Tag Archives: Sport

Fewer Frills More Thrills – Peugeot 106 Rallye S1

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Launched in 1991 to replace the entry level Peugeot 104 the Peugeot 106 was available with either 3 or 5 door bodies and remained in production until 2003 with 2.7 million units built.

Peugeot 106 Rallye, Bristol

In 1993 Peugeot introduced the 106 Rallye version with the strap line “Less Frills, More Spills” in order that the model could compete in the international Group N and Group A classes.

Peugeot 106 Rallye, Bristol

The Rallye is powered by a 100 hp 1294 cc / 78.9 cui 4 cylinder fuel injected engine which drives the front wheels through a five speed manual gearbox.

Peugeot 106 Rallye, Bristol

Uprated suspension with thicker anti roll bars, were factory fitted on the Rallye as were the strengthened front suspension mounting points, for the competitor the sound insulation materials were easily removable.

Peugeot 106 Rallye, Bristol

Rallye 106 S1’s manufactured between 1993 and 1996 were available with a choice of only three colours Bianco White, Cherry Red or Black with the wheel arch extensions and bumpers all colour coded.

Peugeot 106 Rallye, Bristol

Peugeot Sport strips, shared with the 1992/93 Le Mans winning Peugeot 905’s, red piping and white lightweight steel wheels completed the sporty look and kept the weight down to 825 kgs / 1818 lbs.

Peugeot 106 Rallye, Bristol

Inside the 106 Rallye was fitted with lightweight red carpets and matching red seat belts.

Peugeot 106 Rallye, Bristol

Initially Peugeot imported 1,000 right hand drive 106 Rallye’s but it is believed more were ordered due to unexpected demand, today’s featured Rallye seen in Bristol some years ago was registered in the UK on the 21st of January 1994.

Thanks for joining me on this “Fewer Frills More Thrills” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be visiting Queen Square. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Le Pole Again – Peugeot 905 EVO1 Bis LM #EV11

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In 1990 Peugeot Talbot Sport launched it’s 905 sports car programme to compete in the new 3.5 litre / 216 cui sports car class that was to commence in 1991.

The 905 was powered by a V10 motor with the two banks of cylinders inclinded at 80º and featured a carbon fibre monocoque engineered by the Dassault aerospace manufacturer.

Keke Rosberg and Jean-Pierre Jabouille shared a 905 for the last two races of the 1990 World Sports Prototype Championship with their only finish coming at Mexico where they finished 13th from 11th on the grid.

Peugeot 905 Evo 1 Bis LM, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

Mauro Baldi and Philippe Alliot won the opening round of the 1991 Sportscar World Championship at Suzuka from 4th on the grid driving a 905, but there after the 905’s reliability nose dived as they tried to keep up with the much faster Jaguar XJ14.

After both 905’s retired before the four hour mark from the 1991 Le Mans 24 hours the cars were heavily revised with a more powerful engine supported by a more sophisticated aero package that include two rear wings and the option for a front wing.

Magny Cours and Mexico saw the heavily revised cars score 1-2 victories with Keke Rosberg and Yannick Dalmas leading Phillipe Alliot and Mauro Baldi home on both occasions, but too late to prevent Jaguar and Teo Fabi from winning the Manufacturers and Drivers Championships.

Peugeot 905 Evo 1 Bis LM, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

Jaguar withdrew from the sport at the end of 1991 leaving Peugeot, Yannick Dalmas and Jaguar refugee Derek Warwick to claim the 1992 World Sportscar Manufacturers and share the Drivers titles, the teams only opposition in the six race series came from Toyota who only won the opening round.

With little manufacturer support the 1993 World Sportscar series was cancelled and the 905’s only two appearances were at the Le Mans Test weekend where, Philippe Alliot and Mauro Baldi were quickest and at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The paintwork on today’s featured car suggests that this might be the chassis, #EV11, which was used as a spare car in the last two races of the 1990 season and was then not seen again until the 1993 Le Mans 24 hours where it appeared in EVO 1 Bis LM spec for Philippe Alliot, Mauro Baldi and Jean-Pierre Jabouille who qualified on pole, as the same trio had done a year earlier driving chassis #EV16.

