Aurora 122-C
Car of the Day #170: – 1990 Aurora 122-C – Self-starter supercar
Speechless? I'll give you a moment to collect your thoughts.
Yes, this is a mid-engined, General Motors-powered-on-alcohol Brazilian sports and racing car called the Aurora.
In its ultimate form, you can think of it as a 1/2 Ferrari F40; at 212 horsepower from a (Garrett) turbocharged 2.2-litre 4-cylinder engine, it was reasonably quick.
As we've seen before, however, the Brazilian government's strategy to protect its own companies was a double-edged sword: sure, it gave the 122-C a fighting chance in the market but was hampered by a less-than-exciting engine.
Why? It was difficult to source anything better than an Opel Ascona/Chevrolet Monza 2.0-litre from GM, which the team modified with displacement and turbocharging for more performance.
With an original glass fibre reinforced plastic chassis, the parent company — Aurora Projetos Automobilísticos — certainly didn't lack ambition, but as you can imagine, there were a lot of things on the go.
An original chassis…bodywork…modified engine…Reports say that its electronic functions were wholly developed in Brazil, as well. Thankfully, none of this stopped the cars from being raced:
