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Grand Tourer
A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving with performance and luxury. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 (car body style), 2+2 arrangement. Grand tourers are often the coupé derivative of Luxury vehicle, luxury saloon (car), saloons or sedans. Some models, such as the Ferrari 250 GT, Jaguar E-Type, and Aston Martin DB5, are considered classic examples of ''gran turismo'' cars. The term is a near-calque from the Italian language phrase ''gran turismo'', which became popular in the English language in the 1950s, evolving from fast touring cars and Streamliner, streamlined closed sports cars during the 1930s. Origin in Europe The grand touring car concept originated in Europe in the early 1950s, especially with the 1951 introduction of the Lancia Aurelia, Lancia Aurelia B20 GT, and features notable luminaries of Ital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lancia Aurelia
The Lancia Aurelia is a car manufactured and marketed by the Italy, Italian company, Lancia, from 1950 to the summer of 1958 — over a course of six ''series.'' Configurations included a 4-door Saloon (car), saloon/sedan, 2-door GT coupé (B20), 2-door Roadster (automobile), spider/convertible (B24), and as a chassis for custom bodywork by external coachbuilders. The Aurelia is noted for using one of list of automotive superlatives#Firsts, the first series-production V6 engines, and was the first automobile to use radial tires as standard equipment. Establishing a post-war Lancia tradition, the car was named after a Roman roads, Roman road: the Via Aurelia, leading from Rome to Pisa. Specifications The Aurelia was designed under the direction of engineer Vittorio Jano. Its engine, one of list of automotive superlatives#Firsts, the first production V6 engines, a Lancia V6 engine, 60° design developed by Francesco de Virgilio, who was between 1943 and 1948 a Lancia engin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enzo Ferrari
Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; ; 18 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari in Grand Prix motor racing, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile marque. Under his leadership in Formula One, Ferrari won nine World Drivers' Championships and eight World Constructors' Championships during his lifetime. He was widely known as il Commendatore or il Drake, a nickname given by British opponents in reference to the English privateer Francis Drake, due to Ferrari's demonstrated ability and determination in achieving significant sports results with his small company. In his final years, he was often referred to as l'Ingegnere ("the Engineer"), il Grande Vecchio ("the Grand Old Man"), il Cavaliere ("the Knight"), il Mago ("the Wizard"), and il Patriarca ("the Patriarch"). Early life Enzo Ferrari was born on February 18, 1898 in Modena, Italy, while his birth certificate states 20 February. His parents we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and began to produce its current line of road cars in 1947. Ferrari became a public company in 1960, and from 1963 to 2014 it was a subsidiary of Fiat S.p.A. It was Corporate spin-off, spun off from Fiat's successor entity, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, in 2016. The company currently offers a large model range which includes several supercars, grand tourers, and one SUV. Many early Ferraris, dating to the 1950s and 1960s, count among the List of most expensive cars sold at auction, most expensive cars ever sold at auction. Throughout History of Ferrari, its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in Auto racing, racing, especially in Formula One, where its team, Scuderia Ferrari, is the series' single oldest and most su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaguar XK120
The Jaguar XK120 is a sports car manufactured by Jaguar between 1948 and 1954. It was Jaguar's first sports car since SS 100 production ended in 1939. The XK120 was launched in open two-seater or (US) roadster form at the 1948 London Motor Show as a testbed and show car for the new Jaguar XK engine designed by Jaguar Chief Engineer William Heynes. The sports car caused a sensation, which persuaded Jaguar founder and Chairman William Lyons to put it into production. The fastest production car in the world in its time, it would go on to be developed into the XK140 and XK150 models. History Beginning in 1948, the first 242 cars were wood-framed open 2-seater bodies with aluminium panels. Production switched to the 1cwt or heavier all-steel in early 1950. The "120" in the name referred to the aluminium car's top speed (faster with the windscreen removed), which made it the world's fastest production car at the time of its launch. In 1949 the first production car, chassis num ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Hoffman
Maximilian Edwin Hoffman (12 November 1904 – 9 August 1981), was an Austrian-born, New York-based importer of luxury European automobiles during the 1950s. Known equally for his acumen and influence, Hoffman was instrumental in development and refinement of several iconic luxury sports cars, including the Mercedes-Benz 300SL ''Gullwing'', Porsche 356 ''Speedster'', and V-8 powered BMW 507 roadster. Hoffman's contributions to both automobile development and sports car racing earned him induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2003. Both his home in Rye, New York, and Park Avenue Jaguar showroom in Manhattan were designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Early life Hoffman was born on 12 November 1904 in Vienna, Austria, to a Catholic mother and Jewish father. His father owned a bicycle manufacturing business, where Hoffman worked when growing up. He developed enough skills to get a job as a factory driver for an Austrian company that produced the French A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jet Set
