Here’s The Perfect Use For One Of Those Baroque Neo-Classic Cars: COTD

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Neo-classic cars are a fascinating little niche in the car world. The concept is simple: Take a modern car for the day and slap enough bits and pieces on it until it looks like it sort of came out of the 1920s or 1930s. Some of these cars look more convincing than others. A 1970s Clenet Series I looks 1930s enough, but even if you squint really hard, the 1986 Spartan II from this morning’s Shitbox Showdown looks like one-third of a 1980s Nissan surrounded by two-thirds of a vintage roadster.

At first, I was with our contributor, Mark Tucker, on appreciating the work and design that goes into these cars, but not actually wanting to own one. They seem like the good kind of silly. Then, Citrus published this COTD-winning comment:

I recognize that it’s obnoxiously overpriced. I recognize that it’s objectively stupid.

But the Spartan is a RWD Nissan and that means you could potentially make a neoclassic drift car out of it and that is a totally inexplicable dream I have.

Bring a Trailer Seller

You know, that sounds like a total blast. Now that I think about it, I would giggle for hours on end at the sight of one of these neo-classics on a Gambler 500 or at an off-road park. Clearly, we aren’t the only people thinking about this.

Your eyes don’t deceive you, the car in the topshot is most of a Ford Mustang. Neo-classic builder Zimmer Motorcars took a Mustang GT, gave it a striking nose job, and shifted the axle forward to boot. So, now you can do a smoky burnout and drift around a track in style in your Zimmer Golden Spirit. Be sure to dress appropriately.

Oh yeah, that’s something I can get behind. Have a great evening, everyone!

(Images: Bring a Trailer Seller)

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23 thoughts on “Here’s The Perfect Use For One Of Those Baroque Neo-Classic Cars: COTD

  1. There’s a realtor here in MN that has that car and the convertible version as well. Can’t remember his name but I see him on Insta from time to time.

  2. I’m not a fan of this neo-classic thing, but that Nissan was so much better executed than the Mustang-based car in this post. The whole stance of the car is just wrong, like a Hot Wheels that got stepped on (painfully, in the middle of the night, right in the plantar fascia, with barely stifled profanity).

  3. “Your eyes don’t deceive you, the car in the topshot is most of a Ford Mustang. Neo-classic builder Zimmer Motorcars took a Mustang GT, gave it a striking nose job, and shifted the axle forward to boot.”

    That visual apocalypse sold for $30k, and had an original MSRP of $238k per the seller. Someone paid Lambo money for an S197 that got beat with an ugly stick.

  4. Need a drift competition between this, and a Bentley Brooklands.

    Brooklands is just a super-intimidating battleship of a car. Definition of curb presence. Something you’d expect bodyguards with submachine guns to step out of before the person being chauffeured does.

    The above looks like Cruella DeVille learned to totally hoon up a movie car chase.

  5. Not only is that a great idea, it’s a proven great idea. Years ago, someone in Japan got one of the S15 Silvia based Le Seydes, swapped out the non-turbo SR20 for a SR20DET with the standard bolt ons, and drifted it. It still shows up to events once in a while today, I just saw pics of it online at an event that took place only a few weeks ago.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2mNe_w2O08

    1. Beat me to it. I’m surprised I haven’t seen more Mitsuoka comments about the Spartan, because ever since The Grand Tour recently featured one, every time any neoclassic car gets posted in any of the FB groups I’m part of, there’s inevitably a few “looks like a Le Seyde!” comments, like Zimmers and Excaliburs and the like didn’t exist long before the Le Seyde did.

      Man, I’m a neoclassic hipster. I was into them before they were cool lol

      1. I made a reference to the chandeliers but did disclose I knew it was a different builder, lol.

        A Golden Spirit was at my local Cars and Coffee this month, I probably wouldn’t have looked twice at it before having watched the episode and just assumed it was a Zimmer – even when the Le Seyde pulled up in the show that was my first thought. But I did look closer in the off chance the Zimmer was a different builder (appropriately they had a whole stand with a blurb about it).

        The Spartan was a new one for me today actually, I didn’t realize there were quite so many variations on the theme.

      2. I checked out Goo-net after yesterday’s post to see whether there were any importable Le Seydes for cheapish money… and if you’re Canadian (or live somewhere else that allows cars even 20 years old to be imported), you could pick up an S15-based example for the Spartan’s asking price, before importation costs: https://www.goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/MITSUOKA/LE_SEYDE/700102008430230625001/

        No older models currently listed for us in the States, though.

  6. “Be sure to dress appropriately”

    In my mind, there’s an image of a shirt with a wide collar/unbuttoned to the belly button and some sort of medallion on a chain…

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