The writers at Road & Track magazine talk about cars they’d like to see reincarnated.
Most of them get a shrug of the shoulders and a “meh” from me, except for two; firstly, the Jag XJ220:
Probably the most outrageous Jag ever built, it was designed as a race car, and was the fastest production car when it was launched (217 mph — not even shabby by today’s standards). But from all accounts, it was an atrocious road car: as wide as most British streets, a turning circle like a battleship, and driver visibility that made the Lambo Countach look like a convertible by comparison. Seriously, though… I saw one last time I was over in Britishland, and it’s even more dramatic than its picture.
Of course, I’ve never actually driven an XJ220; but I have driven another car on R&T ‘s wish list: the Alfa Romeo GTV/6.
Just looking at it makes my senses tingle. I would take a new one of these now, even as unsophisticated as it would be compared to modern cars. (I don’t need about 90% of the modern geegaws that infest today’s cars anyway.)
And that said, the only car on the list I would never want to see again is the foul Pontiac Fiero — to this day, the only car I’ve ever taken for a test drive, and handed back to the salesman halfway through, saying, “I’ve had enough.” What a POS — especially after having driven the GTV/6 but a short time earlier. Great concept, horrible execution.
As I said, the rest don’t thrill me much — but feel free to disagree with me in Comments.
The last version of the Fiero, the V6, supposedly corrected earlier problems with the car. It was also the last year of production, IIRC. I’d love to have a Volvo P1800.
P1800. Yes, any year, but preferably just before the big bumpers. Convertible, Sedan, Wagon any of them.
I had a co-worker in 1990 who drove a Fiero and it truly was a lashed up piece of crap, we teased him about a car made out of Tupperware.
I had one of those strange GM cars in the late 1970’s that I bought for my wife, it was the Chevy Monza 2+2 hatchback which seemed like a good idea at the time with a nice sized V-8 crammed in a small, kind of fast car. I traded that son of a bitch after a year and a half when I found out that to get to the back spark plugs they either had to loosen all the bolts on the engine and pull it up a bit or the work-around was to cut holes in the inside of the front fender wells and then screw home made metal plates over the holes. I sent that car on its way and got one of the first year Buick Regal turbo charged cars and it was a decent car.
Changing the rear spark plugs……
That was the same problem encountered on the Sunbeam Tiger –
They had a small hatch cut into the footwell to access the rear plug(s).
I always liked the P1800. I was an impressionable junior high student when they came out and my interest in the car came from Roger Moore playing Simon Templar in the TV show “The Saint”. Moore was cool (although not as cool as Steve McQueen in the “Great Escape”- No Englishman could be that cool), the show was pretty cool and therefore the car was cool as well. Hey that’s the way we talked back in 1964. I wonder how many of us who were too young to drive fell in love with cars based on what we saw on TV or in the movies?
I liked the v-6 fiero, Worked in a molding plant where we made some part for it.
I also liked the citation X2 but was poor when they came out. Now who would want one?
Regrets.
In an antique store in Roseville California about 2005 or so, I saw a 1:12 model in a pristine as-new cellophane and cardboard factory-fresh display box with the display pedestal.
Blue, just like your portrait.
Jag-U-Ar XJ220.
The Alfa was horrible. Alfas are still horrible.
Rust in the catalogue.
Of that list, the Porsches and the Scirocco were nice. Rest except the Jag indeed meh.
I’d add the BMW Z1 to the list, and the first generation M3.
The XJ220 was built for people who could afford to keep a mechanic ON RETAINER.
That Alfa looks like the Pontiac Aztek’s mommy.
The aforementioned Volvo P1800 would be my foreign car choice for resurrection. Its the one Volvo that just looked so very un-Volvo like, cool, curvaceous. Our next door neighbor had a coupe in British colors (dark green exterior, tan leather interior) and I loved it. Unlike my Dad’s cramped tiny MGA, I could actually sit in it comfortably and probably would have been comfortable driving it.