Goodwood Highlights 3: Pegaso Z102

A what? A Pegaso; an obscure Spanish sports car from the 1950s, designed by a Spaniard who used to work for Alfa Romeo and built by a truck manufacturer.

Under the skin it is very similar to the Grand Prix cars of its day. The engine was a small capacity V8 with two, gear-driven overhead camshafts on each bank of cylinders. Depending on the customer wanted it could have single or multiple carburettors with the option of supercharging too. Power outputs ranged from175 to 300bhp. Drive went to a rear-mounted, five-speed gearbox (no synchromesh) with a back-to-front change pattern.

It used a chassis of square tubes. Front suspension by torsion bars and wishbones. The steering linkage has been described as complicated; but the same could be said of many cars too new for a solid front axle and too old for rack and pinion. For the time de-Dion rear suspension was fairly normal. However, Pegaso used a back-to-front layout with a curved de-Dion tube that passed over the propeller shaft, in front of the gearbox. A pair of substantial radius arms attached to a single pivot point at the back of the gearbox casing provided location.

Although a low-volume product (about 84 Z102s are estimated to have been built) they were apparently assembled to very high standards. The work was done by apprentices, learning their craft and working in surgically-clean conditions.

The Pegaso is the sort of car that some people write about in hushed and reverential tones (if that is possible). Few people have ever seen one, fewer still have driven one but it was interesting that this car received very little attention from the Goodwood crowds. The company never attained the fame of its Italian rivals and the attempt to revive the brand in the 1990s amounted to nothing. It probably doesn’t help that the standard coachwork isn’t very eye-catching; then again some of the special bodies, whilst flamboyant, weren't exactly beautiful.

Even so, it was great to see another car that I’d only ever read about. Where else but Goodwood was that going to happen?

Goodwood Highlights 2: Alfa Romeo 164 Pro Car

What we have here is not an Alfa Romeo 164. True, it looks like a 164 but I’m pretty sure that only a few components are interchangeable with the car you could buy. According to the internet it is effectively a Brabham F1 car with lightweight body panels to make it look like a production car. Under the skin is a V10 engine of 3.5-litres with 605bhp at 12,100rpm. The engine is mounted where the back seats would be and drives through a six-speed transaxle.

It was conceived for a race series that never took off, but which was intended to support the Formula 1 calendar like the earlier BMW M1 Pro Car series. The theory was that manufacturers would use similar mechanical parts to F1 cars but with bodywork taken from the production car range. However, there was little support from the manufacturers and the series was all but forgotten.

This is another car I remember reading about in one of the many books I either owned or borrowed from the local library. At the time I remember being fascinated by the idea of a car that looked like a saloon but with the performance and handling of a racing car. The fact that a car with such a highly-tuned racing engine would be all but impossible to drive on the road completely escaped me at the time.

Sadly, I didn’t get to hear the Alfa run or see it in action but it is nice to know that it still exists.

Goodwood Highlights 1: Ferrari Pinin

I was lucky enough to go to the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend just gone. It is probably the only place where you’ll find so many high value, rare and unusual cars together. This year there were several cars that I’d admired which I’d never seen before.

One of those was the Ferrari Pinin concept. This was a design study for a four-door Ferrari to celebrate Pininfarina’s 50^th anniversary in 1980. It was once suggested as a possible replacement for the Ferrari 400 GT.

From the pictures I saw it looked like the most elegant four-door saloon ever built. Up close it was just as stunning as I imagined; although four days exposure to dust and crowds probably did nothing for the car’s condition.

(Copyright Wouter Melissen)

It does look a bit dated now although the exterior styling has probably stood the test of time better than the interior. Unfortunately I couldn’t take any interior photos but it was very much of its time.

I just wish Ferrari could build cars as stunningly elegant as this today.

The return of Alvis

From Fourwheelsteer: Motoring Writer

Even though Alvis ceased car production in 1967 there are plans to revive the name and bring back one of the company’s pre-war models. Red Triangle, the company formed by ex-Alvis employees to look after spares and servicing for the marque, plans to build a limited run of 4.3-litre cars.

Production of the 4.3-litre model was halted in 1940 as the company (and nation) had higher priorities that required attention. However, there were plans to build more examples of the model.

The cars will be built using the original drawings and the latest CAD/CAM technology. Although the engine will be essentially the same 4.3-litre straight six the plan is to use modern materials, engine management and fuel injection to cut emissions and increase power. Other than that the car should retain the feel and character of the 1930s design.

Maybe this is a new direction for low-volume manufacturers; instead of focussing on high-speeds how about providing decent performance with the tactility and involvement you get from an old car?

