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Other "REAL" Grand Tourismos & "not so" GTs

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Sorry Doc, I'll have to disagree on that one.
Just because there are about the same number of breakdowns between 928s and Europas per year, they made a lot more 928s.

Don't get me wrong. I love Europas. Like this local S1. I have unfortunately also worked on too many of them, too often, with too little parts support.
 
racingenglishcars said:
Sorry Doc, I'll have to disagree on that one.
Just because there are about the same number of breakdowns between 928s and Europas per year, they made a lot more 928s.
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Ah, ignore Doc! He's just try'n to get a rise out'a me. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif

Fact is - it ain't the break downs that kill me it's the cost in $$$ and man hours when they do happen.

Knock wood <raps a couple of times on my grandpa's 100+ year old desk!> – my Shark has been running great for some time now and spend almost all of my free time in it when I'm not working on the MG or in my truck & spent almost the entire Thanksgiving holiday driving it without incident.
 
My personal one would be a '77 Pontiac Trans Am limited. Drove it 5500 miles on vacation in 28 days. Really liked that car..
 
leecreek said:
My personal one would be a '77 Pontiac Trans Am limited. Drove it 5500 miles on vacation in 28 days. Really liked that car..
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Thank you Burt Reynolds. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif
 
See, Bret - now we're getting sportscars & pony cars tossed in...think our GT (Grand Tourismo or Grand Touring))definition needs some tweeking!
 
Caveat this list isn’t restricted to the unobtainable or rare (as Tony points out) - but for all vehicles that truly meet the general idea of what a Grand Tourer should be set down in the other tread.

*Torque
*Exceptional performance
*Comfort
*Cover large distances very quickly

Ahh I get it...A Chunk of American Iron
 
Actually, I can see why some folks might consider some American muscle & pony cars into the mix when thinking GTs. Truth be told I can see more GT in some (not all mind you) of those American vehicles than I can some of the more pricy European cars with the letters GT clearly & deliberately stamped on their backsides.

Example: while the creature has clearly evolved & grown more sophisticated over the past 40 plus years – I do not (and I know this’ll PO a few folks too) consider the Porsche 911 in any of it’s modern variants (GT1, GT2 or GT3) a true Grand Tourer.

But I never said we all had to agree on what a Grand Tourer is and if fact the truth behind this little exercise was just that – to see how many variations the collective would come up with when asked what makes a GT and what doesn’t.

That said I’ve known many people (some here in fact /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif ) that look at the Porsche 928 as more of an German Muscle Car so perhaps this just goes to reinforcing those shades of gray when trying to neatly pigeon-hole a particular vehicle into one category or another.
 
You know, the Thunderbird was definitely a GT - after the first little ones in the '57 era!
 
I guess I include the Mustang for the reason that I think the last few generations (Fox and up) are really more GT cars than anything else. Really not powerful enough to be a true muscle car, and nowhere near a real sports car. It's true that with modifications it could be either, but a stock one is a nice, fast cruiser.

GT is truly a wide category, and open to personal interpretation. I think of a 2-door 2 seat (or 2+2) with good luggage space and plenty of power/torque. What would tip a car for me would be the handling/comfort equation -- my idea of a GT has that solidly in the comfort camp, with enough good handling manners to be fun when the road gets interesting.

In the end, for me, it would be the sort of car I'd not only want to drive across country on a long vacation/road trip, but one that would make the journey better, not just adequate.
 
In that case, I'd add the Lancia HPE...but there's a distinction US car makers made & that's the "pony" car...it was somewhere between a sportscar & a true GT though many of them carried the GT name as an upgrade.

I'd consider all Mustangs in the "pony" car class - just a step below GT - even those carrying the GT name.
 
Bret said:
Ah, ignore Doc! He's just try'n to get a rise out'a me. \:\/

Fact is - it ain't the break downs that kill me it's the cost in $$$ and man hours when they do happen.
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rats.... sussed. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif
 
true Gran Tourisimo cars have to be Italian, so I nominate my FIAT Dino Spider, from the previous suggestions in this thread, it has a back seat of questionable value, lots of power in the form of 3 2-barrel webers feeding a twin-cam V6 and loves to eat the miles.

Although for the modern iron, I just finished a 1,000 mile trip in my Honda S2000 and was ready for another 1,000 miles so it was awfully comfortable too.

That is the idea of a GT, when you get to your destination you are rested, happy and wishing the road had been longer, the Dino fits that bill perfectly and so does the S2000.

Then again my 34 Singer 1.5 Litre Sports is quite a touring car itself (just to keep it British)
 
Gran Tourismo should be Gran Turismo, and appropriate for the Grand Tour of Europe, as amended in the 50s and 60s.
So definitely powerful, well-handling (to deal with the odd Alpine Pass you might encounter), long-legged, compfortable and beautiful.
Although not everyone's picture of a GT car, the last Alvis, the TE21, Drop-head Coupe, would be a prime candidate in my mind.
 
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif
 
NO, Doc, NO!!
 
Alfa Spider with a hardtop - hehehehehehehehe

(I still want a hardtop for mine)
 
mikeyr said:
true Gran Tourisimo cars have to be Italian, so I nominate my FIAT Dino Spider, from the previous suggestions in this thread, it has a back seat of questionable value, lots of power in the form of 3 2-barrel webers feeding a twin-cam V6 and loves to eat the miles.
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So I've been musing on this and think I have to agree - it should be Italian - or at the very least European - not even sure British qualifies - except maybe Bond Cars /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

My reasoning goes like this - there are certain categories and names that describe certain cars in certain contexts. Even though other cars might meet the criteria, they don't match the context. Thus, while GTO's might have two doors, back seats, luggage room and good speed, that doesn't make them GTs. Perhaps a more helpful example might be a Shooting Brake. Technically, every station wagon (OK, every 2 door wagon) meets the criteria but very few match the context. Most all British though somehow a volvo might sneak in. However, a Nomad could never be construed as a Shooting brake

My 2cents - thoughts?
 
AngliaGT said:
Doc!,

You washed the +2?

- Doug
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....yeah, right.... /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif
 
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