Techzle celebrates its 30th anniversary and that is why we look back every week on this week’s edition in 1990. Techzle 41 will be in the shops from today, but what exactly was number 41 thirty years ago?
News
The news pages in Techzle 41 from 1990 were not about very big news, but one message does stand out. Bugatti returned to ‘his homeland’, Italy. That is somewhat debatable, because even though Ettore Bugatti was Italian, his car brand has really entered the books as French. Anyway, at the ‘hypermodern’ factory in Campogalliano, Italy, Bugatti was to build its brand-new crack monster with a fresh Italian injection of capital. However, the EB110 could not prevent Bugatti from going under again later in the 90s. Volkswagen took over late in that decade and brought it back to Molsheim, France.
Tests
It is a feast of recognition when we look at the tests from number 41 of 1990. The first in that edition was a first driving test of the thoroughly facelifted Volkswagen Polo. A fresher appearance and improved engines would, according to the test editor on duty, help the Polo further, although the secretly somewhat outdated car would not get it easy with its hefty price. Another somewhat older B-segmenter with a refreshed coach was discussed a few pages later: the Opel Corsa A. It had to compete with the newer Daihatsu Charade, “because they now look so alike”. Although that seemed a bit far-fetched, it turned out that the cars were quite different in character. The Corsa was ‘friendly’, the Charade was ‘spicy’.
The sportier offer from the car country in 1990 was represented in number 41 by the Honda NSX. A car that still has a huge number of enthusiasts and that was to be expected at the time, according to the test editor. The blood-fast Japanese made a huge impression. “On the country road, he gives his driver the chance to play for Niki Lauda.” Apart from the fact that it was Ayrton Senna who was involved in the development of the NSX.
Reports
The love for the remarkable also splashed off the pages of Techzle in 1990. We took a look at amphibious vehicle enthusiasts in Belgium. The well-known Amficar was of course in the spotlight, but the American GPA (General Purpose Amphibian) from World War II also made an impression. There was also the Schwimmwagen from Wolfsburg, which was described as ‘an upside-down Beetle’. Naturally, the special creations were sailed for a while.
A little further on, Techzle 41 focused on second-hand Alfa Romeos. The Giulietta and Alfetta that star in this story, among other things, turned out to be able to continue after about 10 years on the road, but certainly not free of worries. The rust devil in particular turned out to be a major problem. It includes a photo of a Giulietta that was completely repainted after less than 10 years. The final verdict was therefore: a second-hand Alfa Romeo was not recommended.
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A four-wheel drive Opel Vectra? Oh yes; shortly after its introduction, Opel came up with a 4×4 version. It was able to transfer power to all four wheels very smoothly ‘thanks to its viscous coupling’, according to Opel. The rear wheels joined in when needed. In the Netherlands, the system was available on the Vectra’s 1.8, 2.0 and the top version, the 2000. After the facelift, it was reserved for the 2.0 and 2.0 Turbo.