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Orchard Autocare: Venturi Atlantique 300. A DW first for sure. + prize to be won

25K views 67 replies 51 participants last post by  Ronnie 
#1 · (Edited)
Post up a reply and recieve one lucky poster will be picked at random to recieve a free bottle of Luminos Paint Cleanser to try....

Hello Again and thanks for taking time to read another write up from OCD-hq. The car in question is a very rare Venturi Atlantique 300. What makes this even more rare is the fact only two were made in right hand drive, making this possibly the rarest car ever to feature in DW!

A bit of a background:

Scotsman Hubert O'Neill purchased Venturi in 1994 and conceived of the Venturi 400GT as well as a revised Atlantique. After a rushed design time of six months, the new Atlantique 300 was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. Its new 3.0 24V V6 engine was lifted from other Peugeot/Citroën models and was good for 210 hp (157 kW; 213 PS) in naturally aspirated form or 281 hp (210 kW; 285 PS) with a turbocharger.
Venturi again went into receivership in 1996, and was bought by Thai firm Nakarin Benz, under whom the company focused its concentration upon road cars. The biturbo version Atlantique 300 was released in 1998 and brought the power up to 310 hp (231 kW; 314 PS). With a top speed of 171 miles per hour (275 km/h) and a 0-60 miles per hour (97 km/h) time of 4.9 seconds, this addition made the Atlantique a serious performance competitor to the Lotus Esprit V8.
Sales of the Atlantique were extremely poor; total Venturi sales over its lifespan amounted to fewer than 700, despite praise from contemporary critics and from Top Gear. In a 1992 episode, Jeremy Clarkson noted that the two most exciting sports cars of the time were the Alpine A610 and the Venturi Atlantique, and that the Atlantique was "like having your own personal jet fighter [...] I love it to death." In comparing the biturbo Atlantique and the Lotus Esprit, Performance Car noted that the Atlantique was "[...] a more relaxing car to drive, its tidier dimensions make it easier to place, it rides more smoothly, generates far less road noise, and has a much slicker gearchange. It's better built too."
Venturi again faced bankruptcy in 2000, and the Atlantique went out of production. Although current owner Gildo Pallanca Pastor, a Monegasque millionaire, has resumed production of Venturi cars, he has shifted the emphasis to electric sports cars such as the Venturi Fétish, retiring the Atlantique badge. Company production will be even more limited at 10 units per year.
After chatting with the owner, it was considered as the car was in very good condition and its originality, an enhancement with the emphasis being on maximum gloss without removing masses of paint to make it defect free which in my opinion would have taken away from the car. On arrival, the car was treated to a full decontamination wash which included :

Orchard Autocare Cotton Candy Snowfoam 100:1.
Orchard Autocare Tar Cleanse
Orchard Autocare Iron Cleanse
Orchard Autocare Bramley Bubblebath Shampoo
Orchard Autocare Wheel Cleanse

The engine bay, however, was steam cleaned rather than being powerhosed due to French Electrics being well............ French Electrics. We did not want to wash out any electrical connections.









Once washed and dried the car brought inside to see what we had to work with. On inspection the car was completely original bar a small amount of paint on the lower side of the front bumper. The car was covered in random scratches and general wash markings and being fiberglass was in extremely good condition and very well made which made life a lot easier. This means our initial assessment of an enhancement detail which will improve the finish but retain a feeling of originality was correct.

Initially we corrected the car using Meguiar's microfiber system with the trusty G220 (single pass). Achieved around 70% correction, approximate time 12 - 15 hours.

Next we swapped to the rotary and refined using Meguiar's 205 on yellow 3M waffle pad. Approximate time 15 - 20 hours. This brought the level of correction up to approximately 90% removing all but the deepest marks.































Approximate paint removal was around 5 microns. Once finished the paint on the car was cleansed using Orchard Autocare Luminos Paint Cleanser. This is a newly developed product which will remove polishing oils and fillers as well as surface bonded contamination and random tar spotting, It also will remove any holograms left behind. It does away for the need of a IPA wipe down and reduces the risk of swiping leaving the surface perfect for LSP application.

For protection the car received 3 coats of Orchard Autocare Speed Seal allowing 20 mins between each coat for total curing. It was then given a coat of Valentines Elegance wax and finished off with Orchard Autocare Perfection. The underside of the front clam shell was given 2 coats of Orchard Autocare Speed Seal as were the arch liners on the front section.

Tyres were dressed with Orchard Autocare Glitz Tyre Dressing and the wheels were sealed using Orchard Autocare Speed Seal.

Now for the afters.



























This was a very enjoyable detail on what is a stunning car. Many thanks for taking time to read and as always all C&C's welcome.

Rollo
 
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