Showdown: $35k Racers – War of 1812 Redux


Our last Showdown was a knife fight between two American-engined bruisers, with the LS1-swapped E30 giving the GT500 the coup de grâce. Today’s Showdown is a transatlantic battle between two completely different ways of thinking – a bantamweight Englishman versus a classic American heavyweight. Will the redcoats metaphorically burn Washington, or will the ‘Mericans whip some limey ass a la the Battle of New Orleans? Just like a Chose Your Own Adventure book, you decide the outcome!!!

Ginetta G4 race car
The Ginetta G4 was a low-production, tube-framed masterpiece of minimalism. Using Ford running gear (including, later on, the famous Kent crossflow motor), it weighed slightly less than a damp crumpet (just over 1,000 lbs) and ran away from similarly classed competitors like the French ran from the Maginot Line. This one’s powered by an unspecified Ford 1500 lump and looks sexy in blue and white. But is it worth $37,000 USD when compared to the epic Lincoln?

Mmm … gold valve covers and air cleaner. Liberace-approved!

You have to know without even asking that any Hooniversite worth his/her salt loves ’em some Carrera Panamericana, and this ‘54 Lincoln Capri is right up our alley. Throwing a massive lump of screaming American iron around the unrestricted backroads of a huge Mezoamerican country is sorta like hoon heaven. And this particular Lincoln Capri is race-prepped and ready to go, a veritable shot across the bow of those slimy Brits. Put the hammer down on the modded 317 and if that Ginetta gets in your way, just give it a love tap to send it off in a ball of righteous fire. That’s the American way, amigo!
So what’ll it be – Britain’s finest, or a 317 CID injection of raw American steel?
[poll id=”15″]

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17 responses to “Showdown: $35k Racers – War of 1812 Redux”

  1. BrianTheHoon Avatar

    Well, the way you wrote this clearly demonstrates how you wanted us to vote. However, I'm feeling contrarian today and that is one sexy Brit!

  2. lilwillie Avatar

    Hot Rod Lincoln for the win.

  3. engineerd Avatar

    Hot rod Lincoln. I would like to project American power as a hobby, and this does it just fine.

  4. muthalovin Avatar

    Going with the Ginette. White and blue racing stripes basically are my kryptonite. This will be a close vote.

  5. PFG Avatar
    PFG

    My Napoleon Complex instructs me to vote Ginetta, and I never argue with my Napoleon Complex.

    1. engineerd Avatar

      If your Napoleon Complex instructs you to start a land war in Asia, I would argue with it.

    2. Peter_Dushenski Avatar

      My tertiary phase (quaternary is terminal) Anglophilia instructed me to vote for the same car. I’ll take my LJK Setright, Richard Dawkins, and Top Gear with two sopping wet lumps of Ginetta, please.

  6. dustin_driver Avatar

    The Ginetta is sexy. But the Lincoln is just so mean.

  7. discontinuuity Avatar

    Since my only experience with either car comes from hooning the Ginetta around in Gran Turismo, I'll take the limey go-kart.

  8. Goingincirclez Avatar

    My '75 Angstmobile is no '54 Capri… but it IS a Lincoln, and I gotta honor the family.

  9. mgrinshpon Avatar

    I voted for the Lincoln because it's got a sizable V8 that I would love to have be parked forever in my garage, but I'd probably rather drive the brit.

  10. Alff Avatar

    As neat as the Lincoln is, a Ginetta has been on my wish list since the day I discovered Hemmings.

  11. NefariousKunk Avatar
    NefariousKunk

    That Ginetta is drop dead sexy but I have to choose the Lincoln out of family tradition.

  12. xomputer Avatar

    Less is more!

  13. omg_grip Avatar

    I love that lincoln. but that Ginetta G4, I'm quite sure it would kick the lincoln's ass in anything other than a straight line. I like that.

  14. IntendedAcceleration Avatar

    I''ll take the Ginetta for its rarity, light weight, obscurity, and the fact that it's probably great to drive.