Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[Remspoor]

On 11/10/2024 at 17:44, MiniMinorMk3 said:

CITROEN Jumpy Type HG

There is a whole range of these.

Now being imported into the UK.

 

[Westbay]

16 hours ago, Remspoor said:

There is a whole range of these.

Now being imported into the UK.

 

Kit+fitting+paint + VAT= + £20k ...

[Hertz]

Quote

Now that the design principle of ‘form follows function’ has left us with commercial vehicles and passenger cars as exciting as a milk jug, it’s good to look back to happier times when commercial vehicle design could be outrageously stylised with thrilling aerodynamic aesthetics inspired by speed record cars. This little van is a prime example.

It’s a Commer or Albion chassis, clad in a rather stunning body by Holland Coachcraft of Govan, a part of Glasgow in Scotland. This vehicle was used in the 1930s by the Universal Laundry Company of Greater Manchester, but it was certainly not alone. Holland Coachcraft appealed to laundries and similar vans were used by the Collars Laundry of London and the Pioneer Laundry of Liverpool. A whole fleet was built for Castlebank Dyeworks in Glasgow. Yes, for some reason the Scottish coachbuilder’s products were popular with laundry owners.

Although the bodies were made of metal on a steel tube frame, the lower half of the body appears to be made of glossy lacquered wood. Is this real wood or a mock paint job, as on the dashboard of the Facel Vega? We wouldn’t be surprised if it was a complex paint job, judging by the effort that went into making these vans look good. Unfortunately, Holland Coachcraft didn’t last very long. With the outbreak of war in 1940, the company went into receivership in 1940. It is not known whether any of its beautiful Art Deco vans survived.

What a fab thing, would love to know if any survived.

[martc]

Citroen Traction Avant 11BL Legere, rebodied by Hermann Spohn Karosseriebau Ravensburg in 1948 for Mr. Castor, France.

[martc]

We know about the Romanian Oltcit and later Oltena, but did you know there was a pick up too? A microscopic trucklet to be precise, which you could get with a cute little canopy, like this Oltena Club 12CS in Syria.

[martc]

The Tatra T613 coupe prototype by Vignale (1968). Vignale built three prototypes for Tatra, one of them was used in a crash test, the other two survived this ordeal. Two models were proposed: a four door saloon and a two door coupe. In 1972 production of the well known T613 saloons started; they were primarily used as transport for high government and as taxis, a small number were exported. The coupe was never put into production which is a crying shame, just look at it.
 

[lesapandre]

23 minutes ago, martc said:

The Tatra T613 coupe prototype by Vignale (1968). Vignale built three prototypes for Tatra, one of them was used in a crash test, the other two survived this ordeal. Two models were proposed: a four door saloon and a two door coupe. In 1972 production of the well known T613 saloons started; they were primarily used as transport for high government and as taxis, a small number were exported. The coupe was never put into production which is a crying shame, just look at it.
 

Bit of a Ford vibe there.. 

[martc]

10 minutes ago, lesapandre said:

Bit of a Ford vibe there...

They were designed at a similar time, I thought it had the look of a VW Variant about it.

Phun Phact, Vignale was taken over by Ghia, but ran as a separate concern until the two were bought out by Ford in the '70's when they dropped the Vignale name using the well known Ghia monicker. Until now when Vignale is hammered onto the boot of your top spec Ford and Ghia is no more. Strange world.

[Yoss]

2 hours ago, lesapandre said:

Bit of a Ford vibe there.. 

If they'd put the engine in the boot of the Capri, like they did the Tatra, they could have put those fake grilles to some use. 

[MiniMinorMk3]

15 hours ago, martc said:

They were designed at a similar time, I thought it had the look of a VW Variant about it.

Phun Phact, Vignale was taken over by Ghia, but ran as a separate concern until the two were bought out by Ford in the '70's when they dropped the Vignale name using the well known Ghia monicker. Until now when Vignale is hammered onto the boot of your top spec Ford and Ghia is no more. Strange world.

To me I thought BMW 2002 Touring roof on top of a VW 411.

[Adrian_pt]

On 09/10/2024 at 17:09, martc said:

The VAZ-21043-33 pick-up. This slightly foxed one is in Damascus, it has a locally made canopy.

Rear door welds on the Russian one are magnificent.

Syria has a lot of weird stuff including market-specific Skoda and Dacia sedan-based pickups. 

[somewhatfoolish]

2 hours ago, Adrian_pt said:

Rear door welds on the Russian one are magnificent.

Syria has a lot of weird stuff including market-specific Skoda and Dacia sedan-based pickups. 

"We want you to make a saloon out of an estate."

[Remspoor]

On 07/03/2022 at 22:52, 11001010 said:

Leapmotor S01

 

The latest TO3 Not good looking.

https://archive.ph/T18r6

Reminds me of something.

[lesapandre]

17 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

The latest TO3 Not good looking.

https://archive.ph/T18r6

Reminds me of something.

Seems a rip-off of the Renault Twingo.

[martc]

23 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

To me I thought BMW 2002 Touring roof on top of a VW 411.

