Rather than banking on an image and a legacy, the V-Rod brought contemporary and fresh new ideas to the Harley table. The bike was built on a perimeter tube frame and used a number of aluminum components, including a swingarm and body panels. The exaggerated degree rake angle, the quirky solid disc wheels, and stylized dual exhaust tips were a stark departure from the classic Harley lines.
The bike even had a fake gas tank sitting on top of the chassis, used instead to tuck the airbox away—the actual reservoir was located under the seat. Everything in this design was about the look and the attitude rather than the tradition. This design actually introduced the concept of water cooling and dual overhead cams to the H-D lineup.
The beast—for its time—was rated at horsepower and 74 lb-ft of torque. The V-Rod did neither—it actually created a niche of its own, parallel to the rest of the H-D lineup, and lived 15 happy years in the Orange and Black family. So much so that the first batch of V-Rods to roll out of production sold out as quickly as it takes to say "V-Twin Racing Street Custom". Project Nova , as Zac informed us before, was also coincidentally a water-cooled engine design for the famously air-cooled-only company.
Plans for Nova encompassed separate but related V2, V4, and V6 engine configurations. Mezger worked on the V4. Still, engines are engines, and interesting challenges are interesting challenges. Figuring out where to put everything on a water-cooled engine, while working within Harley-Davidson's stipulations that it look air-cooled, were definitely their own brand of challenge. Internally, Porsche kept the convention going, so, for example, the was the Carrera GTS, and the was the Carrera 6.
Peugeot wasn't using its three-digit with a zero in the middle convention for racing or competing with Porsche, so the company used , , and for race cars.
The number became shorthand amongst enthusiasts for the early 's aluminum five-speed transmission as its 11 digit code began with This wasn't a nickname for a small car that came out of sexism. When the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile FIA announced a homologated class for sports cars with a minimum weight of pounds and engines up to five liters in size, Porsche got on the case and designed the now legendary To race in the class, Porsche had to create 25 units by April of so it could participate in that year's season.
Porsche had six cars and all the parts to make the other 19 as the deadline approached, but the FIA insisted all 25 had to be built to qualify. Porsche's racing department's resources were being stretched thin, so "We put together apprentices, messenger boys, bookkeepers, office people, and secretaries," said Rico Steinemann, Porsche's Racing Manager at the time.
There have been over eleven different versions of the since and 59 units in total and is often considered the greatest race car in history. However, the first 25 were to be forever affectionately known as the "secretary cars. Another well-documented piece of Porsche history is how actor James Dean died while driving his Porsche Spyder to a race meeting.
Dean had laughed off the ominous feeling and warning from Sir Alec Guinness when he saw the car. However, even after getting a speeding ticket just outside of Bakersfield, California, Dean kept up the pace as he tried to get used to the car on the way to the race just nine days after buying it. Unfortunately, he hit another vehicle at around 85 mph on Route 46 and was declared dead at the nearest hospital that evening.
What's less well known is that the "Little Bastard" car named for Dean's nickname claimed another victim's life later on. William Eschrich bought the car from a Burbank salvage yard and used the engine in his Lotus IX race car.
He also loaned out the suspension and transmission to another doctor, Troy McHenry, and took part in the same race.
Eschrich crashed in the race but survived while McHenry didn't. He hit a tree and was killed. There are further unfortunate stories about the car, mostly unsubstantiated, and claims of it being cursed.
Porsche came close to ending the in the s as there was a belief it couldn't be developed anymore. However, in , the millionth rolled off the production line. The long rear swingarm and twin shock absorbers give a decent cruising ride -- there isn't excessive travel and it's not sloppy. The V-Rod has a very long Still, handling remains slow and heavy. The triple-disc brakes on the pound V-Rod are the best on any Harley I have ever used, period. The thin, narrow seat is comfortable for a short-to-medium cruise.
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