Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[Muniphobia]

23 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Volvo GTZ 164 by Zagato. It's like the front of an ISO Lele has been hastily welded to the back of a Renault 15.

Reminds me of the Rover 2000 TCZ which isn't surprising as it is also by Zagato

[Remspoor]

Doble steam cars. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doble_steam_car

 

[martc]

On 20/04/2024 at 17:20, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Daihatsu Leeza Spider

[martc]

On 03/05/2024 at 09:13, puddlethumper said:

Anyone seen an Ora Funky Cat? Saw one on the M25 yesterday. Had to look it up. Chinese, of course, a Great Wall Motor and supposed to be a luxury* electric car. Couldn't get a pic. Driving and stuff. 

 

On 03/05/2024 at 09:33, Tayne said:

I saw one in Germany a month or so back but if you dare to look in the modem section you might find that someone has bought one…

That'll be me,  picking it up next Tuesday.

Funky Cat is so last year, they're called '03' now. Mine should look like this -

[puddlethumper]

5 hours ago, martc said:

 

That'll be me,  picking it up next Tuesday.

Funky Cat is so last year, they're called '03' now. Mine should look like this -

Ooh. Get you matey.

[martc]

Never knew that they marketed the IZH 2715 van as a Lada Furgon (van) and Cargo (pick-up) (in Chile, or anywhere else for that matter). 

https://www.veoautos.cl/lada-cargo-y-lada-furgon-1988-1994-en-chile/

[MiniMinorMk3]

I didn't know the Fiat 131 was sold as the Brava in North America

[sheffcortinacentre]

Several export markets I think.

[Missy Charm]

On 15/05/2024 at 20:35, martc said:

Never knew that they marketed the IZH 2715 van as a Lada Furgon (van) and Cargo (pick-up) (in Chile, or anywhere else for that matter). 

https://www.veoautos.cl/lada-cargo-y-lada-furgon-1988-1994-en-chile/

Cruella DeVil once described the Lada Furgon as her 'least favourite' small van.  

[bunglebus]

Rear of the new Transit reminds me of the MK1/2 for some reason 

[MiniMinorMk3]

AMC Renault Alliance Convertible, a 2-Door Renault 9 that's had a tin opener taken to it.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Volkswagen Country Buggy from Australia

The Sakbayan is the version made in The Philippines

[Wibble]

2 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

AMC Renault Alliance Convertible, a 2-Door Renault 9 that's had a tin opener taken to it.

Looks like one speed bump away from becoming the two wheeled Bond car Renault

[Madman Of The People]

Following on from the Fiat Brava and the Renault Alliance recently mentioned in this thread, here's another US-market oddity.  The BMW Bavaria.

It looks like a normal BMW E3 saloon, so what makes it special?  Well, Max Hoffman, BMW's US importer at the time, was able to convince Zee Germans he could sell the more basic 2500-spec saloon with the bigger and more powerful engine from the 2800.  The Bavaria went on sale in 1971 and shoving a big engine into a more affordable package proved to be a hit with American buyers.  So much so that BMW increased the engine size to 3.0 litres the following year.  The Bavaria remained available through 1974, by which time the car gained enormous battering-ram bumpers to satisfy draconian Federal safety legislation that had been recently enacted.  To date, this is the only BMW saloon not to have a numeric model designation.

 

[lesapandre]

"To date, this is the only BMW saloon not to have a numeric model designation".

BMW Isetta? Thought not really a saloon.

[Remspoor]

Sabberton Omen.

https://www.corvettekingdom.co.uk/article/corvette-kingdom/sabberton-omen-24-06-2003/23

 

 

[DavieW]

I saw this Gilburn convertible on Saturday. I knew they did an estate as well as the normal 2 door but I've never seen a soft top version. 

 

[egg]

Mazda 121 concept that never emerged, sadly.

[sutty2006]

JIMP (stop sniggering at the back there!) kit car based on a …… metro? Series Landrover mash? 
 

 

[Muniphobia]

Reliant Rialto grille?

[lesapandre]

4 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

JIMP (stop sniggering at the back there!) kit car based on a …… metro? Series Landrover mash? 
 

 

t'interweb throws up this:

"PK Jimp (1981-84) Engine 850 cc, production around 150. Built on Reliant Kitten underpinnings and running gear and an aluminium shell the Jimps were built by Peter Kukla of Sandbach. Designed by John Crosswaite (as well as the Salamander) as a mini Land Rover. The company folded due to a lack of finances."

[Markeh]

A Toyota Porte overtook me earlier:

Someone kawaii-fied a 1007 by the looks of it, although Google since tells me that it's a regular set of doors on the other side.

[bunglebus]

Troll Plastik & Bilindustri was founded in 1956 in Lunde, Norway. Their first car, the the Troll, was a failure, due to government intervention. The Norwegian government had a trade deal with the Soviet Union, trading Norwegian fish for Soviet cars. Only 5 of the original Troll was made.

The Troll was a fiberglass-bodied sports-coupe with a 663cc two-stroke inline 2 producing 30hp, powering the front wheels.

[adw1977]

Shanghai SH760A

Built in 1986 but influenced by the Mercedes "Ponton" body of the 1950s!

Seen in the Louwman Museum in The Hague, which is well worth a visit for anyone visiting the Netherlands. 

[Quintus]

The Pontiac Tojan

https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/pontiac-tojan-the-car-that-beat-ferrari-to-200-mph/

 

[bunglebus]

UK numberplate..?

[Missy Charm]

50 minutes ago, Quintus said:

The Pontiac Tojan

https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/pontiac-tojan-the-car-that-beat-ferrari-to-200-mph/

 

Astonishing to think there's a Trans Am underneath that, given the Fiero-esque front and Nissan like rear pillars.  There's a hint of Burt Reynolds about the doors, however.  

There was other twin-turbocharged American stuff about in the eighties, too, with the best example probably being the Callaway Lingenfelter Sledgehammer Corvette:

One of these hit 255 mph in 1988; not only impressive for a road car but faster than the Ferrari F40 by some margin.  The Sledgehammer was a production car of sorts, in that there were several of them.  

[mintwth]

2 hours ago, Quintus said:

The Pontiac Tojan

https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/pontiac-tojan-the-car-that-beat-ferrari-to-200-mph/

 

Odd choice of name for an American car given it's a well known brand over there

[bunglebus]

Well we had saloons and hatchbacks named after grot mags, so why not?

[Madman Of The People]

 

There was the short-lived Playboy Motor Car Corporation of Buffalo, New York, established in 1947. 

The Playboy had a rear-mounted two litre four cylinder engine and a three speed manual gearbox.  The company only made 99 cars, comprising of one prototype, 97 production models, and one final unfinished car before going bankrupt in 1951.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playboy_Automobile_Company#:~:text=The company only made 99,before going bankrupt in 1951.

Yes, the car predates the magazine but there is a connection between the two.  According to Hugh Hefner himself "The Playboy name was suggested by a friend whose mother had worked at the then defunct Playboy Motor Car Company."

https://www.playboymotorcars.com/

 

 

 

 

Prior to that, there was the Jordan Motor Car Company of Cleveland, Ohio, makers of the Jordan Playboy.  Jordan was founded in 1916 but had fallen victim to the Great Depression and had ceased production by 1931.

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