VIDEO: Le Casse, A Mad Cap Car Chase through the Streets Of 1970’s Athens

Ah, the ‘70s. We had the Oil Crisis and Watergate, microwave ovens and VCRs, Maggie Thatcher and Jimmy Carter. As for cars, well: there were the greats like the Lamborghini Countach, Datsun 240Z and the Dodge Charger. Then there were the not-so-greats like the AMC Pacer, Chevy Chevette and the Ford Mustang Cobra II.

It was the decade that brought us The French Connection, Gone in 60 Seconds and Smokey and the Bandit. It also brought us a relatively unknown (well, to my –ahem- clearly sophisticated tastes) French film called Le Casse (The Burglars).

Oh sure, Bullitt had Steve McQueen in a Mustang and Goldfinger had Sean Connery in a DB5, but you ain’t ever seen a film so brazen to put Omar Sharif behind the wheel of...an Opel Rekord. Well, he is the villain. Surely our hero, Jean-Paul Belmondo, will get to drive something a bit smarter.

“Like a Fiat 124 Special?”

Actually, that wasn’t what I was thinking but that is what Belmondo is driving. Don’t despair though, as this video clip of the infamous car chase from the movie more than makes up for the poor choice of vehicles. Think of it as Ronin, that Robert De Niro movie from a few years back, if it were filmed in French and in Athens circa 1970. It really has to be seen to be believed. Check it out below.

By Tristan Hankins

Hat tip goes to Chris!

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New Opel Astra Sports Tourer gets the Steinmetz Treatment

Opel tuning specialist Steinmentz has revealed a bevy of parts for the new Astra Sports Tourer. The German firm’s offerings include aerodynamic components, a lowering kit, alloy wheels and styling elements.

Go-fast features are limited to a 40mm lowering kit that has been matched to the Astra Sports Tourer’s FlexRide system and the Watt linkage integrated into the rear axle, and 19-inch alloy wheels shod in beefy 235/35 R19 tires from either Continental or Michelin.

The body parts for Opel’s compact station wagon include a front apron, bespoke upper and lower grilles finished in black, profile stripes, polished stainless steel door handle surrounds, and a new dual exhaust pipes.

For the interior, Steinmetz has developed a digital display for those that want to see what gear the car is in, plus new foot mats and aluminum trim decors.

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VIDEO: Opel Touts Zafira Tourer Concept's "Lounge Ambience"

These are the first videos of Opel's new Zafira Tourer Concept, which will receive its grand premiere at next week's 2011 Geneva Salon. The first clip focuses on the relaxing "lounge atmosphere" found within the interior of the minivan, something that Opel highlighted more than anything else in the car's press release, while the second video showcases the new Flex7 seating concept. Hit the break to watch both clips for yourself.

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New Opel Zafira Tourer Concept Previewed in iPad Hologram, Debuts in Geneva

Opel chose a rather unique way to inform us about its new concept model that previews the next generation of the Zafira people carrier, and which is scheduled to make its world premiere at the Geneva Salon in March. The company published a short video accompanied by a photograph showing the firm's design boss Mark Adams holding an iPad through which a hologram of the concept car pops out.

The Zafira Tourer Concept will give us a pretty good idea of what the actual production model will look like (see the latest spy shots here) inside and out when it hits European showrooms within the next 12 months. The minivan's front end styling is obviously inspired by the Ampera, or Opel's version of the Chevrolet Volt, while we can also see that the new Zafira won't be getting sliding rear doors.

GM's European subsidiary describes the car as a “Lounge On Wheels” with the company claiming that the concept brings "on-board flexibility to a new level of sophistication and comfort."

“We’ve applied the lounge concept to a motor vehicle,” says Mark Adams, Vice President Opel/Vauxhall Design. “A lounge is a place you want to escape to and relax, a place where you really want to be. We wanted to offer the same feeling in a monocab and make it the lounge you want to spend time in.”

The new Zafira is based on the Astra's hardware and shares its underpinnings with the Chevrolet Orlando. It will feature seating for seven passengers in three rows of individual seats, with power train options to mirror those of the current European market Astra.

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