Malaysiaminilover

Author: Angelina Soul

A glance at the original 100-year-old 1912 Buick Model 35

The 1912 Buick Model 35 is a unique car that you don’t see that often on the road, or you may not even stand a chance to see it. This 100-year-old antique car does not have any huge horsepower like what today’s supercars have and it is unable to reach 60 mph in less than four seconds. Indeed, this Brass Era car is extremely slow and seeps for sometimes but it is definitely one of a kind.

With the open roof design, the driving experience will be greatly enhanced. The car fits five comfortably. Drivers and passengers tend to enjoy the scene while traveling, guess what, because the car can’t go fast.

It doesn’t have any metallic or pearl paint on the body but it is finished in a rich-looking maroon shade. Radiator shell, headlamps, and windshield frame are brass-plated. Wheels are made of varnished wood and the dashboard had a very upscale persona.

A restored 1912 Buick Model 35

May 15, 2012
The Ultimate Mini you don’t see that often

This picture is taken from Sydney Minis/Facebook. It is the ultimate Mini fitted with many ultimate parts. Look at that air inlet on top of the monster engine, does it reminds you of Vin Diesel’s muscle car in the movie “The fast and the furious”? Look at the special wheel arches, MK grill, clean engine, stainless steel wiper, and the sport seats inside the car. Err, missing the side mirror? The Mini is sitting on a set of ultimate Rebel wheels which believed to be 13” x 8”. Conclusion? You don’t find this kind of Mini on the road everyday.

Have any Mini related or cars related photos and story to share? Email us at Malaysiaminilover [at] gmail [dot] com.

May 14, 2012
Goodbye Carroll Shelby, we will be missing you

If you are a huge fan of AC Shelby Cobra, Ford Mustang Shelby GT350, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and some other great muscle cars, you have got to know the gentleman behind these cars, Carroll Shelby. The legendary car designer and world-champion racing driver died on Thursday at the age of 89. Shelby’s spirit and the cars he built will be will be with us forever.

Carroll Shelby is a winner at 24 Hours of Le Mansin 1959. He was driving for Aston Martin during that time and teamed with Roy Salvadori. From Le Mans driver to Formula One driver, Shelby has participated in a total of eight World Championship races and several non-championship races. He was awarded driver of the year in 1956 and 1957 by Sports Illustrated.

Carroll Shelby stand in between two Shelby Cobra

Other than championship races, the legendary car builder is well-known for his lifelong dedication to a few great cars he built, namely the Shelby Cobra 427 that used to beat Ferrari in Europe and the tuned Ford Mustang. Now you know the reason why there are so many cars bored with “Shelby” name.

Shelby was born in 1923 in Leesburg, Texas, he was a son of the rural mail carrier. At the age of 7, Shelby suffered heart valve leakage problems and he has been fighting with his health problems. After his health improved, he fell in love with cars and that decided his life journey.

Carroll Shelby pose with three AC Cobras

How many people actually know that the man who built the powerful and cool muscle car is sweet? Shelby used to write letters, put them into flying boots and drop them on his fiancée’s farm during World War II when he served as a flight instructor and test pilot. What today’s lovers do? Email, WhatsApp, LINE, and Facebook.

1950s is the most colorful decade for Shelby to be a racer. He then retired from driving in Octorber 1959 due to health reasons and shifted his passion to build race cars. Shelby obtained a license and imported the AC Cobra from England to America and he replaced the original Bristol engine with Ford’s V8 engine, later known as Shelby Cobra. The Shelby Cobra eventually won the international Grand Touring championships in 1965. Shelby continued to be the key person to help Ford to develop several hot cars including the Daytona Coupe, GT350, GT500, and the GT40 that beats Ferrari at LeMans.

One thing we love this fascinating man so much is his philosophy in making great cars. When he was asked what was the best car he ever built, his answer is always “The next one.” Now we know the next one is not going to come. Goodbye Carroll Shelby, we will be missing you.