The jet set is a social group of wealthy and fashionable people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term was introduced in 1949 and replaced " café society"; it reflected a style of life involving travelling from one stylish or exotic place to another via jet plane. With the democratization of air travel it has been replaced at least in part by the term "''glitterati''", reflecting a greater emphasis upon celebrity, including "being seen" and stalked by ''paparazzi'', and less upon mode of travel. The term "jet set" is attributed to Igor Cassini, a reporter for the '' New York Journal-American'' who wrote a gossip column under the pen name " Cholly Knickerbocker". He was a younger brother of the fashion designer Oleg Cassini. Another term that developed during the era was ''Beautiful People'',''Vogue'' 15 February 1964:49 and '' The Ladies Home Journal'' September 1970:81, noteBarry Popik, "Beautiful people" a perio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Post–World War II Economic Expansion
The post–World War II economic expansion, also known as the postwar economic boom or the Golden Age of Capitalism, was a broad period of worldwide economic expansion beginning with the aftermath of World War II and ending with the 1973–1975 recession. The United States, the Soviet Union, Australia and Western European and East Asian countries in particular experienced unusually high and sustained growth, together with full employment. Contrary to early predictions, this high growth also included many countries that had been devastated by the war, such as Japan (Japanese economic miracle), West Germany and Austria (Wirtschaftswunder), South Korea (Miracle on the Han River), Belgium (Belgian economic miracle), France (Trente Glorieuses), Italy (Italian economic miracle) and Kingdom of Greece, Greece (Greek economic miracle). Even countries that were relatively unaffected by the war such as Sweden (Record years) experienced considerable economic growth. The boom established the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysler 300 Letter Series
The Chrysler 300 "letter series" are high-performance personal luxury cars that were built by Chrysler in the U.S. from 1955 to 1965 and were a sub-model from the Chrysler New Yorker. After the initial year, which was named C-300 for its standard Chrysler FirePower engine#331, FirePower V8, the 1956 cars were designated 300B. Successive model years were given the next letter of the alphabet as a suffix (skipping "i"), reaching the 300L by 1965, after which the model sequence was discontinued while the Chrysler 300 non-letter series, "300" remained. At its introduction it was advertised as "America's Most Powerful Car". The 300 "letter series" cars were among the vehicles built by Chrysler after World War II that focused on performance, and thus can be considered the beginning of the muscle car, though Full-size car, full-sized and more expensive. Chrysler had a long history of producing race car products going back to the Chrysler Six#Model B-70, Chrysler Six that was entered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V8 Engine
A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Origins The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, and built in 1904 by the French Antoinette company for use in speedboat racing, cars, and later, airplanes. Also in 1904, V8 engines began small-scale production by Renault and Buchet for use in race cars. Design V-angle Most engines use a V-angle (the angle between the two banks of cylinders) of 90 degrees. This angle results in good engine balance, which results in low vibrations. However, the downside is the greater width of the engine compared to those that use a smaller V-angle. V8 engines with a 60-degree V-angle were used in the 1996–1999 Ford Taurus SHO, the 2005–2011 Volvo XC90, and the 2006–2009 Volvo S80. The Ford engine used a 60-degree V-angle because it was based on a V6 engine with a 60-degree V-angle. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Straight-six Engine
A straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balance, resulting in fewer vibrations than other designs of six or fewer cylinders. Until the mid-20th century, the straight-six layout was the most common design for engines with six cylinders. However, V6 engines gradually became more common in the 1970s and by the 2000s, V6 engines had replaced straight-six engines in most light automotive applications. Characteristics In terms of packaging, straight-six engines are almost always narrower than a V6 engine or V8 engine, but longer than straight-four engines, V6s, and most V8s. Compared to V-configuration engines with similar power and displacement, the straight configuration has fewer injectors, a single head, and a single exhaust manifold, all contributing to better reliability and perfor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Automatic Transmission
An automatic transmission (AT) or automatic gearbox is a multi-speed transmission (mechanics), transmission used in motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving conditions. The 1904 Sturtevant "horseless carriage gearbox" is often considered to be the first true automatic transmission. The first mass-produced automatic transmission is the General Motors ''Hydramatic'' two-speed hydraulic automatic, which was introduced in 1939. Automatic transmissions are especially prevalent in vehicular drivetrains, particularly those subject to intense mechanical acceleration and frequent idle/transient operating conditions; commonly commercial/passenger/utility vehicles, such as buses and waste collection vehicles. Prevalence Vehicles with internal combustion engines, unlike electric vehicles, require the engine to operate in a narrow range of rates of rotation, requiring a gearbox, operated manually or automatically, to drive t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System (United States), National Highway System in the United States. The system extends throughout the contiguous United States and has routes in Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. In the 20th century, the United States Congress began funding roadways through the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, and started an effort to construct a national road grid with the passage of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921. In 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was established, creating the first national road numbering system for cross-country travel. The roads were funded and maintained by U.S. states, and there were few national standards for road design. United States Numbered Highways ranged from two-lane country roads to multi-lane free ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
