[Aika Car Aika Perspective Original]
Since the birth of the automobile in 1886, there have been many car brands that have come out over the past hundred years, most of which have been annihilated in the long river of history. However, unlike the spinning and spiraling of life, it is not uncommon for automobile brands to be born and die. Even if the Swedish giant Saab has been displaced for more than ten years and still has no place to live, and the American high-performance representative Saleen Sailin is abandoned as a tool for money, the tragedy of the scene is imminent, and it is still impossible to stop a group of ancient car brands like excavated cultural relics who want to take advantage of the new energy trend to stage a good play of "borrowing electricity to return the soul".
THE DMC who staged the fourth part of "Back to the Future"
Founded in 1975, it collapsed in 1982, and three years after its collapse, its only production car appeared in a science fiction movie, and as one of the protagonists (worthy of its name) received multiple Oscar nominations, while also grossing more than $400 million at the box office... It can be said that as a short-lived automobile manufacturing company, the legendary degree and topicality of the American car brand DMC (DeLorean Motor Company) make it difficult for many car brands that have lasted for a hundred years to look back, not to mention the genius founder John DeLorean who has "hissed" himself from a General Motors engineer and executive to a drug dealer (this benevolent brother's life experience is absolutely wonderful, interested students please leave a message in the comment area, Find another time to talk about him in another article).
No one expected that three years after the collapse of DMC, its only production model, the DMC-12, would actually explode because of a science fiction movie.
The real protagonist of the "Back to the Future" series of movies: DMC-12, equipped with a 2.85L V6 engine, although only 132 horsepower power output, but with gull wing doors, wedge design, stainless steel brushed body panel and the movie "through time and space" car design, it has a high popularity in the world, becoming a generation of gods.
John DeLorean, from genius engineer, GM executive, DMC founder to drug dealer... This life experience may not be able to be written by a Hollywood gold medal screenwriter.
In 1997, 15 years after THE BANKRUPTCY OF DMC, a mechanical engineer who immigrated to the United States from Liverpool, England, and dug up the first pot of gold by driving an auto repair shop, bought DMC's trademark, remaining parts inventory and production line for $5 million. Took DMC from Belfast, Northern Ireland back to Houston, Texas, USA. With years of obsession with the DMC-12 (DMC's only production model), the gull-wing door sports car, Stephen Wynne easily opened the business of repairing and supplying parts for the DMC-12.
DMC's "takeover man", Stephen Wynne, a mechanical engineer and repair shop owner from Liverpool, England, bought the niche brand for $5 million in 1997 and moved DMC from Belfast, which was still shrouded in IRA terrorism, to Houston, Texas, USA. An absolute true love fan.
But Stephen Wynne spent a lot of money to buy DMC is obviously not to earn this little money, but to officially resume production of DMC-12, but although the parts are complete, and the plant and production line are complete, the US law at that time did not support the resumption of production of this technologically backward model, and the turnaround did not appear until 2015, this year, the "Small Batch Auto Manufacturers Act" was passed by the US Congress. Niche brands such as DMC are allowed to resume car production without exceeding 500 units per year.
Due to U.S. regulations at the time, Stephen Wynne could not resume production of the DMC-12 after completing the acquisition, and could only repair and supply parts for other DMC-12 owners.
The turnaround didn't come until 2015, when the U.S. Congress passed the Small Batch AutoMakers Act, and the technologically backward niche classic brands were allowed to resume production, but the annual production could not exceed 500 units.
Stephen Wynne, who thought that producing about 300 units a year would meet market demand, was shocked by the enthusiasm of the fans! In 2016, shortly after the resurrected DMC announced that it would resume production of the DMC-12, more than 3,500 fans sent subscription emails to the DMC mailbox to compete for the first 12 cars (priced at $100,000) for subscription qualifications, and even caused a mailbox crash at one point. A large number of bidders also demanded that DMC charge a high deposit to screen out competitors.
Despite the high price of $100,000, it still can't stop the fans' fanatical desire to buy a car. Not long after the news that DMC-12 will resume production was announced, more than 3500 subscription emails paralyzed the official DMC mailbox.
The frenzied market feedback gave Stephen Wynne confidence, but the 500-unit limit hung over his head like the "Sword of Damocles." Since the old internal combustion engine technology restricts the large-scale resumption of DMC-12 production, why not use the electrification trend to complete the transformation of DMC-12 and complete the nirvana rebirth of brands and products with a new electric vehicle image?
