What ever happened to 90's coupes: Holden Calibra

This year is going to be a tough transition for Holden, attempting to change it's image from an all Aussie manufacturer to full importer of vehicles; it might put buyers off. However, in reality Holden have imported many a rebadged General Motors product over the years and one stand out came in response to Japan's rather good coupes of the 90's. I am of course talking about the Holden Calibra.

Never heard of it? I don't blame you, nobody bought the darn thing, which is a real shame, let me explain why. Firstly there's the way the Calibra looks, designed in house by GM I can't help feel there's something of the Alfa Romeo SZ and BMW 840i about it, low nose, narrow slit headlights, flat rear end with some chunky light lenses all linked by a low roof line befitting of a sports coupe. The Calibra looks good especially when parked next to its far more rounded contemporaries like the Celica and Prelude.

Another plus point for the Calibra lurked under that sleek bonnet, the star motor was a 2 litre turbo 4 cylinder linked to a 6 speed manual and a four wheel drive system. The Calibra Turbo was good for 150kw and a 0-100km/h sprint of 7.3 seconds. Considerably quicker that it's Japanese rivals. Other engine choices included a silky smooth 2.5 litre V6 and freer revving 2 litre 16v non turbo engine fettled by renowned engine guru's Cosworth, the two non turbo choices were front wheel drive only.

Underneath a Calibra lurks this repmobile

Chassis wise the Calibra utilised the underpinnings of the decidedly non sporty Opel Vectra/Vauxhall Cavalier (yes the thing in the picture). However despite the under whelming image the Vectra had a reasonable suspension set up. Utilising a front sub frame holding the engine with MacPherson struts and in four wheel drive models the rear torsion beam was swapped out for a totally independent rear end also in its own sub frame. So in spite of competitors being designed from the ground up as sports cars the Calibra could actually hold its own in the twisty stuff.
      

Interior wise the Calibra was less inspiring unfortunately, that same Vectra/Cavalier pairing that supplied a winning chassis couldn't supply an equally winning interior. Cheap plastics, flimsy construction, a big blob of a steering wheel and zero sporting accoutrements make for a very dated interior. Sure there was an option of leather seats to smarten things up but how well these have worn is questionable.

Decidedly bland

Now I mentioned that nobody bought a Calibra, which makes tracking one down difficult 20 years later. However if you are in the market for a 90's coupe I urge you to try and seek one out, They look good, go well, handle with composure and are rarer than things which command 6 figure asking prices! And for me the real clincher is that despite their rarity it has done nothing to push up values. As I type this there are fewer than 10 advertised online but all are for under $3000. Do your bit to save an original imported Holden before they all disappear. Here's one I found earlier: Holden Calibra    

Car of the Week: Citroen BX

Readers, my apologies for the tardiness of this post, unfortunately with a day job to go too I have neglected my blog. However wanting an escape from the everyday I'm back and hopefully the uniqueness of my car this week makes up for a lack of activity. I give you the Citroen BX Turbo Diesel.

First things first, this weeks car needs some work but as the BX was never sold in Australia the car is so incredibly rare that when I stumbled across it on Gumtree I just had to feature it and if your a French car fan at $800 surely it's worth a look.

If you need convincing though, here's some background on the BX, a proper wacky Citroen if ever there was one. The styling for starters takes all that was good with the wedge and mashes it with some truly 80's angles to make a hatchback like none other, look at those rear wheel arches for example, their barely there, the wheels just poke out giving a look akin to a classic american street machine, all low and sleek. Of course the BX also came with Citroen's legendary "magic carpet" like hydropneumatic self leveling suspension so if for some reason you wanted it even lower a flick of a switch could see the BX dropped onto it's bump stops.

With almost 30 different BX model variants produced between 1982 and 1994 it's handy that your choice in Australia is limited to what some loving, emigrating owners decided to import, otherwise you'd get stuck in a mine field of letter and number combinations ranging from BX11, through 19D, TRD Turbo and even GTi. For the record though contemporary press reckoned the BX to have was the 66kw Turbo Diesel, a car that became Britain's best selling diesel in the early 90's due its combination of refinement and power. It could do the 0-100km/h sprint in 11 seconds which at the time was hot hatch territory and totally unheard of for a supposedly dirty, noisy diesel.

And would you believe it the one and only BX I stumbled across for sale in Australia right now is a desirable turbo diesel with some lovely period alloy wheels. As I said however it is in need of some work. That brilliant engine has done a staggering 480000km and could probably be doing with a rebuild. Another few bits need looking at before it's roadworthy again too like some tyres and a general tidy up. Don't let this BX's rarity put you off restoring it, the Citroen shares it's platform with the Peugeot 405, a car that was actually sold Down Under, meaning parts might not be as hard to come by as you'd think and there is of course the wonder that is Ebay if you need to source bits from overseas, they built over 2 million BX's so the parts are cheaply available in Europe.
Citroen BX Turbo Diesel, $800





I'll be back with next weeks car in a few days, but if you do happen to buy this car let me know, as I'd love it to find an enthusiastic owner.                    

Bruce's Car of the Week: Saab 900 Turbo

A rare and alternative Swedish beastie this week, the Saab 900 Turbo, also referred to as the 900 Aero. These cars appear to be disappearing fast from Australia's roads meaning that now might be the best time to buy one before they completely vanish into collectors hands and the prices sky rocket.

What you need to know 

Unless you've been living under a rock you should know that Saab no longer exist. GM ditched Saab during the financial crisis and after a succession of failed takeover bids the company shut up shop in 2013. At the time fingers were pointed and ultimately GM was blamed for the death of the once iconic car company however this isn't strictly all true. For years Saab had lacked the money to develop interesting and truly new cars. Their model range in 2013 was pitifully small and the cars themselves severely dated and outclassed by almost all of their rivals, the writing had been on the wall for some time.

A convertible was also available

Image

There was a time though when Saab had some capital and dared to be different, the 900 Turbo comes from this era, the 1980's. A decade where Swedish stablemates Volvo were playing it safe with conservative boxes, a trend they hadn't given up on until fairly recently to be honest, Saab went down a more radical approach to designing and engineering. Taking ques from its predecessor the 99 the 900 shape with its long bonnet upright "A" pillars and sloping coupe-like rear end is unique and instantly recognisable, even to those who don't have petrol running through their veins. It's safe to say that if you drive a 900 your sure to get some admiring glances. Cars say a lot about their owners too and arrogance and obnoxiousness are not befitting of a Saab owner, they have traditionally been the go to car if one wanted to appear understated and calm. So as well as standing out in a queue of traffic the 900 might be right up your street if you want to come across as a level headed, academic, cross word extraordinaire sort of chap.

 

Engineered differently

So we've established that Saab designed cars differently and that driving one says a lot about the owner. But Saab also went about engineering it's car differently, the 900's engine for example is installed backwards and its argued that this is for many complicated space saving and weight distribution reasons. Although for everyone else all it means is that all those belts and pullys usually easily accessible at the front of engine bay are squashed up by the firewall at the back. 900's also had double wishbone front suspension that made the 900 ride and handle much sweeter than its MacPherson strut equipped counterparts. You can probably guess by now that the addition of a turbo to the 900 just makes the Saab experience more enjoyable, albeit maybe slightly irritating until you get used to the 80's turbo lag. How much power you get varies on what year your 900 is from, but suffice to say any 900's 2 litre turbo motor in either 8 or 16 valve will be more than enough, although with the 16 valve making 130kw and can cracking 100km/h in 8.5 seconds I know which one I'd hold out for.

   

The Saab 900 Turbo, a unique, understated, sophisticated and rare beast. And a car that I think is just going to rise in value despite the demise of its maker. A fact which shouldn't put potential buyers off. Groups like the Saab car club of Australia make it easy to keep these cars on the road and with most spare parts available online from Europe with minimal postage, the 900 has all the makings of a reliable classic.

A gorgeous early 900 turbo

Go get one

This weeks find comes courtesy of Gumtree and for a change it isn't perfect. The seller admits that the car pops out of second gear, however don't let this put you off as a lot of money has been spent elsewhere by an owner who appears to have looked after the old girl. I especially like the colour of this 900 and those 3 spoke alloys are just superb. For $5000 this car is an absolute bargain.

1989 Saab 900 Aero Turbo 16S, $5000