Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[martc]

Postwar Szczecin wasn’t just another industrial city — it had pedigree. Before the war, Stoewer was building fancy cars there. After the war, the ashes of Stoewer turned into the Szczecin Motorcycle Factory, cranking out Junak two-wheelers (aka. Motorbikes). But in Warsaw, the design office BKP-Mot decided in 1957 that Poland needed a people’s microcar. Engineers Karol Wójcicki, Janusz Zygadlewicz, and Andrzej Zgliczyński whipped up a monocoque body with independent suspension — torsion bars and links powered by a single-cylinder Junak engine wheezing out about 14 horsepower.

The single door didn’t open sideways, or forwards like an Isetta. No, it dropped downward, like a drawbridge. To get in, two adults and two children would clamber over it, aided by a front seat that could fold sideways. 

About 17 or maybe 20 prototypes were built (nobody’s really sure, which says a lot). They were rushed, flawed, and by 1959 the whole thing was scrapped. Instead, Poland went with the Mikrus MR300, basically a Goggo knockoff. That one also fizzled out after a few thousand units. The Mikrus was produced by WSK more famous for it's aeroplanes and now part of Airbus. Details of the Mikrus can be found here - https://wystawaklasykow.pl/mikrus-mr-300

 

[martc]

Built in Denmark and hailed as 'the car of the future,' the Hope Whisper was a small, sensible electric city car. It seated two, ran on a 10 kW motor with six 6-volt batteries, and could cruise at around 60 km/h for roughly 100 km.

Then came the unveiling — and the metaphor that would define an entire country’s automotive dreams. Exhausted engineers, a sleepless night, a missing handbrake. Cameras rolled as the Whisper quietly did what few cars ever have: it drove itself off the stage and into history. No fire, no drama — just a slow, tragicomic roll that silenced Denmark’s electric ambitions.

[D.E]

5 hours ago, lesapandre said:

Probably very well known - but I'd not seen one before -  a Ka 4-dr - the Ford Ka Plus - 2016 - 2019 apparently. Very neat. Sold in the UK and elsewhere I expect.

Rare things here. Ford sold them at a price that was very close to that of a basic Fiesta, so customers would rather buy a Fiesta instead. Then Ford, in all their wisdom, discontinued both the Ka+ and Fiesta, and now their sales and market share are at an all-time low*.  

Spoiler

This year they seem to recover somewhat, slightly above 4% while the market share was about 3,5% in 2024 and 2023. Still, that is less than half of what it used to be in the 2000s.

 

[nomiST]

 

 

What's the opposite of nominative determinism? Looks like it should read "Nope". 

[D.E]

38 minutes ago, martc said:

Built in Denmark and hailed as 'the car of the future,' the Hope Whisper was a small, sensible electric city car. It seated two, ran on a 10 kW motor with six 6-volt batteries, and could cruise at around 60 km/h for roughly 100 km.

Then came the unveiling — and the metaphor that would define an entire country’s automotive dreams. Exhausted engineers, a sleepless night, a missing handbrake. Cameras rolled as the Whisper quietly did what few cars ever have: it drove itself off the stage and into history. No fire, no drama — just a slow, tragicomic roll that silenced Denmark’s electric ambitions.

Lol.

Edit: also, this comment:

Quote

In 1985 I worked for a British company that had been offered the UK distribution of Hope Whisper vehicles. By that time, production of the Hope Whisper had moved to West Berlin and I went there to test drive their little car. I recall it had a glass-fibre body fitted with VW Golf doors (to save the cost of complex tooling). My test drive lasted no more than 200 metres at which point the 'gearbox', as used in milk floats of that era, failed and the test was over almost before it had started. My internal report was negative and we never imported these cars.

 

[quicksilver]

1 hour ago, nomiST said:

 

 

What's the opposite of nominative determinism? Looks like it should read "Nope". 

Hopeless would also be apt. Anyone else think it looks like a sad-faced cartoon of a Citroen AX?

[Metal Guru]

6 minutes ago, quicksilver said:

Hopeless would also be apt. Anyone else think it looks like a sad-faced cartoon of a Citroen AX?

It looks like the unwanted love child of a Citroen AX and Marvin the paranoid android.