While it may seem a bit contrary to the original intention of retaining the classic, electrification allows the DMC-12 to circumvent capacity constraints, which is a very real benefit. It can be said that from the moment this idea was born, the resurrection of DMC-12 has changed from the love and affection of fans to a pure business.
Since 2019, the media has successively released the relevant information that DMC-12 will be transformed into a pure electric model; in 2021, italdesign-Giugiaro, a well-known Italian design and engineering company, took the lead in posting a message on social media, which included a picture of the old DMC-12 model and a silhouette of a new car with the DMC logo, which is equivalent to officially announcing that it will cooperate with DMC to develop a new electric model; then there was media exposure, from the British engineering company Williams Advanced Engineering, which is also a supplier of Foamula E batteries, will also participate in the project, providing technical solutions for new cars.
In 2021, this image, released by Italdesign-Giugiaro, a well-known Italian design and engineering company, opened up DMC's strategy for electrification.
The short video officially released by DMC shows that the new car will inherit the DMC-12's gull wing door design, but the front face is slightly different from the silhouette announced by Italdesign
It wasn't until February that DMC finally decided to go from behind the scenes to the front of the stage and officially posted a short video of just 13 seconds on social media, revealing a new all-electric model with a gull wing door, but it was unclear whether the new model would follow the classic name of DMC-12 or the name of Delorean EVolved. But don't wait too long: on August 18 of this year, DMC will unveil the new model, when the mystery will be officially revealed.
Highlights review:
April Fool's Day Listing! LEGO launches the Delorean DMC-12
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Beckham invested in building cars and played classic car oil to electricity
THE DMC who staged the fourth part of "Back to the Future"
Returning is still the aristocratic Hispano-Suiza
Hispano-Suiza, a car brand born in Barcelona, Spain, is unfamiliar to many people, and the brand, which was founded in 1904, means "Spain-Switzerland" in Spanish, and also commemorates the nationality of the two founders of the brand. In short, Hispano-Suiza existed as a well-known luxury car manufacturer from its inception until its discontinuation in 1938. At its peak, the H6 series, K6 and J12 were the top models of the time, which were comparable to rolls-Royce and Bugatti of the same era.
The Spanish brand Hispano-Suiza's car manufacturing business did not last long, but every model it produced was the presence of the top luxury cars of the time. The model pictured is the J12 with a 9.4-liter V12 engine and a maximum horsepower of 250 horsepower.
In 1939, Spain's great dictator, General Franco, took part in a victory parade in Madrid in a Hispano-Suiza J12.
It is worth mentioning that, similar to its former rival Rolls-Royce, Hispano-Suiza also owns an aero-engine business, and even focused on the development of aircraft engines and munitions (automatic cannons) for a long time from the beginning of World War II. Between 1904 and 1946, Hispano Suiza produced more than 12,000 luxury cars and 50,000 aircraft engines.
Like rival Rolls-Royce, Hispano-Suiza is also engaged in the development of aero engines, and the V12 aircraft engines produced by its French subsidiary were an absolute hit during World War II.
The Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighter, equipped with the 12Y-31 water-cooled 12-cylinder engine developed by Hispano-Suiza, was the main aircraft of the French Air Force during World War II.
In 1938, the automotive business of hispano-Suiza French subsidiary was halted by the French government due to the increasingly tense international situation, and the production of aircraft engines and arms was switched to production; two years later, Hispano-Suiza Spain headquarters, together with the Spanish bank Banco Urquijo and some Spanish industrial enterprises, founded the "Sociedad Ibérica de Automóviles de Turismo" (Iberian Passenger Car Association). , abbreviated S.I.A.T.), and this organization is the predecessor of Volkswagen's Spanish brand SEAT.
The creation of Seat, the Spanish car brand owned by the Volkswagen Group today, was also involved in the creation of Hispano-Suiza, and it is not an exaggeration to call it the founder of the Spanish automotive industry.
Although there is no definite time, it is now certain that the Hispano-Suiza brand has been acquired by one of its founders, D. Damián Mateu, and is currently in the hands of the most powerful and grandfathered Mateu family in Catalonia, Spain, which has operated chemical plants, wine estates, golf hotels and casinos for generations, as well as a rather magnificent castle. Peralada (the white stork farming base in the castle is said to be the origin of the Hispano-Suiza logo). The current president of Hispano-Suiza is the great-grandson of founder D. Damián Mateu.
The Hispano-Suiza brand logo is a Spanish white stork, which is said to have originated in the Peralada Castle owned by the brand's founder D. Damián Mateu, which houses a white stork farming base.
