1971 HONDA CB450 BOBBER BY SCOTT H

• POSTED BY MOTO VERSO

This is a really clean looking 1971 Honda CB450 Bobber by Scott H. I love the shot exhaust pipes on the build along with the really nice dropped split tank. The lines on the bike are perfect and the lower tank gives its a really nice aggressive look. The tanks have been totally built from scratch by Benji at BCR along with the sweet looking exhaust system. So much work has gone into this build with only the pegs, headlight and rear drum assembly still being stock.

The satin finish on the grey of the tank looks amazing and it’s not often you see a white leather seat on a bike but it works really well on this build. It’s one cool looking bike and I’d say the finest Bobber I’ve featured on Moto Verso.

The aggressive look is finished off by a really sweet set of wheels and tyres perfect for the bike. Woody’s Wheel Works built the wheels using Buchannan spokes, Harley rims and Shinko tires and they have done one fantastic job with these. The project took 10 months to complete which is pretty good to say it was only worked on at night. The bike was built for the Louisville Vintage Motorworks - Mod’s vs. Rockers show and it won Best Rocker and Best in Show which is really cool. It also took home the Best Japanese Bike from the Beatersville show the following day.

CARESTO CUSTOM VOLVO P1800 GT – SWEDEN’S GOT IT’S STYLE BACK

• POSTED BY MOTO VERSO
 

I’m in love with classic Volvo at the moment and this one is stunning. The Caresto Custom Volvo P1800 GT is a classic car brought up to date with modern safety features and hugely increased performance. Based upon an original volvo P1800 ES – Caresto developed the car to celebrate the models 50 year anniversary. Caresto was founded in 1996 and are a design and coach builder based in Sweden. During the years Caresto have had the opportunity to create and deliver many exciting cars and automotive creations to there clients.

Caresto will build you one of these P1800 GT’s to your spec with what ever interior and exterior colours you may require. I think these kind of cars are a great idea as they are restoring classic car design but using years of technology to bring the up to date and to preserve these beauties for another 50 years.

The GT has a great choice of engine up front with a Volvo V8 straight from an XC90 breathing new life into the classic along with a Volvo 960 transmission and a German built rear axle. With just over 315 Bhp the P1800 GT will be no slouch and it will sound amazing with that Volvo V8 bring the noise.

The P1800 ES is a fine looking vehicle and I’m guessing but was inspiration for the much later 90′s 480 series which again was a sweet looking car. They both have the unusual boot with the glass running right down to the bumpers. I don’t care what anyone says, Volvo have got a lot of style.

Images: p1800gt.se

Website: p1800gt.se

Australia’s home-grown experts / Le rallye, c’est Aussie…

Several Australian drivers have carved out international reputations for themselves over the years. The list includes Ross Dunkerton, Chris Atkinson, Neal Bates and Cody Crocker, while WRC Academy graduate Molly Taylor is contesting this year’s FIA European Rally Championship

Quelques pilotes australiens ont brillé au niveau international, comme Ross Dunkerton, Chris Atkinson, Neal Bates ou encore Cody Crocker. Après une saison en WRC Academy, Molly Taylor évolue cette année en Championnat d’Europe des Rallyes FIA.

With 75 WRC starts and six podium finishes to his name, ex-Subaru factory driver Chris Atkinson is undoubtedly the WRC’s best-known Oz. He has only taken part in one event this year (Mexico, in a Citroën DS3 WRC/Michelin) but was recently recruited by Hyundai Motorsport to help develop the new i20 WRC.

That said, he wasn’t at the team’s recent test in Finland since his wife was giving birth to little Lyla Josephine. We extend our best wishes to all the Atkinson family! Dad won’t be participating in his home WRC round, either, although he has done it twice as a factory driver, in 2005 (4^th) and 2006 (9^th).

Meanwhile, the five-time Australian and two-time Asia-Pacific champion Ross Dunkerton drove for Mitsubishi Ralliart in the 1990s, after a spell with Datsun in the 1980s. He notably came third in New Zealand in 1992 (behind Sainz and Liatti) and fourth in Australia in 1993 (behind Delecour). He has since switched to a career as TV presenter and consultant.

Cody Crocker, too, can look back at a successful career in the sport after claiming three national titles and four Asia-Pacific crowns (23 victories) with Subaru. The Australian also drove Subaru Imprezas – chiefly Group N – on some 20 WRC rounds, scooping the production class win in New Zealand in 2005.

During the late 1990s, Neal Bates represented Toyota Australia who frequently entered a Celica GT Four or Corolla WRC for Pacific-region rounds of the WRC. Bates was sixth in New Zealand in 1997 and eighth in Australia in 1997. Now aged 48, he continues to compete in historic events driving a Toyota Celica 2000 GT.

Bates also coached young Molly Taylor, 25, who currently tops the Ladies standings of the FIA European Rally Championship (her mother, Coral, was Bates’ co-driver for many years…). Molly made her own debut in 2006 before moving to the UK to contest the competitive British Rally Championship. After winning the Pirelli Star Driver award in 2010, she entered the following year’s WRC Academy in a Ford Fiesta R2. This season, she is focusing on her ERC programme in a Citroën DS3 R3 and has chosen to start Rally Poland rather than travel home for Rally Australia.

Avec 75 rallyes WRC et six podiums au compteur, l’ancien pilote officiel Subaru Chris Atkinson est sans doute le plus connu des Australiens en WRC. « Atko » n’a disputé qu’une épreuve cette année, le Rallye du Mexique (Citroën DS3 WRC/Michelin), et vient d’être recruté par Hyundai Motorsport pour contribuer au développement de l’i20 WRC.

