Maybe this had a better back seat? A1984 Nissan Stanza saloon. More famous in Europe for being the first front wheel drive mid size Nissan than anything else, it was more common as a hatchback than as a saloon.
Look very closely and you’ll see a dealer sticker that says “Datsun” – this was at the changeover from Datsun to Nissan branding in Europe.
The straight edge styling was certainly of the period, even if the driving dynamics might not have been up to the contemporary European standards. But, it’s still running 37 years later, and I haven’t seen any Austin Montegos on the road since, well, a long time ago.
Of course, no British review could be complete without a Jaguar. In this case, a 1990 Jaguar XJ-s 3.6 litre Coupe. It’s a personal preference, but to me an XJ-S looks better as a coupe than as convertible, but better still with a 5.3 litre V12.
Seeing the XJ-S facing off with my Alfa Spider, a passing Curbivore asked which was mine….turned out although this was not his Jaguar, he had one and an Alfa Spider….lucky man.
The XJ-S has now almost completed the journey from luxury but expensive to run old (almost but not quote banger or beater) to become an appreciating and appreciated modern classic, albeit with polarising styling. Personally, I find the long low coupe works best in sober colours.
Another unusual sport coupe classic – a 1968 Volvo P1800S. There only around 170 of these left in the UK and this is the first one I can remember seeing for many years. And looking good too.
Being a 1968 car, it will be one the later Swedish built models, and in Roger Moore white as well. I’m fairly ambivalent to be honest, though I know these have a following on CC. I think an Alfa Giulia Sprint would win out for me.
But I can understand the pedestrians looking over at it.
I’ve produced this summary, so you’ll expect some Alfa Romeo drooling, and I do not intend to disappoint. An Alfasud Sprint would never do that, but by 1989, when this car was built, the car was technically known as the Alfa Romeo Sprint, and this 1.7 litre version was the Quadrifoglio Verde. Of course, everyone referred to them as Alfasud Sprints.
Underneath, some of the original ‘Sud features had been replaced by Alfa Romeo 33 component sets, notably the front suspension with the inboard disc brakes.
Does life get any better than a 1966 Giulia Super, now fitted with a later 1779cc (or in Alfa folklore, 1750) engine?
The Giulia Super was the top of the everyday range Giulia, less specialised and more mainstream than the Ti. Still, 98bhp in a car like this in Europe in 1966, with a five speed gearbox and a twin cam engine was pretty much a unique offer.
And two other forecourt Alfas to drool over – a pair of Rosso Alfa Tipo 916, one Spider, one GTV, both with the Busso V6. Take your pick, they both sound glorious when roused!
Our local first Friday evening of the month classic car drop in meet has restarted too – here are a couple of the stand out cars from the first evening, starting with another Alfa.
A 1984 Alfa Romeo GTV6, also fitted with the Busso V6 in 2.5 litre form, in truly spectacular condition and evidencing many years of good care.
Apparently, it was owned originally by a Professor of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, and I believe is still in the family. A tremendous example, and one that I had not seen before.
Elsewhere on the green, there was this, what I suspect is a 1965 Pontiac Tempest GTO. You may know better; feel free to enhance my knowledge.
Or maybe a 1965 Ford Falcon Futura hardtop with the Sprint package of a V8, bucket seats and detail trim pieces. Thanks to Jim Klein, JP Cavanaugh and Jason Shafer, I know only 2800 of these were built in 1965, and one is in the New Forest in southern England.
And one other American car to close with….
….a Ford Fusion Hybrid on US Government plates. For official use only, no less.
Enjoy the rest of the summer and happy motoring!
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Nice selection I thought the 39 series E Morris 8s were all two doors, mine was, Hillman Imps arent particularly rare here a whole herd of them turned up to the British Euro show I attended recently including a Commer Imp van, MO Oxfords are coming out of the woodwork lately people keep finding them stashed away in sheds long forgotten but in usually reasonable condition, Lately Ive been seeing a Morris Minor woody in the town where I keep my Superminx someone uses it as their daily commuter she waves if I pass her going the other way in my wagon, those Fiat 500s were called a Bambina here locally assembled there used to be a few about theres one sitting atop a shipping container in a nearby wrecking yard with a A30 Austin for company both beyond salvage.
What a wide and wonderful range of ages and brands/models, thanks!
That Pontiac isn’t a Tempest GTO, it’s a full size model (Bonneville, Catalina, etc.). I think Catalina, although my memory on these, never great to begin with, is getting fainter.
Thanks for the correction
Skye is correct, the Pontiac is a full-size B-body. Looks to be a Catalina.
