Auto ID #154 FINISHED!

[Harry P.]

Remember, don't post any hints or answers here. PM me with year, make, and model.

The answer: 1965 Brasinca GT 4200 Uirapuru (1964-66)

[dimaxion]

Model ! Oops , I thought for a moment I had a 50/50 Chance of getting this one right .. Thanx ..

[Jaguar man 21]

I have an idea what it may be but I'm not so sure

[Zandmann]

Looks familiar but... Almost went for the first assumption. This one's hard!

[Ace-Garageguy]

[Harry P.]

This week's car is a 1965 Brasinca GT 4200.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brasinca_Uirapuru

Who got it right:

dw1603

blunc

Jaguar man 21

Jaymcminn

Ace-Garageguy

Badluck 13

[jaymcminn]

This one was diabolical, Harry, I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about pretty little '60s sports cars and it took three days to figure out- by realizing that the Alpines in the background could have been built in Brazil instead of France!

[blunc]

my first impression of it was "Jensen Interceptor" but that didn't match so tracked down some Jensen history and found the inspiration for the Interceptor design and there was the Brasinka.

[62rebel]

ironic that surviving examples my be worth MORE than Interceptors... due to such limited production and far-flung locale...

[Harry P.]

I'm glad you guys had to work for this one!

Yes, it looks a lot like a Jensen,,, but it's not...

[peter31a]

Yeah, I got stuck on Jensen Interceptor as well. I knew it wasn't but couldn't come with the alternative. I checked Iso Griffo, Bizarrinni and others but didn't think of Brazil. Oh well maybe next week...

[Lovefordgalaxie]

Technically, the car's name is Uirapuru, the name from a bird of the Amazon.

Brasinca was the company that built the GM cars's bodies well into the 1990s.

The Uirapuru had the GM 261 six from the GM trucks, with a couple of SU carburetors and was considered very fast for the time it was built.

The body was all steel, and the frame was a very sturdy 3D structure.

The Interceptor was inspired much by the Uirapuru, and I think it to be better looking than the Brasinca car. Not to mention the V8.

[dw1603]

This is what immediately sprang to mind when I first saw this weeks subject:

It is the TVR Trident from 1965, I wasted a lot of time chasing that red herring, but just like jaymcminn I eventually followed the Alpine clue to Brazil.

Is there any documentary proof that the Uirapuru influenced the Jensen Interceptor? It seems a bit unlikely to me and apart from the rear screen, they don't really have a lot in common.

Edited March 29, 2015 by dw1603

[Harry P.]

Is there any documentary proof that the Uirapuru influenced the Jensen Interceptor?

According to Wikipedia...

The Brasinca Uirapuru bore a strong resemblance to the Jensen Interceptor which entered production the same year that Uirapuru production ended.

That's not "proof," but it does seem a bit suspicious that the Jensen, which came into production just as the Brasinca GT was ending production, looked a lot like the Brasinca. Make of it what you will...

[Ace-Garageguy]

There are probably 20 online articles citing the Uirapuru as the inspiration for the Jensen Interceptor's styling. Of course, as in many things online, much is mindless repetition of "facts" read elsewhere...online. This short video segment compares the two cars from various angles. I think there can be no doubt the big Jensen borrowed a little, though cleaned it up a lot.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy