The Fiat Multipla as a cult classic in the footsteps of the Duck and Beetle

Bruno von Rotz
06/30/2024

Fiat Multipla SX 100 16V (1999) (© Bruno von Rotz)

Some classic cars enjoy the sympathy of the masses as well as the favor of collectors and classic car buyers. Good examples of this are the VW Beetle or the Citroën 2CV, which fetch high prices at auction even though they were built in large numbers. The early Fiat Panda (with the asymmetrical radiator grille) or the Bulli also belong in this category. What all these cars have in common is that they did not primarily correspond to the current perception of beauty when they came onto the market.

This would also apply to the Fiat Mulitpla , which was sold from 1999 until 2004 in its original design, which certainly took some getting used to.

Heckleuchten des Fiat Multipla SX 100 16V (1999) (© Bruno von Rotz)

In any case, the six-seater Fiat is not lacking in charming details, e.g. the rear lights are almost heart-shaped.

Rückspiegel des Fiat Multipla SX 100 16V (1999) (© Bruno von Rotz)

And the side mirror, together with the high beam headlamp mounted high up and at the rear, almost looks like a cartoon character.

The colorful interior and the many unusual details also speak for the Fiat. And the high utility value anyway, but this is often not the decisive factor in its suitability as a cult classic. More important is probably the relative rarity and perhaps also the availability of well-preserved examples? In the case of the original Multipla, the supply is not particularly large, let's see how prices develop in the future ... (Classic Data currently (2024) quotes EUR 3300 to 3600 for a Multipla in condition 2, there is certainly still plenty of room for improvement)

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Sufficient technology for Italians (Car connoisseur quiz)

Paul Krüger
06/29/2024

Fiat 521 (1928) – Kühler mit Markenzeichen Wasserthermometer

On July 1, 1899, the "Societa per la construzione e il commercio delle automobile - Torino" was founded in Turin, which was renamed "Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino" just ten days later. After modest beginnings, the company soon rose to become a high-end manufacturer, before increasingly turning downmarket from the 1930s onwards and increasingly offering affordable cars for a broad public.

Under Vittorio Valletta, Fiat developed into a full-range manufacturer in the 1960s, with a portfolio covering everything from two-cylinder small cars to luxury sports cars with Ferrari engines. However, declining production quality tarnished the brand's reputation in the mid-1970s and led to humorous and mocking reinterpretations of the acronym, but did not prevent Fiat from gradually absorbing all its competitors and becoming one of the largest automotive groups in the world.

To mark the first successful eighth millennium, we have dedicated a car connoisseur quiz to Fiat. We have already answered the question of what the abbreviation F.I.A.T. stands for. For the next ten, you're on your own. Do you want to give it a try?

Click here for the car connoisseur quiz 163

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Destination journey in the reliable

Paul Krüger
06/28/2024

Opel Rekord (1958) – Konstantinos Lycouris und Dimitris Nomikos bei der Rallye Monte-Carlo 1958

In the 1950s, Opels were considered at least as unsportsmanlike as they were reliable. Nevertheless, two Greeks dared to compete in the 1958 Monte-Carlo Rally in a brand new Rekord P1. Konstantinos Lycouris and Dimitris Nomikos started in Athens with their Sahara yellow sedan and reached the port quarter of Monaco in 29th place after around 3400 kilometers - not an outstanding result, but a success nonetheless. The only other Opel in the field did not even reach the finish line.

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Forgotten concept vehicles: Handles 4

Bruno von Rotz
06/27/2024

Peugeot Griffe 4 Coupé 4 posti Pininfarina von 1985

At first glance, the Griffe 4 could have been mistaken for an Aston Martin V8 Zagato .

Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato von 1983 (© Bonhams)

But the similarities are deceptive, because after all, the Griffe 4 was made by Pininfarina and was called the Peugeot Griffe 4 Coupé 4 posti. And the Zagato-Aston was not presented until a year after the Griffe 4.

Peugeot Griffe 4 Coupé 4 posti Pininfarina von 1985 auf dem Genfer Autosalon 1985

The Peugeot design study was shown for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1985 and Pininfarina also wanted to celebrate 30 years of cooperation between the two companies.

Peugeot Griffe 4 Coupé 4 posti Pininfarina von 1985

A coupé fitted well into the concept, especially as Peugeot had already stopped building the 504 Coupé in 1983.

Peugeot 406 Coupé von 2002 (© Bruno von Rotz)

And indeed, there are certain similarities when comparing the Griffe 4 with the Peugeot 406 Coupé , except that the latter was only presented in Paris in 1996. It is also clear that a lot had changed in the design language in between. But the Peugeot 406 Coupé is also considered a very beautiful design.

The special feature of the Griffe 4 study, the smoked glass pavilion, did not make it into series production, nor did the rather angular basic shape of the 1985 concept car.

For completeness, here are a few sentences from the press release at the time:
"The exterior dimensions (length 4410 mm, width 1760 mm, wheelbase 2680 mm) of the model are limited, but there is enough space inside to offer four people a comfortable amount of room.
Styling research has taken into account the need for a good aerodynamic profile, and a number of aesthetic measures emphasize its lightness and sweep.
The headliner in smoky transparent material seamlessly joins the side windows and, by concealing the thin pillars at the front and rear, creates the visual impression of a transparent "dome" that presses on the profile of the car's beltline.
This solution allows good visibility and the unusual transparency of the roof gives passengers the pleasant sensation of experiencing the car in a new way.
A pattern runs along the entire flank, emphasizing the lightness and sweep of the vehicle, even if its function is primarily to increase the robustness of the structure.
The spindle shape is enhanced by the absence of traditional bumpers, which have been replaced by front and rear "impact zones" incorporated into the bodywork.
This solution (soft-nose and soft-back), which is the result of cutting-edge technologies, represents an important safety factor and complies with the strictest current regulations."

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Athletes in dungarees - 60 years of express deliveries at Dodge

Paul Krüger
06/26/2024

Dodge D-100 (1964) – als "Custom Sports Special" mit "High Performance Package" und 426er "Street Wedge"

It looks a bit boxy, even for a commercial vehicle. Dry tires and a narrow track contribute to the somewhat awkward appearance. Contrary to its name, the "Custom Sports Special" equipment package with individual seats, center console, carpeting, rally stripes and chrome grille does nothing to change this. Who would have guessed that seven liters of displacement and 365 HP were lurking under the hood?

While it was already considered daring for Pontiac to stuff a large Catalina engine into the small Tempest for the 1964 model year, they went one step further at Dodge and squeezed racing engines into the D-series flatbed trucks. If you ordered the "High Performance Package" for your D-100 or D-200, they installed the 426 "Street Wedge" behind the inconspicuous front end in Warren, Michigan.

This version of the "Max Wedge" racing engine, tamed down to the bare minimum, officially ran as an industrial engine for registration purposes. However, the commercial vehicle fitted with it clocked 15s in the quarter mile and took only half as long to sprint to 100 km/h. Of course, the fun came at a price: Dodge demanded 1235 dollars for the power pack - with a base price of just over 2000 dollars for the basic model with a six-cylinder engine.

However, the price not only included the monster engine, but also the "LoadFlite" three-speed automatic transmission, a reinforced chassis, rev counter, power steering, torque support on the rear axle - as well as the information that Dodge would not accept any guarantee for consequential damage in the event of abnormal use. After all, almost 640 Nm were applied to the drivetrain under full load.

At the beginning of 1966, the "High Performance Package" disappeared from the price lists after 50 trucks had been built - not because no more could have been sold, but because it had been specified as such from the outset.

However, the idea of the overpowered flatbed truck was revived twelve years later, when ever stricter emissions regulations had increasingly robbed passenger cars of performance and driving pleasure. At its debut, the Dodge Li'l Red Truck with its 225 HP 5.9-liter V8 was the fastest production vehicle made in the USA: it reached 100 mph (161 km/h) in 19.9 seconds.

In 2004, however, the Dodge Ram SRT-10 was the pinnacle of speed delivery madness: powered by the 8.3-liter V10 from the Viper, it broke the 100-mile mark in 12.9 seconds. With its air scoop, front spoiler, rear wing and wide tires, its 500 HP was obvious at first glance.

