Norwegian Sports Car Club... Just chew on the name. When cars are referred to as cars , you are either very "Oslo West" or very old.
I think of the actors in the old feature film "Sons of Norway buy a car" from 1962. From what I can see, many of the members are a bit older. I imagine they have tolerant spouses. At our house, the atmosphere gets a little tense when I talk about getting a "toy car".
"We still play with cars", is the Norsk Sportsvognklubb's slogan. It affects the enjoyment of the car. You don't need a lot of money or horsepower to have fun with a car. At the year's biggest event, you'll find everything from lightly patinated Mazda MX-5s and Toyota MR2s to Ferraris and McLarens, to name a few.
When you, like me, drive around this winter with hybrids, electric cars and fuel-saving diesel (mentioned on Terje's cars), it is an experience to see and hear cars running on 8, 10 and 12 cylinders for no other purpose than enjoyment. I have taken some photos from this year's spring muster at the old air tower at Fornebu. The cars are only a small number of all that were on display. Terje's cars will return with a separate post about the popular sports car Mazda MX-5 "Miata" as well as photo material of new cars from Germany.
Ferrari 488 parked in front of Odonata Restaurant.Close-up of the Ferrari 488.Fiat 1500 convertible.Alfa Romeo Montreal. Not something you see every day.Alfa Romeo Montreal.Renault-Alpine A310."Fornebu Special". The bodywork of this mysterious vehicle was made at Fornebu - the country's former main airport. No doubt where the inspiration came from.The mystery car photographed inside the hall. According to the vehicle registry, it is based on a 52 model Mercury.Åse Kleveland, newly minted honorary member of the sports car club, took part in the first pool of the partial filing with his Saab Sonett V4.The Renault 15 is not particularly sporty, but beautiful and rare.One of several fine Ferrari 360s.Ferrari 458Porsche GT3 in front of the old airport building.Porsche GT3 RS.Lots of beautiful things to see in the parking lot.Lots of great 911s.Great Cayman in the big Porsche space.Toyota MR2 on the way home.
The event is a meeting place for car owners with shiny new cars. It is also open to the public , those of us who park outside and stroll around the cars during the relatively short time they are on display. Some look under the hoods, some check the distance between the tires and the wheel arches, some peek in through the open windows.
It is difficult to single out some favourites. A couple of nice Ferraris, maybe? – or a Cressida? There are more Ferraris on the road than Toyota Cressidas, - such as the one that met us when we arrived. I don't know how many Cressidas are left today. The car on display is at least a real nostalgia gem!
The Ferrari 430 is a "small" Ferrari, but just as much a proper driving machine
It has a mid-mounted V8 – not the V12 that the bigger Ferraris have. This is a Scuderia with carbon fiber for lower weight, and that the engine has received an increase in power. I think we are talking about 510 HP in a car under 1300 kilos. Despite the fact that the model has a few years behind it, there are modern electronics and equipment.
For sale for 1. See the ad here You can get the F430 cheaper than this, but this one leaves an impression.Ferrari's V8 model series started with the "Magnum Ferrari" 308 and continued with the 328, 348, 355, 360, 430, 458 and 488. This is the Ferrari 430 in close-up.
There is a long way between the hybrid cars at Cars & Coffee
I'm a bit ambivalent about the front of new Lexuses. I don't think it suits the tall SUVs very well, but this Lexus RC300h looks amazing from this point of view. The grill looks like it's devouring the road and looks extra good on a lowered car, like this one.
In the standard RC300h, there are two engines, – a 2,5-litre petrol that produces 181 HP, and an electric motor that produces 143. Together, it is possible to get 221 HP and a torque of 450 Nm. The new car price of the top model with F-Sport is 637. The fees make it relatively favorable to choose a hybrid. And then they can be modified into nice street cars, like this one.
There's a lot of luxury in hybrids these days - but few are more luxurious than this Lexus RC300h.
Real manor carriages
It is difficult to pass two Volvo Amazon estate cars parked next to each other. The Amazon (121) and 140 series got B20 engines from model year 1969. The two Amazons are one of the very last to be produced. I note that they have the wide steel rims. Volvo introduced the term "manor car" as a Scandinavianisation of the English "Estate car". No other manufacturer adopted this designation. There are few 5-door cars that are more manor than these two.
Two Volvo 121 Amazon with the B20 engine that came in 1969.As taken from a Volvo catalogue. The closest is a Volvo Amazon Herrgårdsvagn from the last two years of production. Here in "Mörkgrön" version. Next to one in "Mediterranean blue".Car building for the advanced: Ford A and 1939 Chevy.
Curant to this day
The other day I came across a picture of an old engine on Facebook. The engine belonged to a forest wreck. I punched the serial number into Google and found that it was a six that had sat in a W180, the Ponton Mercedes from the 50s - none other than the 220 S. The engine was also used in the finest Mercedes minibuses of the 50s with extra windows in the roof, as well as in the Unimog. There are still parts on eBay for these fine cars. A car that today looks rather small to be a prestige car. But in its day it was priced like a Cadillac.
Definitely S-Class. Mercedes-Benz 220 S W180 (II).The wood inside the car is real - not foil or veneer. Could it be birch?
