Triumph Vitesse

Triumph Vitesse, Traversée de Paris Hivernale 2017

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Standard-Triumph, Coventry, England. Produced after Standard-Triumph became part of Leyland, the Triumph Vitesse was a higher performance and sportier version of the Triumph Herald.   It initially had a 1.6 litre engine that was later upgraded to a 2 litre engine.  Both were straight 6 cylinder standard engines.  Introduced in 1962 the model ran until 1971 and was styled by the Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti.   The most distinctive feature was the slanted front four headlights. Many body parts were shared with the Herald but the chassis was different.  Both 2 door saloon and 2 door convertible versions of this 4 seater were made.  Although it had sporting looks it was not a particularly fast car.  The 1600cc version had a top speed of under 85 mph and 0-60 mph time of just under18 seconds. The 2 litre version was faster with a top speed of 100mph.  Over 50,000 were built.  They weren't raced often but did compete in Trans Am racing in the early seventies and entered in rallies such as the Monte Carlo Rally in 1963.  Vic Elford rallied a Vitesse early in his career.

Chevrolet Corvair

Chevrolet Corvair

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Chevrolet, USA.   The Corvair was a car of the sixties and was unusual in that it was quite compact for the time and had a rear mounted engine.   It was available as a hardtop with both 2 or 4 doors and also as a convertible as seen here.  The car was attacked by the consumer activist, Ralph Nader, on safety grounds but the car was probably no more unsafe than any other of the time. The car above is a first generation car that was sold from 1960 to 1964.  The engine variants were all aluminium and under 3 litre.  In my view this was one of the best looking American cars of the sixties.  Some chose to race these cars in the US and they achieved some minor wins.  In the UK, Ian Richardson used one with a Chevy V8 engine in Super Saloons with some success.