The Jaguar E-Type: One of the Most Beautiful Cars of All Time

The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars Ltd between 1961 and 1975. Its combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the model as an icon of the motoring world.

The E-Type’s claimed 150 mph (241 km/h) top speed, sub-7-second 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) acceleration, unitary construction, disc brakes, rack-and-pinion steering, and independent front and rear suspension distinguished the car and spurred industry-wide changes.

The E-Type was based on Jaguar’s D-Type racing car, which had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for three consecutive years beginning in 1955, and employed what was, for the early 1960s, a novel racing design principle, with a front subframe carrying the engine, front suspension and front bodywork bolted directly to the body tub.

It is rumored that, on its release on 15 March 1961, Enzo Ferrari called it “the most beautiful car ever made”, but this statement is not fully confirmed. In 2004, Sports Car International magazine placed the E-Type at number one on their list of Top Sports Cars of the 1960s. In March 2008, the Jaguar E-Type ranked first in The Daily Telegraph online list of the world’s “100 most beautiful cars” of all time.

Here is a set of beautiful photos of the Jaguar E-Type.

See more»

Amazing Photos of RMS Aquitania During Her Life

RMS Aquitania was a British ocean liner of the Cunard Line in service from 1914 to 1950. She was designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown & Company in Clydebank, Scotland. She was launched on 21 April 1913 and sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 30 May 1914.

RMS Aquitania

Aquitania was the third in Cunard Line’s grand trio of express liners, preceded by RMS Mauretania and RMS Lusitania, and was the last surviving four-funneled ocean liner. Shortly after Aquitania entered service, World War I broke out, during which she was first converted into an auxiliary cruiser before being used as a troop transport and a hospital ship, notably as part of the Dardanelles Campaign.

Returned to transatlantic passenger service in 1920, she served alongside the Mauretania and the Berengaria. Considered during this period of time as one of the most attractive ships, Aquitania earned the nickname “the Ship Beautiful” from her passengers. She continued in service after the merger of Cunard Line with White Star Line in 1934. The company planned to retire her and replace her with RMS Queen Elizabeth in 1940.

However, the outbreak of World War II allowed the ship to remain in service for ten more years. During the war and until 1947, she served as a troop transport. She was used in particular to take home Canadian soldiers from Europe. After the war, she transported migrants to Canada before the Board of Trade found her unfit for further commercial service.

Aquitania was retired from service in 1949 and was sold for scrapping the following year. Having served as a passenger ship for 36 years, Aquitania ended her career as the longest serving Cunard vessel, a record which stood for six years until overtaken by RMS Scythia’s service record of 37 years.

In 2004, Aquitania’s service record was pushed into third place when Queen Elizabeth 2 became the longest serving Cunard vessel.

A set of amazing photos from Kenneth Allyn Barton that shows beautiful images of RMS Aquitania during her life.

Aquitania at the Clydebank yards of John Brown. Built to maintain a weekly transatlantic schedule with Lusitania and Mauretania, the larger Aquitania was perhaps the most successful of all the great liners, 1913

The passenger liner Aquitania under construction by John Brown & Co Ltd. at Clydebank. A general view along the port side of the ship, 1913

901 feet long, 97 feet wide. Passenger capacity- 610 1st Class, 950 2nd, and 1,998 3rd. The 45,647 ton Aquitania at John Brown & Company shortly before her launch, circa 1913

Cunard's Aquitania on the stocks at John Brown & Company of Clydebank; the same Scottish yard that would later build the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Elizabeth 2, circa 1913

One of Aquitania's massive funnels is about to be hoisted onboard during the liner's fitting-out, circa 1913

See more»

Dick’s Auto Wrecking, 1942

Dick’s Auto Wrecking yard in Clarksburg, West Virginia in January 1942. Most of those cars seem to be from between mid 1920s to mid 1930s.

(Photo taken by John Vachon for the Office of War Information, via Shorpy)

Beautiful Photos of the Lincoln Continental Mark V

The Continental Mark V is a personal luxury coupe that was marketed by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company from the 1977 to 1979 model years in North America. The fourth generation Mark series, the Mark V was derived from its Continental Mark IV predecessor, bringing an extensive update to the interior and exterior design. While only sold for three years, the Mark V is the best-selling generation of the Mark series, with 228,262 examples produced.

At 230 inches long, the Mark V is the largest two-door coupe ever sold by Ford Motor Company, with the 233-inch long two-door and four-door Lincoln Continental sedans (produced alongside it) as the only longer vehicle ever marketed by Ford.

