Thursday, July 9, 2020

You've might never be seen Amigo before

Many great cars that once triumphed while competing on the circuit were never seen again for a long time. So that not many people nowadays know the shape any more especially the achievements it had achieved in its heyday. And only a few of them ended their racing career just to sit silently in the corner as a display item in the museum or a collection of rich automotive enthusiasts.
1970 Costin Amigo number 6 of the 9 ever documented one and comes with the special air intakes fitted for the Le Mans race. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/31STGBU)
The Costin Amigo was one of them. It's a lightweight sports car built in the United Kingdom in the 1970s and was designed by Frank Costin (one of the founder of the Marcos (automobile) company) and built-in Little Staughton, Bedfordshire.

This car is considered by many, to be Frank Costin's greatest design and styling elements of almost every car of the period can be seen in this one car. Aerodynamics is pure science and Frank Costin was the best of his generation, his CV including the World Championship winning Vanwalls of the late 1950s.
Interior view of the 1970 Costin Amigo number 6 of the 9 ever documented one. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/31STGBU)
Its 2-liter engine and running gear came from the Vauxhall VX 4/90, but its plywood monocoque frame and aerodynamic fiberglass body gave it a top speed of 137 mph (220 kph), and a quoted 0-60 time of 7.2 sec. And reportedly only eight (or nine, depending on the source) of the cars were ever sold.
1970 Costin Amigo number 6 is fitted with its original Blydenstein 2.3 liter Vauxhall Dry sump rally spec engine. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/31STGBU)
This is the most famous of all Costin's being effectively their Works Car. It was driven at Le Mans in 1971 in the 3-hours race (not the legendary 24 Hours) by Brian Hart and Paul Pycroft de Ferranti and also by the legendary Gerry Marshal who won in the car at Thruxton in 1971.
1970 Costin Amigo also has a split-circuit braking system and a Getrag 5 speed gearbox, driving through a limited Slip Differential. (Picture from: https://bit.ly/2O6EYzm)
The car on the picture above is number 6 of the 9 documented Amigo and is fitted with its original Blydenstein 2.3 liter Vauxhall Dry sump rally spec engine. It also has a split-circuit braking system and a Getrag 5 speed gearbox, driving through a limited Slip Differential. Sitting on Carmona alloys this is a superb car to drive and comes with the special air intakes fitted for the Le Mans race.

It was driven by several top drivers of the period. In the late 1980s, the car was sent to Bill Blydenstein by Paul Pycroft for a total rebuild which was well documented in many motoring magazines. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | WIKIPEDIA | MOTORBASE.COM | COACHBUILD.COM | SILVERSTONE AUCTIONS
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