[kzg1969]

Originally Posted by Pond

I am so old that I was invited to the launch of the GPz900r in 1984 at my local Kwaka dealers. I was only 17! Never owned one, even now.

i was 15 and was working in Better Bikes in Kirkcaldy as a Saturday job when it was launched. I got a sweatshirt and pens. Also got the old posters from the launch. Of course they are all gone lost now.

600r, 750 turbo an 900r were game changers of their times.

[Ennoch]

I've been lucky enough to drive a lot of special cars but most aren't what you'd call rare in the strictest sense, just one off custom builds etc based on an otherwise readily available car (like a Cummins engined Disco 2). Probably the rarest would be either an ex-Solberg WRC S9 Impreza or ex-works 6R4, and both were absolutely special. Then there were the high powered GTR's or 911's (both too big to really enjoy), while the Manta 400 wasn't anything special power wise but was an absolute blast down the farm lanes I was let loose on with it. Older rare stuff like pre-war MG's and Triumphs meant too much to the owners to really enjoy properly and so I never really found them special, other than as cool old cars that I'm glad are still used. The rarest I've owned was a one of 35 Vectra ST200, but at the end of the day it was still a Vectra with a bunch of very nice bits bolted to it. It made me smile though. At the end of the day rarity doesn't mean much, it's either cool and fun, or it's not, and I'd rather drive something common and good than something rare just because it's rare. Back when I was a kid I'd have loved it if someone would have told me that one day I'd have driven Ferraris and Lambos along with a whole bunch of Astons, but beyond the 'I always wanted to drive one' bit, they really didn't do anything for me and were a massive anti-climax. Maybe it's different if you're cruising along the riviera in one with the top down but in northern Britain they're just too compromised to really enjoy, and I can't imagine that would be any different if I jumped in a rare one vs the cooking versions I have driven. Time and a place and all that though.

[martin10chk]

I am going to change the tone a little:

Moskvich 412. It was every bit as bad as its reputation. But was certainly rare even then 1980 as most of the few they did manage to sell had long since been scrapped.

[Pond]

Originally Posted by martin10chk

I am going to change the tone a little:

Moskvich 412. It was every bit as bad as its reputation. But was certainly rare even then 1980 as most of the few they did manage to sell had long since been scrapped.

My uncle had one of those in the mid '70s. Estate version. It was brown and ugly that's all I remember.

[Ennoch]

Originally Posted by martin10chk

I am going to change the tone a little:

Moskvich 412. It was every bit as bad as its reputation. But was certainly rare even then 1980 as most of the few they did manage to sell had long since been scrapped.

Now that's cool. I saw a Citroen BX the other day, that would be a cool one to drive at some point too. Cooler was that it was LHD and on French plates. Old cars with quirks and soul, and often the crappier the better, are just so enjoyable in that perverse sort of way because you actually need to learn how to get the best out of it (or even just to get it moving in the case of the really crappy stuff). Somehow my mate ended up with one of those 'new' Lada Nivas with the Merc engine, and I'm guessing that counts as quite rare (and crap) too. Awful ergonomics, not much space, terrible ride and gutless. But oh so wonderful for all of it. Sod owning one though

[Sennen]

Various Ferraris over the years, most were not that special imo but the 458 was something very special indeed.

Other end of the scale an Isetta Bubble car and a Lada Riva....... both surprisingly oozed charm unlike most of the boring sh1te on sale today.

[Alscoob]

Driven....& owned

Nsu Prinz 4L
Sunbeam Stiletto 998cc
Vauxhall Vectra ST200
Honda Integra DC2 Type R
JDM Subaru Impreza STi 2.0 litre Hawkeye.
VW Scirocco Scala MK2

Driven.....

Daff 33 Rally spec
Triumph TR4A
Nissan GTR
Porsche 911 turbo
Aston Vantage V8
Ferrari F488 GTB
TVR Tuscan 4.0 series 2

MK1 Ford escort RS1600 AVO shell, friend had one, always wanted to drive it but he wouldn't let anyone else behind the wheel,
Same as this but was black.... https://borderreivers.co/portfolio/f...rt-mk1-1600rs/
Very rare car

[kzg1969]

Originally Posted by Alscoob

Driven....& owned

MK1 Ford escort RS1600 AVO shell, friend had one, always wanted to drive it but he wouldn't let anyone else behind the wheel,
Same as this but was black.... https://borderreivers.co/portfolio/f...rt-mk1-1600rs/
Very rare car

you can tell its had a full shell rebuild - the panel gaps are even

[agentorange]

Owned a Vauxhall Droopsnoot Firenza for a while, 1 of 204.

I also owned a Vauxhall Magnum Coupe with the 2.3 slant-four motor. Thought nothing of it at the time when somebody commented that they were very rare compared with the Ford Capri. Wikipedia revealed that Vauxhall only made 525 of them, probably because the UK was in the grip of the mid-70s petrol crisis. A 2.3 was considered a big engine back then.

[Pond]

Originally Posted by agentorange

Owned a Vauxhall Droopsnoot Firenza for a while, 1 of 204.

I loved those as a kid. They were funky!

[Pond]

I also owned a Series 1 Escort RS turbo (the white ones). One of 8604 apparently.
Not as rare as the E92 B3 Alpina, though, that was one of 249 in the UK (not surprising as the sales invoice in 2008 for mine was over £47,000).

[Allworth]

Originally Posted by martin10chk

I am going to change the tone a little:

Moskvich 412. It was every bit as bad as its reputation. But was certainly rare even then 1980 as most of the few they did manage to sell had long since been scrapped.

The country I've driven it (ex-USSR) was as common as Fiestas in UK, although are very rare now.
There was a funny story about it, to cut it short and no go much off-topic - we've cut a roof on one, and during a drive through a big pothole it just folded in half due to lack of support. Overall good car with a very soft ride (leaf springs)

[Mrbeefifty8]

Mbz 190 SL
BMW Dakar e39 M5
MBZ 300 SEL 6.3

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by agentorange

Owned a Vauxhall Droopsnoot Firenza for a while, 1 of 204.

I also owned a Vauxhall Magnum Coupe with the 2.3 slant-four motor. Thought nothing of it at the time when somebody commented that they were very rare compared with the Ford Capri. Wikipedia revealed that Vauxhall only made 525 of them, probably because the UK was in the grip of the mid-70s petrol crisis. A 2.3 was considered a big engine back then.

Then they shoved it into the HSR Chevette and it became a rally legend. They also put it into the Firenza droop snoot all under the guidence of Bill Blydenstein Racing who built the cars for DTV. Was it in yours?

Some years back I had a Vauxhall Astra GTE 1.8 and while not a rare car so didn't add it to my list, it was serviced and tuned by Bill Blydenstein when his workshop was at Shepreth, Herts. It was a seriously quick car would leave the 16V 2.0 litres standing (when the fronts stopped spinning that was ) great little hatch and a privilage to have the Vauxhall master tinker with it.

[XAlp]

Originally Posted by Alscoob

Some years back I had a Vauxhall Astra GTE 1.8 and while not a rare car so didn't add it to my list, it was serviced and tuned by Bill Blydenstein when his workshop was at Shepreth, Herts.

Oh I didn’t know that, and I lived in Shepreth for the last 20-odd years! I’m guessing it was the railway siding building - that’s now a classic car restoration garage.
Loved those Chevettes. My cousin had an unusual model called a Blackwatch - just cosmetic stuff on a cooking version I think. Funnily enough he changed it for an Astra GTE1.8

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by XAlp

Oh I didn’t know that, and I lived in Shepreth for the last 20-odd years! I’m guessing it was the railway siding building - that’s now a classic car restoration garage.
Loved those Chevettes. My cousin had an unusual model called a Blackwatch - just cosmetic stuff on a cooking version I think. Funnily enough he changed it for an Astra GTE1.8

Correct it was towards the end of the railway sidings as you drove in.

Small world, I lived in Royston until 2018, still do plenty of work around the area.

