Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[adw1977]

1 hour ago, egg said:

"Nuclear heat generator ... regulatory challenges"

[Peter C]

[Blue 850]

Built by a bloke called Mervyn in Weston Super Mare

[sheffcortinacentre]

That's one goddam ugly car boy!

[quicksilver]

9 hours ago, sheffcortinacentre said:

That's one goddam ugly car boy!

It looks like he tried to build a TR7 from a bad drawing on a crumpled sheet of paper.

[MiniMinorMk3]

This looks like a Lancia Beta Coupe on steroids. The 1962 Maserati 3500 GT by Boneschi

There was another built in 1963 with subtle alterations.

[Metal Guru]

6 hours ago, quicksilver said:

It looks like he tried to build a TR7 from a bad drawing on a crumpled sheet of paper.

Looks like a Chinese Corvette.

[delux]

17 hours ago, Blue 850 said:

Built by a bloke called Mervyn in Weston Super Mare

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.2583156,-6.1265388,3a,75y,350.09h,87.62t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s9-sVntupkS6-KQRDGwuDPQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D9-sVntupkS6-KQRDGwuDPQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D270.7031%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

[catsinthewelder]

On 29/02/2024 at 19:43, EyesWeldedShut said:

I rather liked my P reg Mussolini despite being fugly, and my wife still covets a 2000 era Korando just because it’s so ugly only a mother could love it 😊 

She didn't teach Spanish in Ludlow did she?  Presumably not a massive coincidence if another couple had that pair of cars.

[EyesWeldedShut]

1 hour ago, catsinthewelder said:

She didn't teach Spanish in Ludlow did she?  Presumably not a massive coincidence if another couple had that pair of cars.

Nope - just one of them there co-incidences thingies.
I'm trying to convince her that the MB 4 cyl petrol in the old Korando is exactly the same as in an SLK and she'd not notice the difference in handling.....

[bunglebus]

This thing

[bunglebus]

From Faceache:

The car actually had its origins in France in the late 1940s, where aircraft designer Gabriel Voisin had designed a minimal car called the Biscooter. The playful name implied that it was about the size of two motorscooters, or a scooter with four wheels. The design drew no interest from either manufacturers or consumers there, however, and he eventually licensed it to Spanish firm Autonacional S.A. of Barcelona. By the time it was introduced in 1953, the marque had been hispanicized to Biscúter. The first car had no formal model name and was called simply the Series 100, but it soon became known as the Zapatilla, or little shoe (clog), after a low-heeled peasant slipper popular at the time

[MiniMinorMk3]

On 27/02/2024 at 16:58, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Voisin Biscuter

3 hours ago, bunglebus said:

From Faceache:

The car actually had its origins in France in the late 1940s, where aircraft designer Gabriel Voisin had designed a minimal car called the Biscooter. The playful name implied that it was about the size of two motorscooters, or a scooter with four wheels. The design drew no interest from either manufacturers or consumers there, however, and he eventually licensed it to Spanish firm Autonacional S.A. of Barcelona. By the time it was introduced in 1953, the marque had been hispanicized to Biscúter. The first car had no formal model name and was called simply the Series 100, but it soon became known as the Zapatilla, or little shoe (clog), after a low-heeled peasant slipper popular at the time

 

[quicksilver]

Quite a few cars I didn't know existed turned up at Rustival, not least this, which doesn't look like any Ford Escort I'd ever seen.

It's an American Escort ZX2, which was their replacement for the Probe, and seems to have nothing in common with the European Escort, mainly Mazda 323 running gear with a 2-litre Zetec.

[Remspoor]

Urbanina.

Came in several designs over the years.

https://www.urbanina.it/

 

[Rusty Pelican]

Didnt know until today that Chrysler US did a stand alone brand called Imperial in 55 to 75 then again in 81 to 83 .
They were the size of small asteroids 

[MiniMinorMk3]

1956 Škoda 440 Polytex Roadster

More Czechoslovakia Plastic! Meet the 1956 Škoda 440 Polytex Roadster | Undiscovered Classics

[bunglebus]

Chevrolet Opala

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Opala

And it's wagon version, the caravan

[Madman Of The People]

On 10/03/2024 at 07:14, quicksilver said:

Quite a few cars I didn't know existed turned up at Rustival, not least this, which doesn't look like any Ford Escort I'd ever seen.

It's an American Escort ZX2, which was their replacement for the Probe, and seems to have nothing in common with the European Escort, mainly Mazda 323 running gear with a 2-litre Zetec.

 

The Ford Escort ZX2 sat below the Probe, both in size and price.  As was the case with other 1990s North American Escorts, the chassis was taken from the Mazda 323/Australian Ford Laser.  It used the same 2.0 Zetec as the Mondeo and Focus.  The ZX2 was actually a belated replacement for the old North American Ford Escort EXP Coupe, discontinued a decade earlier.

The 1999-2002 Mercury Cougar (exported to the UK as the Ford Cougar) was the quasi-replacement for the Probe.  The front-drive Cougar was originally intended to become the Mk III Probe (the UK didn't get the Mk I Probe) but was hastily rebranded as a Mercury in the US just prior to launch, after Lincoln-Mercury dealers complained they were being starved of product.  Ford threw them a bone by giving them this new "Cougar" as a consolation prize for Mercury losing the Capri, Tracer, Mystique, and the old rear-drive Cougar in rapid succession without being replaced.  This new downsized Cougar was radically different from previous Cougars did not sell in the numbers anticipated.  Traditional Cougar buyers wanted nothing to do with the new car.