At the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, Hispano-Suiza, who has been silent for more than 70 years, unexpectedly brought a new work, the Carmen, a pure electric retro sports car, to the world again. Carmen takes its name from the founder's granddaughter, the mother of the current president. It is a supercar with a rear axle dual motors and a retro look inspired by the Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia introduced in 1938. Coincidentally, the car's powertrain was also developed by QEV Technologies, a supplier of The Formula E, and the two permanent magnet synchronous motors on the rear axle can output up to 749kW (1019Ps), the official acceleration time of 0-100km/h is less than 3s, the top speed is limited to 250km/h, and the battery pack is 80kWh.
After returning to the Mateu family, Hispano-Suiza's first model, the Carmen, takes its name from the granddaughter of the founder and the mother of the current president of the brand.
Carmen's design was inspired by the 1938 Hispano-Suiza H6B Dubonnet Xenia (part 1)
Carmen is positioned as a pure electric retro supercar, equipped with a rear axle dual motor, the maximum power is 749kW (1019Ps), and the official acceleration time of 0-100km/h is less than 3 seconds.
The car's powertrain is supplied by Fumula E supplier QEV Technologies.
The limited edition of 14 Carmens is priced at $1.7 million, which is "affordable" compared to the Carmen Boulogne, which was launched later with only 5 units.
In November 2020, Hispano-Suiza launched a special edition car based on the Carmen, the Carmen Boulogne (the term Boulogne is derived from the northern French coastal town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, who won several car races in the region in the early 2000s). This car is lighter than the original model and has more horsepower.
The Carmen Boulogne was launched to commemorate the triumph of the Hipano Suiza racing car in several car races held in the small coastal town of Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France in the early 20th century.
Carmen Boulogne's completely blackened body is decorated with bronze in many places in the middle mesh outer ring, exterior mirror housing and body, while its body shell is made of carbon fiber, and the suspension is also lightweight design, and the curb weight is 60 kg lighter than Carmen. In terms of power, the Carmen Boulogne is also equipped with a rear axle dual motor, the maximum output power is 820 kW (1115 hp), the official 0-100 km/h acceleration time is 2.6s, and the top speed is increased to 290 km/h.
The "blackened version" of the Carmen Boulogne is more powerful, lighter and of course more expensive than the original model.
There is no doubt that Hispano-Suiza, which was reborn as a "borrowed electricity", still maintains its inherent ultra-luxury brand positioning: the original Carmen is limited to 14 production units, and the Carmen Boulogne with a maximum of 5 units is only sold to the outside world, and the bicycle price is as high as 1.7-1.8 million US dollars. Of course, Hispano-Suiza claims that more categories of pure electric vehicle models will be launched in the future, but it is estimated that the pricing and production will not be too far behind Carmen. To put it bluntly, whether it is the Mateu family or the Hispano-Suiza brand, they all exude the aristocratic style of "the poor and the local tycoons are not near", and the resurrection of Hispano-Suiza seems to me more like a ticket play by a descendant of an aristocrat in order to fulfill the will of the elders and satisfy their own feelings.
Returning is still the aristocratic Hispano-Suiza
Morris Commercial, the former commercial king
Unlike the two brands above, Morris Commercial, which was born in the 1920s, is a commercial vehicle brand that has been producing light trucks and taxis since its inception. However, during World War II, Morris Commercial was also requisitioned by the British government as an arms manufacturer, producing military trucks and amphibious transport vehicles.
Early Morris Commercial taxi commercial, pictured here is the G-type international taxi introduced in 1929.
Morris Commercial's most iconic model was the half-ton J-type, a light truck that looked a bit inexhaustible in its late 1940s, with its "flat nose" shape (the front cab was rare at the time, a more innovative and practical design) and a freely customizable body (Morris Commercial provided a chassis, the body manufacturer customized according to user needs) was widely praised for its "flat nose" shape. In addition to trucks, J-type also has pickup trucks, dump trucks, ice cream trucks, milk trucks and other models. It was not until 1961, after 48,600 units were produced, that they were replaced by J4 models.
The most classic model Morris Commercial has ever produced is the half-ton truck J-type, which was launched in the late 1940s and produced nearly 50,000 units.
In addition to ordinary vans, J-type has also launched a variety of functional models such as pickup trucks, dump trucks, and ice cream trucks.
