One of my favorite actions is to discover real automotive radio radio, and I recently came with something that I had never seen before, and I doubt that many of them saw or even heard. When I came across the GT Guanci SJJ1 when I came across Louwman Exclusive, the Dutch sports and supercar importer, which also offers a selection of rare vintage cars. Although I was parked next to a Lamborghini Countach, I met a little in the simple but slim design. Fascinated I asked for the car and learned his complete and rather fascinating story!
The history of the GT-GT Guanci SJJ1 begins with the entrepreneur and Autoenthusiast John Guanci, who imagines a radical, new American sports car. One that would offer something that hardly existed. Guanci saw a chance on the market for a medium -sized sports car with American made, which at that time was a European cause instead of an American. Sure, there was the Ford GT40 in the 1960s and a whole series of concept cars from Chevrolet, AMC and others, but that was pretty much. From 1960 to 1969 Chevrolet built the Corvair, which had an air -cooled flat engine in the back, which, however, can hardly be seen as a sports car. In Europe, cars such as the Lamborghini Miura and Ferrari made 308 automobile headlines. So why the hesitation of the Americans? Remember that Chevrolet needed seven generations of Corvette Sports Cars before it dared to make a medium -sized layout for the C8!
With all of these projects, however, the biggest question is where to start. In order to bring his money where his mouth was, John Guanci put the help of the legendary racing engineer Bob McKee (who built the Howmet TX) to build the chassis, the former Chrysler designer Mike Williams, to design the body, Dick Kleber (later vector RUHM) to develop suspenders and brake components and a few known names, which is related to the project give advice.
The Gauci SJJ1 GT
In 1977 John Guanci started his dream project with such a team of rounded and capable partners. After two years of development, the first two cars that were completed were shown to the public at the 1979 Chicago Auto Show in Guancis Heimatstadt. The car was given the name SJJ1 GT, which was named after his wife Susan and his son John Joseph. After his release, it not only loved the public, but the press was also very positive. And after what was presented, it was rightly so!
The SJJ1 -GT was constructed on a monocoque chassis with aluminum with its most important competitors from the pond. The compact sports car had a wedge -shaped front section, a central cabin for two and the engine in the back. The fiber optic body has a very elegant profile with a reference to cars such as the Maserati Merak and the Detomaso Mangusta. The front is highlighted by a low and wide grill section with two hidden headlights. When you are switched on, a panel folds down to unveil the double headlights. Imagine it as a reverse pop-up headlight system, similar to the only one in Aston Martin Bulldog, and you have the idea!
To emphasize the slim profile, a kink line from the front of the car, over the wheel boxes and under the side windows takes place to end abruptly on the back. The design is surprisingly clean, with only minimal accents and breaks to give it a character. On the back, a ridgeback Tail is home to double horizontal taillights with a few highly sweated exhaust systems and in the typical style of the 1970s, the engine cover is directed. The rear side windows are installed in the body and switches of the fuel filler cap, etc., and there is a vertical air absorption for the engine directly below. The whole exterior is pulled into glass fiber, so it is free of rust and it seems to be in an amazing and very original state.
Inside there are two Recaro -Sport -Eimer seats in black leather. The interior is pretty simple, but everything is there. A number of instruments and measuring devices are neatly from left to right, and the central console flows properly into the gear tunnel. A glass pane separates the driver and the front passenger from the back of the engine, which comes from Chevrolet. The transverse 5.7 -liter -L82 V8 produces about 270 hp, which means that the SJJ1 -GT should be a pretty fast car, even almost half a century!
Guanci planned a production capacity of 50 cars per year at a price of USD 54,000. To put this in the right light, a Corvette would cost a fifth of it at the time, so the GT Guanci SJJ 1 GT fought a mountain battle right from the start! Unfortunately, it was never the same as the car was presented shortly after the car was introduced, one of John Guanci's financiers and partners and the project. At the same time, the US oil crisis from 1979 led to the oil and gas prices skyrocketing and basically pretty much all interest in such cars overnight. An attempt to revive the brand with a slightly revised third SJJ1 -GT in the early 1980s also failed and ended Guanci's dream forever.
This car, the second and last built, has survived remarkably over the years and only collected very low 1,476 miles! It now stands for the sale of Louwman Exclusive at a price of EUR 119,950 EUR Exc. The car is located on a US title. So if you want to drive it in Europe, you have to go through the process of official import and approval for the EU road. However, I recommend someone because it is a breathtaking example of a car that showed great potential, but was unhappy due to poor timing and unfortunate circumstances.
For more information, see Louwmanexclusive.com.
Editorial note: The information and images used in this article come from and are used exclusive with the approval of Louwman, for which we are grateful.
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