Bugatti Royale prototype replicated; Back to the Future Toyota pickup restored

Four-Links - Royale replica, Airstream debacle, Frist show, Mid-Ohio races

Posted by Daniel Strohl - As it turns out, when Ettore Bugatti went to build the Royale, he bodied the prototype with a Packard touring car body. That prototype no longer survives in that configuration, so - as The Old Motor wrote this week - Hevec Classic Cars in the Netherlands decided to build a replica of the Royale prototype, which it recently completed. * Airstreams have a timeless look with those rivets and polished aluminum panels, but that doesn't mean they stand up to the passage of time all that well, as Gary Smith found ou... Read More

Hemmings Find of the Day - 1968 Oldsmobile 4-4-2 convertible

Posted by Mike McNessor - Oldsmobile's 4-4-2 became a separate model on the all-new '68 edition, rather than an option on the Cutlass. The base Sports Coupe carried a starting MSRP of $3,063, the hardtop Holiday Coupe started at $3,127 and the convertible would set you back $3,341. For their money, 1968 4-4-2 buyers were treated to a standard 350hp 400-cu.in. V-8 with a four-barrel carburetor, three-speed manual on the floor, dual exhaust, Morocceen-tailored bucket seats, front and rear anti-roll bars, boxed rear lower control arms and, o...Read More

Hemmings Sunday Cinema - BTTF Toyota, The Banger Boys, Mark il poliziotto

Posted by Daniel Strohl - For most people, the most iconic vehicle from the Back to the Future films is the DeLorean. Fair enough. For one guy in Massachusetts, it was always the Toyota pickup, and 30-plus years later, he owns that very pickup, as we see in this Aficionauto video (via) * "The Banger Boys" is a 1976 documentary that took a look at the British pastime of selecting clunkers from the junkyard, getting them just driveable enough for the track, and then weekend racing them. (via) * Finally, while last week's inseguimento fea...Read More

Hemmings Find of the Day - 1973 Plymouth Satellite Police Pursuit Package

Posted by Kurt Ernst - In the early 1970s, Chrysler had a significant share of the law enforcement market, thanks to offerings like the Plymouth Fury, the Dodge Polara, the Dodge Cornet and the Plymouth Belvedere/Satellite. While preserved or restored examples aren't exactly rare, they are uncommon, as the ravages of police work (and later, livery duty) took a toll on cars that were never viewed as collectible. Rarer still are police cars belonging to other state agencies, like this 1973 Plymouth Satellite Police Pursuit Package sedan, ...Read More

LAST WEEK'S MOST READ

Period pavement-pounder - 409 powered Bubble Top Bel Air breaks into the top-10 in Portland

Posted by Kurt Ernst - 1962 Chevrolet "Bubble Top" Bel Air. Photos courtesy Mecum Auctions. In 1962, full-size Chevrolet shoppers could order a 409-cu.in V-8 in a variety of Biscayne, Bel Air and Impala models, with a factory-rated output of up to 425 409 horsepower. Drag racers with ties to Chevrolet were producing considerably more horsepower than that, thanks to special parts not available to the general public. Today, many of these once-unobtanium parts can be sourced, so if building a period-correct hot rod, why not go with the tr...Read More

LAST WEEK'S BEST DISCUSSION

After 25 years, Dodge pulls the plug (a second time) on the Viper

Posted by Kurt Ernst - 1998 Dodge Viper GTS-R coupe. Photos courtesy FCA. It began as a design exercise by Chrysler's Advance Design Studios in 1988, and would have ended there if not for Bob Lutz's crazy idea to build a Shelby Cobra for the modern age. Put into production for the 1992 model year, the Dodge (and later SRT) Viper soldiered on, gaining a coupe and adding horsepower, until its first execution in July of 2010. Reborn for the 2013 model year, the much-improved Viper failed to charm consumers, and a quarter-century after its...Read More