Pegaso Z-102

[Ferrer]

The Z-102 employed racing-car technology in its chassis and alloy body. Everything was produced in-house at Barcelona, where the Pegaso cars factory was, with the exception of the external coachworking, either by Touring or Saoutchik (there was also a number of special Pegaso-made bodies). A four-cam V-8 engine, dry-sump lubrication, and a gearbox mounted with the differential as a unit were within a pressed steel chassis.

The Z-102 started life as two prototypes in 1951 as a coupe and a drophead. The coupe and convertible had dumpy steel bodies, and weight was an issue to the extent that Pegaso made the decision to revert to alloy for the coachwork. Coachbuilder Touring then 'beautified' the design, replacing the grille with a two-piece cross, lowering the car, repositioning the foglights, and simplifying various details to give it a clean profile, similar to the contemporary Aston Martin DB2 and the Lancia Aurelia, that was the most memorable and numerous of all Z-102 bodies.

The Z102 entered production with a 2.8 litre engine as used in the prototypes, though later there were variants with 3.1, 3.9, and 4.4 litre DOHC desmodromic 32-valve V8 360 hp (270 kW) engines with multiple carburetors or optional supercharger. Horsepower ranged from 175 to 360, and, transferred through a five-speed gearbox and gear-driven camshaft, the fastest could reach 160 mph, (256 km/h), exceeding Ferrari autos, thus making it the world's fastest production car at the time.[citation needed] The base car had an 120 mph (192 km/h) top speed.

However, the cars were heavy and brutish to drive and competition success was virtually nonexistent. Because the cars were built on a cost-no-object basis, this caused financial difficulty in the company. A simplified and cheaper version, the Z-103, was put into production, but to no avail, and the Z-102 was discontinued after 1958. Production figures range from 84-125, and out of these, only a handful of cabriolets were built.

The Pegasos raced in several competitions, but with no real success. In the 1953 Le Mans trials, driver Jose Jover was seriously injured after crashing at more than 200 Km/h. They competed again in the 1954 Carrera Panamericana, driven by Joaquin Palacio, with increasingly promising results in the first stages, but again an accident prevented an excellent final position. Furthermore, in September 25, 1953, in Jabbeke (Belgium), a Z-102 Touring speedster, driven by Celso Fernandez, broke four official R.A.C.B. (Royal Automobile Club de Belgique) worldwide records (fastest of them, 243.079 Km/h average in the flying-start kilometer), previously owned by a Jaguar XK120.

Pegasos achieved much better results in several Concours d'Elegance contests. A Pegaso Z-102 coupé by Saoutchick, owned by Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza, was in this respect the epitome of coachwork sophistication, as it had seats upholstered with leopard skin and controls in gold, and in such a finish it won the 1953 Enghien-les-Bains (France) Grand Prix d'Elegance.

Source: wikipedia.org

[Pando]

Very nice, Pegaso has always been one of my favorite car makers from the 50's.
It's really hard to find decent pictures though, at least in high res.

[drakkie]

Originally Posted by Pando

Very nice, Pegaso has always been one of my favorite car makers from the 50's.
It's really hard to find decent pictures though, at least in high res.

I could have posted the exact same thing ! Lovely car

[henk4]

i'll give you the engine....2.5 litre DOHC V8

[nota]

Weren't these Pegaso and their engines configured like Bugatti in that when a simple valve grind is required eg, you must start work by separating the back axle from the car and then proceed forward from there, disassembling as you go, heading through the torque tube & gearbox removal etc until you hit the crankshaft, then head upwards through the pistons etc until you can finally access the valves?

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by Pando

Very nice, Pegaso has always been one of my favorite car makers from the 50's.
It's really hard to find decent pictures though, at least in high res.

Yup, it's missing from the hideout, and I found those pics which qualify for it so I thought about posting them.

The car itself it's proof that we, despite all appearances, know how to build some kick-ass cars... Of course I absolutely adore it. Who needs Ferraris when you can have this.

[drakkie]

Some more pictures can be found here:

http://www.allsportauto.com/wallpape...82&zl_idMD=663

[Dino Scuderia]

Saw this one two different years at Amelia Island Concours.

[henk4]

Beautiful Touring..

[Ferrer]

I think that's a Z-103, isn't it?

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

I think that's a Z-103, isn't it?

well, the chassis plate says Z-102.....

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by henk4

well, the chassis plate says Z-102.....

The engine is a 102 type, but the chassis is a 103 type. As it says on the plate.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

The engine is a 102 type, but the chassis is a 103 type. As it says on the plate.

but the model number above the other two longer numbers says Z-102...

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by henk4

but the model number above the other two longer numbers says Z-102...

You're right, hadn't seen it. The late Pegasos are more a conjuction of pieces from different models than anything else.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

You're right, hadn't seen it. The late Pegasos are more a conjuction of pieces from different models than anything else.

who knows whether the plate is original too...