New Takes on Classic Cars

Kittyfrisk

I'd love an old Austin Metropolitan like my Mum used to have 
* Not her car here, but looked the same.

ICBM

steer said:

I saw an TV program a while back where they took old classic cars such as the VW (T1) samba bus and put a tesla motor and battery into them. Again, this will certainly divide opinion!

Providing they don’t do it to irreplaceable historic examples I can’t see the harm. The only real problem is that you end up with something with most of the faults of the original too… although for the people who like them, it’s ‘charm’.

Kurtis

boogieman said:

Kurtis said:

ICBM said:

VW ID Buzz. Microbus for the 21st century.



It also comes in a 4WD version which does 0-60 in something mad like 5 seconds...

Kind of like the mini it's not really going to be in the same spirit as the original. 

Isn’t that the whole point though? It has design cues from the iconic original but is updated in the important ways…. like being safe, doing more than 25mpg, not catching fire and not breaking down every time you take it out.

Classic cars are great in theory but aren’t exactly great for daily transport (Been there, done that, got the bruised knuckles and empty wallet).  

I suppose (if the point is using something iconic to sell more vehicles), minis are fairly popular. 

I doubt it will be light, economical to run, and easy to maintain. 

But not "having to go anywhere fast" is OK  

Kurtis

I like the singer porsches. 

boogieman

Kurtis said:

boogieman said:

Kurtis said:

ICBM said:

VW ID Buzz. Microbus for the 21st century.



It also comes in a 4WD version which does 0-60 in something mad like 5 seconds...

Kind of like the mini it's not really going to be in the same spirit as the original. 

Isn’t that the whole point though? It has design cues from the iconic original but is updated in the important ways…. like being safe, doing more than 25mpg, not catching fire and not breaking down every time you take it out.

Classic cars are great in theory but aren’t exactly great for daily transport (Been there, done that, got the bruised knuckles and empty wallet).  

I suppose (if the point is using something iconic to sell more vehicles), minis are fairly popular. 

I doubt it will be light, economical to run, and easy to maintain. 

But not "having to go anywhere fast" is OK  

No undoubtedly a modern Mini won’t be light or cheap to maintain, but it will be reliable. Also it won’t conk out if it’s wet (because they put the distributor right where it gets soaked) and the doors won’t suddenly fly open when you go round a roundabout. Mrs B had a classic Mini as her first car ahem, some years ago , and those things happened to her numerous times. I wouldn’t be surprised if the fuel economy was actually better in a modern Mini though. 

the_jaffa

If we're talking about restomods then there are a number of great ones about.

The MST Escorts, although actually a new car rather than a restomod, are superb and would definitely be very early on my lottery win list.

The Kimera Rally 037 is brilliant too. Very cool car.

I'd probably have a trip to Tuthills to sort a Porsche of some sort too if the numbers came up.

ICBM

boogieman said:

No undoubtedly a modern Mini won’t be light or cheap to maintain, but it will be reliable. Also it won’t conk out if it’s wet (because they put the distributor right where it gets soaked) and the doors won’t suddenly fly open when you go round a roundabout. Mrs B had a classic Mini as her first car ahem, some years ago , and those things happened to her numerous times. I wouldn’t be surprised if the fuel economy was actually better in a modern Mini though. 

I used to drive Citroen 2CVs, with the legendary - for its time - fuel economy of 50mpg. But my Renault Captur, which is more than twice the weight, has three times the BHP, probably not far off 50% higher top speed, handles and stops better, can seat five people vs four, plus all of the mod cons that make a modern car nice to be in… actually does better than that, even for combined urban/motorway use.

But of course, I can’t fix the Captur on my drive with just a metric socket set and a couple of axle stands. On the other hand, I haven’t had to yet, whereas my memory of the 2CVs is of spending a couple of hours or more just about every other weekend fixing something or other.

Dominic

Kurtis said:

boogieman said:

Kurtis said:

ICBM said:

VW ID Buzz. Microbus for the 21st century.



It also comes in a 4WD version which does 0-60 in something mad like 5 seconds...

Kind of like the mini it's not really going to be in the same spirit as the original. 

Isn’t that the whole point though? It has design cues from the iconic original but is updated in the important ways…. like being safe, doing more than 25mpg, not catching fire and not breaking down every time you take it out.

Classic cars are great in theory but aren’t exactly great for daily transport (Been there, done that, got the bruised knuckles and empty wallet).  

I suppose (if the point is using something iconic to sell more vehicles), minis are fairly popular. 

I doubt it will be light, economical to run, and easy to maintain. 

