Gallery of contemporaries
In a second-hand bookstore (
De Slegte) I found a book called
"Automagazine Internationaal 1982" which covered all cars on
the Dutch and Belgian market that year. I selected some sportscars
and copied the listed specifications and price, with conversion to
Euro, courtesy for those living outside The Netherlands. For a
comparison with present new car prices, roughly double the amount.
Talbot Matra Murena 2.2
Of course I mention the Murena!
It was listed for 36900 Dutch guilders (16744 Euro) and
with its 118 DIN hp mid-engine it should reach top speed at
200 km/h. In reality, it was slightly less, but who cares ;-)
Note that the Murena shown on this picture is in fact a 1.6
Lotus Esprit S3 2.2
"Bond, do be careful!"
"Q, have I ever let you down?"
"Frequently..."
(For 110235 NLG or approx. 50000 Euro you could be the
proud owner of this mid-engined car with very similar looks
to the Murena, but with better performance: 150 DIN hp and
top speed of 221 km/h; explosive burglar protection fitted
only if you are with the British Secret Service)
Lancia Beta Montecarlo 2.0
This relatively short (3.81m) Italian sportscoupe has become
very rare, but nevertheless it is a very nice design and
should not be omitted in this gallery. Its 120 hp mid-engine
gave the car roughly the same performance of a Murena, though
its price of 40390 NLG (18328 Euro) was higher.
Mazda RX 7
This sportscoupe of Mazda is worthwhile mentioning, since
it's the only production car featuring a Wankel engine and
the third generation RX7 production ceased only recently.
This rotor engine produced 115 DIN hp and gives the car a
top speed of 200km/h. With its price of 37495 NLG or 17014
EUR it must have been serious competition to the Murena.
Volkswagen Scirocco GLI 1.6
Built with German "Gründlichkeit", so everything is rugged and
built to last, but consider every luxury optional and it is the
only sportscar in this gallery with drum brakes on the rear wheels.
The price was slightly lower than the Murena, 35730
Dutch guilders or 16214 Euro, and so is its performance: 110
DIN hp and 190 km/h top speed.
Renault Alpine A310 V6 2.7
This is actually the car that killed the Murena. Renault refused
to let Matra use the V6 PRV engine, with which it would be serious
competition to the much more expensive (59500 NLG or 27000 EUR)
rear-engined A310. The car itself is even lower (1.15m) than the
Murena and performance of the bigger engine is of course better:
150 DIN hp and 225 km/h top speed. Plus all the same troubles a
French car has on the electrical system ;-)