Carroll Shelby and Ford Shelby GR-1 Concept, RIP.

May 11, 2012
Fahrradi Farfalla FFX – Ferrari look-alike bicycle

An Australian artist built a Ferrari look-alike bicycle – the Fahrradi Farfalla FFX, where FF stands for its power option, Fred Flintstone. This homemade Ferrari Fahrradi Farfalla FFX did not powered by anything above 500hp but it is equipped with pedals, crank arm, chain rings, handle, absorber, brakes, gear, four wheels, and some basic things you may find on a typical bicycle. In other words, power from driver’s leg is the source to move the car.

Guess what? The car has side mirror, glass look-alike sunroof, two seats, and gullwing doors! Headlight is built from 200 LEDs and the front view of the 220-lb Fahrradi Farfalla FFX is a combination of Ferrari Enzo and Ferrari 458 Italia. As for the rear view, phew, it’s one of a kind but kind of futuristic. If you view the car from far away, you may think that the car is fitted with some kind of 20-inch hot exotic wheels but it is actually bicycle wheels with less than three inches wide.

A cool car can’t without a cool name. The Australian artist Johannes Langeder named his vehicle Fahrradi Farfalla FFX not just because Fahrradi sounds like Ferrari. It’s because Fahrrad means bicycle in German and Farfalla means butterfly in Italian. Inside the car, there is no luxury dashboard or a set of nice audio system. There is an angle gear attached to the rear axle and it moves the gullwing doors while driving, resulting in wing beat similar to that of a butterfly – Farfalla.

The question now is if the Fahrradi Farfalla FFX is going for an auction, how much you willing to pay for the zero-emission, tax-free, maintenance-free exotic car? Hmm, yes we consider it as a car because it is four-wheeled, covered, and has a cool exterior.

May 9, 2012
World’s one and only Ferrari motorcycle fetches £85,000

World’s one and only Ferrari motorcycle sold at Bonhams auction in UK on April 29th for £85,000, that’s about $137,700. It is no surprise that motor cars or motorcycles sold through the largest auction house always fetch an astonishing price tag. All vehicles went into the auction house either had a great history or once owned by a great man before, such as the rusty Mini sold for £40,250 last week and the eBay auction for Neil Armstrong’s Corvette Sting Ray that end with a final sky-high price of $250,090.

So, what is so special about this Ferrari motorcycle besides it is the only one motorcycle that badged the prancing horse? The two-seater, roofless, a-rain-coat-is-needed motorcycle is built completely from scratch by the well-known bike-maker David Kay Engineering and officially sanctioned by Piero Ferrari in 1990, two years after his father Enzo Ferrari passed away.

The motorcycle didn’t have any big horsepower V12 engine. It has a simple 900cc non-Ferrari engine that produces 105bhp. The body did not contain any carbon fiber parts but it is made out of aluminum to reduce its weight to a mere 172kg. One reason this motorcycle is badged with Ferrari logo is because it is able to accelerate from a standstill to 60mph in under three seconds, and that’s a Ferrari!

So far this motorcycle has only one owner for the past 17 years since it was completed in 1995, a private British collector whom we believe he has kept this motorcycle in his living room as a piece of art more than a vehicle.

£85,000 may have surprised many people but if you are a big follower of Banhams, there are few motorcycles sold at higher price, these being the 1955 Vincent 998cc for £124,700, the 1939 Vincent-HRD 998cc for £225,500, and the 1934 Brough Superior 996cc for £242,300.

In a nutshell, the one-off scratch built 900cc motorcycle has a strong connection to one of the most prominent sports cars maker and it is a tribute to Enzo Ferrari. It is definitely a piece of history that we can’t see it else where. Audi paid more than €850 million for Italian bike brand Ducati and someone has just paid £85,000 for this motorcycle. What do you say? Worth or not?

May 9, 2012