90s Nostalgia at its Peak: 1998-2005 Shelby Series 1

Pretty much anyone who knows anything about cars has heard the Shelby name before.  Ever since Carroll Shelby joined up with Ford and AC to make the AC/Shelby Cobra, one of the greatest, maybe the greatest, American car of all time, his name has been treated with immense respect, and for good reason.  From the very start, Carroll was a car expert.  But even after having a hand building so many awesome cars, like the Shelby Cobra, Ford GT40, Shelby GT500, Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, and even more obscure cars, such as the Dodge Omni GLH-S by Shelby, he wanted to do more.  So, in 1998, he surprised the world by unveiling the Shelby Series 1 supercar.
         It was, and still is, the only car Shelby ever designed and built all by itself from the ground up.  It had a really, really strong and light chassis, due to an all-aluminum construction, a strength of 52 hertz in fact, to be exact.  It was equipped with cabin niceties such as an AM/FM/CD player, air conditioning, and power windows.  For all this though, it used a V8 engine from the humble Oldsmobile Aurora.    In the base specification, it was naturally aspirated and produced 320hp and 290 lb-ft of torque, resulting in a 0-60mph time of just 4.4 seconds, and a quarter-mile time of 12.8 seconds @ 112mph.  This was accomplished in part thanks to a low weight of 2,650lbs.  Top speed was capped at a respectable 170mph. The top-of-the-line spec is even more impressive, even by modern supercar standards.  The sprint from 0-60 is accomplished in just 3.2 seconds, due to excessive amounts of power, specifically 600hp and 530 lb-ft of torque.  It had its problems though, just like any car.
        First of all, Shelby promised 500 units to be made, but in the end, just around 250 units were manufactured, from 1998-2005.  This caused many customers and dealerships alike to be rather unhappy, causing Shelby to loose potential customers.  Then there were also a lot of lawsuits and hard feelings against it, at least according to what I can find.  And there was Series II planned, which was going to be an updated and more powerful version of the Series 1, but never made it beyond the prototype stage.  So, yeah, it had its share of troubles, just like all of us.
       But if you stop looking at details, and look at the car as a whole, you see that it was a brilliant supercar, and a future classic, just like everything else Carroll Shelby ever had a hand in.  Yes, even the Dodge Omni.  More on that later.  But yes, the Series 1 was, and still is, a great supercar, no matter what those hate-commenters on the web will tell you.  And so I say: Long live the Shelby Series 1!

Most interesting/cool spoilers ever

1.  Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro

2.  Bugatti Divo

3.  Dodge Charger Daytona

4.  Dodge Viper ACR

5.  Ferrari F40

6.  Ferrari F50

7.  Ferrari FXX-K Evo

8.  Ford Cosworth Sierra

9.  Honda Civic Type R Limited Edition

10.  Koenigsegg Jesko

11.  Koenigsegg Regera

12.  Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

13.  Lamborghini SC18 Alston

14.  Lamborghini Veneno

15.  McLaren P1

16.  McLaren Senna

17.  Nissan GT-R50 Italdesign

And now, for the king of spoilers, Pagani!

18.  Pagani Huayra (two variations)

19.  Pagani Zonda (two variations)

20.  Porsche 718 Cayman GT4

21.  Porsche 911 GT2 RS

22.  Porsche 930 Turbo

23.  Subaru Impreza 22B STi

24.  Zenvo TSR-S

So, there you have it!  The best spoilers in the world of cars in my opinion.  If I missed any, please tell me in the comments!

Automotive History -- Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot

Has anyone ever told you that the Benz Motorwagen was the first car?  Well, if they did, they are very wrong.  There were, in fact, many cars before the Benz Motorwagen, but the car I am about to tell you about was the very first.  I am, of course, talking about the Cugnot Steamer.
          In 1965, Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot conceived the idea of a self-propelled land vehicle.  He worked on his idea for four years, and, in 1769, finally showed it to the public.  He claimed that it could carry up to four tons, and travel at a top speed of 4.8mph, but, at least in practice, in only ever got up to the speed of 2.25mph. It could seat four people, but could only go short distances before needing to have the boiler refilled, and the entire thing restarted.  Thus, it had a very short range, and bad reliability.  The boiler was bad quality, even for its time.  It also had bad stability, due to the fact that it only had three wheels.
          The Cugnot Steamer is most famously known, however, for being involved in the first car crash.  In 1771, it was reported that Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot drove his Steamer into a wall in France, breaking right through it, and then was arrested for dangerous driving.
            So there you have it.  The first car in the Automotive History series, and one that should be remembered.

CYNHO -- Salica GT

There are at least hundreds, if not thousands, of small, obscure companies that make fun, sporty cars for relatively cheap, and this company, called Salica, is no exception.  This car was unveiled back in 2008, based on a Noble M12, and using the same engine, a Ford Duratec V6.  Thanks to two turbochargers fitted to the engine, in made anywhere from 400hp (in the base version) to 550hp (the GTC version).  It would have done 0-60 in 3.2 seconds, making it one of the highest-performing V6-powered cars of the time, and the top speed was an estimated 190mph.  Weight would have been 2,255 pounds.  The GTC version, essentially a track version of the normal GT (funny, because it was actually 45 pounds heavier than the standard version), was also proposed in 2008, but didn't make it beyond the prototype stage.  Speaking of which, neither did the standard GT.  So, unless one of the two prototypes pops up for sale on eBay, then no, you can't buy one.  Sorry.

Cool Car Award -- Pontiac Tojan

What? You say.  Pontiac Tojan?  Never heard of that.  Well, neither had I until about a year ago, and I just had to share it with you guys.  So, here we go.
          During the late 1980's and early 1990's, Ferrari was the leader in supercars.  Think Testarossa, 308, or F40, and you get the picture.  No one except Lamborghini and Vector came even close to dethroning Ferrari.  Well, that's not quite true.  There was the Pontiac Tojan.
          The Tojan was an experimental car made by Pontiac from 1985 to 1991, and it was pretty cool.  It had a supercharged 5.7L V8 engine with 800hp, and a top speed of 206mph.  As far as we know, anywhere from 150 to 300 of these cars were built.  One was even featured in the movie Collision Course with Jay Leno and Pat Morita.  That car later sold for just $16,500.

Interesting features of the Pontiac Tojan

1.  The prototype car had a supercharged boat engine with 900hp.
2.   The most expensive Tojan ever sold was the Collision Course movie car, which sold for $65,000 in 1986, equivalent to $150,000 now.
3.  When Carfection did a video featuring the prototype a while back, they said that the suspension was too soft, and the steering was too vague.  Too bad Pontiac couldn't fix that before they put the Tojan into production.

 

CYNHO -- 1969 Abarth 2000 Scorpione Concept

The 1970s were a time of low fuel mileage and high fuel costs, but some of the best concept cars were made then.  However, the car I am featuring today is not from the '70s.  It was made in 1969 but with that distinct wedge shape that is found only in '70s concept cars like the famed Alfa Romeo Carabo.  So, a little more about the Abarth 2000 Scorpione.
          It had a very unique design, though, unlike anything else.  From the trumpet-like exhaust pipe to the thin teardrop-shaped headlight scoops to the row of flip-up headlights in the very front, you can tell this thing means business.
          It is powered by an upgraded Fiat four-cylinder engine, producing a respectable 220hp, which, along with the car's dry weight of just 1,477 pounds, would result in some serious performance.  The car has a theoretical top speed of 175mph.  Only one prototype was made, which currently resides in the Abarth Gallery near Yamanaka Lake in Japan.