Gurgel Supermini BR-SL spotted in Pelotas city

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

I've spotted this Gurgel Supermini BR-SL about 2 weeks ago in Pelotas, a city about 190 miles from my hometown.

It was made from '92 to '95 when Gurgel Motor Co. went bankrupt, fitted with a water-cooled flat-twin 0.8L engine, carburettor-fed, with 35hp, backed by a 4-speed manual transmission, with rear-wheel drive thru a solid axle. The body is made out of fiberglass, with a steel space-frame, like the Chevrolet Lumina APV. It weights less than 1500lbs and the mileage is similar to a Prius.

[niky]

The weight isn't so bad. Shame about some of the chunky lines... but understandable given it's a glass body.

I've NEVER heard of this car before.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by niky

I've NEVER heard of this car before.

It was available only in Brazil, made by a now defunct Brazilian manufacturer which previously made small Volkswgen-powered SUVs. Some of the SUVs were exported, mostly to Caribe and Middle East, but the Supermini and its predecessor weren't.

[California98Civic]

I like the roadrunner sticker. Car is really nicely kept too. Somebody loves getting through the day in it. And the save cash. Good deal.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by California98Civic

I like the roadrunner sticker. Car is really nicely kept too. Somebody loves getting through the day in it. And the save cash. Good deal.

The sticker, which actually features Woody Woodpecker, is not a stock feature, neither the racing stripes, or the plastic hubcaps (from a Volkswagen Gol G4, a redesigned hatchback version of the Volkswagen Fox from the 80s) with fake chrome, or the roof rack (from a Fiat Uno), or the window-mounted weathershields.

Too bad nowadays many don't get its stock engine anymore, since getting the stock crankshaft is not so easy, there are few NOS ones remaining. Many are repowered with Volkswagen flat-4 air-cooled engines, a few ones with the Renault-based straight-4 Ford CHT engine (I've seen one with the 1.6L version), and there's even one with a Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 engine. But it's not easy to find a replacement engine which wouldn't decrease the mileage, at least in heavy city traffic, while in highwway a bigger engine with a taller gearing improves the mileage. I'm a long-time enthusiast of Gurgel cars, and I still hope someday to build a replica (getting an original one is extremely hard).

[freebeard]

When I see the name I think of the G15. Somewhere there's a barn with one in it.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

The G15 is nice too. I've once seen a picture of a X12 which had been privately-imported into the U.S. but never seen nothing about a G15 there.

[Arragonis]

Prefer the Midas Coupe myself, designed by a bloke off Formula 1.

[Superfuelgero]

Sticker is funny enough "Mr Horsepower", the clay cam mascot/ logo.

[freebeard]

I LOL'd

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Mr. Horsepower is the cartoon mascot and logo of Clay Smith Cams, an auto shop established in 1931. He is a sneering, cigar-smoking bird with red feathers and a yellow beak. The image is a caricature of legendary hot rod guru Clay Smith (1921-1954), well known for his red hair
...
Some people have confused Mr. Horsepower with the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker. The notable points of contrast are that Woody Woodpecker's beak is curved but smooth on top and bottom, and his head-feathers form a well-contained "V" shape in early iterations or a sprout of sorts in newer iterations.