Dodge Ram SRT-10 (2004) – Power-Pickup mit dem V10 aus dem Dodge Viper

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Once upon a time ... the simple car wash

Bruno von Rotz
06/25/2024

Autowaschen im Jahr 1974 am Beispiel Ford Capri

Yes, car washing used to be simple. You parked the car in the yard, rolled out a hose, took a bucket of car shampoo and off you went with the loving hand wash. At the end, the car was polished and ready for the next week.

As early as the sixties, car washes appeared that did this work for you. From then on, more and more car owners drove their cars to the facility and had them cleaned with brushes and other cleaning equipment.

Today, hand washing (for environmental reasons) in front of the house is soon banned everywhere. As an alternative, there are now car washes and drive-through car washes.

However, this has not made car washing any easier, as modern cars are becoming increasingly stubborn. At many drive-through facilities today, you have to leave the engine running while the car is pulled through the facility.

So you have to leave the keys in the car so that nothing gets blocked. And then you should also make sure that the car doesn't suddenly brake in front of obstacles or refuse to continue driving as soon as you want to get out.

With a Fiat 500e, for example, you have to adjust a few system settings before you can hand it over to the car wash. Some drivers are so stressed that they prefer to entrust their car to a service center for the procedure ...

Washing in the yard was still wonderfully uncomplicated.

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60 years of the Maserati Mistral

Stefan Dierkes
06/24/2024

60 Jahre Maserati Mistral Treffen 2024 (© Stefan Dierkes)

Production of the Maserati Mistral, which was initially simply called "Due Posti", meaning "two seats", began in 1964. To mark the 60th anniversary, Classiche Masters, a company founded by a Belgian Maserati collector, invited Mistral owners to a Mistral reunion in Durbach in the Black Forest from June 14 to 16, 2024.

Classiche Masters is not only known as the publisher of the book on Maserati workshops published in 2020 (see book review ) and the English-language Maserati magazine "Alfieri", which is published twice a year. It also maintains chassis registers of classic Maserati road models on its website, provides advice on restoration, finds specialists and also organizes events and workshops to promote the community of Maserati enthusiasts and the preservation of Maserati cars.

60 Jahre Maserati Mistral Treffen 2024 (© Stefan Dierkes)

The event was attended by die-hard Maserati enthusiasts with six Mistral Spyders and two Coupés, as well as two other Maseratis from Belgium, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and even a couple from Australia, who were there in their Mistral Spyder based in England after an extended road trip in France. On Saturday morning, after the drivers' briefing by editor-in-chief and organizer Pedro Cappelle, the route led from Durbach along picturesque roads to the lunch break on the Schlossberg in Freiburg. The road book was not only available with Chinese symbols, but also much more conveniently as a navigation route for the smartphone. After a three-hour lunch menu with a magnificent view over Freiburg with its Gothic cathedral, the route took a wide arc on winding mountain and valley routes via Triberg and Wolfach back to Durbach.

60 Jahre Maserati Mistral Treffen 2024 (© Stefan Dierkes)

Adolfo Orsi, grandson of the Maserati owner of the same name, under whose aegis the Mistral was created, awaited the participants there after several breakdowns. In his presentation with many historical pictures, he explained, among other things, how after four rejected proposals from Carrozzeria Touring and Carrozzeria Vignale for a 3500 GT successor, the Frua prototype "2 Posti" presented at the 1963 Turin Motor Show with the "4 Porte" was selected due to the positive reaction of Maserati customers and the press. Pietro Frua had derived both vehicles from the design of his Maserati 5000 GT . In my introductory presentation, I showed Frua's classic working method, which led from the 1:10 design, via the 1:1 construction drawing and a wooden model, to the two hand-bodied, ready-to-drive prototypes for the Mistral Coupé and the Spyder.

Gruppenbild beim 60 Jahre Maserati Mistral Treffen 2024 (© Stefan Dierkes)

The all-round successful weekend ended with a group photo on Sunday morning after further petrolhead discussions over dinner and the distribution of spare parts lists following an extensive breakfast.

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Back roads through automotive history (5): The benefits of exhaust fumes

Gerhard Schütz
06/23/2024

It's true: the most beautiful, interesting and sometimes weirdest discoveries are always made on the back roads. This also applies to the back roads of automobile history.

