Classic Ford Mustang

A little away from our usual British and German automobile write-ups, today we are a looking at probably the most iconic American sports car to come out, the Ford Mustang. Trust me, even if you were to ask a kid, chances are he/she knows a Ford Mustang. It’s been the dream of many around the world to own the Ford Mustang. The Mustangs have been attracting attention right from the start of it’s production which was in 1964. There were five generations of the Ford Mustang from 1964 up to the present time and the sixth generation is due to be launched next year but the most iconic generation was definitely the first generation. The Mustang models came in hard-top coupes (below), fastbacks (above) and convertibles (below).

Hard-top Coupe

Convertible

The launch of the Ford Mustang created a generation where other American automobile manufacturers such as Chevrolet and Pontiac too started building cars of similar level of which they were eventually known as ‘American Muscle Cars’ or just simply ‘Muscle Cars’. Chevrolet created the Camaro and Pontiac on the other hand created their Firebird and later the Trans Am. All these cars were FR cars, meaning front engine rear wheel drive. I’m going to be emphasising more on the first generation cars as they were my favourite and I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Eleanor

Of all the years, the most notable model was the ’67 Mustang. It shot to fame in the movie ‘Gone is 60 seconds’ which starred Nicholas Cage and the car was nicknamed ‘Eleanor’(pic above). The particular model used was a Shelby model known as the Shelby GT500. Here in Malaysia there are actually quite a number of Mustangs that have been brought in. I’ve personally got close to a Shelby GT 500 ‘Super Snake’ which was just brought in to Malaysia. It was certainly a sight to see the car in person of which I also got the opportunity to sit in it. The pics below are of a ’67 Mustang fastback with a Cobra engine. And the best part is, it’s for sale. Do contact me on the ‘Contact Us’ page... So that’s all from me for today as I’m having a slight cold so obviously concentration is a problem. Haha.. Anyway, enjoy the pics and the video below.

Here I leave you with an ‘Eleanor’ excerpt from ‘Gone in 60 seconds’

Fiat Coupe

Well, here’s another Italian automobile that I’ll be writing about, the Fiat Coupe. Recently I posted an update about a Fiat Coupe for sale and I decided why not write about this car which I was not very impressed with at first. It was produced by Fiat from 1993 to 2000 and there were about 70,000 units built. Being a unique car with it’s angular designs which one would not mistake even when seen from a distance, it’s exterior design was surprisingly not by Pininfarina. This time they were only confined to design the interior of the car.

Looking at the shape itself will somewhat tell you that this car is a fast car. There were a few engine variations available. There were three 4 cylinder engine variants available of which they were the 1.8 litre 16 valve, 2.0 litre 16 valve and the 2.0 litre 16 valve Turbo. There were two 5 cylinder engines available which were the 2.0 litre 20 valve and the 2.0 litre 20 valve Turbo.

The turbo versions came with a limited-slip differential (LSD). I’ve personally driven the 2.0 litre 20 valve Turbo and I must say it was pretty impressive. This very original car came with a 6 speed manual gearbox and being a very well maintained car it felt great. It also came with push start button to start the car. The 20 valve Turbo as it is popularly known has an impressive figure of 220 bhp and it does 0-100 km/h in 6.3 seconds which is not bad for a 2.0 litre car. 

After all that, I must say that I’m hooked onto the 6 speed manual as most people who know me would certainly be surprised knowing that I’m more of an automatic cruiser, if you know what I mean.. haha.. If you are looking for one, do not hesitate to look up our ‘Cars for sale’ page to check this car out. The car has been maintained by a car enthusiast and is also in very original condition, trust me on that. You’ll probably not find one as original and well taken care off as that.

Ferrari 360

It’s finally time for me to write about my favourite Ferrari of all time. For those of you who have been following my previous write-ups such as ‘Ferrari 308’ you would have guessed it right, it’s none other than the Ferrari 360. The Ferrari 360 was the successor to the Ferrari F355 and had a production run from 1999 up to 2005 and there were around 17,000 units built in it’s various specifications. 

Two of the common models produced were the 360 Modena which was a hardtop coupe and then there was the 360 Spider which was a convertible. All models were two-seater models. As to most of the Ferrari’s ever built, the Ferrari 360 was a rear mid-engined car. It was powered by a 3.6 litre V8 engine which generated up to 400 bhp. It came with two transmission variants of which one was the 6 speed manual and the other was the F1 electro-hydraulic manual which gives the driver the F1 feel.

Towards the end of the Ferrari 360 production, there was a limited edition model built which was called the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. There were slightly more than 1,000 units built and this was a car built with track usage in mind of which many of the interior luxury was stripped off as well as lightening exterior parts such as bumpers, etc ,etc.. Even the brakes used were Brembo carbon ceramic brakes. With all this lightening, the weight of the car was reduced by more than 100kgs. It is definitely not a Ferrari for you if you are looking for all that luxury refinements.

I’ve personally not got too close to a Ferrari 360 before. Earlier, all I could afford was just admiring it from far and also just walking past it without being able to actually feel the car. Haha.. I actually dream to have one by time I hit 40, I’m sure most of you guys would know what I mean. Well, just recently someone known to me actually gave me the chance to feel the car and as a bonus, it happened to be the limited edition Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. I was actually getting more that I had ever dreamed off. It was a dream come true for me, though I didn’t have the chance to feel the car on the road or go for a drive or even hear the Challenge Stradale roar as the owner was not around but there was that satisfaction inside me. The photos in this write-up are of the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale. So sit back and enjoy.

As for the sound of the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, here’s a video of it’s roar.