Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[SierraMikeHotel]

Citroen LNA enterprise, which is the 'van' version. Haven't confirmed whether this came in 652cc form yet!

 

I'm assuming this was some sort of tax-break special in France?  When I was working over there in about 2002 I often drove company (waggles fingers) "vans" that were clearly just Puntos and Clios that never had the rear seats installed.

 

They generally had engines so tiny that you could have walked quicker and had never, ever, ever seen any maintenance.

[Ghosty]

Tax on direct debit is my guess.

It’s £0 being an EV so they’ve probably just left it instead of SORNing or something.

[cros]

^^ Superb Autoshite post.

Seconded.

[wuvvum]

I just saw what appeared to be a Nissan Qashqai that some cunt had stuck Maserati badges on.

[Vin]

/\/\ It must get about a bit as I saw it at Doncaster Services yesterday...

[martc]

 

It looks like it's had a terrible shock and is trying to run away from itself shouting 'what's happened to my wheels they've swollen to huge proportions'

[jmsguzzi]

The actual real Maserati Levante is worse!!

 

 

It looks like it's had a terrible shock and is trying to run away from itself shouting 'what's happened to my wheels they've swollen to huge proportions'

[Skizzer]

The actual real Maserati Levante is worse!!

 

Hold on a minute - wide spaced vertical bars in the grille, three little air holes in the front wing, crease line over the rear haunches that then sweeps up and forwards to the nose... that’s not a Maserati, that’s a goddam 1950s Buick.

 

[wuvvum]

When I first saw the Maser my initial thought was that the grille had fallen off.  It just looks odd.

[somewhatfoolish]

Someone's got a Tesla S estate and it doesn't look half bad; conversion made by a company called Qwest Norfolk apparently.

 

[Tayne]

It looks great.

Apart from that rear door window...

 

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Someone's got a Tesla S estate and it doesn't look half bad; conversion made by a company called Qwest Norfolk apparently.

 

tesla wagon.jpg

 

More here - think it looks better than the saloon, in a sort of Ford Cortina Mk.3 way.

[somewhatfoolish]

It looks great.

Apart from that rear door window...

 

C0169B2C-72EA-417A-A532-5470E4104216.jpeg

The difference between a (perhaps?) five figure conversion and a six figure one I suspect; once you start monkeying with doors, door glass and door frames the costs get (more)stupid very quickly. Although if you can afford to hack up a Tesla S you're not short of boodle I guess.

[bunglebus]

Apparently (according to the owner), this beastie badged as a Verté Tempest is an Australian Ford (ford logo on the dash confirmed this) powered by an LPG only straight 6;

 

20180129_142008 by RS, on Flickr

 

20180129_142019 by RS, on Flickr

[Datsuncog]

Apparently (according to the owner), this beastie badged as a Verté Tempest is an Australian Ford (ford logo on the dash confirmed this) powered by an LPG only straight 6;

 

Good gravy, that's quite the spot. 

 

Verte Automotive

In the UK, AU utilities were imported by Verte Automotive (then a subsidiary of AC Cars) as the Verte Tempest from March 2002. Sold in XL and XLS trim levels, it was powered by the 4.0-litre inline-six on LPG only. From the last quarter of 2002, plans included powering the AC Green and Black coupes with the same engine (LPG and petrol, respectively) and eventually selling a range of Tempest XR6 and XR8 utes and sedans, ahead of the Tempest T-Series and the long-wheelbase Fairlane/LTD duo.These plans, however, never eventuated.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Falcon_(AU)#Verte_Automotive

 

Didn't think there'd be much call for an AU series Ford Falcon ute on these fair shores... even rebadged and running on LPG. Interesting that DVLA claim a 2005 manufacture as well as first UK registration date - this is the 1998-2000 pre-facelift version of the AU, with the all-new BA Falcon arriving in 2002, so they would have been well out of date by the time Verté started importing them in '02. There's bound to be a story in there somewhere...

 

 

 

 

Still, quite a spot! And a tenuous AC link to Zelandeth's fleet, too...

[Tayne]

The difference between a (perhaps?) five figure conversion and a six figure one I suspect; once you start monkeying with doors, door glass and door frames the costs get (more)stupid very quickly. Although if you can afford to hack up a Tesla S you're not short of boodle I guess.

The two side windows are bespoke from Pilkingtons so I think they could have had two rear door windows made up with a sliver of extra glass on them.

 

Rear hatch glass with wiper is mark 1 Focus, roof and structure is carbon fibre.

 

It’s about 12 kg lighter than the hatch and apparently more aerodynamic.

