top 100 coolest cars, #90 500E :-) - Page 4 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Gilly · #46 10-13-2004, 05:11 AM

Besides, Alexis, "There you go again" saying that I can't consider a car cool unless I've driven it, that's BS. How many cars on the list have YOU driven?????? The Countach is pretty cool, I've never sriven it. So get off the "how can you say a car isn't cool unless you've driven it?" schtick. An butt ugly car is NOT cool.

Gilly

#47 10-13-2004, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilly

Still waitin' for the picture. ONE cool French car and I retract my statement.

Gilly

R5 Turbo?

gerryvz · #48 10-13-2004, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by w126

R5 Turbo?

That's French -- ?

How about....

Cheers,
Gerry

Alexis · #49 10-13-2004, 01:45 PM

Hi,
R5 turbo, second version (the first one hadn't "turbo" on the back window).
A very cool car to drive, many times champion in the cevennes or monte carlo rallyes, 160hp for a 1,3 liter engine if my memory is good.
I have driven a countach on a race ring. Quite interesting and bloody noisy, but a great noise and a great car. Not the car I would have anyway, too special.
It happens that I have few friends with a bit of money and many cars, all mainly back from the 70's and 80's, very few from the 60's. So it happens I have driven some of the cars listed in the 100's.
I am ready to discuss about them on this forum but shall leave the others to the "specialists".
Alexis

Bob C. · #50 10-13-2004, 03:23 PM

W126 posted an awesome picture of a very cool car: Renault R5 Turbo. Very French and totally cool, from the front or rear! A US car mag once wrote about it with high praise: Very quick, darty, and top speed only held back, as I recall, by wind resistance. While I've unfortunately never driven one, I've heard that seeing an R5 Tubo in one's rear view mirror was a good reason to move to the right hand lane.

#51 10-13-2004, 03:51 PM

When I was in junior high, Dad bought my brother a "Le Car". My Dad had/has a thing for odd cars. (Saab 99s, Fiats, 1970's Subarus

) Obviously nowhere NEAR the cool factor of a R5. It turned out to be a great college car for him. Commuted from Montana <-> Minnesota throughout his college yrs. Handled the mountain passes on ski trips to "Bridger Bowl" as well...

Gilly · #52 10-13-2004, 04:33 PM

I got 2 rear views of what I assume is the R5, looks like the butt end of a Fiat with fender flares. So far, not impressed. BUT I will admit that some pretty cool cars have their "bad side", so I'll reserve judgement until I get a side and front view. I have several "boxes with a red x" which I assume mean the images didn't load.
That gold colored "thing" looks like a Fuego without the even uglier black side molding, in other words someone tried improving the looks of a Fuego and only partially succeded.....nowheres near "cool". The gray colored thing,,,,eeesh, like parts from several different Citroens were put together into one incomprehensible mess. The front half looks better than the rear. The rear almost makes it look like it's a 3 wheeler. It's French though, so it just might be.......

ps which manufacturer is to "blame" for the Fuego? Renault?

Gilly

Bob C. · #53 10-13-2004, 05:05 PM

Anyone have a picture of the Renault Alpine from the '70s? Beautiful car, certainly "cool" and, I believe, victorious in many an alpine rally.

#54 10-13-2004, 05:11 PM

Front R5:

'80s Alpine:

Vintage Alpine:

Hatterasguy · #55 10-13-2004, 05:50 PM

A few cool French cars:
Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic
Bugatti EB110 (god help you if you flip it!)
Bugatti Royal

gerryvz · #56 10-14-2004, 03:42 AM

I was just having fun with some "typical" French cars, Gilly. You don't hear any arguments from me with your statements, whatsoever!

The Citroen steering wheels with one spoke are what always get me. I mean, your typical performance car is a 3 or 4-spoke wheel -- plenty of area for finger-holds and leverage, which is important for proper grip when cornering or driving fast or long distances.

How do you do this on a single-spoke Frenchie wheel? Hold it at the bottom?

Cheers,
Gerry

Gilly · #57 10-14-2004, 08:01 AM

The vintage (blue) Alpine front looks good. "Promising" I'd even call it. Unless the rear end is as ugly as the newer (red) alpine, that looks like a Mitsubishi Eclipse with a speaker grill bolted on. Is the Alpine rear-engined? I've heard of an Alpine before, but I thought it was a British sportscar, as a matter of fact I'm sure there was a British sportcar called an Alpine, maybe a Triumph.....somehow related to the "Stag"?
The R5 is a Yugo with fender flares, about as appealing as a LeCar.
Got more pictures of the vintage Alpine?

Gilly

Michael · #58 10-14-2004, 09:06 AM

Now, I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan of the French (remembering, among other things, that my Brothers In Arms had to fly around France during the Gulf War 'cuz they wouldn't let us in their airspace, in many cases doubling their flight time), but they have produced a few seriously nice rides. The Bugattis deserve their kudos, and that R5 is hot! Maybe it looks a bit like a toaster, but IMHO that's a really cool toaster, and fast!

Gilly · #59 10-14-2004, 10:29 AM

Nah, not cool at all. But cool is in the eye of the beholder.

I think your brothers-in-arms had to fly around France with F-111's to attack Libya, not the Gulf War. Lost a couple of them too. THANKS France. Wouldn't wanna upset Libya!

Gilly

Alexis · #60 10-14-2004, 11:52 AM

Hi,
At least, this thread is becoming interesting and a bit more fun.
The yellow car is not a fuego but a citroen XM, a car that has had many engine among which you find a V6 with 200hp. Not a very nice car but a fantastic roadholder.
The red car is an alpine a610. V6, 2.8 liter turbo and 250 km/h. a car much appreciate in Germany for it's high speed cruise capacity.
The little blue is ... an Alpine. Alpine was the name of a company of the north of France. A fantastic little car which won almost all the rallyes in the 70's before audi built it's 4 wheel drive quattro.
Renault is to blame for the fuego...just as for other cars.
In fact, in the French post war history, only citroen has been able to keep a certain spirit until the beginning of the 90 : roadholding, comfort and pleasure to drive on any road. it has always been the car of the people driving a lot, and the citroen are much appreciated in netherland and germany.
Gerry, try the one spoke wheel and tell me what you think of it. I have had one for 12 year and I miss it. I think it is much more comfortable to have the elbow resting on the door armrest and one hand on the wheel. This was also possible thanks to the self centralising direction, which means that, the car stopped and the wheel at full lock on either side, the direction was coming back by itself at the center. Nothing to do, just to release the wheel. So now imagine that on a motorway. But be carefull : 2.5 turn from lock to lock. The Citroen SM was 2 turns ! Difficult at the beginning but then what a pleasure !
I wouldn't qualify the E500 as a cool car, but as a perfect compromise.
For me, a cool car is a car that masterises the road and so let you think about something else than the road, the pleasure of the countryside or of life for instance. The E 500 doesn't, it pushes to a viril driving and a certain abuse of it's capacity. that is why I sometimes miss my Citroens, a bit like some Americans miss their cars of the 60's or 70's.