Mercedes-Benz 190SL

This is certainly the longest break I’ve taken since the last post was published in early January this year. But as always, YOUR DREAM AUTO strives to bring you write-ups of rare cars in the flesh and keeping with that tradition, we have a 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL for you guys to digest today. 

This particular model was one of the early SLs beaten by only the 300SL by about a year or so. There are many out there who may get confused between the 300SL and the 190SL. The 190SL in simple words was actually the ‘poor man’s’ 300SL or maybe I should say ‘more affordable’ considering the price of the 190SL which was still expensive during those days and even now. There were about 25,000 units of the 190SLs built right from 1955 to 1963 and as expected based on it’s model designation, it came with a 1.9 litre, four-cylinder, single cam engine coupled with a four speed manual gearbox. They were all built as roadster models but there were some which came with a detachable hard-top.

This particular car today is a 1961 model of the 190SL. The owner has been patiently restoring it for the past three years of which most time was spent sourcing for certain parts in order to maintain it’s originality. As you can see from the pictures attached, this is one car which has certainly gone through a thorough restoration process with no expense spared right from the exterior, interior as well as it’s engine compartment and mechanicals. 

Like most classic Mercedes-Benz automobiles, the design and curves on them are certainly breathtaking. I too was mesmerised by it’s beauty in flesh. Just looking at those lines and feeling them gave me that nostalgic feeling of what these cars were and are till today. Well, do enjoy the pictures as well as the video of a similar car posted below. 

The video:

Ferrari F355 Spider

It’s been slightly more than a month now since the last write-up and it’s already the New Year. I would like to wish a Happy New Year 2016 to all YOUR DREAM AUTO followers and readers. One of the things that I hope to do is to have more articles this year compared to the last which was a year that was full of adventures and I must say it ended pretty well. To kick off this year, we have a reasonably rare Ferrari F355 Spider which has been gaining some momentum in it’s value and collectability recently. 

The Ferrari F355 was the predecessor to my favourite Ferrari of all time, the Ferrari 360. The Ferrari F355 was produced between 1994 and 1999 of which slightly more than 11,000 units were built. There were 3 different body styles available mainly the Berlinetta which was the hard top coupe, the targa top also known as the GTS and the Spider convertible. The particular model this write-up is about is the Spider Convertible where there were only less than 4,000 units built.

The F355 came with a 3.5 litre V8 engine. With the base of the engine derived from the earlier Ferrari 348, the F355 had a slight displacement increase and a new 5 valve per cylinder head. This car also came with high-end Connolly Leather for it’s interior (as you can see from the photos). As for the gearbox, there were 2 types available. Mostly were fitted with the 6 speed manual (this car has the 6 speed manual gearbox) and there were a few later models fitted with the F1 transmission which was also carried forward to the later Ferrari 360.

All in all, the F355 was a 90’s Ferrari which was curvy but still has it’s sharp ends which I love. Below are some shots of an F355 Spider that I came along sometime last year and I must say it was breathtaking. Though I must warn you, the F355 Spider like most Ferraris and super cars is certainly a tight squeeze to get into for ‘slightly’ larger people if you know what I mean. Well, sit back and enjoy the RED fiesta photos as well as a detailed video of a similar car attached below.

The video:

Jaguar E-Type Series I (updates)

After a long hiatus and finally having the time and mood to sit down and do another article, I will be somewhat reviewing a car which I’ve reviewed before, but this time she has gone through some changes. Over the period, I’ve managed to ‘rub shoulders’ and take some shots with a number of very nice cars which were in car shows as well as in personal collections. But after pending for so long, I’ve decided to do this article first.

This article is about none other than the Jaguar E-Type Series I as per the title suggests. This Jaguar E-Type Series I has been reviewed before somewhere last year and after that it was sent in by the owner for some major changes and the most obvious one being it’s new colour. I will not be posting too many photos of the whole car as I’ll be only concentrating on the updates and upgrades that were done on this car.

Bell exhaust

The first major change as mentioned earlier is the colour. It was changed from white to a bright red. Compared to it’s earlier colour, this red will certainly get your head turning even when you notice the car from afar and when coupled with it’s equally attractive red interior, the car is definitely a ‘red’ head turner if you know what I mean :) You’d be surprised at the details the paintjob was done in. As one would expect is that the engine bay would have been emptied to enable the spraying to be done but this was not the case. As the engine bay photos show, the paintjob done in the engine bay is excellent. 

The other notable change the car has had was its brand new Bell exhaust system all the way for the United Kingdom. As for the rest, I will just let your eyes feast on it’s latest colour and it’s detail. The owner is still planning for further upgrades in the near future and I would definitely keep you guys posted. Till my next write up, which I hope will be soon.

A must have shot :)

 

Jaguar XJL 2.0 Ti (X351)

 
What is probably the first write-up of a ‘new’ Jaguar here and certainly the most eye-catching new Jaguar at least to my eyes, is the Jaguar XJ. The Jaguar XJ (codenamed X351) is one of the first models to be rolled out by Jaguar since the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover by Tata Motors in 2008 (do check out an earlier write-up ‘The History of Jaguar’). Being a new model as well as being launched by the new owners, the XJ was certainly a car that had to impress its critics and its German competitors.

The new XJ came with a short wheel-base model as well as a long wheel-base model known as the XJL. The XJL, even in Malaysia is a more common sight when compared with its short wheel-base counterpart as it was launched before the shorter sibling. There are a number of engine variants available which include petrol as well as diesel. The smallest being the 2 litre petrol inline 4 turbo-charged up to the biggest which is the 5 litre V8 petrol super-charged. There were two transmission variants available which were the 6-speed automatic for the pre-2012 models and the 8-speed automatic for the post-2012 models.

The older XJ (left) and the newer XJ, more than 30 years apart

Design wise, it was the brainchild of renowned Jaguar designer Ian Callum. It was a totally new design away from all previous XJs with its curves and a swept-back rear. As the previous XJ, the new XJ also had a full aluminium body which kept the weight of the car low even though it was huge in size. The XJ also has an impressive interior which of course kept getting better with the higher specification models.

I personally was given an opportunity to feel this car thanks to a few good friends of mine. The model available to me was the 2014 XJL 2 litre petrol turbo-charged which featured the 8 speed automatic transmission. At first, I was a little sceptical about its power as though it was aluminium bodied, it was still a huge car with a relatively small 2 litre inline 4 engine in it. But after driving it and pushing it a little I had a different opinion almost immediately as it still possessed the roar in it being a Jaguar. All in it was a great car but I did miss one thing, which are its traditional gauges as this models comes with an LCD screen for its gauges. I’ve attached some pics below together with a video for you to have a closer look at it. 

The video