Devon GTX 2009

Of the many many dreamers out there that come up with a car concept to me the Devon GTX is one that really should have made it. Unfortunately bad timing due to bad luck caused it to be another project that was never to be.

The GTX was based on a complete Viper chassis but with an upgraded engine making 650 hp. This combined with a target weight of 3000 lbs. from its carbon fiber body would have given the Devon a better power to weight ratio than a Ferrari Enzo. That would explain why it was able to lap Laguna Seca (1:35.075!) and Willow Springs in record time for a production car! So it wasn't just a pretty face...there was some serious performance potential in there.

However...that's not why I liked this car so much. For me it was more about the design and the details. The whole car just screams concept car! Every detail looks like it belongs in a one off show car, and it was all supposed to be production ready.

In the end the threat of Chrysler selling of the Viper division as a complete entity due to their near bankruptcy made the whole project collapse. The fact that the cars were to cost $500,000 each certainly didn't help things. In total only 2 cars were built. One was kept by the company and the other was auctioned off for a low $200,000. Needless to say, money I would have spent in a  second if I had it!

Pinstripe

The pinstripe job itself is great, and the blue background is a great color for it.

Chrysler minivan prototype c. 1980

 …it’s tiny! And IMHO cooler looking than what came out in the end.

Daimler Double-Six 50 Corsica Drophead 1931

Absolutely stunning! Definitively in my top 5 favorite pre war cars...if not THE favorite. Heres a bit of history on this model...

Apart from being exceptionally well put together, Daimlers offered an extremely quiet ride thanks to adoption of the Knight patented sleeve valve engines. These used sliding valves to open and close the intake and exhaust ports in complete silence. This was quite a contrast to the rattle usually produced by the conventional camshaft actuated valve. A drawback of this configuration was that the valves required lubrication to work properly, resulting in a visible oil-smoke trail wherever one ventured out with a sleeve valve Daimler. Just like the Phantom, the then current line up of Daimlers all featured six cylinder engines, so to really take centre stage something a little more exotic was required; a V12. Aptly named the Double Six, the new engine was designed by the company's chief engineer L. H. Pomeroy. Using the basic design of the six cylinder engines, consisting of two sets of three cylinders, he relatively easily created the new engine with the aluminium crankcase being the only completely new part. Each bank of six cylinders had a separate intake, exhaust and ignition system. In the process Pomeroy also refined the sleeve-valve design by replacing the cast-iron valves with more precisely manufactured steel ones, which significantly lowered the oil consumption.

Production of the Daimler Double Six commenced in 1926 and although the model remained available until 1936, a production figure of as low as 26 is frequently quoted, although a figure closer to 75 seems more likely. All of them were built to meet the special demands of the owners and as a result no two were alike. The V12 engine was also available in a very wide variety of displacements ranging from the initial 7136cc for the 'Double Six 50' to 3477cc for the 'Double Six 30'. Being the most complex and exotic machine available at the time, the Double Six appealed to local and foreign Royals. Britain's King George owned two seven person limousines and King Hussain of Jordan was driven around in an open example. Daimler's top model did not only form the basis for lavish luxury vehicles, but also for a number of 'sporty' fixed head and drop top models. All of them shared a conventional pressed steel ladder frame chassis of which the wheelbase varied from very long to even longer. There was one notable exception, which sported a custom chassis constructed by Thompson and Taylor to a design penned by Reid Railton. It differed from the other chassis that it had an underslung rear end, which made the rolling chassis considerably lower. Railton would later use this design for the highly acclaimed Invicta S-Type. Before being bodied and sold to its first customer, the low-chassis Daimler was used as a demonstrator of Daimler's excellence for a considerable time.

Featured is Daimler Double Six chassis 30661; the unique low chassis model. When the chassis returned from Thompson and Taylor, it was by no means straightforward to bolt all the bits and pieces to it. Many modifications were required to install the engine, including fitting a new sump, rerouting the exhaust and as a result changing the ignition. This was all caused by the fact that the ride height was considerably lower, which would have been even worse if Daimler had not fitted gigantic 23 inch wheels. After its display duties, the chassis was fitted with Thrupp and Maberly close-coupled drophead coupe body in the summer of 1929. Fitted with a conventional gearbox, the car was sold or loaned to Captain Wilson of preselector gearbox fame. It's uncertain if the car served as a test vehicle for the Wilson gearbox, but from the following year a Wilson gearbox was available as an option on Daimler models. Now equipped with a preselector gearbox, the unique Double Six was sold or given back to the factory in 1930 or early in 1931. For its next owner, the car was equipped with a fixed head body, most probably by Martin Walter, who was not unfamiliar with the Double Six chassis. It was registered 'GP4831' on July 1st 1931, the number the car carries to this date.

Bell Aunders long nose Land Rover 2008

Fantastic concept! I can imagine it being a very very fun daily driver in a place with dirt roads.

BMW M3 GTR

The paintjob on this car is awesome! Its like Star Wars on lsd or something.

Moto Morini Scrambler 2008

More motorcycle companies should do scramblers. This one has that perfect combination of street and offroad looks. Its really a shame the company went under.

Moab

GMC “Twin Six” V12 hot rod

What a sweet idea! Definitively dont see many (any?) hot rod builds that use a Twin Six.