The Fiat 850 Coupé was a common sight on Norwegian roads
However, I don't recall ever seeing the Abarth version. I didn't get to hear the tune of this particular car, but I expect it to sound like a proper Abarth. In its time, several 850 owners retrofitted exhaust systems from Abarth to get the right sound. The engine produces 64 HP compared to 47 HP in the standard model. The Fiat 850 and 850 Coupe have never been slow on the road. Nor in the Abarth edition.
Fiat-Abarth, based on the 850 Coupe. Not just a slightly larger displacement and slightly more horses, but clear signals in the front that it is an Abarth.Simple and stylish. Typical Italian. Put on your driving gloves!Simple rear lights between 1965-67. From 1968, the 850 Coupé got double rear lights. Dual exhaust pipes are Abarth.Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1. Among other things, the ZR1 means lower weight through the use of carbon fibre, a 6,2-litre V8 producing 638 HP and ceramic brake discs.
Audi's grandmother
– “How many rings are there?” asked one guy while the other counted the rings in the DKW logo.
– “That’s four! Doesn’t Audi also have four rings?”
– “No, it must have at least five!” replied the first guy.
Many people find it hard to believe that Audi has its roots in DKW. One talks about prestige brands, such as Horsch and Wanderer, - but the first independent Audi model, the Audi 60, was visually almost a copy of the DKW AutoUnion F102, which otherwise shared mechanics with the DKW Autounion 1000 "Der Sonderklasse", - which again descended from the F91 – also the Sonderklasse. All of these were light two-strokes with good driving characteristics.
This DKW model was produced from 1953 to 59. The F91 was replaced in 1955 by the F93. Nice cabriolet version with suicide doors.Despite the simple motorisation, nothing has been spared inside. Radio, speaker in the dash with the inscription "Sonderklasse", wood under the side windows, umbrella gear and four Audi rings on the steering wheel."Großer 3=6" should mean that a 3-cylinder two-stroke engine should be as good as a 6-cylinder four-stroke engine... Understand that who can.
And Cressida…?
Do you think you've seen this blue Japanese car before? You probably have. It's on TV during the day, in an advertisement for the Information Service 1881. A young man drives around the country and beach in this very Cressida in search of "the woman of his life." Watch the advertisement here
The Toyota Cressida is a rare sight on Norwegian roads. Was a big seller in the late 70s.
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Cars, Coffee & rarities at ØvrevollCars & Coffee, Øvrevoll
2004 Chevrolet Corvette. The Subaru Sumo (E12) in the background is not a common sight on the road either.
Everything is free, except the coffee.
If I have understood the concept correctly, every meeting in Cars & Coffee is an informal gathering of everyone who wants to show off their car, and who wants to look at other people's cars. It was the cars. The coffee was provided by Sherryhaugen on Øvrevoll Galloppbane.
The event is informal and unsnobbish. Since I arrived in my wife's freshly washed Q3, I could have probably asked to park inside the fences, but I chose to park outside. The car behind me, a sleek, orange Focus ST, entered the area. There is no lower limit for which cars can be displayed, or who owns the vehicle. I think the idea is that if you yourself think that your car has something to do within the fences, you can count on at least one other car enthusiast also wanting to take a look at it. You also get a good opportunity to air the cart. All the cars on display are used cars. It's a pleasure to hear a Ferrari V12 speeding down Vollsveien.
I, and several other local old men, stopped by just to have a look. We look nostalgically at cars we owned in our younger years - which have now become youngtimers (young veterans). We look at the state cars we've dreamed about for years, and still dream about. We dream away in some newer sports convertible and see ourselves behind the wheel heading up towards Sollihøgda with the roof down and the wife by our side.
Follow my journey between the cars!
No one should be in any doubt that it is a Corvette in front of them.
This is a 2004 model Z06 - last year with this body (5th generation).
2010 Mercedes-Benz SL300 without roof. A very beautiful classic. There is also the red Saab Sonett V4 in the background.
Brings a picture of the cockpit.
These gills do not belong to the car above, but to a larger SL that was standing nearby.
Some of the selection at the exhibition. Original Mini 1000 in the foreground.
I'm guessing that this lowered Golf (Mk5) had the shortest distance to the tarmac.
I nominate this classic 1983 Porsche 911 Turbo as the most beautiful of the match.
Perhaps the world's most beautiful spoiler - at least the largest when the 911 Turbo was introduced.
This 911 retains the correct rims.
1965 Ford Mustang
Imagine how European cars looked in 1965 and you will understand why this has become one of the world's most desirable cars.
Taking a classic 911 with me on the road to the Italian cars. Didn't manage to take a closer look at the WRX in the background.
2006 Ferrari 430. Note the carbon fiber bodywork.
Lucky were the guys who could drive these gorgeous display cars back to the shop. Tempting to take the long way home.
This Maserati Ghibli Quattroporte became a classic from the day it drove out of the gate for the first time (I like).
Beautiful cockpit. Less distinctive than some of its predecessors.
This is a Porsche Boxter from about 1998. Today they are on around NOK 150, but hardly as nice as this one.
Today, this is a style study of how the driver's seat should have looked in the 90s - phone included.
What impressed me about this Anglia was that it looked like it could be driven. I think it ran well, too - and mechanically it looked pretty up-to-date.
The dash on a Sunbeam Alpine. Decent plank!
See
Cars, Coffee & rarities at ØvrevollFrom Ferrari to Cressida.
