As we approach the final stages of the 22nd FIFA World Cup, we're reminded that, while football might be the world's pastime, only eight nations have won the sport's top title. Those winners have reached the peak of the people's game', but which one of them has provided the best automotive hero to its people? All eight victors have histories of vehicle production, albeit some more extensive than others. In gathering their motoring representatives, we've chosen cars that were relatively affordable in their day and certainly not into the realm of the supercar - that's not quite in the spirit of the game. To keep a reasonably level playing field, we've picked cars that were all on sale in the 1960s or early '70s.
The success of South American teams in the World Cup has required some creativity - the number of Uruguayanbuilt cars in the entire Northern Hemisphere can likely be counted on one hand, after all-but, fortunately for us, the mid-century trend for license-building and import tariff-dodging local subsidiaries gives plenty of close approximations that are more readily found here in the UK. A player making a switch in nationality as they move from junior to senior international football, if you will.
We'll select our overall victor via an eight-nation knockout tournament, judging a winner of each match-up on best-of-seven criteria. So, which nation's champion will win the Classic & Sports Car World Cup?
RENAULT 8 GORDINI
Les Bleus' have a reputation for blowing hot and cold, only able to achieve true brilliance when united by a rare mercurial talent. France's successes, first in the European Championships and then in two World Cups, have coincided with the careers of Platini, Zidane and Mbappé for no small reason. Fortunately for Renault, they hit upon a similar sporting genius in Amédée Gordini, Le Sorcier.
この記事は Classic & Sports Car の January 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Classic & Sports Car の January 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring