The 1800 - Part I

Just for fun, I've decided to come up with a list of 10 Cars of the best cars I can think of with engines with a capacity of 1800CC or lower

Here are the first 5

1. Mercedes Benz E-Class
   

The daddy of government vehicles has a new model out, the 2009 W212 E-Class.
We would have seen it sooner if it wasn't for Uhuru Kenyatta's interesting decision. The new E-200 sports a 1796cc engine that puts out 180HP and does 0-100Kph in 8 Seconds (its big brother the E-63 AMG will do this in 4 seconds flat)
It boasts many new innovations and technologies like the ability to recognize and adhere to speed limits from the signs on the side of the road and an integrated Night Vision system. A rear seat package will have similar amenities to that of a rear seat in the S class. A key element for any "Mheshimiwa".

2. Alfa Romeo 159




You saw a couple of these sexy little Italians in the opening sequence of Casino Royale. Penned by the Legendary Giorgetto Giugaro in conjuction with Alfa Romeo Centro Stille,they are part of the reason there such a thing as an "Alfa Romeo owners club".

While the ones in the movie were probably the 3.2L V6 JTS models, the 2009 model year comes with a new variant, the 1.75 TBi, which does 8.1L/100km and 0-100Kmh in 7.7 Seconds with its 1.75 L petrol engine.

3.Volvo s40


Volvos have a famous reputation for safety, but clearly they didn't play it safe with their new models. The S40 was launched with a silly viral campaign in 2004, something about an entire village buying Volvos.
Bad marketing aside, its a beautiful looking car with stellar crash safety ratings. Its 1.8L variant does 9L/100Km and takes 10.9 seconds to get to 100Kmh

4. Mazda6

This second Generation Mazda6 debuted at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, 1.8L models are only available in certain markets. An Optional 6 Speed Manual Gearbox spices things up.

Zoom-Zoom!!

5. Skoda Superb

This Czech member of the Volkwagen group shares the bulk of its mechanicals with the VW Passat and can be had in 1.4 and 1.8 Litre variants.

The difference, the Superb is 10cm Longer than the VW, allowing for greater legroom in the back for our Honourable Members of Parliament.

Optional features include Dual-Zone Air conditioning, Alcantara leather upholstery (usually seen in No. 1 above) and an 8 Speaker, Touch screen stereo with a 6 CD changer, an SD card slot and an Aux in socket for your favourite MP3 Player.

The Lamborghini Miura

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Yesterday, I was on my way home, smarting from an incident at a bank which just killed my day, when I suddenly thought about the Lamborghini Miura.

Just like that it pops into my mind and I remember how important it was for Lamborghini. It was the first time they dared to go against the Status Quo.

The tractor business was doing great, the oil crisis hadn’t hit, the economy was fine, then out jumps Ferrucio Lamborghini, with some new sportscar.

Lamborghini owes it existance to poor customer service.

As a wealthy agricultural machinery manufacturer, Ferruccio Lamborghini was able to take up some issues he was having with the clutch of his 250 GT directly with Enzo Ferarri.

Legend has it that Enzo was insulted that a man who made tractors could dare critique his fine motor cars. So like good Italians they got into a heated argument.

Lamborgini later had one of his mechanics fix the clutch. It turned out it was from the same manufacturer as some of the ones he used on his tractors.

So as a result of poor customer service, Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A was born.

But like most startups, after a while, things fell apart .

The thing is, he was trying to do it just like everyone else.

His first attempt at a sportscar, the 350 GTV wasn't warmly received by the motoring community. It looked exactly like any other Sportscar. Then he came up with the Miura.

The car was named after the Spanish Miura bull breeders, whose animals have a proverbial attack instinct. It was a complete departure from the design language of the day and its wedge shape can still be seen in most of todays sportscars.

At the time, sportcars basically looked like the Jaguar E-Type. They were curvy, they had long hoods and short rear overhangs. Today we look at the the E-types and Ferrari 250s and Mercedes 300SLs, and marvel at how graceful and elegant they look.

_{The Mercedes 300SL "Gullwing" the fastest production car at the time}

But make no mistake, at the time they were just as radical as the supercars of today. The 1966-72 period the Miura was produced was the time of the Peugeot 404!!

Truth be told the Miura really owes its radical styling cues to another Ferarri basher, the Ford GT40.

However what caught the attention of the motoring public was what lay inside.

The Miura was powered by a 3.9L V12 engine transversely mounted in the middle of the car, right behind the passenger cell.

This unusual engine layout led to incredible interest in the vehicle. In fact, at the 1965 Turin Motor Show, only the chassis was shown, but multiple orders for the car were placed!

The car was not a commercial success, only 764 were built. But it placed Lamborghini firmly in the spotlight as a serious contender, a spot it occupies to this day.

In 2006 , A retro Lamborghini Miura concept car was presented. It was the first design by the then new Lamborghini chief, Walter de'Silva, and it commemorated the 40th anniversary of the 1966 introduction of the original Miura in Geneva.



Lamborghini's president and CEO at the time, Stephan Winkelmann decided the concept would never be brought to production, saying

“The Miura was a celebration of our history, but Lamborghini is about the future. "

Those words ring true to this day.