This is it! This is the big one! One corner you have the burgundy 1962 Ferrari 250
GTS, king of the finest elegant Italian supercars and in the other a beautiful Ossi blue
1969 Porsche 911E Targa just imported into Liverpool, recently purchased from the
famous Barrett Jackson auction in Las Vegas.
It’s Italy verses Germany, classic performance against quality efficiency. What better
way to fight this fight than with some flagship cars from each brands. Planning this
meeting we knew it was going to be a good one. Where to begin with two car builders
which are as different as they are the same? Both practice arguably the highest level
of car building, both excel in making the best sports cars, yet hold their ground on
simple classics and both command loyal die hard supporters.
We topped 300+ vehicles this month. Liverpool Lady Lord Mayor Christine Banks
came to support again with her love of the event. Her pick of the day was an unusual
rare metallic brown Italian classic De Tomato Longchamp GTSE. Only 7 were built.
A muscular car with very luxurious white/cream sofa-like leather couch seats. Race
car driver Alejandro De Tomaso was just 31 years old when he founded the car
company. By 1963 they had a sports car on the road, followed by cars with various
underpinnings and intent. Not satisfied with keeping to the sports car segment, De
Tomaso set his eyes on the luxury coupe customer. Enter the Longchamp. Derived
from the Deaville sedan De Tomaso already produced, the Longchamp used a shorter
chassis but shared its engine, transmission, and suspension components. That meant
under hood was a 351 Cleveland V8 from Ford (5.8L), and either a three-speed Ford
automatic or five-speed ZF-produced manual. In the front, lamps were sourced from
the Euro-market Ford Granada, and the Alfa Romeo 2000 provided the lights at the
rear.
With his idea for a grand touring luxury coupe now well-formed, De Tomaso turned
to legendary Detroit-born designer Tom Tjaarda for exterior design. Tjaarda made
a long-term name for himself with his work at both Pininfarina and Ghia. After
working on the Longchamp, he’d go on to do smaller design projects like the Chrysler
LeBaron, Chrysler Imperial, Saab 900, and the interior of the Lamborghini Diablo.
The Longchamp was introduced at the Turin Motor Show in 1972 and went into
production in 1973. Typical of a smaller and more hand-built manufacturer, the
production run for the Longchamp was a long one.
In addition to the standard coupe, convertible and sporty GTS coupe configurations
were introduced into the fold. This particular 1979 example was sent from Germany
back to Italy in 1990, where it was engineered once more at the De Tomaso factory.
Extensive changes turned the standard car into a GTS coupe. It now features the
Campagnolo wheels, an automatic transmission breathed upon by Shelby, and a
tuned engine with an output of 365 horsepower. De Tomaso himself signed the head
rest while it in was there for surgery.
The chosen charity for this month were the Liverpool Lord Mayors three chosen
Charities: Everton in the Community, Michael Causer Foundation and the Merchant
Navy.
A big thanks to all our motoring members, amazing friends and supporters, the Cars
& Coffee Liverpool team Terry Alan Barnett, John Kane, John Connell, Matthew
Eaton, Anthony Weaver, Luke Jordan, Jimmy Rutledge, Charalene Lee and her
Coffee family and CCL friends! A huge thanks to our sponsors Cafe Origin Coffee,
Stratstone Aston Martin, HR Owen Lamborghini & Maserati, Lookers Vauxhall -
David Billing, Autorenew, OCD Porsche Specialist, WSR Recycling, Tom Tully
Tyres, Impact Solutions, Philangle Stamps, Sefton Life & Wirral Life Magazines,
Dann Furr from GT Porsche & Mercedes Driver and photographer Mike McTigue.
We must welcome our new sponsor - ClassicLine Insurance, who are giving all Cars
& Coffee Liverpool and Norman’s Pond customers a 15% Discount for all sports &
classic car owners. Get a free quote on 0145 563 9000 or email:
[email protected]
See you all again on Sunday 28th April 2019! Same time same place for a Coffee
Origin and a Char Sui Bun, or the all new steamed Hot Dog bun!
www.carsandcoffeeliverpool.co.uk and www.chungku.co Safe Happy motoring ;)
If you are thinking of buying your first Classic car or premium dream car OR selling
your car? It can be bit daunting to find the right car. You may have an idea what you
want, perhaps a brand or type of car, but there are a whole lot of cars out there and
pitfalls too. Norman’s Pond online car auction is in association with Cars and Coffee
Liverpool. An enthusiast website and curated/ vetted for the enthusiast buyer visit
www.normanspond.com or email us at [email protected]