[warch]

This is a new one on me. I knew the original Camel Trophy (hairy chested expedition series sponsored by the purveyors of horrible cigarettes) used Jeeps for the original Trophy and then Land Rovers for every event thereafter but according to Wikipedia there were also some Mk 1 Mitsubishi Shoguns entered at some point during the 1980s.

 

Whether this really happened or not, or whether someone just took a Shogun and painted it in Sandglow yellow is hard to ascertain, but the article goes on to say that a limited run of road vehicles were sold off the back of this, based on the SWB (3dr) version of the same vehicle.

I'd be interested to know if anyone could verify this. 

[EyesWeldedShut]

4 hours ago, warch said:

I'd be interested to know if anyone could verify this. 

No clue tbh but this guy says it is true:
https://www.drive2.ru/l/582093276568393381/

He says it in Russian but I cheated and got my browser to translate it. Even without a translation it's well worth visiting just for a look at the pictures.
Borneo apparently.
Feckin' bonkers. Makes an ARC meet look like a day trip to Brighton.

[JeeExEll]

On 15/10/2025 at 13:23, martc said:

Postwar Szczecin wasn’t just another industrial city — it had pedigree. Before the war, Stoewer was building fancy cars there. After the war, the ashes of Stoewer turned into the Szczecin Motorcycle Factory, cranking out Junak two-wheelers (aka. Motorbikes). But in Warsaw, the design office BKP-Mot decided in 1957 that Poland needed a people’s microcar. Engineers Karol Wójcicki, Janusz Zygadlewicz, and Andrzej Zgliczyński whipped up a monocoque body with independent suspension — torsion bars and links powered by a single-cylinder Junak engine wheezing out about 14 horsepower.

The single door didn’t open sideways, or forwards like an Isetta. No, it dropped downward, like a drawbridge. To get in, two adults and two children would clamber over it, aided by a front seat that could fold sideways. 

About 17 or maybe 20 prototypes were built (nobody’s really sure, which says a lot). They were rushed, flawed, and by 1959 the whole thing was scrapped. Instead, Poland went with the Mikrus MR300, basically a Goggo knockoff. That one also fizzled out after a few thousand units. The Mikrus was produced by WSK more famous for it's aeroplanes and now part of Airbus. Details of the Mikrus can be found here - https://wystawaklasykow.pl/mikrus-mr-300

 

Jeez, look at that positive camber. Why? In green it reminds me of a Renault prototype from the 60s.

Edit - from the 50s, the Projet 600 from 1957.

[warch]

44 minutes ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

No clue tbh but this guy says it is true:
https://www.drive2.ru/l/582093276568393381/

He says it in Russian but I cheated and got my browser to translate it. Even without a translation it's well worth visiting just for a look at the pictures.
Borneo apparently.
Feckin' bonkers. Makes an ARC meet look like a day trip to Brighton.

Jesus! 

I'm a bit of a fan of the old Shogun. I can remember driving one a few times and thinking what a lovely car it was to drive. 

[JeeExEll]

Armstrong Siddeley, makers of luxury cars and aircraft engines, made the Utility Coupe and Station Coupe 1949 - 52. Built for export to Australia when materials available were allocated towards exports.

[Richard_FM]

6 hours ago, JeeExEll said:

Armstrong Siddeley, makers of luxury cars and aircraft engines, made the Utility Coupe and Station Coupe 1949 - 52. Built for export to Australia when materials available were allocated towards exports.

I've got a book with a picture of one.

[martc]

I mean, just look at this -

The 1923 Bignan, designed by Paul Forostovsky, a one off fortunately.

[bunglebus]

If you're a groovy hip hop and happening kinda guy, who's down with the kids, you could do worse than to get yourself a Kia Insta Inster

[barrett]

9 hours ago, bunglebus said:

If you're a groovy hip hop and happening kinda guy, who's down with the kids, you could do worse than to get yourself a Kia Insta Inster

I followed one of those recently and thought it looked pretty groovy, actually, although I suspect the big 'H' badge on the back means it's a Hyundai, not a Kia...

[bunglebus]

Yep just checking you're paying attention 

[martc]

Suddenly there's hundreds of Insters around here. Some in quite imaginative colours. 

I had a look at one a few months ago. The interior is very airy and light, plenty of room for humans, but the boot is minute.

They remind me of the Suzuki Ignis.

[bunglebus]

I quite like modern Kia Hyundai design language. Not saying I like the overall car but there are some bits that remind me of 80s concept cars

[Leyland Worldmaster]

On 15/10/2025 at 13:23, martc said:

Postwar Szczecin wasn’t just another industrial city — it had pedigree. Before the war, Stoewer was building fancy cars there. After the war, the ashes of Stoewer turned into the Szczecin Motorcycle Factory, cranking out Junak two-wheelers (aka. Motorbikes). But in Warsaw, the design office BKP-Mot decided in 1957 that Poland needed a people’s microcar. Engineers Karol Wójcicki, Janusz Zygadlewicz, and Andrzej Zgliczyński whipped up a monocoque body with independent suspension — torsion bars and links powered by a single-cylinder Junak engine wheezing out about 14 horsepower.

The single door didn’t open sideways, or forwards like an Isetta. No, it dropped downward, like a drawbridge. To get in, two adults and two children would clamber over it, aided by a front seat that could fold sideways. 

About 17 or maybe 20 prototypes were built (nobody’s really sure, which says a lot). They were rushed, flawed, and by 1959 the whole thing was scrapped. Instead, Poland went with the Mikrus MR300, basically a Goggo knockoff. That one also fizzled out after a few thousand units. The Mikrus was produced by WSK more famous for it's aeroplanes and now part of Airbus. Details of the Mikrus can be found here - https://wystawaklasykow.pl/mikrus-mr-300

 

WSK Mielec also manufactured the Leyland 680 family of engines under licence.

A Euro 2  version of it was produced too! 

[martc]

The French 'Marathon' company is new to me. They weren't around for long, in the mid '50's, they made the Corsaire, which had Panhard underpinnings. 

Some limited info here - https://rarefrenchsportscars.wordpress.com/marathon-corsaire/

[martc]

Another new one to me - the romantically named 'Drotts'. Drotts were an American company, they made buckets for excavators etc. The equally slickly named 'Rubery Owen' in the UK made them under licence, but they went a little further and named whole vehicles 'Drott'.

Rubbery Owen are still with us, but very much hollowed out - https://www.ruberyowen.com/

[martc]

Based on an 18 with a 9's engine this was an attempt at improving aerodynamics and hence mpg, which dropped by 25%.

[Supernaut]

24 minutes ago, martc said:

mpg, which dropped by 25%.

The mpg dropped by 25%?!

Good job, lads.

[martc]

1 minute ago, Supernaut said:

The mpg dropped by 25%?!

Good job, lads.

I was waiting for someone to spot my deliberate mistake, well done that man.

 

[sheffcortinacentre]

9 hours ago, martc said:

Another new one to me - the romantically named 'Drotts'. Drotts were an American company, they made buckets for excavators etc. The equally slickly named 'Rubery Owen' in the UK made them under licence, but they went a little further and named whole vehicles 'Drott'.

Rubbery Owen are still with us, but very much hollowed out - https://www.ruberyowen.com/

Bit bobcat/mini digger 

[warch]

This is a new one on me. Remember Subaru, renowned for chavtastic awd rally bred performance saloons and estates. They also sold this, the Subaru Traviq

which was a rebadged Vauxhall Zafira

which featured all wheel drive, a 300hp turbocharged boxer engine and which was handbuilt by Prodrive at their Banbury workshop

[Metal Guru]

2 hours ago, warch said:

This is a new one on me. Remember Subaru, renowned for chavtastic awd rally bred performance saloons and estates. They also sold this, the Subaru Traviq

which was a rebadged Vauxhall Zafira

which featured all wheel drive, a 300hp turbocharged boxer engine and which was handbuilt by Prodrive at their Banbury workshop

Didn’t Vauxhall do a VXR version anyway with about 250 bhp?

[warch]

1 hour ago, Metal Guru said:

Didn’t Vauxhall do a VXR version anyway with about 250 bhp?

They did. Actually a few manufacturers offered a high performance version of their MPV back in the day, think you could have a Galaxy/Sharan with a VR6 or a V6 Espace. I believe they still have a niche following, presumably with dads desperate to relive the crazy seventeen or eighteen years when they were stuck driving a van with windows having inadvertently sprogged more than three kids.