Kief Cars

In the first James Bond movie, Dr No, released in 1962, James Bond is involved in a car chase in the Jamaican mountains in this sports car. The vehicle driven by James Bond (Sean Connery) is a Sunbeam Alpine Series II. The car was produced from 1960 to 1963. The Sunbeam Alpine Series II had a 1592 cc engine capable of producing 80 bhp. About 19,956 Sunbeam Alpine Series II cars were produced. The Motor Magazine tested a Sunbeam Apline Series II with a hardtop and overdrive. The car recorded a top speed of 98.6 mph (158.7 km/h). The tested car achieved 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 13.6 seconds. The Sunbeam marque was registered by John Marston Co. Ltd of Wolverhampton in England in 1888. Sunbeam first made bicycles, then motorcycles and cars from the late 19th century until about 1936. The company also made 647 aircraft during World War I. A Sunbeam was the first British car ever to win a Grand Prix race. A number of land speed records were also set by Sunbeam. The Sunbeam company went into receivership in 1935 and was purchased by the Rootes Group, which continued to use the Sunbeam marque. Eventually the Rootes Group were bought out Chrysler. Chrysler eventually disbanded the Sunbeam marque in 1976.

This truly is a classic car. Since the Sunbeam company or marque is non-existent collectors who own one of these cars will probably hold onto them for nostalgic or other reasons. You will not find one of these cars advertised in the classifieds. You will probably find some of them in a car museum though.

This truly is a classic car. The Plymouth Fury, 1958 model, was the car used in the horror film, Christine (released in 1983). The film was based on the Stephen King novel of the same title. The Plymouth Fury was made by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation between 1956 and 1978. Actually, 2 other Plymouth models, the Plymouth Belvedere and the Plymouth Savoy were used to portray the evil car in Christene. Only 3,018 1958 Plymouth Fury’s were produced. No Fury models were actually destroyed in Christene. The Plymouth Savoy and Plymouth Belvedere models were dressed up to look like the Plymouth Fury and were destroyed in the making of Christene. In the novel, Stephen King made some factual errors. Christine is referred to as a 4-door, but the Plymouth Fury was only available in a 2-door model until 1959. Stephen King called Christine’s transmission a hydramatic in the novel (made by General Motors transmission). The Chrysler Corporation actually called their transmissions the Torque Flite. Stephen King also refers to the transmission shifter, but all 1958 Chrysler cars were fitted with automatic transmissions and used a push-button drive. The author did refer to the car as a “special order”, so that could explain the inconsistencies.

Many White & Red Plymouth Fury’s were used as stunt cars in Christine. Only 3 cars that were used in the movie remain, all owned by private owners. 1 in Florida, 1 in England and 1 in California. It will be hard to find a car like this in the classifieds, especially in South Africa.

The Jaguar XK 120 was sports car produced by the British Auto Manufacturer between 1948 and 1954. The car was launched in a roadster form in 1948 at the London Motor Show in the United Kingdom. It was launched as a testbed and show car for the Jaguar XK engine. The classic car caused a sensation and this caused William Lyons to put it into production. Just over 12,000 Jaguar XK 120’s were made. The “120″ in the Jaguar XK 120’s name refers to its top speed of 120 mph (193 km/h). Hollywood actors, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Clark Gable and Lauren Bacall all owned a Jaguar XK 120. The car was also released in a Coupe and Drop Head Coupe shape. A replica of the Jaguar XK 120 was used in the Teen movie, Cruel Intentions in 1999. It saddens me to find out that this was not the original vehicle, but it was still very convincing in the film. The vehicle was actually spray painted black for the movie. Previously the same car was also used in the film Money Talks in 1997. The replica was built by Cinema cars originally.

This is truly one of my favorite classic cars. There are not many of them in circulation now and then, so it will probably cost you an arm and a leg to get behind the steering wheel of a Jaguar XK 120, probably around $75,000 or even more. I guess I’ll have to look for another car in the classifieds instead, since that is way out of my price league. For now, I’m just going to do what I always do, take the bus to work and back.

Related Link:
Jaguar – Official Website

This car was the performance model of the Ford Mustang, manufactured by the American auto manufacturer between 1969 and 1978. James Bond (then played by Sean Connery) drove the Ford Mustang Mach 1 in the movie Diamonds are Forever which was released in 1971. The Ford Mustang truly is a classic car sought after worldwide by collectors and vintage car enthusiasts. The Ford Mustang was originally released by Ford to compete with the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird (both manufactured by General Motors).

I have quite an admiration for American muscle cars. Theres nothing like rolling down the freeway with a powerful roaring engine under the hood. Due to its popularity amongst enthusiasts, one can probably find plenty of them advertising their vehicles or parts for them in classifieds publications around the globe.

Related Link:
Ford – Official Website

The Lamborghini Diablo has been used in various movies and TV series. This sports car has been used in Dumb and Dumber in 1994, Bedazzled in 2000, RPM in 1998, Boiler Room in 2000, Bait in 2000, Thursday in 1998, First Wives Club in 1996, to name just a few. Only 2,884 Lamborghini Diablo’s were produced between 1990 and 2001. The car was the successor released for the Lamborghini Countach. The car was succeeded by the Lamborghini Murcielago. The Lamborghini Diablo was released in 2 body styles, a 2 door coupe and 2 door roadster. This sports car was released with 2 different engines, a 5.7 litre V12 and a 6.0 litre V12. I must admit that this has always been one of my favorite sports cars. I’ll never be able to afford a car like this though, but a boy can dream. Maybe I’ll pick up a car like this in the classifieds one day, who knows. It will still cost more than an arm and a leg though.

Related Link:
Lamborghini – Official Website