Wunderlich F 800 GS "Jacare"

The Brazilian “Jacaré anão”, known in English as "Cuvier’s dwarf caiman", is a light, long-legged representative of the caiman species with a nasty bite. 

Just as eager to go on the offensive and just as aggressive is our concept bike, which offers way more possibilities than the somewhat meek F 800 GS. Lightweight, sporty and extremely agile, it is intended to uphold the ideals of the R 80 G/S while showing just what is possible. We tailored this special GS to the personal requirements of no less a personality than our own “works rider” and four-time German champion Dirk Thelen. 

When in 2008 we hit on the idea of conjuring up a competitive motorbike out of the meek and mild F 800 GS we had no idea of the huge outlay of time and expense that was waiting for us. 

What has emerged is a completely reworked motorbike which is sensationally light and, thanks to the many innovations and classy materials, boasts sensational ride characteristics. 

Big fat weight savings of 30 kg and a significantly lighter front end render possible a whole new set of riding manoeuvres – both on- and off-road.
The Jacaré‘s smooth tank and side fairings allow for maximum freedom of movement off-road and will survive a spill, which is not something you can say of the opulent yet vulnerable plastic ornamentation that graces the original. 

The powerful Hella headlights in ellipsoid (low-beam) and Xenon (full-beam) construction provide excellent illumination. 

The aggressive front mask, drawn right through to the tail, is a real eye-catcher – at first glance the tail doesn't appear to include a rear light. This is built into the little Kellermann indicators, as is the brake light. 

n order to bring about a slim tail the Wunderlich technicians have banished the tank filler plug under the seat, which is now removed in a matter of seconds using a rip cord. 

The low weight and envisaged area of use mean that the toughened glass stopper is now adequate for all purposes. The ABS, completely incompatible with sports use, has been ditched, and a Wunderlich front wheel hub machined out of solid metal also shows solid quality in detail - "Made in Germany". 

The Performance Controller, tuned by Wunderlich, guarantees a dynamic response across the entire RPM range and instantaneous revving. 

Ideal foils to this are the perfectly tuned Öhlins shock element and outstandingly tuned forks, and sure grip is provided by the Conti TKC-80 tyres. For off-road use the bike is shod with new Conti “Intermediate” off-road sports tyres. 

As the “Jacaré” was developed from the very first draft as a prototype, Wunderlich developed a clearly defined and comfortable ERGO seat and gave the top yoke construction, machined out of solid metal, an adjustable handlebar clamp. The many high-quality components, such as the adjustable, roller-bearing-mounted and retractable gear lever, the light footrests machined out of solid aluminium and the patented "VarioLever" hand levers, all serve to make looking at the “Jacaré” a fascinating voyage of discovery.

So all that’s left to say is: “may you never be lacking in bite”.

Components of our concept:

• Tank/tail fairing (glass-fibre reinforced plastic/Kevlar hybrid)
• PerformanceController
• “TriQ” top yoke set
• Front mask with XENON headlights
• Lightweight tail conversion
• “Extreme” engine protector
• “ERGO Sport" seat
• Kellermann indicators with built-in brake/rear light (rear))
• Sport exhaust system
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Renault 4 - 4X4 Concept HQ

Renault 4 Concept - Four-wheel Drive Version.
For more information visit www.davidobendorfer.com

Is now the time to buy a De Tomaso Pantera?

Bonhams will auction this Gulf-liveried Pantera with an estimate of £45,000 - 55,000. Here at Classic Driver, we believe the dual-nationality Seventies supercar represents particularly good value even at this upper-end valuation, so we set about investigating further…

“It’s a formula which was used in the AC Cobra in the 60s, and became increasingly popular during the 70s: European coachwork with US muscle,” says Tim Schofield of Bonhams. The British auction house will auction this Gulf-liveried Pantera (painted by the previous owner to match his GT40) later today, but it has already had recent success with its predecessor, selling a Mangusta for a world-record £203,100 a few weeks ago. “Mangustas were produced in the hundreds, whereas production of the Pantera spanned a 20-year period,” Tim says. With over 7,000 built, the Pantera sits within a significantly lower price bracket. He continues: “It’s ticking a number of boxes for people who’d like to own one of the earlier supercars.”

Many will be familiar with the complaints regarding the Pantera’s build quality, but that shouldn’t prevent the purchase of the car as a classic. “By now, many of these cars will have gone through the restoration process, and problems which they might have had when new will have been ironed out by now, if the work has been undertaken by the right specialist,” says Tim. “Let’s not forget: it was the early Seventies, it was in Italy, and whether it was a Fiat or Ferrari, we all know about the issues with the metals used during that period.”

A future fancy?

