Tag Archives: vehicle

Really Fast Cars – Really!

I have to admit, I did not even recognize the names of some of these really fast cars! I also have to admit, I don’t think I would like to be in any of them at top speed. But anyway – the results of the question “What’s the World’s fastest car” is here. Take a look and see what you think. BTW – is a jet-powered land vehicle still a car? Your response is invited! Just click on “Leave a comment” just below the title, and tell us what you think.

P.S. Just for the record, I guess, the poll in From Oblivious to Sublime – And Back is functional now, just click on the name here to get there, then use the poll to choose between the Bentley and the Tesla, and then click on the title “Really Fast Cars – Really” to get back to that page (where you’re reading this?).

2016 Mini Clubman Special Reports

Hi again,

I ran across the following advert and reviews and thought – considering our background – they belong here. This is a new concept for me – a 6-door Mini! And no, it is not a stretch limo: two on the left, two on the right, and two behind (the famous bread-van doors are still with us). My guess (no, I didn’t read the information yet but it is stated in one of the videos) is that it is larger and more expensive that the prior versions – typical BMW marketing practice, I guess. A 2 liter turbocharged engine helps with convincing a potential buyer as well (in the Cooper S version).

Anyway, here are the videos.

The first one is “The MINI Clubman Revealed”

The next video is “New MINI Clubman Cooper S Review”, and you can see how much Nederlands you remember :)) (there are English sub-titles available)

And just in case you didn’t catch all the Dutch above, here is another extensive English review “2016 Mini Clubman Cooper S Review – Inside Lane” (Inside Lane is a UK cart magazine)

Go out and buy one tonight? Well, maybe tomorrow afternoon…


By the way, I was looking for a pic of something like the Mini we had in those days and found the one below, also a 1963 Austin Mini Clubman (but left-hand drive) that has been meticulously restored by a German guy (who apparently lives in Osnabrueck judging by the license plates) and is for sale for € 17,900. Here are a few pictures, and I hope the owner does not disagree with me publishing them here. His advert is at http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C652844. The vehicle appears to be in perfect condition! Better than ours ever was! 😀

The main differences (aside from the lhd) are the colour – he has used something called “surf blue” – ours was a bit lighter and was a BMC standard colour in South Africa, and the license plates – ours were OIL-505 (and of course, South African).

Austin Mini 6379628
mini-5-1687x1265
davidsbirthday-com-1963-mini-clubman-estate-6-1687x1265
davidsbirthday-com-1963-austin-mini-clubman-15-1687x1265

60 Antique Luxury Cars Found Near Paris

Eat your heart out!

It is not an everyday occurrance, but it sure keeps the dreams of collectors percolating! In a remote location in France, not too far from Paris, observant people in the business found a total of 60 antique luxury cars just rusting away, many of them totally exposed to the elements, others in warehouses, but also not protected in any special manner from decay. The story is three generations long, but the short version is that the granddaughter of the original owner contacted an expert about the purchase of one vehicle in particular. During the conversation, she mentioned that there were more cars scattered around the castle and the village! One thing led to another and a total of 60 vehicles were discovered in various stages of decay.

Here’s the video. “Friday” as refered to in the video was last Friday, the 6th of February. Too late to join the auction, even if you had time to get to Paris and had the money! The sellers were hoping to achieve above €20 million for the total collection, and the buyers topped that at $28.5 million! Sorry that I cannot embed the video, you will have to click the link to watch the “news” and click on your browser’s “back” button to return to David’s Birthday dot com when you have finished watching …

60 Antique Luxury Cars For Sale In Paris 1

If you are interested in the actual sale results, you can find them here: 2015 Artcurial Paris Retromobile Auction Results and read or download here 2015 Artcurial Paris Retromobile Auction Report in pdf format. 59 of the 60 vehicles found were sold – the one vehicle that was omitted from the sale was a 1936 Panhard-Levassor Dynamic X76 coupé junior that was preempted by a French museum, the Musée de l’automobile de Compiègne for historical reasons. The lead vehicle, a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, sold at US$ 18.5 million, a world record for the vehicle and also a record sale for the auction company.

1 If this link no longer works, click here, when the video is finished, click the “back” button on your browser to return to David’s Birthday dot com.