Thanks for the memory jog, when I said VW Variant, which, something was telling me wasn't quite right, I was thinking of the 411.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Coming soon to a car park near you, the new Renner 4 Electric.

Renault 4 - The fully electric city car by Renault

[Remspoor]

1 hour ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

Coming soon to a car park near you, the new Renner 4 Electric.

Renault 4 - The fully electric city car by Renault

 Don't understand why they are going to make that and the 5.

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

1 hour ago, Remspoor said:

 Don't understand why they are going to make that and the 5.

 

The 5 is a regular hatchback and the 4 is an SUV. They are also going to do a retro styled electric Twingo. Now on display at the Paris Motor Show

Renault Twingo E-Tech electric prototype: the emblematic Twingo rebooted - Renault global media website

[somewhatfoolish]

Enough with the stupid wheels and tyres; it's a cheap shopping car, not a Clio V6.

[gtd2000]

On 15/10/2024 at 08:42, Remspoor said:

The latest TO3 Not good looking.

https://archive.ph/T18r6

Reminds me of something.

Angry Birds meets Peppa Pig vibe for me.

[IronStar]

On 09/10/2024 at 18:16, martc said:

Did you know they made VW's in Bosnia Herzegovina? No, neither did I. They were made by TAS (Tvornica Automobila Sarajevo), note the TAS badge on the grille.

One for the Rozzershite thread.

They were exported across Eastern Europe.

My Beetle and mk1 Golf are both made in Sarajevo by TAS. Beetle is 1200J, with J denoting made in Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija). Golf has TAS badge on the grill and JGL as trim level. 
They also did a small run of mk3s, but the war started and it all went to shit.

 

 

[bunglebus]

1 hour ago, IronStar said:

Beetle is 1200J

Got any pics of that? Sounds interesting 

[IronStar]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Got any pics of that? Sounds interesting 

Regular Beetle with 1200J badge AFAIK

 

[martc]

The Powell Pickup. Around 1,000 or so of these pick-ups (along with 300 station wagons) were assembled in the 1950s in Compton, California using 1941 Plymouth chassis from scrap yards. The idea was to build a cheap and sturdy utility vehicle and it worked until the supply of scrap ‘41 Plymouths ran out. They have a long round drawer that pulls out from the load area sides for fishing rod storage. 

I've no idea why 1941 Plymouths were so special and why they couldn't use say a 1940 or 1942 chassis.

[MiniMinorMk3]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Got any pics of that? Sounds interesting 

Did a web search. There's been a few for sale in Hungary, so I guess they were sold there. They look like regular German 1200 beetle built after 1974 with the Euro bumpers and front indicators in the bumpers.

 

According to my Etzold the Hungarian factory built Beetles from 1973 to 1976.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Factory picture

[somewhatfoolish]

33 minutes ago, martc said:

The Powell Pickup. Around 1,000 or so of these pick-ups (along with 300 station wagons) were assembled in the 1950s in Compton, California using 1941 Plymouth chassis from scrap yards. The idea was to build a cheap and sturdy utility vehicle and it worked until the supply of scrap ‘41 Plymouths ran out. They have a long round drawer that pulls out from the load area sides for fishing rod storage. 

I've no idea why 1941 Plymouths were so special and why they couldn't use say a 1940 or 1942 chassis.

1941 may have been surplus vehicles ordered by the French or us as it's prior to The Event; there would not be 1942 Plymouths, or at least none that weren't painted khaki.

[martc]

1 hour ago, somewhatfoolish said:

1941 may have been surplus vehicles ordered by the French or us as it's prior to The Event; there would not be 1942 Plymouths, or at least none that weren't painted khaki.

Mmmm good idea, but the Powell was made in the '50's so they would have had a choice of chassis from the scrapyard; not surplus from the manufacturer (ie from a cancelled order). After the war there could have been plenty of x Army Plymouths to choose from, but the commentary was quite specific that they used 1941 chassis. Was there something unique to '41 Plymouths? Or some taxation/registration quirk for 1941 dated chassis?

[Madman Of The People]

11 hours ago, somewhatfoolish said:

1941 may have been surplus vehicles ordered by the French or us as it's prior to The Event; there would not be 1942 Plymouths, or at least none that weren't painted khaki.

 

1942 model year Plymouth production began in July 1941, along with most other US marques.  It was common to introduce the new "model year" in the late summer or early autumn of the previous year, especially in the days when American car makers still made dramatic changes to the bodywork every year.  Most American manufacturers halted civilian car production in January and February of 1942.  So, although 1942 models did exist, they were comparatively rare due to production being curtailed by America's entry into the war.  Likewise, soon after the war ended in 1945, the American car industry went straight to making "1946" model year cars in the autumn of 1945.  These were, for the most part, slightly warmed over 1942 models.

More information on the 1942 Plymouths here...

https://www.motorcities.org/story-of-the-week/2019/the-1942-plymouths-the-last-models-before-war-production

 

[Tayne]

Would a '40 or '39 model Plymouth not have been up to the job?