[sheffcortinacentre]

Yep same as mine (mines burgandy) does equivalent of hi 30s mpg on motorway.

They where selling sedans & wagons to the funeral trade dunno if still same company but popular with co-op they replaced there's a couple of years ago with ecoboost versions mate works at local ford dealers who maintain them.

[cros]

The Opperman Stirling was a development of the Unicar from the company that produced the one wheel drive Motorcart.. Not a bad effort, it featured independent suspension and was said to have bothered BMC who were about to launch the Mini. At first it used a rear mounted 2 stroke but got a lot more promising when the company opted for the excellent Steyr flat twin, later fitted to Invacars. Unfortunately it did what it said on the numberplate after only a couple were built.

[cros]

I was pleased that Citroen weren't first in the field with that one seater van conversion featured earlier. Here is the 1952 Bond Mini truck which they shamelessly copied.

Of course, the French company were unable to emulate the Bond's sophisticated wire cable steering and superb 197cc Villiers economy. The ignorant might mistake that floor mounted lever for the gears, but it is, of course, for starting the engine.

The Minicar family had no reverse gear, though it had a dodgem-like turning circle due to the engine being attached to, and pivoting with, the front wheel. To enable one to reverse an optional extra was offered in the form of a ratchet spanner- you could easily reach out and fit it to a nut in the centre of the rear hub. Once in place a couple of pulls would usually suffice to get the little shitheap up to the curb.

[TataBobu]

Someone's got a Tesla S estate and it doesn't look half bad; conversion made by a company called Qwest Norfolk apparently.

 

 

According to this Romanian bit of news, it's for the dogs.

[cros]

ΔΔΔ I'd rather have a Bond Mini truck.

[MorrisItalSLX]

Apparently (according to the owner), this beastie badged as a Verté Tempest is an Australian Ford (ford logo on the dash confirmed this) powered by an LPG only straight 6;

 

20180129_142008 by RS, on Flickr

 

20180129_142019 by RS, on Flickr

Wowzers! That’s fantastic!

 

*goes off to do further research*

[overrun]

Good gravy, that's quite the spot. 

 

 

Didn't think there'd be much call for an AU series Ford Falcon ute on these fair shores... even rebadged and running on LPG. Interesting that DVLA claim a 2005 manufacture as well as first UK registration date - this is the 1998-2000 pre-facelift version of the AU, with the all-new BA Falcon arriving in 2002, so they would have been well out of date by the time Verté started importing them in '02. There's bound to be a story in there somewhere...

 

Falcon AU ute details.png

 

2000_Ford_Falcon_(AU)_XL_utility_(25769377680).jpg

 

 

Still, quite a spot! And a tenuous AC link to Zelandeth's fleet, too...

 

 

What a Utey! Would. 

Also, I guess this has the infamous Barra motor?

[matara]

Just read this about a Porsche budget car developed for a competition by the Chinese government for a cheap car for the Chinese market:-

 

 

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/nrjzvgd/

[Tayne]

According to this Romanian bit of news, it's for the dogs.

Yes.

Here’s the fully charged episode.

 

https://youtu.be/Ydb9TW3Bmh8

[Tadhg Tiogar]

Just read this about a Porsche budget car developed for a competition by the Chinese government for a cheap car for the Chinese market:-

 

 

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/nrjzvgd/

 

Looks a bit too much like the Daewoo Lanos

[cros]

Budget car? Looks like typical bougoise over-indulgence to me, just look at all those unnecessary wheels for a start. What would Porche know about building a budget car, whereas Sharps Commercials..

 

Just attach with 4 bolts to anything you fancy, (piano, granny's armchair) and off you go.

[LC Torana]

Reminds me of the "Smith Flyer", by Briggs & Stratton.

IIRC, instead of a clutch, you lowered the driven wheel with a lever until it just touched the ground, and controlled the amount of slip to get the thing moving.

 

Intriguing idea.

[flat4alfa]

Another of theirs, the XEF. It's like someone has cut bits of pictures of other cars out a magazine and glued them together.

Another pictures; in this one they've kept the 80's Merc rear lights, BMW 2002 rear quarter lights & c-pillars, and Fiat doors, but changed the Merc front end for something between an Ital and a Disco 1.

 

I thought this was all potatoshop.  I was wrong

 

http://www.classiccars121.be/index.php/1984-gurgel-xef/

 

 

1982-86 Gurgel XEF

[Tadhg Tiogar]

I thought this was all potatoshop.  I was wrong

 

http://www.classiccars121.be/index.php/1984-gurgel-xef/

 

I'm guessing the designer of this horror wasn't too hot on the idea of getting the proportions right.