But not "having to go anywhere fast" is OK  

But , can you still fit a fawn coloured Great Dane and a Geeky Ginger Goofball in the back for a Murder Mystery weekend ?

Offset

boogieman said:

No undoubtedly a modern Mini won’t be light or cheap to maintain, but it will be reliable.

Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise.  Earlier versions had engines with a decidedly limited lifespan.

skullfunkerry

I know the new Minis aren't mini at all, but I think they've captured the spirit of the original, to a degree.

I had a mk1 Cooper S and it's my favourite car I've ever owned; I've had a few sports cars & coupes over the years, and if I could have one of them back it would be the Mini, without a second's hesitation.

guitars4you

skullfunkerry said:

I know the new Minis aren't mini at all, but I think they've captured the spirit of the original, to a degree.

I had a mk1 Cooper S and it's my favourite car I've ever owned; I've had a few sports cars & coupes over the years, and if I could have one of them back it would be the Mini, without a second's hesitation.

But equally it shows what was/is wrong with British management, investment, forward thinking, development etc - We ended up with a product that was no long viable/popular etc - Yet BMW have made it a massive success story

I think the current Mini's in some form or another, are the best looking small car available today - Some can look great with the right 'extras on them' 

blobb

BigMonka said:

That guy has a Youtube channel where he shows his conversions. Personally I think a lot of them are awesome, but there are some classic cars where the sound of the engine is an important part of why they've become classics:
https://www.youtube.com/@ElectricClassicCars

That's my mate, Moggy. My brother's the cameraman.

BigMonka

blobb said:

BigMonka said:

That guy has a Youtube channel where he shows his conversions. Personally I think a lot of them are awesome, but there are some classic cars where the sound of the engine is an important part of why they've become classics:
https://www.youtube.com/@ElectricClassicCars

That's my mate, Moggy. My brother's the cameraman.

@blobb wow that's awesome! I'm a huge fan of what they do as a business and the way they present themselves on Youtube they just come across as a lovely team with a real passion for the vehicles.

Sporky

danishbacon said:

Alpine

I concur. I like mine a lot. 

 

Offset

Sporky said:

danishbacon said:

Alpine

I concur. I like mine a lot. 

 

Ha!  You weren't in Winchester a week ago Saturday were you?  I was admiring one exactly the same!

thecolourbox

Every time I've driven a modern Mini I've really enjoyed them, which isn't the case for most cars. I used to get them as hire  cars because work would not pay me mileage on my own car but would reimburse me via expenses for a hire car - mental.

Those Nissan Figaro cars look cool as well, but being I think basically an automatic Micra underneath the mask I suspect they aren't that nice to drive.

Our car is a 12 year old Fiat Panda - it was very cheap to buy almost new and has lasted over 100k miles easily with very little problems. I think the 500 is basically the same car with a different hat on? I wouldn't have trusted the old style Pandas to do 100 miles let alone 100k miles, but they still have that "slightly naff holiday rental car" vibe that do a million miles to the gallon and seem to run on air sometimes, just with more modern comfort and steering which doesn't give you a hernia. We did get the "better" version though, it's all relative after all with a Fiat.

For some inexplicable reason I've always quite fancied one of the 4x4 Pandas

Sporky

Offset said:

Sporky said:

danishbacon said:

Alpine

I concur. I like mine a lot. 

 

Ha!  You weren't in Winchester a week ago Saturday were you?  I was admiring one exactly the same!

Nah - I need to go there for the fuel pump recall, but not been there for a couple of years. 

robgilmo

Mexican VW's, you cant get a more authentic classic new off the production line than a Mexican VW.

I would love a new Defender though, its nowhere near the old ones, but still an awesome vehicle.

menamestom

stickyfiddle said:

As for the MX5, I maintain it’s still one of the best cars ever made. Just such a perfect little 2-seater that barely anyone else bothers even trying to compete any more 

I've always wanted an MX5, either a weekend track warrior (unlikely as I don't have a garage) or my main car (unlikely as I have 2 kids and band gear to lug around).  To be fair my Focus ST does thise things perfectly and is nice to drive but as the kids get older the MX5 becomes more plausible.

However the GR86 has recently caught my eye.  Slightly bigger, heavier but more power gets great reviews. 
Technically not a 2 seater, but not far off.

Strumit

1950's Ford Popular please.  Cheap as chips, simple to maintain, one spanner and a couple of screwdrivers and you could almost strip and rebuild the whole thing!  Never let me down (or my sister and her husband who then had it)!  My "modern" Ford Cortina literally rusted away around the engine, gearbox and back axle (which then made a great kit car!