Chris n’était pas des derniers tests en Finlande car son épouse a donné naissance à une petite Lyla Josephine. Félicitations et tous nos vœux de bonheur. « Papa Atko » ne sera pas non plus au départ de son épreuve nationale qu’il n’a disputée que deux fois en tant que pilote d’usine (4^een 2005 et 9^e en 2006).

Quintuple champion d’Australie et double champion Asie-Pacifique, Ross Dunkerton était pilote Mitsubishi Ralliart au début des années 1990 (il avait même roulé sur Datsun dans les années 1980). Ross a notamment terminé 3^e du Rallye de Nouvelle-Zélande 1992 (derrière Sainz et Liatti) ou encore 4^e au Rallye d’Australie 1993 derrière Delecour. Après sa carrière en rallye, Ross Dunkerton s’est reconverti comme présentateur et consultant à la télévision.

Cody Crocker s’est lui aussi bâti un beau palmarès dans la discipline avec trois titres nationaux et quatre en championnat Asie-Pacifique (23 victoires), tous sur Subaru. C’est également au volant de Subaru Impreza que l’Australien a disputé une vingtaine de rallyes WRC, la plupart en catégorie Voitures de Production. Cody a notamment remporté le Gr.N au Rallye de Nouvelle-Zélande 2005.

A la fin des années 90, Neal Bates était pilote officiel Toyota Australia. L’importateur engageait régulièrement une auto (Celica GT Four, Corolla WRC) sur les manches pacifiques du WRC et Neal a signé quelques beaux résultats (6^e en Nouvelle-Zélande 1997, 8^e en Australie 1997…). A 48 ans, Neal n’a pas raccroché son casque et se fait plaisir en rallye historique sur une Toyota Celica 2000 GT.

Neal Bates fut le mentor de l’Australienne Molly Taylor (25 ans), actuellement leader du Trophée féminin en Championnat d’Europe des Rallyes FIA. Et pour cause : la mère de Molly – Coral - a longtemps été la copilote de Neal. Molly a débuté en 2006 avant de partir en Grande-Bretagne pour disputer le très relevé British Rally Championship. Lauréate de l’opération Pirelli Star Driver en 2010, elle a débuté en Mondial l’année suivante au sein de la WRC Academy sur une Ford Fiesta R2. Elle participe cette saison au Championnat d’Europe sur une Citroën DS3 R3 et ne sera pas au départ du Rally Australia, privilégiant le Rally Poland (ERC).

Schloss Bensberg Classics 2013: Best of Show

After four years of glorious weather, the fifth edition of Schloss Bensberg Classics fell victim to meteorological statistics; but the participants didn’t allow themselves to be put off by grey clouds and rain while celebrating a joyful (if damp) festival of automotive culture.

It’s clear that in the boardrooms of Volkswagen sit not only sharp, calculating technocrats, but also some passionate ‘car guys’. How seriously they take their own brand history and, indeed, the entire history of the automobile is obvious from what goes on in Wolfsburg and at the Schloss Bensberg Classics – one of the few German classic events with an international standing. Even if the concours doesn’t yet come up to Pebble Beach standards, the variety and quality of the cars this year was extremely impressive. We pick a few highlights…

50 years of Lamborghini

No other brand in the Volkswagen portfolio stimulates emotions quite like Lamborghinin – hence the Italians were prominent at Bensberg, enjoying their 50th anniversary. Swiss collector Albert Spiess brought the first Lamborghini sports car, the wonderful 350 GTV from 1963, as well as a whole range of exciting concept cars such as the (currently in restoration) Marzal, the edgily compact Bravo and the unique Miura Roadster. Impressively, there was also the jet-fighter-meets-UFO study Egoista, the birthday gift of VW design boss Walter de Silva; and we were happy to discover a 1969 Islero GTS on the lawn – a car that recently found a new owner on Classic Driver. The jury chose a Miura SV from 1973 for the prize in this category.

50 years of the Porsche 911

You can’t deny it: 50 years on, and the Porsche 911 is more successful than ever. The large group of 911-lovers (and there are indeed a few car enthusiasts who do not count themselves in this category) were brought almost to tears of joy by the Bensberg selection: the spectrum ranged from a 1964 901 and Steve McQueen’s 911 S 2.2 from the opening scene of the film ‘Le Mans’, to the famous racing and rally machines with their Martini and Rothmans liveries. The class concours winner was a 1972 911 S 2.5 – one of just 21 built.

100 years of Aston Martin

There was a separate concours class in honour of Aston Martin’s 100th birthday which, in addition to a DB4 GT Zagato, saw one of the rare DB5 Shooting Brakes. However, the award went to the DB2/4 Cabriolet of Aston CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez.

100 years of Frua

Today, the design studio of Pietro Frua is little known, but it once sat alongside Pininfarina and Bertone as one of the great names of Italian design. The 100th anniversary concours class attracted some of its most beautiful creations, including those for Glas and AC. The concours award for Frua’s finest went – quite rightly – to the 1962 Maserati 5000 GT Frua.

Best of Show

The jury didn’t find it easy to select its overall favourite this year. Ultimately, it chose not the golden Lamborghini 350 GTS or two-tone Mercedes 300B Pininfarina, but a 1939 Talbot-Lago T120 Cabriolet by Piet Janssen. From the same year came also the ‘Best of Show’ by public vote – the Horch 930 V Roadster.

Photos: Jan Baedeker 

via Classic Driver