Peugeot 905 Evo 1 Bis LM, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

The 1993 Le Mans 24 Hour race proved to be a walkover for the Peugeot team who finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd with Philippe, Mauro and Jean-Pierre in third place exactly as they had been in 1992.

Thanks for joining me on this “Le Pole Again” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be running through all the podium finishers from this years thrilling Le Mans 24 Hours race. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Bigger Faster 124 – FIAT 125

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Like the FIAT 124 I looked at last week, the FIAT 125 launched in 1967 shared some parts with it’s predecessor notably in this instance the longer chassis from the FIAT 1500.

Fiat 125, BIAMF, Bristol,

The doors and passenger compartment of the FIAT 125 are identical except that the rear seat is mounted 3 inches further back thanks to the slightly longer wheel base.

Fiat 125, BIAMF, Bristol,

The 90hp twin overhead cam 1600 cc / 97 cui 4 cylinder motor was shared with some of the later FIAT 124 Sport Coupé and Sport Spider models as was the initial 4 speed gearbox.

Fiat 125, BIAMF, Bristol,

Like the FIAT 124 the 125 was a global car with examples built in Argentina, Columbia, Chile and Morroco while further 125P variants with less powerful motors were built in Poland, Yugoslavia and Egypt. FIAT stopped building the 125 in 1972 but production continued elsewhere until the early 1990’s.

This particular car seen at the Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival was built in 1969 and first registered in the UK on April Fools day of the same year.

Thanks for joining me on this “Bigger Faster 124” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking for answers to the story about a mysterious 500 Formula 3 car. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Splash Lubricated Cyclecar – Amilcar CC Sport

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In June 1921 Joseph Lamy and Emile Akar founded Amilcar building cycle cars, 2 seaters weighing less than 350 kgs and powered by motors of less than 1100cc / 67 cui, designed by Jules Salomon and Edmond Moyet at their works in central Paris.

Amilcar CC Sport, Lady Carolyn Venables Llewelyn, VSCC, Prescott,

The initial Amilcar CC model, as seen above, was powered by a side valve splash lubricated 4 cylinder motor with a displacement of 903 cc / 55 cui which produced 18 hp.

I believe the mahogany boat tail styling may have been the work of Parisian bespoke coach builder Jean Henri-Labourdette.

Lady Carolyn Venables-Llewelyn, wife of VSCC club President Sir John Venables-Llewelyn, is seen braving inclement conditions driving today’s featured 1923 Amilcar CC Sport at Prescott.

Thanks for joining me on this “Splash Lubricated Cyclecar” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be visiting the first Avenue Drivers Club meeting of the year for Coffee Croissants and Cars. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Coffee Croissant & Cars #09/14 – Avenue Drivers Club

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Despite a modest drop in ambient temperatures and overcast skies there was another good turn out for Sunday’s Avenue Drivers Club meeting at Queen Square on Sunday.

Mercury Eight, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Highlights included this hot rod 1949 Mercury Eight with lowered roof and modern running gear.

Land Rover, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

The blurb in the window of the 80″ wheel base suggested it was the 388th of the production line in 1948.

Cadillac de Ville, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

This 1965 Cadillac de Ville Convertible featured a nicely recessed aerial.

Ford Escort Sport 1300, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Built from 1971 to 1974 the Ford Escort Sport 1300 was the most basic of factory hot versions of the popular Escort range powered by a motor producing 75 hp, the one above was built in 1972, check out this link for the incredible amount of work many of these cars require to keep them on the road.

BMW 1502, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Another vehicle which the owner has put in an incredible amount of work is this 1976 BMW 1502 with flared wheel arches, lowered roof and Z3 tail lights. Originally fitted with a 80 hp 4 cylinder motor it now features what looks like an M60 V8 with at least 200hp.

