In the articles in the “Remember This” section of Razão Automóvel, we remember cars that made us dream. Well then. Who has never dreamed of owning a van like the one from the Class A Squadron (The A-Team)? I dreamed.
If you were a kid in the 80s too — OK! kids from the early 90's count too…—you're most likely with me on this trip when you're nearly 30 years old.
A time when the playground had not yet been invaded by smartphones and when we imagined things like: calling three friends, inventing that we had a «black van with red stripes» and each one of those friends was a character: Murdock, Stick Face , BA and Hannibal Smith.
In light of today's kids we were crazy. In addition, we rode our bikes without helmets and ate EPA ice cream with a real tablet inside without, imagine… choking! Anyway, high-risk activities in light of this time.
But ready. Now that you've wiped away the tears of nostalgia, let's talk about the van: the A-Class Squadron's GMC Vandura.
The GMC Vandura of the Class A Squadron
Back then I was too young to worry about technical specifications. But today, during the coffee break, our team was debating just that: what would be the engine of the A-Class Squadron's van?
A Google search gave us the answers we wanted.
Launched in 1971, the 3rd generation of the GMC Vandura was in production until 1996. During that time, it was receiving several updates. At the time of the A-Class Squadron, it was available in rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive versions.
From the footage in the series, we believe our small screen heroes' GMC Vandura was a rear-wheel-drive version — or was it four-wheel drive? Take a look at the front wheel hub in the images that accompany this article.
As for the engine, the GMC of the A-Class Squadron was equipped with the most powerful engine in the range: a V8 with 7.4 liters of capacity and 522 Nm of maximum torque. Anything less was spoiling an icon from our childhood.
There were even six-cylinder versions in-line and even Diesel versions!
The version used in the series also helped GMC to introduce, in 1985, a new addition to the Vandura range: a four-speed manual gearbox. It was either that or a three-speed automatic. Fortunately, Hannibal Smith chose (and well!) to fight crime behind the wheel of a GMC Vandura with a manual gearbox.
Today, more than 30 years later, we still want to have a GMC Vandura in our garage. And thou?
When the article is finished, let me write the following:
I love when a plan works.