In another main business, the development and manufacture of taxis, Morris Commercial has also achieved remarkable results. In 1929 Scotland Yard (synonymous with the London Metropolitan Police Department) issued a new taxi vehicle standard, and Morris Commercial quickly launched its own taxi model G-type according to the new standard, which used the chassis and power of the Oxford sedan launched by Morris Passenger Car Company, and the 16-horsepower four-cylinder engine made it reach a top speed of 72km/h, becoming the "supercar" of the London street taxi industry at that time. In addition, its front windshield was designed with a gap on the driver's side, and the glass area was one-quarter less than that of other taxis, which is said to be designed to take into account the extremely poor air quality in London at that time, and the glass of the car was extremely foggy during driving, which seriously affected the driving safety.
The introduction of G-type taxis catered to the taxi vehicle standards just promulgated by Scotland Yard at that time, with fast acceleration, large space, and many unique designs for the actual needs of users at that time, such as 3/4 front windshields.
G-type's passenger compartment is completely isolated from the cockpit, allowing passengers to enjoy a private space while communicating with the driver in real time via a microphone in the car. Although the G-type is not as competitive as Austin's 12/4 LL in terms of market share, it still rode the streets of London for 18 years with its unique product advantages, until it was replaced by a successor in 1947.
However, although the two segments of the truck and taxi markets achieved two blossoms, after the war, they faced a problem from American manufacturers (that's you, Ford!). In the fierce competition, Morris Commercial chose to merge with Austin Motors as a "hugging and warming" way of surviving. Although it once became the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the 50s, the British automobile company (BMC) after the merger of the two car companies entered the 60s and continued to indulge in mergers, successively with Jaguar, Leland and other car companies, at this time Morris Commercial has died in name only, all the models produced are hung with the BMC logo, and the models it produces have coincided with other BMC sub-brands, Morris Commercial gradually fell out of the spotlight until 1971, when Morris Commercial's Adderley Park plant in Birmingham, which produces diesel engines, was closed and demolished, and Morris Commercial withdrew from the stage of history.
After the merger with Austin Motors, Morris Commercial is no longer popular, and its commercial models have a high degree of overlap with other brand products that have been added later, and gradually lose their attention. With the closure of the adderley Park plant, a diesel engine manufacturing plant, in 1971, Morris Commercial also withdrew from the stage of history.
However, in 2017, Morris Commercial, which has been out of the car industry for nearly half a century, suddenly made a noise, announced its new pure electric commercial vehicle plan, and in 2019 officially released morris JE, a pure electric van that inherits the unique shape of J-type. The new car is equipped with a 60kWh lithium battery and a rear axle motor, and the power parameters have not yet been announced, but it is said to have an endurance of about 320km.
In 2019, Morris Commercial, which has belonged to SAIC, released a pure electric commercial vehicle JE after a long silence, and like J-type, JE also launched a variety of body styles.
Je's vintage temperament is not limited to inheriting the unique exterior design of the J-type, its interior design, especially the narrow spoke steering wheel and boxy side windows, also exudes a full retro style.
The JE has a load carrying capacity of 1 tonne, and due to the carbon fiber composite material of the body, the price is quite expensive, reaching $78,000, which is comparable to the price of a basic Porsche Cayenne.
Compared with the former J-type, the load capacity of morris JE has been significantly improved, reaching 1 ton, but due to the use of carbon fiber composite body, morris JE's price is quite "noble" than J-type, is there really anyone willing to spend $78,000 (about the starting price of a Porsche Cayenne in the UK) to buy such a vintage van?
Conclusion: Whether it is interest, feelings or business, choosing to choose at a time when the global electric wave is surging forward, it is indeed a good idea to let brands that have withdrawn from the historical stage "return" to the scene. First of all, the combination of "classic + environmental protection" is undoubtedly very popular under the cultural background and public opinion atmosphere of today's Western society. Do you not see how many small workshops in Europe and the United States can nourish the life of the classic car "oil to electricity" business alone? Not to mention that this official IP personally went down. Whether it is a simple capital operation to withdraw a sum of money, or really want to create a career in the automobile manufacturing industry, a more beautiful story is bound to bring about all aspects, unimaginable convenience; in addition, the internal combustion engine era power system is controlled by the car manufacturers, the confinement has also been crushed under the "new wave", the resurrection of the classic brand behind-the-scenes traders can only be responsible for Coachbuilding (of course, this business can also be completely outsourced), the power, chassis and other technical issues are completely handed over to similar QEV Vendors like Technologies and Williams Advanced Engineering just solve it. As long as you don't lose your heart and mind tangled with high-end autonomous driving technology and intelligent networking (what does a good classical brand want these to do?). ), then the technical barriers do not exist. It is foreseeable that in the era of great changes in the development of the automobile industry for more than a hundred years, there will be more and more brands that borrow electricity to return the soul, but how many can really stand firm on the stage?
Morris Commercial, the former commercial king