VW 1600 E, Avenue Drivers Club, Queen Square, Bristol

Finally one of my most popular blogs was about a VW Square Back called Kubrik, the 1600 E badge above was on the back of a similarly aged Fast Back. First seen in 1965 the Fast Back was supposed to replace the Notch Back, but customer demand for the later determined otherwise.

Thanks for joining me on this “Coffee Croissant & Cars #09/14” edition of “Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a prototype 16 cylinder racing car. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Early Years – Maserati 26M

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Despite setting up a workshop in December 1914 it was not until 1926 that the first car to bear the Maserati name came into being and from what I understand the original Tipo 26 was actually a rebadged 2 litre / 122 cui 8 cylinder Diatta fitted with a 1.5 litre / 91.5 cui 8 cylinder motor all of which had been designed by Alfieri Maserati starting in 1925.

Maserati 26M_1423sc

It appears that both Diata and Alfieri had been banned from the sport in 1924 after Alferi changed a motor for a an enlarged one in a 1924 Barcelona hillclimb event. Diata were later cleared of any wrong doing, but after a poor showing in the 1925 Italian Grand Prix they decided their future lay else where.

Alfieri drove the original Tipo 26 to victory in the 1926 Targa Florio with riding mechanic Guerino Bertocchi and the Tipo 26 were manufactured mainly for use in competition up until 1932 with a variety of different straight 8 cylinder motors up to 2.8 litres 170 cui.

The car featured today is a 1931 26M, 14 type 26M’s were produced from 1930 to 1932 with 2.5 litre / 152 cui 8 cylinder motors all two seaters, some of which were built as open wheel racers and some with cycle wings and lights required for endurance races, like the Targa Florio, were known as 26M Sports.

Today’s featured car is fitted with a motor just under 2.8 litre / 170 cui which suggests that is not an original size as the original 2.8 litre 8C 2800 motors were actually 12 cc .7 cui over the 2.8 / 170 cui size.

No further history is known about this particular car seen at Goodwood Revival a couple of years ago, if you know any of it’s history please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Thanks for joining me on this Early Years edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow, don’t forget to come back now !

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Floating Power – Plymouth PA Rumble Seat Sport Roadster

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In July 1931 Chrysler announced a new Plymouth model for 1932 the PA which apart from dimensions like the 109″ wheel base and 196 cui 4 cylinder motor size shared little with the Model U which it replaced.

Plymouth PA, California,

Despite being Chryslers budget brand the PA model featured a flying lady sculpture adorning the radiator, the item was designed by Herbert V. Henderson and manufactured exclusively for Plymouth by the Jarvis Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Plymouth PA, California,

One significant difference between the Model U and PA was the “Floating Power” mountings for the latter which were developed by Owen Skelton to minimise the inherent vibrations caused by a 4 cylinder motor. Owen found that by using rubber and affixing the mountings along the motors center of gravity axis which slopes from front to rear he could significantly improve the comfort for occupants of a vehicle.

Plymouth PA, California,

Within months of being patented Floating Power was adopted by all Plymouth and Chrysler models and would remain a feature of MOPAR vehicles over the next 28 years.

Plymouth PA, California,

Production of the PA came to an end in July 1932 with 106,896 examples including a variety of 2 and 4 seat body styles.

Plymouth PA, California,

Floating Power and a commitment by former Ford employee, now head of the Plymouth brand Fred L. Rockelman to give his customers more car for their money helped Plymouth reach No:3 in the sales charts replacing Buick in 1931, a position it would only relinquish in 1954 when Buick recaptured 3rd spot.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing these photographs, of a 1931 rumble seat “sport” roadster,which he took in a California car park in 2012.

Thanks for joining me on this “Floating Power” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for another edition of Ferrari Friday. Don’t forget to come back now !

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