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Birkin Cars
Birkin Cars, Ltd. is a South African-based car manufacturer. The company's specialty and only currently-produced vehicle is the S3 Roadster, a kit-car copy of the Lotus Super 7. The founder and owner of the company is John Watson, a descendant of pioneering race car driver Tim Birkin. Birkin Cars was formed in 1982. Founder John Watson, an automotive enthusiast, was a fan of the classic Lotus Seven. However, the car had since finished production from the manufacturer and could no longer be purchased as new. Through the early 1980s, Watson developed and built his own version of the Seven. The cars were unveiled to the public at the 1983 South African Grand Prix. The first shipment of completed S3 Roadsters were delivered directly to be sold at Lotus car dealerships.Birkin History at Xmission.com Since the 1980s, Birkin has expanded several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kit-car
A kit car is an automobile available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then assembles into a functioning car. Usually, many of the major mechanical systems such as the engine and transmission are sourced from donor vehicles or purchased new from other vendors. Kits vary in completeness, consisting of as little as a book of plans, or as much as a complete set with all components to assemble into a fully operational vehicle such as those from Caterham. Related terms There is also a sub-set of the kit car, commonly referred to as a "re-body", in which a commercially manufactured vehicle has a new (often fiberglass) body put on the running chassis. Most times, the existing drive gear and interior are retained. These kits require less technical knowledge from the builder, and because the chassis and mechanical systems were designed, built, and tested by a major automotive manufacturer, a re-body can lead to a much higher degree of safety and reliability. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics. Lotus was previously involved in Formula One racing, via Team Lotus, winning the Formula One World Championship seven times. Lotus Cars was founded and owned for many years by Colin Chapman. After his death and a period of financial instability, it was bought by General Motors, then Romano Artioli and DRB-HICOM through its subsidiary Proton. It is currently majority owned by Chinese multinational Geely, with Etika Automotive as a minority shareholder. The engineering consultancy firm Lotus Engineering, an offshoot of Lotus Cars, has facilities in the United Kingdom, United States, China, and Malaysia. Notable Lotus cars include the Lotus Seven, the Lotus Esprit and the Lotus Elan. History Early years The company was formed in 1952 as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineers Colin Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lotus Seven
The Lotus Seven is a small, simple, lightweight, two-seater, open-top, open-wheel, sports car produced by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars (initially called Lotus Engineering) between 1957 and 1972. It was designed by Lotus founder Colin Chapman and has been considered the embodiment of the Lotus philosophy of performance through low weight and simplicity. The original model was highly successful with more than 2,500 cars sold, due to its attraction as a road legal car that could be used for clubman racing. After Lotus ended production of the Seven, Caterham bought the rights and today Caterham makes both kits and fully assembled cars based on the original design known as the Caterham 7. The Lotus Seven design has spawned a host of imitations on the kit car market, generally called ''Sevens'' or ''Sevenesque'' roadsters. History The Lotus Seven was launched in 1957 to replace the Mark VI as the 'entry-level' Lotus model, The Seven name was left over from a model th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Birkin
Sir Henry Ralph Stanley "Tim" Birkin, 3rd Baronet (26 July 1896 – 22 June 1933) was a British racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. Background and family Birkin was born into a wealthy Nottingham family in 1896, the son of Sir Thomas Stanley Birkin, 2nd Baronet, and the Hon. Margaret Diana Hopetoun Chetwynd. In childhood, Henry Birkin gained the nickname "Tim", after the children's comic book character Tiger Tim, created by Julius Stafford Baker, who was extremely popular at the time. It was his nickname for the rest of his life. Birkin married Audrey Clara Lilian Latham, daughter of Sir Thomas Paul Latham, 1st Baronet, and Florence Clara Walley, on 12 July 1921; they divorced in 1928. He and Audrey had two daughters, Pamela and Sara, both of whom married and had issue. The elder daughter Pamela (d. 1983) married two Buxton cousins in succession, and her second husband was the Life Peer Baron Buxton of Alsa, KCVO, MC. She had seven children including wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1983 South African Grand Prix