Can't beat a good GTE

[Pobsey]

Drove a friends 997.2 GT3 RS (also took his 996 Turbo) across Germany to Stuttgart to visit the Porsche museum- an awesome Weekend was had and some silly speeds reached 😂

[agentorange]

Originally Posted by Alscoob

Then they shoved it into the HSR Chevette and it became a rally legend. They also put it into the Firenza droop snoot all under the guidence of Bill Blydenstein Racing who built the cars for DTV. Was it in yours?

Some years back I had a Vauxhall Astra GTE 1.8 and while not a rare car so didn't add it to my list, it was serviced and tuned by Bill Blydenstein when his workshop was at Shepreth, Herts. It was a seriously quick car would leave the 16V 2.0 litres standing (when the fronts stopped spinning that was ) great little hatch and a privilage to have the Vauxhall master tinker with it.

The Droopsnoot had the same 8-valve motor as my Magnum but with a different cam and a 4-2-1 exhaust manifold. The Chevette HSR had a 16-valve version of the 2.3. In fact, two different 16-valve engines were built, one with Lotus heads, that the sporting regs people decided was not properly homologated, and then a Vauxhall version.

Re Bill Blydenstein, you reminded me that I test drove a Viva 2300 estate that had one of his 2.6 stroker engines in it. The low down torque was ridiculous. The only reason I didn't buy it was because at the time Vivas with big engines were insurance Group 6 (out of 7, that dates me) and the Magnums were rated Group 4. Never understood that.

IIRC Bill also did some 2.4 variants of the Opel cam in head engine. They were pretty awesome in a good handling car like the RWD Cavalier or the sexy Opel Manta.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by agentorange

The Droopsnoot had the same 8-valve motor as my Magnum but with a different cam and a 4-2-1 exhaust manifold. The Chevette HSR had a 16-valve version of the 2.3. In fact, two different 16-valve engines were built, one with Lotus heads, that the sporting regs people decided was not properly homologated, and then a Vauxhall version.

Re Bill Blydenstein, you reminded me that I test drove a Viva 2300 estate that had one of his 2.6 stroker engines in it. The low down torque was ridiculous. The only reason I didn't buy it was because at the time Vivas with big engines were insurance Group 6 (out of 7, that dates me) and the Magnums were rated Group 4. Never understood that.

IIRC Bill also did some 2.4 variants of the Opel cam in head engine. They were pretty awesome in a good handling car like the RWD Cavalier or the sexy Opel Manta.

ah, that reminds me of my teens. My brother started work at a Vauxhall dealers in 1979 and I would be at the dealers quite often - the Chevette HS had always been a favourite and I could vaguely remember the firenza droop snoot... but the 2.4 CIH engine by blydenstein in a Manta was my dream - or an Ascona 400. The nearest I got was a 1.6GL Cavalier of the same vintage as my first car...

[Alscoob]

Originally Posted by agentorange

The Droopsnoot had the same 8-valve motor as my Magnum but with a different cam and a 4-2-1 exhaust manifold. The Chevette HSR had a 16-valve version of the 2.3. In fact, two different 16-valve engines were built, one with Lotus heads, that the sporting regs people decided was not properly homologated, and then a Vauxhall version.

Re Bill Blydenstein, you reminded me that I test drove a Viva 2300 estate that had one of his 2.6 stroker engines in it. The low down torque was ridiculous. The only reason I didn't buy it was because at the time Vivas with big engines were insurance Group 6 (out of 7, that dates me) and the Magnums were rated Group 4. Never understood that.

IIRC Bill also did some 2.4 variants of the Opel cam in head engine. They were pretty awesome in a good handling car like the RWD Cavalier or the sexy Opel Manta.

Ha! the days when you didn't need a computer degree to to make cars go faster and you could see most of the engine components.. don't you just miss that, life seemed simple. For a little tune ..add a 4 branch exhaust manifold, different cam & rejet the carbs...woosh...

[Abzynthe]

I’m not sure what the rarest car I’ve driven or had is. But there were only 250 Peugeot RCZ R in the UK and I had one of them.

[agentorange]

Originally Posted by Abzynthe

I’m not sure what the rarest car I’ve driven or had is. But there were only 250 Peugeot RCZ R in the UK and I had one of them.

Not familiar with that one. Peugeot build an Audi TT?