The automotive industry happens one of the most competitive industries in the world. There are multiple automakers from different parts of the globe making different types of vehicles. As a consequence, there have been thousands of different models that have been introduced over the last century.
Out of all these models, there are several that gearheads will always love and remember – the Volkswagen Beetle, Toyota Corolla, Ferrari 250 GTO, Lamborghini Countach, Ford Mustang as well as the Dodge Charger, to name a few.
Unfortunately, many other models have ended up being forgotten, even when they were just as good or even better-than the idolised models. This article explores a number of fantastic sports cars that most have forgotten about.
Lucra is a Californian car manufacturing company that is dedicated to building small, lightweight vehicles with big engines such as a modern AC Cobra. Anyone who knows the Lucra LC470 will agree that it is just as attractive as the AC Cobra.
The car weighs slightly above 900kgs and has excellent weight balance owing to its front mid-engine layout. The LC470 has a 500bhp powerplant that propels it from 0-60mph in just 3.2 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 10 seconds. The sports car has race-spec suspension and superb brakes.
One of the fantastic might-have-beens, the AC Ace revived a celebrate name from the 1950s. It hoped to emulate the car’s illustrious predecessor’s charm and glamour. Unfortunately for AC, by the time it offered the Ace for sale in 1998, after an a very lengthy gestation, a few buyers were interested.
The looks were too generic when compared to a similarly priced Aston Martin DB7. The 325bhp 4.6- or – alternatively – 5.0-litre Ford V8s did not have prestige as well as pace. 0-to-60mph acceleration in 6.2 seconds as well as 145mph lagged far behind the much cheaper Porsche 911.
AC was able to shift a claimed 58 cars, however, by then it had bankrupted the company owing to its expensive production from composite materials and aluminium. Also, there were questions about its build quality so the Ace faded into obscurity and has stayed there ever since.
The Monaro was a stronghold of an easier time, when Australians manufactured cars, General Motors good decent business decisions, and the entire world made sense. However, it was before mobile pokies for real money were available, so that was something people were missing out on.
In addition, it was a time when the want to own a V8, rear-drive muscle car wasn’t really tempered by the realisation that you’d be hurrying humanity’s journey towards super-hurricanes, mounting oceans and wildfires the size of Belgium.
And the Monaros were actually quite close to perfect, in terms of muscle cars. There was a straightforward, naturally aspirated pushrod engine up front, a manual gearbox in the middle (an auto was optional, if you were really terrible at changing gears) and two driven wheels in the rear that could be cajoled into heroic powerslides with a mere suggestion of throttle.