Sporty limousines on the rise
05/28/2021
"Sporty cars are more than just a fad. They're not about presentation, but about good driving performance with reasonable exterior dimensions. Sporty cars are roadworthy - that is the background to their increasing sales success."
That's what it said in the car magazine "auto motor und sport" at the end of 1968. The lead picture featured an Alfa Romeo 1750 Berlina and it caused quite a stir. The report "Sporty saloons are on the rise" was about everyday cars that are becoming increasingly powerful. The Alfa with over 115, the BMW 2002 Ti with 120 or the Fiat 125 S with 100 hp were examples.
However, the spectrum of sporty saloons began much more popularly with the 65 hp of an NSU TT or the 47 hp of the Fiat 850 Special. The Austin Cooper S and the Renault 8 Gordini, the forerunners of the VW Golf GTI of the seventies, so to speak, were also mentioned.
And even back then, the hefty surcharges that were demanded for a little more sportiness were criticized. Dieter Korp wrote in the final sentence: "And so it is with this sporty wave: the corresponding surcharges are usually not in any justifiable proportion to the actual technical effort; that is actually the only side of the matter that provides material for criticism."
And today, 53 years later? The performance figures of the cars from back then would only elicit a weary smile from today's test editors. Today, a VW Polo already has 100 hp, while the Audi A4 starts at 150 petrol or 122 diesel hp. But do modern cars feel sportier than an NSU TT or a Ford Escort 1300 GT back then?
A look at the ams report from back then brings back memories of the sporty saloons of the late sixties ...
P.S. As has already been correctly commented, the red Alfa in the picture at the beginning is a two-liter, we have now added the ams lead picture so that there is no confusion.