Distinguished by its sharp-edged exterior design, design themes of the Mark V would be adapted onto Lincoln vehicles throughout the 1980s. For 1980, the Mark V was replaced by the Continental Mark VI. As the Mark series underwent downsizing in the interest of fuel economy, the Mark VI saw significant reductions in exterior dimensions.

All Continental Mark Vs were assembled alongside the Lincoln Continental at the now-closed Wixom Assembly Plant in Wixom, Michigan.

Here below is a set of beautiful photos of the Lincoln Continental Mark V.

1977 Lincoln Continental

1977 Lincoln Continental Coupe

1977 Lincoln Continental Mark V Givenchy Edition

1977 Lincoln Continental Mark V interior

1977 Lincoln Continental Mark V

See more»

1939 Schlörwagen, the Concept Car That Never Made It

The Schlörwagen (nicknamed “Göttinger Egg” or “Pillbug”) was a prototype aerodynamic rear-engine passenger vehicle developed by Karl Schlör (1911–1997) and presented to the public at the 1939 Berlin Auto Show.

In a test drive with a production vehicle Mercedes 170H as a comparison, the Schlörwagen tested about 135 km/h (84 mph) top speed – 20 km/h (12 mph) faster than the Mercedes; and consumed 8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers – 20 and 40 percent less fuel than the reference vehicle. According to Karl Schlör, the vehicle could reach a speed of 146 km/h (90 mph).

A year later it was unveiled to the public at the 1939 Berlin Auto Show. Despite generating much publicity, it was perceived by the public as ugly. The project was shelved with the onset of World War II and mass production was never realized.

It never went into production, and the sole prototype has not survived.

See more»

Amazing Vintage Photos of London Buses Used to Take British Soldiers to the Western Front During World War I

When the First World War broke out, the era of the horse bus drew to a close. London’s largest bus operator, the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC), had replaced all its horse buses with motor buses in 1911 and 1912. A few other bus operators continued to use horses until August 1914.

These new vehicles, especially the B type bus, manufactured first by the LGOC and later by the Associated Equipment Company (AEC), were of interest to the War Department because of their reliability. They were built of interchangeable parts, which made roadside repairs much easier. In the first few months of the war, the War Department requisitioned approximately 1,000 London buses, over a third of the LGOC’s fleet.
 

Some of these vehicles were used for war service in Britain. Others were shipped from large commercial ports, such as Avonmouth, and travelled mainly to France and Belgium, although some went as far as Greece.

The versatility of these motor buses meant they were put to a variety of uses. Many were converted into lorries, with others serving as ambulances, mobile workshops or even mobile pigeon lofts.  

However, their most familiar use was as troop carriers, transporting troops between the camps and the front lines. The troop carriers had their windows replaced with wooden planks for safety. Each bus could carry 25 soldiers, which was fewer than the 34 passengers they carried in London. Numbers were halved on the top deck to prevent the bus becoming too top heavy on uneven roads. 

See more»

DAF-Domburg Diesel Bus With Slide Out Motor for Ease of Maintenance

1949 innovation where the motor can be “taken out” of the bus, literally, so it can be easily serviced, repaired, and even removed from the subframe altogether.

DAF Trucks is a Dutch truck manufacturing company and a division of Paccar. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven. Cabs and axle assemblies are produced at its Westerlo plant in Belgium. Some of the truck models sold with the DAF brand are designed and built by Leyland Trucks at its Leyland plant in England.

In 1928, Hubert “Hub” van Doorne founded the company as Commanditaire Vennootschap Hub van Doorne’s Machinefabriek. His co-founder and investor was A. H. Huenges, managing director of a brewery. In 1932, the company, by then run by Hub and his brother, Wim van Doorne, changed its name to Van Doorne’s Aanhangwagen Fabriek (Van Doorne’s Trailer Factory), abbreviated to DAF. Huenges left the company in 1936 and the DAF company was then completely in the hands of the van Doorne brothers.

After World War II luxury cars and trucks were very scarce. This meant a big opportunity for DAF. In 1949, the company started making trucks, trailers and buses, changing its name to Van Doorne’s Automobiel Fabriek (Van Doorne’s Automobile Factory). The first lorry model was the DAF A30.

Through the 1950s, DAF was a major supplier to the re-equipping of the Dutch Army’s softskin vehicles. In the end of 1954, Hub van Doorne had the idea to use belt drive, just like many of the machines in the factory that were belt-driven, to drive road vehicles. In 1955, DAF produced its first drafts of a car belt drive system. Over the next few years, the design was developed and refined.

