Mercedes-Benz SL 60 AMG: Days of thunder

Although summer has passed for another year, drop-top driving in the crisp autumnal sun is an experience not to be missed. As the evenings draw in, this rare 1996 Mercedes-Benz SL 60 AMG could have you making the most of that fast-fading light…

When the thunderous German V8 catches, all those post-summer blues instantly evaporate. Besides, the SL 60’s 381HP/580Nm is more than enough to outrun those sudden autumn showers. The enlarged 6-litre engine boasted some impressive performance figures – the 0-60mph sprint is dealt with in just 5.8sec while those brave enough to remove the car’s 155mph speed-limiter could manage around 185mph flat-out. Interestingly, insiders at the AMG skunkworks said that those figures were modest, and claimed the car was both quicker and more powerful than suggested at the time.

Should the giant-killing performance still not brighten your mood, perhaps the elegant, two-tone Designo leather interior will? The electronically adjustable heated seats will keep you toasty when the temperatures plummet, and when the weather does turn, the moody skies can still be admired through the panoramic glass roof. It’s a common misconception that convertibles cannot be enjoyed in the winter months. The (extremely rare) SL 60 AMG could be the perfect car for that dry, bright, autumnal morning blast.

Retro cars invade the newest of motorsports

Retro cars invade the newest of motorsports, and why they’re closer to the golden racing days of old than you might think.

In a time when so many once-thrilling racing disciplines now follow highly restrictive control formulas, the relatively new sport of Time-Attack breaks the mold and allows entrants a little more ambiguity when it comes to developing a competitive car. The result is a field of extreme machines reminiscent of a cross between Group B rally and the golden age of Cam-Am. Of course there are classes that each must adhere to, however these tend to focus and aero and substructure.

The idea of Time Attack is to run a flying lap faster than the rest of the field, essentially it’s a sport built around qualifying and whilst that might not be as exciting as door-to-door racing, some of the retro-cars that entrants have built for the purpose, certainly are.

These are our three favorites:

3. Lotus Espirit – KRB

Exposed rivets and raw sheet metal bring back memories of a time when going fast was all that mattered, and beauty rose as a byproduct of function. Low, fast, and crude, the KRB built Lotus Esprit is actually an ’84 Tiga C2 Prototype which features an Audi-sourced 4.2L quad cam V8 complete with twin turbos, generating around 900hp at the crank.

2. Metro 6R4 – 6R4.com

With tubular everything, classic-rally style aero and an original 2.8L V6 6R4 engine sporting twin turbochargers for a not-so-original 500 horsepower, Mark Pollard’s Metro 6R4 is truly bonkers! Word is that the engine is capable of increasing it’s power by a further 50% with increased boost pressure in “kill mode” – now doesn’t that just remind you of the turbo-era of yesteryear?

1. Audi Quattro – KRB

It’s no secret that here at Motorsport Retro we’ve a huge soft spot for the Audi S1, so you can only imagine our delight when we discovered KRB’s incredible re-interpretation of what a flat-out circuit incarnation of one may have looked like. It wears a body straight out of our wildest Group B dreams, and the fact that it sports a whopping 1061hp doesn’t hurt either! This is without a doubt, the coolest retro Time-Attack car anyone has built yet.

Watch it in action here, and pay special attention to how incredibly quickly it puts on speed just beyond the three-minute mark:

Photos credits:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28091462@N03/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adrianfrst/

Speedhunters.com

via http://www.motorsportretro.com

Playboy's toys: Hef's choice from the Market

With such a passion for living the ‘fast life’, it’s little wonder Hugh Hefner has often displayed enthusiasm for cars. Based on those he’s previously owned – as well as his obvious appreciation of curvaceous bodywork – we make a selection from the Classic Driver Market through Hef’s eyes…

Apparently, Hef named his empire after the recently defunct Playboy Automobile Company – and his interest in American cars doesn’t end there, as the picture above attests. But he’s also a big Mercedes fan: he’s known to have owned a 300 SL Roadster, as well as a pair of 600 Pullmans. The latter, rather unsurprisingly, came complete with champagne coolers, central partitions, rear privacy curtains and reclining rear seats.

With an eye for voluptuous curves, Hef would perhaps be instinctively drawn to an E-type, or maybe a pretty Ferrari Dino. Then again, there’s every chance he’d let his eccentric side run wild by choosing this Zimmer (no giggling at the back please) Quicksilver, coincidentally of the same vintage as his wife, Crystal.