З автомобілем у серці
On the market of dual-purpose motorcycles, we are not spoiled with special choice. Especially in the class "up to a liter". The Honda Africa Twin was and still is the most sought-after touring enduro and, now and then appearing again, the Africa has been warming the soul of extreme travelers for more than 30 years. On May 20, 1988, the first production Honda Africa Twin was released, hot on the heels of the bike that won the Paris-Dakar Rally.
In October 1969, Nissan introduced the Fairlady Z sports coupe. The car was exported to the European and U.S. markets as the Datsun 240Z and caused a revolution in the sports car segment. A good, affordable, reliable sports car from Japan that could also be used on a daily basis, which was unheard of at the time.
More recently, Porsche began production of the new 2020 Porsche Speedster, which is based on the 991-generation 911. The car was presented in April 2019 at the New York Auto Show and will go on sale later this year. But the roots of the sports convertible go back to 1952, when the first Porsche Speedster was produced. And here is its brief but quite interesting history.
“Whatever the future development of this type of car in Germany, there is no doubt that Hitler's government will help to popularize it”, an excerpt from an article by W.H. Millgate in The Detroit News, April 1933. Of course, you guessed that we're talking about prototypes of the VW Beetle, an absolute bestseller that, by and large, won't be out of production until July 2019. However, there is one page in the history of this car that few people are familiar with.
That's something you wouldn't wish on your enemy. After World War II, BMW, one of the leading German companies in the car market, was left empty-handed. The honest communists took away the company's four complete factories along with the blueprints. The plants went to the German "red zone" (Brandenburg industrial area). What was not taken away was bombed and robbed. Thinking about new models was just pointless. If not for the BMW Isetta.
Because of the political circumstances, we don't know much about the Korean War campaign in the 1950s. We know that the bad Americans attacked the good North Koreans, who in turn started shooting at the bad South Koreans. The good, kind, honest and just soviet union could not help reacting to such an outrage and, of course, quietly took an active part in the confrontation in Korea. But there is one thing we do not know. If it were not for that mess, we would not have seen the wonderful Toyota Land Cruiser SUV, whose history begins with that very unpleasant conflict.
This is a very special car. Not only in its design, but also in its technical characteristics and solutions, it is ahead of its time. The Lancia Delta undoubtedly belongs to the cohort of rally stars that achieved phenomenal success on the market. It was the only Lancia to win the title of Car of the Year.