GMC produced a large gasoline V12 from 1960 to 1965 for trucks It was basically GMC's large-capacity truck 351 V6, doubled, with four rocker covers and four exhaust manifolds. Fifty-six major parts are interchangeable between the Twin-Six and all other GMC V6 engines to provide greater parts availability and standardization. It has 702 cu in (11.50 L), and while power was not too impressive at 250 hp (190 kW) for such a big engine, torque was 585 lb·ft (793 N·m). For firetrucks the revs waere increased to produce 299 hp (223 kW) at 3000 rpm and torque was increased to 630 lb·ft (850 N·m) at 1600-1900 rpm

Ferrari F40 1987

…this car. According to many the ultimate drivers Ferrari. The F40 was the first road car to break the 200 mph barrier (barely at 201 mph) and became such a success that from an initial production run of 300 Ferrari changed its mind and ended up making 1315. It was the last Ferrari whose design was overseen by Enzo Ferrari.

Ferari 288 GTO Evoluzione 1985

… this car which was basically a rebodied 288 GTO with all its road car comforts removed. This in turn led to…

Ferrari 288 GTO 1985

One of my top 5 all time favorite Ferraris. This model started the evoution of a series of cars using the same basic engine which led to…

Chevrolet Camaro 1970

This build is absolutely perfect! Everything from the fender flares to the color is just spot on. Heres the build thread...enjoy!

http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=23997

Lexus LF-A 2010

Lexus/Gazoo Racing entered two cars in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in the SP8 class over 4000cc. The “Balance of Performance” required a minimum weight of 1500 kg, a restrictor diameter of 34.2 mm, and a fuel tank size of 120 liter. The No. 50 car won its class, and finished 18th overall with 142 laps, 12 laps down. The No. 50 car, with 4 Japanese drivers, did a fastest lap of 8:55.934 (average of 170.470 km/h), which was over 20 seconds slower than the top 10 challengers, and slower than the previous years performance.

Mazda RX-7 1993

Although this is not my specific car, mine was just like it except for the wheels. I drove that car like there was no tomorrow! Drove from Melbourne, Fl to Boston one summer in about 18 hours flat out, only stopping for gas. Had a ton of fun in this car! Sold it after it started having issues...wouldn't rev past 3000 RPM at one point. Probably something to do with the rats nest of vacuum hoses under the manifold but I preferred to sell it rather than fix it since I was offered a good price. Bought my 944 with the sale money. Would love one of these with an LS conversion!

BMW M3 E36 1994

Really great car...unfortunately I only had it for a very short period. Another car that I would love to buy again at some point.

Honda S2000 2000

Really a fantastic car. I remember taking it to the dealership for a faulty A/C and him mentioning that they had never seen one with that many miles (only about 24,000) haha! Its funny because I drove it all around Florida (where its top down all year) and the dealership was in Rochester, NY (where its top down only a couple of months of the year) hence the dealers surprise. This was also right at the start of 2001 so the model had just come out. I would love to have another one some day.

Porsche 944 Turbo (951) 1989

Bought this car from the original owner back when I was in college. Was in good shape for a daily driver but being a Florida car and having been left outside all its life the paint was baked. I repainted in the original Guards Red and at the same time fabbed the fixed headlights starting with a fiberglass center panel with the intercooler duct molded in and cutting the holes for the four PIAA lights. Also added the splitter, 18” Kinesis K-10 wheels, and a ton of engine work including ported and o-ringed head, bigger turbo, 3” exhaust, Split Second fuel management, and adjustable turbo boost among many other things. Also painted the mirrors white to emulate the Daytona 24 hour cars (used to differentiate identical cars in teams with two or more cars painted the same) there was supposed to be a white banner across the top of the windshield but I never got around to it before selling it.

Porsche 968 Club Sport

I actually forget what year this was. I want to say its a 1994 but Im really not sure. I got this after my RS2 was stolen right outside my window. Of course Murphys law came along and they found my RS2 basically intact (minus the door lock and stereo) right after I bought this. In any case...fantastic car. Low on power but the chassis was awesome.

Nissan Patrol 2.8 turbo diesel 1999

Awesome truck if a bit down on torque for a diesel. Only made three mods to this, the 285/75 R16 tires (which fit with no lift at all), manual locking hubs to save a bit on fuel, and the Hella lights. An interesting thing about this truck is that the diesel 2.8 liter straight six it uses is a diesel version of the straight 6 used in the Nissan Skyline! So basically swapping over to a Skyline engine is literally a direct bolt on replacement. Yeeaahh...

Pontiac Firebird 1973

This car actually has a bit of an interesting story. My dad bought it from and army guy based in a NATO base in Italy. He drove it around for several years in Italy with the owners original Florida tags. Of course it was the only Pontiac around, let alone Firebird. Eventually my parents left Italy and after sitting for 6 years in the garage the car was sent to me after their house was sold. I received it straight out of the container and just needed to pump the pedal a few times to get it started. Of course all four tires were toast after having sat for 6 years so I drove across the street to a Firestone service center, put on 4 new tires and drove it 180 miles home without a hiccup! Right after that I did a mild refreshing changing out all the bushings which were shot, adding good coilover shocks and lowered springs, putting on the Torque Thrusts that are on there now, and taking off the heads for a good cleaning. Needless to say after all that time sitting they were completely full of gunk. Drove the car around like that for about a year and then swapped in a 455 (originally it was a 350) and a 4 speed auto instead of the original 3 speed. Soon after that I started the paint job where we found out it had been fixed in Italy at some point using old school lead filler to fix a small issue with the rear quarter panel. And that is how it sits today!

There are of course lots of plans for the future