I just wanted to say…

Got a few things on my mind. Excuse the slightly stream-of-consciousness nature of this blog post but I wanted to get my thoughts on ‘paper’ while they were fresh.

Great in theory:
As part of getting my ‘bike licence I need to do the theory and hazard perception part of the driving test. It seemed a bit daunting but having had a look at the DSA interactive DVD on the subject I’m much more confident. Most of the things expected should come naturally to an experienced driver but it hasn’t done any harm to refresh those skills. One of the reasons for learning to ride a motorcycle was to improve my driving; it is nice that I can already see the benefit.

Choose your bike:
Still on the subject of motorcycles; the Get On website suggested I might like to take its interactive mini quiz to see what sort of motorcycle would be best for me. It asked some odd questions, such as how I have my hair cut and what sort of tent I’d use to go camping (suffice it to say that fourwheelsteer does not go camping). The first time I used it the application crashed, second time it came up with ‘adventure sports’ which appear to be bikes on stilts. That didn’t seem right at all so, third time lucky, I tried again and it came up with sports tourers – which look much more promising. What I think I want is a bike with outstanding steering, strong brakes, a decent ride, slick gearbox and a powerful, interesting, nice sounding engine. Although, to be fair, even a humble 125 ‘bike feels amazing if you’re used to cars.

On the road:
Not that cars can’t be good too; I took the Honda over to Luton for the Festival of Transport. Eschewing the obvious route I made my way via places beginning with B; Banbury, Brackley and Buckingham (we’ll ignore Milton Keynes).It was nice to let the car stretch its legs, including a romp up Sun Rising Hill and – on the way home – giving chase to a bright green Ford Focus RS. I don’t think the Ford was taking it easy as it set off out of a village with an audible chirrup from its tyres and I had to work quite hard to keep it in sight. Still, it is nice to know that my old and slightly scruffy Prelude can still move quickly when circumstances allow.

Grinding gears:
One thing that could be improved in the Prelude is the gearbox. It is pretty good but I couldn’t help thinking that with the close-ratio six-speed gearbox from the S2000 it would be even better. For that matter, what price a fast, beautiful, poised, rear-wheel drive Honda coupé?

Another motorcycle adventure

It was hard to believe but two months passed between completing my CBT and my first ‘proper’ motorbike riding lesson on Friday.

I was a little nervous about climbing back into the saddle but it turns out that riding a motorcycle is a lot like riding a bike (you never forget how). In fact I felt more comfortable and confident than ever.

Even so, it was a relief to begin within the safety of the riding school’s compound practicing some of the exercises that crop up on the motorcycle test. The strangest of these is wheeling the bike backwards from one ‘garage’, defined by four cones, to another parallel space a few feet away. Other exercises included a slalom and figure of eight, both done at low speed – challenging but the key seems to be to look at where you want to go.

On the road I had to work hard to keep up as I was on a little 125 while the instructor and other pupil were on 500cc ‘bikes. Having previously thought Honda’s CG125 to be a bit of a slug it was gratifying to discover that it can move at a decent pace if you are prepared to wind the throttle right open.

Sadly there was no opportunity for jaunts through the country, the rest of the lesson concentrated on a succession of urban junctions. There is a lot to remember, for the novice anyway, in terms of observation, position, signalling, gear selection and cancelling the signal afterwards – no self-cancelling indicators on a motorbike.

But it was all good fun and it looks like there are only a few areas that need work before I can take my test. The next lesson will be in four weeks time.

Coincidental News

Sometimes two news stories come my way on successive days which are not intentionally linked but which do share a connection. On Thursday I was writing about twenty years of the McLaren F1 and then, on Friday, the Hulme CanAm supercar. For those who don’t see the association; Denny Hulme was a racing driver who drove McLaren’s striking, orange Can Am cars and won the series championship twice (in 1968 and 1970) as well as being New Zealand's only Formula 1 world champion.

From Fourwheelsteer: Motoring Writer

Collection of McLaren F1s

One interesting aspect of McLaren’s announcement was that there was no mention of Gordon Murray. Given that I’d always thought of the F1 as Murray’s brainchild it seemed like an odd omission; even allowing for the fact that he left McLaren to work on other projects.

From Fourwheelsteer: Motoring Writer

Hulme CanAm

The Hulme was new to me, even though it has been around for a few years as a prototype. Like its namesake it comes from New Zealand and it makes a nod to the Can Am heritage with a 427 cubic inch Chevrolet V8. My biggest criticism is the styling, which adopts the current vogue for the open-wheel look. Somehow this seems wrong; a car that carried the Can Am name and heritage should look like a road going version of those classic racing cars.

From Fourwheelsteer: Motoring Writer

Imagine if the Hulme looked more like this!