Tim wouldn’t be drawn into speculating about future values, although Frank Jacob - MD of Springbok Sportwagen in Hamburg - offered his opinion: “Of course, it depends on the overall development of the market. But should this remain stable, the prices for good examples will continue to rise, I'm sure. The Pantera provides driving pleasure at a relatively affordable price. Also, the repair costs are manageable due to the well-established American drivetrain, and the resulting availability of parts. You can perhaps imagine how much more expensive it is to maintain a Ferrari engine.

"Two years ago, I offered a Mangusta at the Techno Classica for 160,000 euros - and I was laughed at,” says Jacob. “But I sold it, and more recently Bonhams auctioned a Mangusta in original condition for nearly 250,000 euros. Personally, I would prefer the Mangusta to a Ferrari Daytona. In terms of the Pantera, I find the early European-spec cars particularly interesting, with a good example costing around 80,000 euros.”

At the races

It’s worth remembering that the Pantera also has competition history, too. Jan B. Lühn - who previously worked for Christie's auction house - now specialises in such racing cars, and has a Group 4 Pantera in stock. He explains: “The Group 4 Panteras are currently undervalued in my view, as you can participate in such events as the Le Mans Classic with these cars. For a comparable Porsche (a 911 3.0 RSR), you pay almost a million euros, while a Ferrari 512 BB LM will set you back around 1.5 million euros - even a BMW M1 Procar will cost roughly double what a racing Pantera does. What’s more, you can buy a brand-new racing engine practically out of the box for around 35,000 dollars; I dread to think what the equivalent Porsche engine would cost. The Pantera is one of the few cars which allow entry into historic motorsport events and cost 120,000 euros or less.”

Considering the above, it’s easy to understand the desirability of a Pantera in road or racing format - in fact, some would say they’re even more appealing today than they were in period. We leave it for you to decide whether now is the time to buy one, but we can’t help thinking that if the Pantera sells within estimate later today, the buyer should be very pleased with himself. Very pleased indeed.

Photos: Bonhams

Several De Tomaso Panteras can be found in the Classic Driver Market.

Want to sell your Pantera - or any other classic for that matter? Register to create a listing here.

Christian’s ExesoR

You may have seen this beautiful CB250 already but we had to have her on The Bike Shed, and besides, we have a few extra ‘unseen’ photos of the bike, and of course our unique Bike Shed angle on the build  – and the bike is pretty special, especially for a Shed build.

The man behind all the hard labour is Austrian engineer, Christian, who has never worked on motorcycles professionally, but his skills have clearly have clearly been applied to this remarkable bike which is laden with exotic materials, one-off bespoke items and clever engineering solutions.

Having rehearsed his bike-building skills on streetfighters Christian’s attention eventually turned to the cafe racer scene. He started out with a CB400 which was modified to run at Classic bike races, and then along came this 1976 CB250. It was an Ebay find in terrible condition, but at least it was cheap at just €250.

Being a proper engineer Christian started with drawings. He’d wanted to build the bike for a ‘well-known coffee company” but this didn’t work out, so he needed to create an alternative brand & logo, and ExesoR was born. …I can almost smell the beans roasting now.

Unlike most builds on here – especially shed builds – Christian’s goal was to use as few stock parts as possible and to manufacture as many of the replacement components himself. His second rule was to avoid silver chrome, so every metal part on the bike is either nickel plated, black chrome, galvanised or raw metal.

One thing Christian is particularly proud of is the way he concealed the throttle cable inside the handlebar. While this isn’t unique, it is very clever, and it wasn’t achieved through any off-the-shelf kit. Another notable feature is the use of “Diamond-like Carbon” (DLC) coating on the fork internals, which is a new treatment you might find on modern KTMs and race-bikes.

Many of the main components on the bike were created using CAD (computer-aided design) which Christian had to teach himself to use as he went. The designs were then used to create CNC parts. This clearly went very well.

Along with all the clever exotic stuff there were some more familiar engineering upgrades. To compliment the coated fork internal surfaces Christian fitted Wirth springs. The rear swing arm, from a CB400, is suspended with Koni shocks. Motogadget clocks (of course) take care of instrumentation but the mount was custom made.

The bike also got a stronger motor, courtesy of a CB360 bored-out to 390cc and running hot cams and open velocity stacks. A Dyna ignition maximises the spark along side a light-weight mini Lithium Ferrous Phosphate battery, and the drive-train uses a race clutch.

All this work took Christian 460 hours over two and a half years to complete, and it’s real mix of ultra-modern tech and old school design aesthetics. Whether you’re a tech-loving, race-bike convert to the cafe scene or an old-school petrol head who likes things to look right, this bike has a little bit of something for everyone.

Christian wants us to thank Photographer David Matl who is responsible for these beautiful photos, taken in an old coal mine, and which David credits for helping him win a Custom Bike Magazine contest this year. Yes, they’re lovely pics, but it’s also a remarkable bike. Thanks for sharing with all of us here at The Bike Shed. See more from this build at the ExesoR Motorcycles Website.

via THE BIKE SHED