafter a Scottish entrepreneur David MacDonald stepped in and made an offer for the 3000ME production tools and the rights to license the AC name with it. Finally an agreement was reached, so all production equipment including the molds and jigs were immediately moved to north.
The Ecosse Signature prototype built in 1988 based on the AC 3000ME Mark 2 prototype. (Picture from: AROnline)
The new company of AC (Scotland) plc, was established in a new factory in taken over from the Scottish Development Agency at Hillington in Glasgow. And from the Glasgow-based factory, 30 cars were built, while development on an updated car was set-up. A prototype powered by Alfa Romeo’s excellent 2.5-litre Busso V6 engine prepared, followed by a nearly-complete Mark 2 prototype. But luck is unachievable and misfortune is unavoidable, this Scottish company was forced to cease its car production as well in November 1985.
The Ecosse Signature prototype is powered by a Fiat twin-cam from the Croma Turbo. (Picture from: AllCarIndex)
So once again, AC Cars operational returned to Thames Ditton until the Hurlock family sold their holdings to William West a year after AC (Scotland) closed its doors. The rights to the AC marque then were then aquired by Brian Angliss. From the ashes of the AC (Scotland) venture then came the Ecosse Car Company Ltd, in which the 3000ME tried to make a comeback under new name of the Ecosse Signature.
The Ecosse Signature prototype debuted at the 1988 Birmingham Motor Show, several potential customers came in. (Picture from: AllCarIndex)
It started when John Parsons and ex-BRM Technical Director, Aubrey Woods, joined forces to buy the remains of the company, and moved it to Hertfordshire in England. They took the former Mark 2 prototype, removed the Alfa V6 engine, and replaced it with a Fiat twin-cam from the Croma Turbo. With that much power, it will definitely have a lot of performance. Then they brought the prototype to show off at the 1988 Birmingham Motor Show, several potential customers came in.
Unfortunately, the restyled Ecosse Signature sports prototype was dissapeared shortly afterwards launched, due to Parsons and Woods couldn’t secure the investment funds needed to get the car into production. It was a sad end to the 3000ME, a car that promised so much back in the heady days of 1973 but, in the end, it proved too ambitious a venture for such a small company.😢 *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | ARONLINE | AC3000ME | WIKIPEDIA | SILODROME | ADRIANFLUX | ALLCARINDEX ]
It's too bad, as the domestic market was opened to imported competition, it's clear that the Aurora 122C can't compete and was rendered obsolete by cars made by European famous manufacturers such Ferrari F40, Porsche 911, and many others. As the result, only 3 production examples found buyers and by 1993 the automaker should be closed its doors, and burried Oduvaldo Barranco's dream of making five Auroras in a month. Today, one of the Auroras was sat on display at the Curitiba Automobile Museum. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | AURORA | LEXICARBRASIL | QUATRORODAS.ABRIL.COM | AUTOENTUSIASTAS | RARECOMPONENTCARS ]