Amazing Photos of the Third Generation of the Ford Thunderbird (1961-1963)

The third generation of the Ford Thunderbird is a personal luxury car produced by Ford for the 1961 to 1963 model years. It featured new and much sleeker styling (done by Bill Boyer) than the second generation models. Sales were strong, if not quite up to record-breaking 1960, at 73,051 including 10,516 convertibles.

A new, larger 390 cu in (6.4 L) FE-series V8 was the only engine available (in 1961). The Thunderbird was 1961's Indianapolis 500 pace car, and featured prominently in US President John F. Kennedy's inaugural parade, probably aided by the appointment of Ford executive Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense. It shared some styling cues with the much smaller European Ford Corsair.

It was replaced by the 4th generation Thunderbird for model year 1964. Here is a set of amazing photos of the third generation of the Ford Thunderbird (1961-1963).

See more»

Amazing Photos of the Porsche 356

On 8 June 1948, the first car to bear the Porsche name was road-certified: the Porsche 356/1 Roadster produced in Gmünd (in Carinthia, Austria).

The “Gmünd Roadster” was powered by a 1.1-liter air-cooled flat-four engine from Volkswagen. The engine’s power was increased to 35 hp for the 356. The roadster weighed just 585 kilograms and reached speeds of up to 135 km/h (83 mph).

The original 356 (also called “pre-A”) is easy to recognize from its two-piece windscreen divided by a center bar. This was replaced by a single-piece windscreen with a center bend as of model year 1952.

All 356 generations were also available in an open-top version (Cabriolet, Speedster or Roadster). The original price in 1948 for the 356 coupe was US$3,750. The 356 cabriolet cost US$4,250.

Here is a set of amazing photos of the Porsche 356.

See more»

A Gallery of 25 Amazing Vintage Photos of Ferraris in the 1970s

For many true aficionados, 1970s Ferraris represent a golden age for arguably the world’s most famous car marque. In the seven decades since Enzo Ferrari founded his company, they have produced some jaw-droppingly spectacular cars, but there’s something special about the sleek lines and the raw, analogue power of 1970s Ferrari models, a decade packed with outstanding motors.

Building on this outstanding heritage, the 1970s Ferrari models pushed the boundaries further, ushering in a new age of technological innovation, design inspiration and hardcore power. It wasn’t a simple task to shine however, they needed to compete with the bedroom poster Lamborghini Countach, the James Bond-driven Lotus Esprit Turbo and BMWs first attempt at a supercar, the M1. And they did.

Ferrari’s 1970s models were excruciatingly cool and paved the way for today’s sensational speed machines.

See more»

1977 Pontiac Phantom, the Last Car Designed by Bill Mitchell, One of the Automobile Industry’s Best Known Designers

The Pontiac Phantom (also called the General Motors Phantom and given the internal code name “Madame X”) is a concept car created by General Motors (GM) in 1977.

The Phantom was designed by Bill Mitchell and Bill Davis at Mitchell’s “Studio X”. Mitchell was an accomplished designer for GM who had designed the 1938 Cadillac Sixty Special, added tailfins to the 1948 Cadillacs, and designed both the 1963 and 1968 Chevrolet Corvettes. The Phantom was conceived by Mitchell as a retirement gift to himself and was also the last project for his Studio X, which had reopened to design the car. The lines of the Phantom are evocative of the late-1930s Cadillacs that Mitchell had designed earlier in his career.

The Phantom is a fastback two-seat coupe built on the chassis of a Pontiac Grand Prix. It only consists of a fiberglass shell and does not have a drivetrain, rendering it inoperable.

The car was considered a “personal expression” of Mitchell’s. He described the Phantom as “the kind of car I’d like to drive.” Mitchell elaborated that “with the energy crisis and other considerations, the glamour car would not be around for long. I wanted to leave a memory at General Motors of the kind of cars I love.” In the words of Jerry Hirshberg, who would later become head of design at Nissan, Mitchell “was fighting old battles and withdrawing increasingly from a world that was being redefined by consumerism, Naderism and an emerging consciousness of the environment.”

The Phantom project was initially supported by Pontiac, although they did not maintain support throughout development. Mitchell sent the car to the Milford Proving Grounds with the goal of impressing GM’s board of directors. However, when executive vice president of product planning and technical staffs Howard Kehrl saw the car, he ordered it to be removed from the proving grounds immediately.

After designing the Phantom, Mitchell retired in 1977, holding the position of director of the General Motors Styling Division at the time. The car is currently in the collection of the Sloan Museum in Flint, Michigan.

See more»