Who knows this car?
250 gto replica!
Right. That was the obvious part ;)
But designed/built by whom?
What was the basis car?
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Better get the ball rolling, its obviously not Nick Masons 250 GTO. :(
Datsun Z based?
To my best knowlegde the basis car is not a Datsun / Nissan Z.
Porsche 944 based?
Yes. That was the easy part... ;)
Roy Kelly?
No.
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Alpha-1 by AME?
We have a winner!
It is indeed a Porsche 944 based Ferrari replica.
This very car might be something special, as there might be a link to Colani.
I´ve scanned dozens of original private photos of a Colani employee, I know.
He didn´t recall this car, but was quite sure there was a Colani involvement.
;D
Porsche engine was quite a clue!
Grob, are you 100% sure this car is by Alpha-1?
When I was tackling the puzzle I found Alpha-1 made kits for the 260/280 Z Datsuns , but never any mention of a Porsche 944.
Where were the photos taken?
Well maybe it is just the AME GTO, but it was definitly based on the 924/944 and what I wanted to hear was the company name "AME".
So I´d stay to my decision...
Here's what I have:
(from a '85 magazine)
I accept its an AME from Germany based on Grobs photo, but the car photographed in Paul's magazine article is obviously very different and Datsun based.
Maybe Alpha-1 in America marketed the AME kit in North America under their name who knows?
I´ll change the puzzle title into AME GTO...
Here´s a rear view of the unfinished project with the old Porsche 924/944 mags:
Quote from: WayneB on January 11, 2014, 11:16:28 AM
I accept its an AME from Germany based on Grobs photo, but the car photographed in Paul's magazine article is obviously very different and Datsun based.
Maybe Alpha-1 in America marketed the AME kit in North America under their name who knows?
Let's clear some facts:
Alpha-1 in the USA existed earlier than the AME (Auto Motorrad Entwicklung CP GmbH). Joe Alphabet of Alpha-1 took the design from Eagle Manufacturing (Campbell, California, USA) in 1983. Eagle Manufacturing GT was Datsun-based while their Dino replica used Porsche 914 as a donor.
Previously I knew only about the German AME Evolution 4.2 - a Jaguar E-Type replica - made in collaboration with a British company Challenger (company name must have been "Triple C" at that time).
What I think happened here is that the German AME imported Alpha-1 from the USA, adopted Porsche base and this was their version. Perhaps no more than a single example has been made.
Hope this helps.
THank you very much for your research - let´s see if someone will know exactly about the history about this car one day...
Quote from: Arunas on January 18, 2014, 10:33:03 AM
Quote from: WayneB on January 11, 2014, 11:16:28 AM
I accept its an AME from Germany based on Grobs photo, but the car photographed in Paul's magazine article is obviously very different and Datsun based.
Maybe Alpha-1 in America marketed the AME kit in North America under their name who knows?
Let's clear some facts:
What I think happened here is that the German AME imported Alpha-1 from the USA, adopted Porsche base and this was their version. Perhaps no more than a single example has been made.
I don't see it your way, the mystery AME car is clearly modelled in clay , epoxy or plaster on to a Porsche base, the forms of the AME and Alpha 1 versions although similar (in a broad Ferrari 250 GTO way) are very different in size and contour.
If AME imported an Alpha 1 260Z kit , they would have had to alter its proportions so much to get it to fit the Porsche that they would have been better off starting from new with a complete model job on a Porsche base (as shown in grobs photos)
Agreed...