Come the month of May, many a classic car owners will bring their beloved old iron out from their winter hiding spaces deep under the city (or in barns in the country) and take them back out on display to the streets of Berlin and to a new CC post. And as a bonus: Some additional sightings sent to me from friends in Corsica, Stuttgart, Turin and Freiburg!
Actually, why don’t we start right off with Stuttgart from where a friend had sent me this beautifully preserved Scirocco Mk2. While the Mk1 seems almost universally deemed to be the superior (Giugaro) design, I believe the Mk2 has got a lot going for it as well.
Likewise shot in Stuttgart – from my friend’s brother – is this curious Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit camper conversion. Given its location, this is most likely based on the Yugoslavian built VW Caddy rather than on the very similar Westmoreland built VW Rabbit Pick-Up.
Moving on to Berlin and the Caddy’s German-built brother.
One block from the Golf Mk1, I came across this rare sight: A BMW E3.
And while not quite the top of the line 3.3L / Li this one was the choice option for the sports oriented driver: The 3.0Si with a four speed manual (not considering the 3.0Si that would be).
A couple of days later a fallen angel appeared in front of my house – though apparently on its way to be resurrected.
Another few days later this first generation Acura – or more accurately, in the case of the European market: Honda -Legend Coupe – re-appeared in my street. I had last seen it 5 years prior when it was parked close to my home for a couple of months. Back then I had even deposited an envelope with a written note to the owner under the windshield wipers with an offer to purchase the car, something which I had never done before and haven’t done since. So you can imagine by surprise as this car came back out of nowhere.
While an old Legend may not be that rare a sight in the US, in Germany these were sold in very little numbers so spotting one is quite something.
This one, too, came as a surprise. These old Granada wagons are very rare. But this one still has the phone number of the (now defunct) interior decorating business painted on the passenger door. And in some weird twist of fate this business was located 2 miles from where I was born and grew up – and 400 miles from the current location of this car!
During one of the few rainfalls this spring, this Buick Park Avenue showed up – also right in front of my house! I realize that – given enough time – I don’t even have to leave my block to spot some sweet CCs.
While a common sight in the US, these big Buicks were sold in very tiny numbers in Germany. I have a very soft spot for these. There is a shop specializing in the repairs of American classic cars at the end of my street, so maintaining one of these around here shouldn’t be too hard.
With spring in full bloom now the more precious cars emerged from their garages – like this Jaguar Mark X which has always struck me as so similar yet so different from its successor the XJ. The sheer dimensions! How tiny and located far back the glasshouse is compared to the XJ!
Onwards to Corsica, from where another old friend of mine had sent me this picture:
Given the topography, the AWD (“4X4” version of the Fiat Uno was/is understandably popular here.
The same friend sent me this image from a first gen 7-series, this one being the carburated 3 liter version of the venerable M30 aka “iron pig” engine from his hometown of Freiburg, located close to the border to Switzerland.
Ah, a Citroen XM! I spent much of my formative years in a Xantia of the same color which drove heavenly, but this must be a whole other level. With this, we close this Spring Edition curbside classic tour.
I owned a 1st gen Scirocco and was never a huge fan of the 2nd gen, but an immaculate white example drove by my house just a few days ago. I guess that’s the CC Effect in action, though there’s actually another 2nd gen in my neighborhood also. I thought it looked pretty nice in white. Sounded good too! The Golf/Rabbit/Caddy camper looks … slow. Especially if it’s a non-turbo diesel. But certainly roomy.
I as well, had a ’78 Scirocco bought in ’81…haven’t had any other make since then, currently own ’00 Golf as my only car.
Haven’t seen many Sciroccos in some time, I remember going to the car show in Boston probably Jan ’82 and the A2 was up on a rotating podium, you couldn’t get close let alone try one out.
In the lead photo, the paint colour break matches how some owners handled homemade rust repairs, when cars used to still rust badly. They would not attempt to match the repaired area, to existing paintwork. This is the look, often achieved.
Use masking tape to tape-off a sometimes half-*ssed semi-circle around the wheel arches. Tape off a similar straight line above the rusty rocker panel. Grind out the rust. Apply red or grey primer, by brush or spray. Fill holes with Bondo. And spray on a darker paint colour, as the rust would inevitably return. No point in targeting a perfect paint colour match. Or use rust paint to finish. Rust paint in gloss black being popular. Some would finish with red primer. Ultimately lending a Chevrolet Laguna S3 look, to your rusty car. Paint colour break on this Scirocco brought back this memory. lol
I’ll take the Golf Caddy Tischer demountable camper please.
It will be slow with the diesel engine but I’ll stop and go in the back for a cup of tea.
I’m also drawn to the Caddy and the Tischer camper, though I find it amusing that the camper has a Western US landscape scene on the front, complete with cowboy and saguaro cactus.
Good to see a very old Siebener still doing its thing there. Although I’m more interested in the Granada wagon, indeed a rare sight and soooo much more attractive than anything labeled Granada on the US side of the pond.
Legend Coupes (and first gen Legends in general) are not overly common over here anymore either, there’s a coupe in my town in gray with a white trunk lid. Other than that I see far more in junkyards than on the street (but still not “common” there either).
The Mk2 Scirocco too is quite rare nowadays, that one looks very good indeed in an attractive spec.
And the others are good to see still (mostly) mobile as well, it’s significantly more difficult to keep an older car in Germany plated and road legal than it is in the U.S., although at least you can assume it’s actually safe to drive and/or be around on the road. A good show!
Hannes, nice to see you back here with another set of finds from over there.
That’s definitely a European Caddy, as the US VW Pickups never had round headlights. I’ve shot one or two with campers on them. A frugal if leisurely rig.
A 3.0Si was my absolute dream sedan once upon a time. Very rare here, but its successor, the first 7 series, is even rarer. I haven’t seen one on the streets in quite a few years. “iron pig” engine? Not familiar with that term.
Yes, the Granada wagon is a gem. It’s low end utilitarian cars and wagons that so rarely survive.
I think the Jaguar is a 420G (1966-1970), the cosmetically updated Mark X (1961-1966). Only the 420G had the strip of chrome along the flanks.
The Granada station wagon is definitely my favorite. It’s especially nice that they preserved the period-era painted-on (?) company lettering instead of repainting the car. These days, most people only use adhesive letters and decals.
The orange color scheme, which was available ex-factory for the Granada Mk II for some time, is also rare.
Very clean styling that, in my opinion, still looks good today.
One small downside – perhaps: The photo clearly shows that the Granada could have done with a bit more bumper (that doesn’t necessarily have to be a 10 mph cow breaker)
The Citroen XM catches my eye.
They’re those unusual cars that age and become more valuable.
I’d love to have one in my collection.