Side note: The Mk I Probe was intended to replace the Fox-body Ford Mustang in 1988.  But as soon as Mustang fans heard the next iteration of their favourite car was going to be based on a front-wheel-drive Mazda 626 and there would be no V8 engine, they bombarded Ford's Dearborn H.Q. with "strongly worded" letters expressing their outrage.  I'm willing to bet these letters contained plenty of anti-Japanese xenophobia, too!  The letter-writing campaign achieved it's goal and Ford's bosses relented.  With the new car's development already at an advanced stage, Ford had too much money invested to cancel it, so it was rebranded as the Ford Probe.  Ford lost years of development time on the new Mustang and, as a result, the Fox-body Mustang had to soldier on until 1994, fifteen years after it had been launched!

 

[horriblemercedes]

6 hours ago, Madman Of The People said:

 

The Ford Escort ZX2 sat below the Probe, both in size and price.  As was the case with other 1990s North American Escorts, the chassis was taken from the Mazda 323/Australian Ford Laser.  It used the same 2.0 Zetec as the Mondeo and Focus.  The ZX2 was actually a belated replacement for the old North American Ford Escort EXP Coupe, discontinued a decade earlier.

The 1999-2002 Mercury Cougar (exported to the UK as the Ford Cougar) was the quasi-replacement for the Probe.  The front-drive Cougar was originally intended to become the Mk III Probe (the UK didn't get the Mk I Probe) but was hastily rebranded as a Mercury in the US just prior to launch, after Lincoln-Mercury dealers complained they were being starved of product.  Ford threw them a bone by giving them this new "Cougar" as a consolation prize for Mercury losing the Capri, Tracer, Mystique, and the old rear-drive Cougar in rapid succession without being replaced.  This new downsized Cougar was radically different from previous Cougars did not sell in the numbers anticipated.  Traditional Cougar buyers wanted nothing to do with the new car.

Side note: The Mk I Probe was intended to replace the Fox-body Ford Mustang in 1988.  But as soon as Mustang fans heard the next iteration of their favourite car was going to be based on a front-wheel-drive Mazda 626 and there would be no V8 engine, they bombarded Ford's Dearborn H.Q. with "strongly worded" letters expressing their outrage.  I'm willing to bet these letters contained plenty of anti-Japanese xenophobia, too!  The letter-writing campaign achieved it's goal and Ford's bosses relented.  With the new car's development already at an advanced stage, Ford had too much money invested to cancel it, so it was rebranded as the Ford Probe.  Ford lost years of development time on the new Mustang and, as a result, the Fox-body Mustang had to soldier on until 1994, fifteen years after it had been launched!

 

Vanilla Ice was still happily rollin' in his 5.0 in 1991 

[egg]

Mazda Versia. JDM only. Looks like a Japanese Ford Fusion.

 

[lesapandre]

12 hours ago, egg said:

Mazda Versia. JDM only. Looks like a Japanese Ford Fusion.

 

Bit of Fiat 500L vibe there too...

[Madman Of The People]

16 hours ago, egg said:

Mazda Versia. JDM only. Looks like a Japanese Ford Fusion.

 

 

 

Miniature Mk I Porsche Cayenne?

 

[artdjones]

22 hours ago, egg said:

Mazda Versia. JDM only. Looks like a Japanese Ford Fusion.

 

Except it doesn't give off the very staid vibe of the Fusion.

[High Jetter]

2 hours ago, artdjones said:

Except it doesn't give off the very staid vibe of the Fusion.

Mazda. Zoom zoom

[GR8 PL8 M8]

AC Schnitzer X-Road BMW 325xi

I walked past this exact car in Brussels earlier this year with barely a second glance; I just assumed that it was a model that they got in Europe that we didn't get in the UK.

It was only when I got home that I began to question why BMW wouldn't sell an Audi Allroad equivalent here that I uncovered the truth - only 25 X-Roads were built!

This particular one has over 300,000km on it and was for sale as of 2 months ago for an unnamed price.

[Metal Guru]

6 hours ago, GR8 PL8 M8 said:

AC Schnitzer X-Road BMW 325xi

I walked past this exact car in Brussels earlier this year with barely a second glance; I just assumed that it was a model that they got in Europe that we didn't get in the UK.

It was only when I got home that I began to question why BMW wouldn't sell an Audi Allroad equivalent here that I uncovered the truth - only 25 X-Roads were built!

This particular one has over 300,000km on it and was for sale as of 2 months ago for an unnamed price.

Much better than an X3.

[MiniMinorMk3]

From Standard in India

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

And another from Standard in India

[martc]

Russian PM Viktor Chernomyrdin drives the first Chevrolet Blazer car 'produced' at the Yelabuzh Automobile Plant. In 1995, the authorities of Russia and Tatarstan organised a joint venture with the GM to 'assemble' Chevrolet Blazer SUVs at Yelabuga in Tatarstan. But this wasn't a US Blazer but the Brazilian built version. And assemble actually meant adding the bumpers, seats, mirrors and lights to the almost finished cars coming from Brazil, the bumpers, seats, mirrors and lights being stored in the boot of the car when shipped from South America. It wasn't a success and the factory turned to assemble* Vectras.