British and European Car Spotters Guide - 1970

The 150,000th Porsche

After the many competition successes achieved in 1970, Porsche topped another important milestone on September 22. Ferry Porsche Jun., vice-president of Porsche KG, handed over to its owner the 150,000th Porsche at the Zuffenhausen works near Stuttgart. Porsche, which had always been the smallest of the German car manufacturers, had by 1970 been in existence 20 years and produced around 80 cars per day. The 100,000th car, a 912 Targa, left the factory in 1966. No less than 50 per cent, of Porsche's total output was exported, many going to the United States. The 150,000th customer was indeed an American, David L. Nurse, a director of Boeing Aircraft Corporation, in Seattle. Nurse bought his first Porsche in 1958 and drove it for more than 100,000 miles. His 1970 car was a 911S Coupe, and was his eighth Porsche.

The Ford Pinto

Ford of America's answer to foreign imports made its European debut at the French Motor Show in Paris. The sub-compact Pinto, which used many British components, was a stylish two-door saloon with sporting trends. Although compact, the Pinto was a full four-seater offering high standards of comfort and space. In standard form the Pinto is powered by an ohv 1600 cc engine made by Ford of Britain, while a ohc 2-litre was optional. Mr. John Naughton, Ford vice-president and Ford Division General Manager, said of the new vehicle, "The Pinto we are introducing this year will look essentially like the Pinto we expect to sell in 1975."

The Nota Fang and Status Minipower

In the early 1970s there were two Lotus Seven-like mid-engined Mini-based cars, the Nota Fang and the Status Minipower. Nota had started building cars here in New South Wales with some success, although in England the car failed to catch on. Strikingly similar in shape, the Minipower, built by an ex-Lotus employee, seemed to be a better proposition. Like the Unipower, the Status had a right-hand gearchange, a la racing cars. The Mini's sparring partner, the Hillman Imp, also provided a cheap yet easily tuneable power unit for rear-engined sports cars. Paul Emery, who tuned Imp engines with great success, built his own GT, a full space-frame car with a glassfibre body and a neat anti-squat anti-dive suspension system.

Emery used the Coventry Climax-based Imp engine in the centre of his car, which helped it to handle and corner beautifully. It was due to this that the car was so quick on the track. Dermis Adams, who produced many of the Marcos designs, built the amazing Probe series, originally Imp powered, that were so low they seemed ready to overtake other vehicles by passing underneath! Standing 29 inches high from the ground, the car had to be entered from the roof. Later Adams' designs on the same lines called for the utilisation of BMC 1800 and American V8 power units. Other Imp-based vehicles available included the Ginetta GIS, the Davrian and the oddly-named Sheen Imperator, of which no more than two examples were built.