The Ginger Guru’s favourite classic cars

The sixties has to considered as the golden age of motoring. I recently watched the movie Gran Turino and whilst I gazed at Walt’s 1972 Ford Gran Turino in sheer amazement I couldn’t help but think about the beauty and engineering behind these classic masterpieces. Here are my favorites, let me know what you think and which ones you would add or remove from the list.

1966 Lamborghini Miura

Ferruccio Lamborghini wasn’t a man you’d want to get into an argument with, a tractor manufacturer; he had originally made a living from working days and nights on his farm throughout the Second World War. But his entrepreneurship skills and knowledge of tractors brought him success. In 1958 Lamborghini went to Maranello to get himself a Ferrari 250GT but found it had a shabby interior and a poor clutch. What annoyed him most was that every time he sent the car for repairs it was taken for a long time and the Ferrari mechanics wouldn’t let him in to see the work. When he approached Enzo Ferrari with his comments, Enzo replied that the problem was with the driver and not with the car. He also remarked that Ferruccio was just a tractor maker and didn’t understand real engineering. These comments resulted in one of the largest feuds between the biggest dynasties in motorcar production.

The Miura is widely viewed as the car which began the trend in high performance sports cars. This 3.9 Litre V12 fighting bull was also the first car to place its engine in the middle which became so successful that the same approach was later used in various Ferraris and the Ford GT. Interestingly the guys who built the Miura did it in their spare time against the wishes of the companies hierarchy, they wanted to produce a great sports car which could also be driven on the road. But Lamborghini was more interested in powerful and reliable road cars and had no interest in producing race cars at the time, but the concept car received such mammoth reception at the Geneva motor show that the company decided to put it into production, selling it at a steep $20,000

1967 Ford Mustang Shelby

In the 1930’s the famous American novelist Christopher Morley said “In every man’s heart there is a secret nerve that answers to the vibrations of beauty”, a part of me thinks if he’d been around when this Mustang was first built he’d be looking straight at it when he came up with that line.  Words cannot describe this masterpiece which also appeared in the James Bond film Goldfinger. It was first developed by Donald Frey in 1964 and only took a record breaking 18 months to complete. Ford had only anticipated selling 100,000 but in the first year alone over one million of the 4.7litre V8 220bhp Mustangs were built. Such was the success that a whole breed of “pony cars” was created by manufacturers such as Chrysler, Dodge and General Motors to try and compete with the success of the Mustang. The most sought-after Mustangs are the rare Shelby GT350s which cost between £50,000-100,000

1968 Ferrari Dino GT

The Dino was named in memory Alfredino Ferrari (1932-1956) son of the late Enzo Ferrari, who worked on the design of the car’s engine but died before it was actually built. It is one of the most iconic cars from the famous Italian giant and became renowned for its outstanding driving qualities and groundbreaking design. Recently, it was placed by Motor Trend Magazine as seventh in the “10 greatest Ferraris of all time”.

The 2.4L V6 Dino was created as an affordable sports car to compete with some of the Porches in the market at the time. Enzo didn’t want to tarnish the Ferrari brand with a cheaper car and so the Dino was marketed as an “almost a Ferrari”. But the car became sought after very quickly and there were calls to increase the power of the engine. Only 152 were built in total during 1968 and trying to get hold of one of the earlier ones can set you back around £5 million.

1965 Jaguar E-type

One of the most beautiful cars ever made, the Jaguar E-type was built at a time when going fast and looking good were the priorities, not saving the earth and its inhabitants. With a 4.2 litre engine it looks like a beautifully crafted cruise missile from the cold war era but contained vast technology from Jaguars expertise in motor racing. This made the E-type ground breaking during the 60’s forcing many roadsters to follow suit and compelled Enzo Ferrari to call it “the most beautiful car ever made”. The E-type handles exceptionally well due to excellent weight distribution and the steering is very precise. A 2+2 version of the coupé was also added in 1966 offering automatic transmission. One the first 3.8 Litre versions was tested in 1961 reaching a top speed of 149.1 mph with an acceleration from 0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds which is impressive by today’s standards.

1964 Porsche 911

This famous air-cooled Porsche was first introduced in 1963 by Porsche AG in Stuttgart, Germany. It is one of the oldest sport scar name plates still in production. It was originally called the 901 but after a dispute with the French manufacturer Peugeot who argued they had the rights for this series it was changed to 911. The car has been modified by factories and many private racing teams over the decades and although it has undergone this continuous development since its birth the main concepts that made the 911 so famous have never changed. This rear engined beauty packed power with direct steering and a very precise gearbox, but what made the car really renowned was the design with its distinct front and slanted back. Over the years Porsche has continued to command respect and is often cited as the most successful competition car of all time winning major world championship such as Targa Florio, Daytona, Sebring, Nürburgring and famously Le Mans in 1979.

1964 Aston Martin DB5

The DB5 is another classic to have featured in many James Bond movies and back in 1964 this 4 Litre beast sold for more than £4500. Many see this as one of the finest English cars ever built, David Brown (the DB in DB5) and his small company refined the original DB4 body design. They replaced the DB4 brake system, added tinted glass, and installed an alternator. Most important, they made standard the optional DB4 Vantage engine to provide more power and solved over-heating problems in the early DB4s. Only 886 were built from 1963 to 1965 and driven close to their 140-mph top speed on new motorways built between London and country estates.

If you feel any other cars should have been included to this list please add them with a short description in the comments section below.

The Ginger Guru’s guide to the 10 minute morning exercise.

As a full time professional guru I do take exercising quite seriously but the hustle and bustle of city and my daily guru activities makes a visit to the gym a trivial task. Here are my top five quick exercises to squeeze into your busy day. I really encourage you try this in the morning when you wake up as you’ll feel that fire in your belly in no time.

The first work out to get you started as your climb out of bed is the deep knee bend; this exercise works your entire leg and helps to strengthen those thighs. With your feet slightly apart, grab on to the edge of a table that’s waist high and slowly bend your knees and lower body in a kind of squat. Then slowly stand-up again using only your legs to lift you, keep your heals on the floor and do as many as you can for 2 minutes.

Next head to the stairway or if you don’t have one place a large book on the ground and try the calf raise. Put your toes on the edge of the step or book and then lower your heals down below the step, hold for a few seconds, then raise up on your toes as high as possible. Again try as many as you can for 2 minutes.

My third exercise is the famous chin up which will have you feeling like you’re in the army. This exercise is great for your back, shoulders, and biceps. Grab a bar with an under hand grip and hang all the way down. Pull yourself up until your chest hits the bar then lower yourself all the way back down. Remember to do this slowly and if you don’t have a bar get one! Don’t use the curtain rail!

Moving on, another simple yet colossal exercise is the push up. If this baby can do it you can to! This will develop your chest, shoulders and triceps. Lie face down on the floor with your hands about shoulder width apart and palms facing the floor. Push-up until your arms are straight, lower and repeat as many times as you can.

My final and favourite guru exercise is the stomach crunch. Everyone wants to have a nice six-pack but it take more than one mornings training and a good diet to get nice looking set of abs, but you can get started by doing some crunches and flexing those stomach muscles as much as you can. Lie on your back with your legs bent, put your chin on your chest and your hands behind your head. You want to bring your head and upper back off the ground, but keep your lower back on the ground. You are only doing 1/3 a sit-up, or crunching your abs. As you come up and feel your abs get tight, hold for a 5 second guru count, then relax and lie back on the floor. Repeat as many times as you can.

So that’s my 10 minute work-out. I say ditch the coffee and start your day the guru way. Watch out for my video coming soon proving even a Ginger Guru can get up in the morning and do this.