BurntOutClutch

If you know me personally, you know I’m a sucker for Subaru’s and the Baja is one I’ve been obsessed with since I was a kid. The Baja was the side of a sedan, had the storage space of a wagon, and also came with a pickup in the back. Initial reviews of this car were negative due to the peculiarity of its design and function which led to the stop of its production in 2006 after just 4 years. Looking back at it now and this thing was in a category of it own. The content featured here is from the original brochure and commercial for the Baja in 2002 showing off that unique yellow color.

Funny advertising for the Subaru Forester featuring Antonio Banderas from 1997.

Scans from Car & Driver April 1986.

A fun selection of early 2000’s “Saab Vs.” advertisements showing off the versatility of their 9-5 and 9-3 models.

The E24 line of cars was BMW’s first generation of the 6 series Grand Tourer cars. The 635CSi (L6) was produced from 1985-1987 with the Euro-spec of this car making around 215 horsepower. The E24 6 series was also offered with a performance M package which bumped up the horsepower to 256 and included a touring style body kit.

Scanned from Autosport Magazine of March 1999.

Offered in a number of trim levels with various options the AE86 was Toyota’s first generation of the Corolla produced from 1983-1987. Commonly nicknamed “Hachi Roku” in Japanese, meaning eight-six, this little thing was powered by a mighty 4A-GE inline four making about 128 horsepower which was more than enough for its roughly 2,000 pound curb weight. The AE86 was a very popular car in Japan and eventually gained notoriety in the Western world from its iconic appearance in the Initial D anime series. Contrary to most belief, the American market actually did get this car with a modified engine to meet California emission regulations. I love proportions of this car, the 3 door especially, and look at how cool the stock wheels are!

BMW's James Bond "GoldenEye" graphics for their 1995 BTCC racing season.

In the late 80’s Daihatsu took their shot at rally racing with their third generation Daihatsu Charade GTti. Powered by a small 1.0 liter turbo engine making only 105 horsepower, these little three door hatches did pretty well. In 1988, at the Safari rally, the GTti took 2nd in its class and 12th overall. In 1989 at the Lombard RAC rally, depicted on the second slide, it took 4th place in its class and 32nd overall. And finally in 1990, the Charade took 1st and 2nd in its class at the Safari rally, 9th and 10th overall out of 59 contestants!

Often overlooked is the McLaren F1's impressive racing legacy. The GTR competition version, reaching a top speed of 220 mph, immediately demonstrated its prowess by securing first, third, fourth, and fifth positions against purpose-built racers. It left the competition astounded. By the end of production in 1998, McLaren had produced seven prototypes, seventy-two street-legal models, and twenty-eight fully-fledged race versions. Notably, the Sultan of Brunei owns a notable collection of around eight F1s, while several unfortunate examples have met their demise due to over-enthusiastic owners. Fun fact, El Chapo owned one of these legendary vehicles and it has yet to be found.

New Zealand born Rod Millen is a racing legend having won the Pikes Peak time trial 5 times in his career as well as holding a record in his insane Toyota Celica. Today we’re here to talk about his Tacoma though, well, sort of. In 1998 Millen set out to break the Pike’s Peak record yet again with Toyota’s Racing Development (TRD) team backing him building what they called a Tacoma, even though it looked nothing of the sorts. Powered by a 1000 horsepower IMSA 503E race engine with power going to all four wheels, this thing could go 0-100 mph in 4.9 seconds… on dirt. Millen raced the iconic Tacoma from 1998-2000 at the Peak running nearly 10 minute flat times. The car was brought to Goodwood’s Festival of Speed a few times in the 2000’s but then sat dormant for many years. With the 100th anniversary of Pikes Peak being last year it was only right for Mullen, then aged 71, to dust off the Tacoma and put on a show.

Scans from Street Rodder November 1973.

Love it or hate it, the early 2000’s was an instrumental era for the modified car scene. Movies and shows like Fast and Furious and Pimp My Ride glorified the idea of crazy customization and street racing. Honda decided to lean into this trend with their Civic Nation ad campaign showing off the different ways people modified their cars. From bone stock to scissor doors and under glow, there is a little something for everyone. The music in these ads is great too.

1980’s ad for the Chevy S-10 pickup truck.

This little compact kei was not to be messed with though, weighing just under 2,500 lbs, the car was powered by a 20b triple rotor engine pushing 400 hp. The car utilized brakes from a Ferrari F40, transmission from a Porsche 962C, and Bilstein parts throughout. The only original parts from the AZ-1 were the iconic gullwing doors. Only one of these cars was ever made, originally painted red before it was sold and repainted white by the new owner.

The VW Polo MK2F G40 is a perfect example of a hot hatch; small, light, and nimble. With a curb weight of just 1800 lbs, the small inline 4 making about 114 bhp powers the car to go 0-60 in 8.6 seconds. The G40 edition of the Polo was slightly lowered, featured VW’s G-Lader supercharger system, Le Mans style seats, and BBS RA cross spoke wheels. An unknown number of modified G40’s were also produced for racing in the Polo G40 one-make series probably like the one on the first slide.

Original promo advertising for the release of the first generation Mazda Miata in 1990.