The Coffee and Classics event on the last Sunday in July arrived in the middle of a heat wave, during the real dog days of summer...
There had been some refreshing rain the previous Friday, but only enough to cool things down briefly. And with no prediction of hailstorms Sunday, car buffs brought some good specimens to ogle, including this '66 E-Type Jaguar with a factory-installed Webasto sunroof.
The 4.2 liter DOHC six makes an alleged 265 hp with help from 3 SU carbs...
There were plenty of other Britishers including these original (that is, BMC rather than BMW) Minis. The bright green one has a non-original Honda 16-valve DOHC four, and we've featured it before.
The modern dash on the light green one indicates it was brought in after BMC stopped importing Minis in response to changes in safety and emissions standards.
Near the Minis, an Austin-Healey Sprite and Morris Minor 1000 were guarded by an attentive pooch. Both cars originally featured versions of the same 948cc inline four.
The Minor, unlike the light green Mini, had right hand drive.
At the other end of the size scale was this Rolls-Royce Phantom. We couldn't tell whether it was a Phantom V (made 1959-68) or VI (made 1968-90) as both have the same upright body design and are nearly 20 feet long on a 12-foot wheelbase. By contrast, those classic Minis are 10 feet long overall...
At the Italian end of Pearl Street we found this delightful Alfa Romeo Type 916 Spider, a front-drive 2-seater made from 1993 to 2004, but never imported into the US. We've featured this Twin-Spark 16 valve twincam four-powered specimen from my neighborhood before. The 916 was also offered as a GTV coupe, and with 12 and 24-valve versions of Alfa's Busso V6...
Lamborghini's mid-engined Diablo was offered only with a V12, and built from 1992 through 2001. Behind it is the rare Lancia Fulvia 1600 HF brought by Frank Barrett of Toad Hall Motorbooks. The rally-bred front driver would be a bit more practical in Boulder as daily transport, especially if winter ever decides to come back...
Perhaps not practical, but a surprise visitor and another classic Lancia, was this 1975 Lancia Stratos rally car brought by Jonathan Nelson, who purchased it in non-running condition from a 90 year-old man in Japan. Nelson must have done plenty of work in the year since he removed the Stratos from the collector's living room. It was missing some parts then, but won Best of Show at Denver's recent Automezzi...
The mid-engined Stratos was powered by a 2.4 liter Ferrari Dino V6 making 280 to 320 hp, and won the World Rally Championship in 1974, '75 and '76. The wedge-shaped body was designed by Marcello Gandini and built by Bertone.
Lancia's Stratos also won the 1974 Targa Florio road race, and the Tour de France Automobile five times...
The July event was a diverse show, with enough surprise participants on both car and pooch fronts, that we wonder what we'll encounter in the dog days of August...
Event schedule note:
For more info on Boulder Coffee & Classics, you might contact event founder Mike Burroughs by way of fuelfedboulder@gmail.com.
Photo Credits:
All photos are by the author.
No comments:
Post a Comment