The 1983 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 15 October 1983. It was the fifteenth and final race of the 1983 Formula One season. Race summary Before the race, three drivers were still in a position to win the World Drivers' Championship: Alain Prost (Renault) led the championship with 57 points, followed by Nelson Piquet (Brabham- BMW) with 55 and René Arnoux (Ferrari) with 49. Piquet qualified second, behind Patrick Tambay (Ferrari) in pole position and ahead of Riccardo Patrese (Brabham), Arnoux and Prost in third, fourth and fifth. At the start Piquet passed Tambay to take the lead, with Patrese moving into second place. Arnoux retired with engine failure on lap 9. Prost fought his way up to third place, but he also retired on lap 35 with turbo failure. Needing only to finish fourth or higher, Piquet slowed and was overtaken by Patrese, Niki Lauda (McLaren) and Andrea de Cesaris (Alfa Romeo). Lauda's engine failed on lap 71. The race ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durban, South Africa
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from 25 October 2017. Retrieved 2021-03-05.The names and the naming of Durban Website ''natalia.org.za'' (pdf). Retrieved 2021-03-05. is the third most populous city in after and |
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean and sharing borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, with slightly fewer residents than Gauteng. Two areas in KwaZulu-Natal have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. These areas are extremely scenic as well as important to the surrounding ecosystems. During the 1830s and early 1840s, the northern part of what is now KwaZulu-Natal was established as the Zulu Kingdom while the southern part was, briefly, the Boer Natalia Repu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inline 4
A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the exceptions of the flat-four engines produced by Subaru and Porsche) and the layout is also very common in motorcycles and other machinery. Therefore the term "four-cylinder engine" is usually synonymous with straight-four engines. When a straight-four engine is installed at an inclined angle (instead of with the cylinders oriented vertically), it is sometimes called a slant-four. Between 2005 and 2008, the proportion of new vehicles sold in the United States with four-cylinder engines rose from 30% to 47%. By the 2020 model year, the share for light-duty vehicles had risen to 59%. Design A four-stroke straight-four engine always has a cylinder on its power stroke, unlike engines with fewer cylinders where there is no power stroke occurr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ford Zetec Engine
Ford Motor Company used the Zetec name on a variety of inline 4-cylinder automobile engines. It was coined to replace "Zeta" on a range of 1.6 L to 2.0 L multi-valve engines introduced in 1991 because Ford was threatened with legal action by Lancia who owned the Zeta trademark. The company used the name widely in European advertising and later introduced it to the North American market with the Contour. The Zetec name was so recognized that Ford decided to apply it to other high-tech four-cylinder engines. It is used across many engine types in Europe today even though the original Zeta design ended production in 2004. Ford also used the "Zetec" name for a trim level designation in certain markets. A Formula One engine was produced for Ford by Cosworth in 1993. The 3.5-litre Zetec R V8 was used by the Benetton team in 1994, and powered Michael Schumacher to his first World Championship title. Engine reference The Zetec name has been used on many different engines: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toyota A Engine
The Toyota A Series engines are a family of inline-four internal combustion engines with displacement from 1.3 L to 1.8 L produced by Toyota Motor Corporation. The series has cast iron engine blocks and aluminum cylinder heads. To make the engine as short as possible, the cylinders are siamesed. The development of the series began in the late 1970s, when Toyota wanted to develop a completely new engine for the Toyota Tercel, the successor of Toyota's K engine. The goal was to achieve good fuel efficiency and performance as well as low emissions with a modern design. The A-series includes one of the first Japanese mass-production DOHC, four-valve-per-cylinder engines, the 4A-GE, and a later version of the same engine was one of the first production five-valve-per-cylinder engines. Toyota joint venture partner Tianjin FAW Xiali produces the 1.3 L 8A and resumed production of the 5A in 2007. 1A The 1.5 L 1A was produced between 1978 and 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Live Axle
A beam axle, rigid axle or solid axle is a dependent suspension design in which a set of wheels is connected laterally by a single beam or shaft. Beam axles were once commonly used at the rear wheels of a vehicle, but historically they have also been used as front axles in four-wheel-drive vehicles. In most automobiles, beam axles have been replaced with front and rear independent suspensions. Implementation With a beam axle the camber angle between the wheels is the same no matter where it is in the travel of the suspension. A beam axle's fore & aft location is constrained by either: trailing arms, semi-trailing arms, radius rods, or leaf springs. The lateral location can be constrained by a Panhard rod, a Scott Russell linkage or a Watt's linkage, or some other arrangement, most commonly by the leaf springs. Shock absorbers and either leaf springs, coil springs, or air bags are used to control vertical movement. The Twist-beam rear suspension is a similar suspension desig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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