I love what you did with the last Pic. H2O plate on a convert with the top up in the rain. Brilliant 🙂
That is actually entirely unplanned, but just occasionally British car shows do need an umbrella….to keep the dry from being diluted….. 😉
Lovely “curation” as they say today, albeit about anything from the three nasty biscuits at a meeting to the considerations of vastly-overeducated Professors about what does or doesn’t hang in the Louvre, but I digress.
For my digestion on this particular day, I shall choose your selected GTV-6. Plasticated as Giugiaro’s original work it might be, it whets my today appetite the most. Tomorrow, who knows? (Being a loony, probably that Stanza, but again, I digress).
Chris Bangle The Disliked probably shouldn’t be. His BMW’s were infamously infamous, but I remember thinking even upon the release of the 7-series that it somehow won’t date, and 20 years on, it kind-of hasn’t. I still don’t like it and sort-of do, so same then as now.
The bangly point here is that he’s a designer of more skill than many car nutters might want to admit. That Fiat coupe proves it. It looked unusual-but-good on release, and still does, and maybe even better than that. If a design endures, it clearly has real merit. The Fiat did, and does.
And without wishing to be impolite, Sir Rog, I reckon it’s a better collection of metal shapes than the GTV of the same period, which somehow does too awkward a job of marrying the square and roundy eras. Tipo-chassis limited, it ends up, proportionally, looking like too much of a square.
I’ll just nick off in that ugly and speedy XJ-S now, before you can read this and get all Alfa-red and huffy.
Hi Justy,
your opinion on styling of the Fiat vs the Alfa GTV is just as valid as mine, and I agree with your observation about Chris Bangle’s design’s ageing well.
I’ll race you to get to the XJ-S……
Our kid can get quite touchy about his Alfas….
but you’re right, the Fiat Coupe looks better
(bet that’s knackered my chance of a go in the Alfa)
Great finds here, and my eye is drawn to that GTV-6. What a great example! I’d found an ’84 GTV-6 parked curbside a year or two ago, but not in nearly as good condition. It’s on my (long) list of cars to write up some day.
The US Government license plate surprises me, since I thought those plates were only used domestically. The “AF” prefix on that particular plate designates it (logically enough) as belonging to the Air Force, but I’ve never seen a US Government plate with more than six characters after the prefix. – and I live not far from Washington, DC, so I come across quite a few of these.
So, thanks for including this unusual US plate here!
Well, since you shared this odd cross-continent license plate find, I’ll share my own recent find.
Just last week, I saw this car driving around Virginia — the license plate is a Belgian diplomatic plate. I’m guessing the car belongs to US State Department personnel who had been stationed in Belgium, but haven’t gotten around to re-registering their car. This is undoubtedly not an unusual plate to see in Europe, but here in the US, it’s definitely out-of-the-ordinary:
That’s a European-specs car, probably not the property of a US permanent resident. One of the two boxes pictured here would’ve been ticked on its HS-7 form.
Interesting. I noticed the rear fog light… and assumed that it was a US-spec car, but the owner added the rear fog light during the car’s time in Europe. Are there any other features that tell us it’s a European car?
I wish I knew whether Belgium has country codes on its diplomatic plates – that would help piece together this car’s story.
Good point; on second look, that rear frog lamp looks like an aftermarket item slapped on carelessly.
Some really outstanding stuff in this selection, Rog.
The Volvo is a delight, as is the Giulia in that unusual green. The one that really wins my vote though is the Humber. Huge, obviously high-end, yet completely unfamiliar to those of us of the Continental persuasion.
Ah ha now the second page loaded I see more Alfas that red Busso Spyder is the model my cousin has lots of engine very little car, his is blue, While in sunny Hawkes Bay where old cars last quite well I saw more Alfasuds than Datsun Stanzas, somebody obviously looked after that one,Big Pontiac contrasting the small Lotus next to it and a XJS there were a couple of daily driven V12s roaming Napier not that long ago but suddenly they are collector cars it had to happen though all the old bangers I once drove as end of life cars and threw away are now collectable.
Wonderful selection and very enjoyable comments…
Is it heretical to prefer the Pontiac to the Jag?
No
In this company the XJ-S seems like a rather pedestrian choice, but I just can’t resist them. I also prefer the coupe to the convertible, and somber colors over the more garish. One point I’d differ on would be the choice of motivation, as the 6 would be perfectly fine with me, and less notoriously cantankerous is a car already known for cantankerousness regardless of engine. A 3.6 powered example in classic British Racing Green over saddle would suit me just fine. We had a bright red convertible in the family, which I was absolutely smitten with, but it was really a bit too “Look At Me” for my more mature taste. It was the late 80’s though, so I suppose in its day it wasn’t entirely inappropriate.