Excalibur Series II
| Excalibur | |
|---|---|
 Excalibur Series II Roadster
|
|
| Series II | |
| Production period: | 1970-1975 |
| Class : | Sports car |
| Body versions : | Roadster , touring car |
| Engines: |
Otto engine : 5.7 liters (187 kW) |
| Length: | 4318-4420 mm |
| Width: | 1829 mm |
| Height: | 1195 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2819-2845 mm |
| Empty weight : | 1490 kg |
| Previous model | Excalibur Series I |
| successor | Excalibur Series III |
The Excalibur Series II is a passenger car produced by the US Excalibur Automobile Corporation .
description
Excalibur presented to the model 1970, the second edition of his "Contemporary Classic" as successor to the Excalibur Series I . Because the wheelbase was increased by 5 cm , the vehicles were around 5 cm longer. The body variants continued to be a Phaeton and a Roadster , the latter being offered in the 1970 model year as SS Roadster and SSK Roadster (without running boards, less comfortably tuned). From 1971 there were only the SS Roadster and the SS Phaeton. The bodies continued to be based on the classic Mercedes-Benz design, but implemented the template much more freely than the Excalibur Series I had done. With the Series II, Excalibur gave up the previous Studebaker chassis . The new cars rested on their own chassis designed by Brooks Stevens' son David. The suspension parts, however, were taken from the Chevrolet Corvette C3 .
The Corvette also supplied the drive technology. Excalibur initially used the 5.7 liter eight-cylinder engine (small block) from General Motors , which delivered 254 hp for all models. A manual four-speed gearbox from General Motors of the Muncie type was used as standard for power transmission ; Optionally, a three-speed automatic transmission of the Turbo Hydramatic type was also available, which was much more in demand than the manual. According to the sales prospectus, the SSK Roadster is said to have accelerated from 0 to 96 km / h in six seconds, and the top speed is said to have been 150 miles per hour (240 km / h). In addition to the sportiness of the driving performance, contemporary test reports praised the precise driving behavior of the Excalibur, which is on a par with a sports car.
For the 1973 model year, Stevens changed the drive units to "Big Block" 7.4 l (454 Ci), also from General Motors, in the power level that was used in the C3 Corvette at the time: 330 HP according to the American SAE standard or 270 HP according to the European DIN standard. The manual, narrowly stepped 4-speed gearbox was still available, but the vast majority of the vehicles were delivered with the "Turbo Hydramatic". Brooks Stevens came up with another special feature for this automatic version: he invented his own, double shift gate, in which you could manually switch through the gears with the selector lever in the right-hand position.
The Series II models were significantly more expensive than their predecessors. A 1970 SSK Roadster was offered for $ 12,000; the price of the Phaeton was $ 12,900. It was more than 50% more expensive than a Lincoln Continental Mark III and even surpassed the Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham 75 sedan by a significant margin. In 1974, both the SS Roadster and SS Phaeton were offered for $ 17,000. Overall, the Excalibur Series II was not a commercial success. In any case, the high-priced cars sold poorly at the beginning of the model cycle.
The wheelbase initially measured 2819 mm and from 1973 2845 mm. The roadster was 4318 mm long and the Phaeton 4420 mm.
On the rear fenders there were taillights, some of which were similar to those of the VW Beetle . As standard, the Phaeton had two spare wheels that were arranged upright on either side of the bonnet, while the Roadster only had one spare wheel that was mounted on the rear. However, there have been deviations from this standard.
There were both short and long fenders at the front. In the case of the long fenders, they were open on the sides, in contrast to the later models.
Production ended in 1975. The successor was the Excalibur Series III .
Production numbers
There are different details about the production figures.
| vintage | Roadster | Phaeton | Total source 1 | Total source 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 11 | 26th | 37 | 70 |
| 1971 | - | - | - | 75 |
| 1972 | 13 | 52 | 65 | 75 |
| 1973 | 22nd | 100 | 122 | 125 |
| 1974 | 26th | 92 | 118 | 144 |
| 1975 | - | - | - | 150 |
| total | 72 | 270 | 342 | 639 |
literature
- Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980. New York 1984, ISBN 0-517-42462-2 . (English)
- Roger Gloor: Passenger Cars of the 1960s. Hallwag Verlag, Bern 1984, ISBN 3-444-10307-7 , pp. 136-137.
- Roger Gloor: All cars from the 1970s. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-613-02440-3 , p. 137.
- John Gunnell: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Krause Publications, Iola 1997, ISBN 0-87341-521-3 , pp. 828-829. (English)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b John Gunnell: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Krause Publications, Iola 1997, ISBN 0-87341-521-3 , pp. 828-829. (English)
- ↑ a b c Production figures on the German Excalibur fansite (accessed on December 31, 2016)