Ivan Vicario Martin
We propose a different article, a whole series of short stories about classic cars, with no other objective than to make you enjoy for a while. They are the typical curiosities that are often discussed in fan circles. We are also going to dismantle some myth, the classic wrong story that has become a dogma based on repeating it.
Therefore, we are going to talk about the kneeling statuette of Rolls-Royce or the "kinship" between the Ford T and the Ferrari F40. We will also talk about the Renault Seven and 7 or how to overturn a citroen 2cv, matter by no means simple. In addition, we will tell you where the name dashboard comes from, which was not initially inside the car.
Don't get lost either how the first Harlekin Polo was created or what the G means in the gearbox of the Porsche 959. And speaking of Porsche, we tell you how an infidelity triggered sales of the 911 Turbo in the United States. We will end the story of when Volvo was about to have its own S4.
THE MYTH OF THE SPIRIT OF ECSTASY
There are legends that remain in the collective imagination without knowing very well where they came from. One of them refers to Rolls-Royce's mascot, the Spirit of Ecstasy, and talk about its position according to the receiver of the car. It is often said that she was kneeling in the units that were destined for royalty, while the rest of the buyers received her Rolls with the Spirit of Ecstasy standing.
The real reason was much more mundane, as the mascot's leaning position was simply an attempt to improve driver visibility.
HOW TO OVERTURN A CITROËN 2CV
If you have had the opportunity to drive or go as a passenger in a Citroën 2CV, surely you have thought that it seemed that it was going to overturn due to the inclinations that the body reaches. It turns out that the opposite happens. The peculiar suspensions of the 2CV make it absorb practically all the lateral force making it almost impossible to overturn, even if we swerve at high speed.
In a British program they tried in vain to overturn a Citroën 2CV by swerving at high speed. They finally got it, circulating in reverse! You better see it on video.
FOUR CARS FOR HARLEKIN POLO
In 1995, Volkswagen introduced a multicolored version of the Polo with which it was intended to advertise the first five-door body of the model. The car was so successful that a limited series of 1.000 units called Harlekin was released. So far the known story. What almost no one knows is that, to make the first car, four units of different colors (red, blue, yellow and green) were taken at the end of the assembly line.
With parts of the bodywork of each of them, the well-known version was assembled. The base model was blue, of which the roof, the final side of the body and the sills are preserved.
WHERE DOES THE DASHBOARD COME FROM?
There are names that have been used since the dawn of the automotive industry and that, over time, have lost their original meaning. One of them is the dashboard, which, as you can imagine, comes from splashing, since it was the board that covered the feet of carriage and carriage drivers and prevented splashes. Said component, moved to the first automobiles, whose bodies were nothing more than carriages, hence the way of calling it was preserved.
Over the years and once the mechanics covered what was originally the dashboard, the name was kept for the part that faced the inside of it.
WHY WERE THERE A RENAULT 7 AND XNUMX?
Initially, when FASA launched to build the sedan version of the popular Renault 5, in France they did not trust that the resulting car deserved a house name. That's why, in the first version of the 1974 model the written “Seven” was used. It was also said that, in this way, the 100% Spanish character of the model was highlighted. The truth is that, in the second phase, the car was renamed with a number, integrating with the rest of the Renault range.
In addition, there is another urban legend that says that the front and rear windows of the Renault 7 They are equal. Unfortunately for their owners, it is not true.
CURIOSITIES OF THE FERRARI F40
As was the case with the Ford T, all the F40s were sold painted in a single color, in this case red. The reason was not savings, but that was and is, the quintessential tone of the brand. Not even Diego Armando Maradona managed to get his painted black. A detail that has never been explained has to do with the embossed "F40" lettering on its wing, which only appears on the right side, not the left.
Finally, the Ferrari F40 It was the first car to break the psychological barrier of 200 miles per hour (321 km/h), as it reached a top speed of 324 km/h.
THE SIX GEARS OF THE PORSCHE 959
The hyper-technological Porsche 959 was one of the first production cars to offer a six-speed gearbox. The funny thing is that the lowest gear is identified as G and is a creeper ratio for off-road use. In fact, said G literally means Gelände (terrain in German, hence the name G-Class at Mercedes-Benz).
In any case, to start the march, the first gear is engaged, which goes backwards, as in a “dog leg” gearbox. This distribution is considered more sporty because it was used in competition, favoring changes from second to third and vice versa.
THE COLORS OF THE FORD T
Henry Ford said it, “customers can choose their Ford T in the color they want as long as it is black”, that is, there was not much to choose from. Only in the years 1908, 1909, 1926 and 1927 could colors other than black be chosen. The official excuse was that black paint dries faster., although the real one was the reduction of costs…
Let us remember that, in his desire to save, Ford used the slats of the wooden boxes in which he received some components to manufacture the floor of the Model T. When one of his suppliers changed said packaging, he was forced to go back to the initial boxes.
DANGER AS ADVERTISING
In the United States, a lady left her husband's Porsche 911 Turbo to her lover, who ended up crashing the car. Her husband obtained the divorce without major problems and the good lady He had no other idea than to sue Porsche for the delicate behavior of the car! Surprisingly, he won the lawsuit and the German brand had to pay him compensation, in addition to being forced to warn his customers.
For Porsche it was a priceless advertising campaign, since the 911 Turbo came to be seen as a car almost for pilots and not for normal drivers. This caused sales of the model to skyrocket in the United States. All thanks to an infidelity.
THE S4 AND F4 OF VOLVO
We finish this list of car curiosities with Volvo. In the 90s, the Swedish brand decided to relaunch its product range, which included new names. For sedans, it was resolved to use the S (saloon) and in relatives the F (flexibility). Each letter would go together with a number depending on the size of the car. In this way, with the cars ready and the entire advertising campaign ready, they were preparing to present their S4... Until they received a wake-up call from Audi, which had already launched its first S4 at the beginning of the decade.
The solution was to add a 0 to the initial name, so that the Volvo S4 became the S40. And the F4? Well, they became the V40, being the V of versatility. Nor was it a plan to piss off Ferrari.