According to a French newspaper report from 1910:

It wasn't very long ago: if your car smoked a little in Paris, a policeman approached with a stern face, registered you, and you ended up in jail for two days. This could happen next to a metro construction site, for example, where a locomotive emits black, fat clouds, or on the Pont de l'Europe, where construction machinery sends swirls of black, sticky smoke into the air. All exhaust fumes are permitted, except those from cars.

Today we are no longer put in prison, we are just stopped. What progress! It would be good if Mr. Lépine, who is responsible for these directives, were to read one of the latest editions of the English Daily Mirror. He would then discover that in London, exhaust fumes are classified as antiseptic, hygienic and air-purifying. It states:

"Flies, insects and harmful micro-organisms are being destroyed by the millions thanks to increasing car exhaust fumes. At a meeting of the Salmon and Trout Association to discuss flies for fishing, Lord Desborough explained that the insects have completely disappeared from Parliament Square because of the heavy traffic."

Louis Renault beim Start zum fatalen Rennen Paris-Madrid 1903, abgebrochen in Bordeaux wegen schwerer Unfälle. Einer kostete Renault das Leben © Archiv Gerhard Schütz

One of London's most respected chemists explained that the exhaust fumes from buses and cars are an effective insecticide. Because they are carbon in nature, they clean the air of germs and other impurities. Londoners have always regarded exhaust fumes as a nuisance. In fact, they are very beneficial to health. One fruit seller, for example, noticed at the market this year that there were far fewer flies on his display. So long live the scent of petroleum!

Monsieur Lépine is wrong to outlaw exhaust fumes, hygienically speaking. Hygienists, come to the aid of motorists! From this point of view, the medical academy could easily award the gold medal to certain buses. From now on, it will be very chic to say of someone: "He kills 24 flies in one go." Or to put it another way: "He drives a 24-horse." You just have to get it right.

It's probably not just climate change campaigners and conservationists who are shaking their heads today ...

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Forgotten movie cars: The Mercedes-Benz 230 Lang from "The wing or the thigh?"

Paul Krüger
06/22/2024

Szene aus dem Film "Brust oder Keule" von 1976

Louis de Funès (or rather the full-time hustlers he portrayed in his films) was usually on the road in a Citroën DS – mostly in black, once even in red. The flagship of French automotive engineering suited Victor Buntspecht, Antoine Brisebard and the no-firstnamed Monsieur Septime all too well. None of the patriotic patriarchs would ever buy a foreign car.

It therefore seems unusual that he, as respected restaurant critic Charles Duchemin, does not opt for the big Citroën in "The wing or the thigh?". Instead, the gourmet on a secret mission is chauffeured around France in a Mercedes-Benz 230 Lang, with chauffeur Henri displaying a very aggressive driving style even by French standards.

To avoid receiving special treatment, Duchemin visits all the restaurants in disguise. This is probably also the reason for buying the German long saloon: with its extended rear compartment, it simply offers much more space for changing clothes than any standard DS. And a workmanlike minivan would really be out of the question for a man of Duchemin's stature.

Szene aus dem Film "Brust oder Keule" von 1976

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The million-dollar beetle

Bruno von Rotz/Rolf Uhlmann (Foto)
06/21/2024

Old cars are often compared to works of art, especially when it comes to value development. A very special case could be admired at the "Art Unlimited 2024". However, the history of the Beetle on display is very special.

Back in 1963, the artist Christo wrapped a VW Beetle built in 1961 and exhibited it at the Schmela Gallery in Düsseldorf in February. After the exhibition, however, Christo had to return the Beetle, without the wrapping, because the Beetle owner wanted it that way.

40 years later, Christo apparently regretted the non-survival of his work of art and once again acquired a mint green VW 1200 built in 1961, exactly the same model that he had already wrapped for the exhibition together with Jeanne-Claude in 1963. This time, however, the Beetle belonged to him and was stripped of all its fluids, jacked up and wrapped again.

The artwork was called "Wrapped Volkswagen Beelte Saloon 1963-2014" and has now been shown at Art Basel.

Apparently, this wrapping masterpiece is now said to be worth around four million, which is a hefty sum given the material value and the fact that the artwork is actually a "replica" (at least the idea).

But you could always just buy a Beetle yourself and wrap it up ...

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