I’ll have fallen sufferer to my love for touring vehicles at this yr’s Essen Motor Present, paying little consideration to the rest. Sorry, not sorry.
Okay, that’s not fully true. That is the second highlight on historic racers from the present. Nonetheless, in contrast to the legendary machines featured in my earlier submit, these aren’t the enduring names of the Group A period.
What we have now listed below are the little fighters of the touring automobile world from a less complicated time – when Group 2 rules dominated, and from 1971 a European Touring Automobile Championship class devoted to vehicles underneath 1,300cc existed.
For these of you who measure in freedom models, that’s only a mighty 79 cubic inches.
One automobile lacking from this lineup is the gorgeous Alfa Romeo GT Junior, the primary winner of the 1,300 division championship. What you see right here, as a substitute, is an enchanting combine from numerous many years, international locations, and drivetrain configurations.
The NSU TT is one in all my favorite shapes from the ’60s. With its rear-engined, air-cooled, rear-wheel-drive format, it’s a unusual little automobile. NSU was an fascinating model, absorbed into Auto Union, which later grew to become modern-day Audi. And sure, it served because the inspiration for the now-iconic Audi TT, each in title and design philosophy.
Italy and France have lengthy been masters of small-car engineering, and the attractive Fiat 128 Coupé was a aggressive contender when it debuted within the 1972 sequence. Then there’s this Renault 5, which shocked me. Apart from the wild R5 Turbo II in rallying, I had no concept the Renault 5 had raced in any main circuit-based sequence.
And that’s the fantastic thing about the 1300 European Touring Automobile Problem (1300 ETC) championship immediately. It’s a reasonably open sequence, permitting any sub-1,300cc automobile that follows the rules as much as the 1981 FIA Appendix J guidelines to enter.
That’s why this Mk1 VW Polo is within the combine. In Europe, these little hatchbacks are well-regarded as Berg Cup hill climb machines, however after watching a number of 1300 ETC races, I can guarantee you the competitors is as fierce as ever, irrespective of the age of the vehicles or their unique function.
Preserving historic race sequence is essential, however it may be prohibitively costly. These small however mighty racers provide a comparatively inexpensive entry level into the world of historic touring vehicles – and so they should be celebrated.
I’m wondering how a lot a Mk1 Ford Escort 1300 goes for as of late…
Mario Christou
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