The 911 was designed to be a pure-bred sports car from the very start, initially offering 130 hp. As early as 1966, the first S model hit the road with an engine built for higher compression. The 911 S 2.0 Coupe? 160 hp and was the force behind countless racegoing versions of the 911 in motorsport. This tradition is also followed by the new 911, boasting six cylinders, a displacement of 3.0 litres and two engine variants: one rated 370 hp and the other ? 420 hp. Both engines meet the requirements of our time. Thanks to their turbocharged design, they generate more power ? Incredible sportiness is the number one discipline of the 911 Carrera models and the 911 Targa 4. Turbocharged induction makes their engine not only more efficient, but also more powerful. In figures: 370 hp. The high torque of 331 lb.-Ft. Is available early on at an impressively low 1,700 rpm. A performance promise delivered to the driver without detour ? Fitted as standard for the first time in all models: Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), the electronic damping control system. Further proof that, when it comes to the 911, it? The base models are equipped with 19-inch alloy wheels. The newly styled single-tube tailpipes are imposing ? You can find this 2019 Porsche 911 and many others like it at Porsche of The Main Line.
The suffix "Simplex" was intended to indicate how easy the new model was to operate for its time. Characteristic features include the long wheelbase, the light and powerful engine fitted low down and the honeycomb radiator integrated organically into the front end, which was to become distinctive for the brand. The Mercedes 35 hp marked the end of the carriage style that had dominated the industry and is thus considered to be the first modern car. At the Paris Motor Show in December 1902, all of the other automotive manufacturers presented vehicles which followed the concept of the first Mercedes and bore a striking resemblance to it in terms of design too. In the trade press this show was therefore dubbed the "Mercedes Show". The new Mercedes-Simplex became a success in the world of motorsport from the very moment of its launch. The Englishman E. T. Stead won the Nice - La Turbie hillclimb race ahead of Georges Lemaitre and Wilhelm Werner, both also driving 40 hp models, and was even able to improve on Werner's record from the previous year. The 40 hp models were also highly successful in the Mile Race, achieving speeds of more than 100 km/h.
Delivered in March 1903, the white example from the Mercedes-Benz Classic collection is one of the oldest-preserved Mercedes-branded vehicles. The Benz Spider, like the other vehicles from Mannheim built between 1901 and 1902, marked a change of course at Benz: the transition from classic motor car to modern automobile. The Benz automobiles produced up until the start of 1901 followed the classic concept developed by Carl Benz which featured rear-mounted engine and belt drive. Due to the tremendous success of the first Mercedes from the then rival Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, which defined the modern automobile in 1901, the solid and reliable Benz motor cars were suddenly no longer deemed sufficiently contemporary and sales declined. The company Benz & Cie. 1902 under the name Benz Parsifal and which in many respects corresponded to the basic design of the first Mercedes. The vehicle from the Mercedes-Benz Classic collection was delivered to Ireland in 1902 and was used there for more than 30 years. In 2014 the Benz Spider was carefully restored and was also given its original dark red paint finish which it had retained in one or two hard-to-reach areas.
I come by auto fanaticism naturally. My mom鈥檚 second husband was French after all. Come on鈥he 1960鈥檚, a French guy that smoked Gauloise cigarettes, cooked incredible French food and looked like a French movie star? Of course he knew how to work on cars too. He seemed born to it. In 1967 he bought an Austin Healey 3000 Mk III, medium blue with a dark blue leather interior. The car was only 4 years old, but it may as well have been 100. It was broken all the time. How could this nearly new car spend so much time with its hood open, its insides being exposed? Easy鈥ucas electronics. The Prince of darkness, the Earl of sitting on jack stands. He worked on it each weekend to get it running again; it seemed to work on the weekdays and if by magic broke down on Friday evening. I remember that it required a lot of tools and parts that seemed to only come from a place very far away and it came with a lot of dirty fingernails and broken knuckles.
And it required a lot of money鈥hich we did not have much of. But when it ran; it was like nothing else. We drove it once from St. Louis to Lexington, KY one summer so I could meet my real father. I remember sitting in the back, hanging on, looking at the speedo seeing 120 MPH on the dial. The wind rushing not so much around me, as though me. Funny, I was not even afraid of falling out. I trusted him completely. Back home in St. Louis, he took me to a European car dealership and while he bought some parts (believe it or not), left me alone to wonder around the cars that were for sale. Oh鈥hat magical moment, the beauty, shapes that could only be described as other worldly. I touched a Lamborghini GT350 and actually sat in it. I put my hands around the steering wheel and gear shift, but dared not move them, fearful that I might break something.