Depending on who you talk to, Chrysler’s Pacer concept of the late 1960s was either A: A catch-up reaction to the success of competitors like Monaros and Falcon GTs, or; B: So far ahead of the curve that it wouldn’t be until the Falcon XR6 almost a quarter century later that a full-sized, six-cylinder performance car would match the Pacer’s intent and marketing direction. Or get anywhere near the Mopar’s cool factor.
But whichever way you cut the deck, when the Pacer we’re discussing is a genuine, numbersmatching Bathurst homologation special (in this case, an E31) even if it never won Bathurst, that distinction puts this car up there in the pantheon of Aussie homologation specials. Yep, as far as we’re concerned right up there with the likes of GT-HO Falcons, XU-1 Toranas and S4 EH Holdens.
Don’t get us wrong, all GTs, EHs and Torries are cooler than a well-digger’s backside. But when they appear before us, bearing the option codes and equipment that stamps them as one of the 200 cars demanded by CAMS to bring those options to racetracks in Australia in the '60s and '70s, then we come to the overall opinion that we’re-not-worthy.
But let’s backtrack a little first. While Holden and Ford were making the '60s special by cranking out local hotties with V8 engine options and all sorts of stripes and lairy wheel-trims, Chrysler found itself standing at the edge of the dance floor, looking at its shoes. Its answer to all of this (and this is where the catch-up strategy theory emerges) was to grab a four-door VF Valiant, spice up the 225 slant-six a little and whack on some 100 mile-an-hour stripes.
Bu hikaye Unique Cars dergisinin Issue 483 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Unique Cars dergisinin Issue 483 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Richard Barker 1988 MAZDA 626 TURBO
I acquired my 1988 GD Mazda 626 Turbo hatchback via an advert I saw on Gumtree. negotiated a sale price with the owner over the phone and transferred a deposit, sight unseen!
2005 VAUXHALL MONARO VXR500
BRASH, BLOWN AND BACK ON HOME SOIL, LINDA AND CHRIS DEUTER'S VAUXHALL MONARO VXR500 IS LUTON IN LABEL ONLY
THE NUMBERS GAME!
IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH IT'S A BIT LIKE A TATTSLOTTO DRAW IN ROB'S MIND, WITH ALL THOSE NUMBERS WHIZZING AROUND
GALLIC STAR
FROM BEING A ROPEY RUNNER, TO A WRITE OFF, TO A SHOW WINNER THIS CITROEN HAS HAD A DRAMATIC LIFE -
GADGET GRIPE
TECHNOLOGY CAN HAVE ITS ADVANTAGES IN THIS MODERN WORLD, AS LONG A ITS IN THE RIGHT HANDS
Fantastic FIXED HEAD
THE XK 120 WAS CREATED TO SHOWCASE ITS DOHC INLINE SIX-CYLINDER ENGINE THAT REMAINED IN SERVICE OVER FOUR DECADES
TRIPLE TREAT
Can anyone ever forget the 'man on a mission, Kowalski, in the original classic-car chase movie Vanishing Point as he fled the law in his pearl-white '70 R/T Dodge Challenger, leaving a trail of carnage, wounded cop egos and sadly, in the movie's final scene, an explosive fireball of Mopar car parts (or were they?).
MODERN CLASSICS - M 1000 R
BMW'S M-BRANDED NAKED BIKE SETS A NEW BENCHMARK FOR THE CLASS
MAZDA RX 1970-78
LOOKING MORE like something out of a washing machine, Mazda’s twinchamber rotary power unit, was an engine with performance to dwarf its compact size.
MAINTENANCE & PATIENCE
MAINTAINING OLD CLASSICS IS BOTH PAINSTAKING AND REWARDING. WILL ANYONE BOTHER WITH MORE MODERN MACHINERY?