Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[Madman Of The People]

 

Suzuki Hustler.

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hustler_(magazine) 

 

How about the entire Genesis brand?

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis_(magazine)

 

 

[quicksilver]

Just seen this, which the Dutch vehicle check tells me is a Lancia Belna. Never heard of it but apparently it's an Augusta made in France with about 3000 built between 1934 and 1938. Why is a French domestic market car RHD though?

 

[Mr Pastry]

1 hour ago, quicksilver said:

Why is a French domestic market car RHD though?

 

Lancia were all RHD I think until the early 1950s, even in Italy.  Apparently they thought it was safer or more convenient.  It's surprising that a French market car wasn't changed but presumably there were no LHD parts in existence and the cars were not designed to be convertible.

 

[Rustybullethole]

Whats this then? 

I thought trooper at first though the coachlines look wrong.

[EyesWeldedShut]

6 minutes ago, Rustybullethole said:

Whats this then? 

I thought trooper at first though the coachlines look wrong.

Front one looks like an old Land Cruiser. Back one is a Bremach 4x4 thing.

[Rustybullethole]

3 minutes ago, EyesWeldedShut said:

Front one looks like an old Land Cruiser. Back one is a Bremach 4x4 thing.

Have been told by our man at the scene it was not a toyota! 

[sheffcortinacentre]

Nissan patrol?

[Tayne]

1 hour ago, Rustybullethole said:

Whats this then? 

I thought trooper at first though the coachlines look wrong.

 

The one at the front is a 60series Land Cruiser, its got the later front end so will have been made between 1988 and 1991.

The badge by the fuel cap says "Toyota Land Cruiser".

[Tayne]

1 hour ago, Rustybullethole said:

Have been told by our man at the scene it was not a toyota! 

 

 

https://tinyurl.com/not-a-landcruiser

[barrett]

7 hours ago, quicksilver said:

Why is a French domestic market car RHD though?

A perception of quality. All high-quality French cars were rhd before WW2, with a few stragglers into the '50s. Same goes for Italy. Only 'cheap' makes built lhd cars. The reasons have never been successfully explained - some people talk about rhd being much safer in mountainous regions (ie, the Alps) where you have a better view of the outside edge of the road (a cliff face on one side and a sheer drop on the other), or chauffeurs exiting on the pavement side when parking so they don't have to walk round the car to open the rear door. I dunno, but for whatever reason universal lhd in mainland Europe is a relativdely recent phenomenon.

[artdjones]

Strangely, the vast majority of Swedish cars were lhd even though they actually drove on the left until 1967.

[bunglebus]

Lexus LBX

How exciting 

[mk2_craig]

Snigger. 

[Stinkwheel]

12 minutes ago, mk2_craig said:

Snigger. 

Thats not trying to look like a Rangerover at all is it 😁

[MiniMinorMk3]

On 22/05/2024 at 21:18, Missy Charm said:

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.  

Only one Sledgehammer was built on Callaway Corvette Twin-Turbo chassis number 1988-051.

Sledgehammer: When Callaway Built a 255-mph C4 Corvette, the World Took Notice | IMSA

Here's Callaway Twin-Turbo that Dennis Collins has just posted on his YouTube.

 

[MiniMinorMk3]

Not a car, but a sort of caravan

[MiniMinorMk3]

[lesapandre]

On 23/05/2024 at 21:15, Tayne said:

 

The one at the front is a 60series Land Cruiser, its got the later front end so will have been made between 1988 and 1991.

The badge by the fuel cap says "Toyota Land Cruiser".

It's an HJ61 - which is the number for the updated 60 - new front end and various other bits and pieces like an optional turbocharger. In Europe they were mostly diesel but the US and some other markets got petrol versions.

Boxier but similar 70 Series still sold all over the world - not in Europe I think and definitely not in the UK - probably too reliable...a 4.5 litre non-turbo V8 diesel is available amongst other engines - still with a traditional chassis.

All are grey imports here at well over list price. There is a worldwide distributor in Gibraltar.

[bunglebus]

Saw this on the M25

Which turns out to be an Autotune Aristocat

https://www.autotuneuk.com/classically-styled-sports-cars/aristocat/

[MiniMinorMk3]

Will this get built in RHD, probably not. 

Lancia previews the Ypsilon HF, the Ypsilon Rally 4 HF and is back to rally | Lancia | Stellantis

[egg]

Ford Cirrus concept car. Escort in drag...Marina door handles of course!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Cirrus_concept_car

[Wibble]

On 24/05/2024 at 15:42, mk2_craig said:

Snigger. 

I wondered who they were when I popped into Asda Linwood at the weekend.

[sheffcortinacentre]

7 hours ago, egg said:

Ford Cirrus concept car. Escort in drag...Marina door handles of course!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Cirrus_concept_car

Escort Mexico one off for a newspaper competition  if I recall.

[adw1977]

The Ford Hobby.  A Mark 4 Escort with a 997cc engine, sold in Brazil until 1996.

[High Jetter]

2 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

The Ford Hobby.  A Mark 4 Escort with a 997cc engine, sold in Brazil until 1996.

Rare.

[bunglebus]

Opening rear quarter windows too. - seen them on a MK3 but I don't think we got them on the MK4? Could be wrong. 1.0 Escort must be absolutely gutless, the little OHV engine is quite a willing little thing, but still!

Edit 

Full specs are online amazingly. 50 BHP, 0-60 in 17.1, top speed 88 MPH. Not terrible 

[adw1977]

The model name looks rather odd, with the B looking more like 3.

They obviously tried to copy the mid 80s font but there was no B in the European model names.  They should have put a vertical stroke between the middle bar of the B and the bottom, similar to the verticals in P and R.

Such are the details that I find interesting!

[adw1977]

13 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

Opening rear quarter windows too. - seen them on a MK3 but I don't think we got them on the MK4? Could be wrong. 1.0 Escort must be absolutely gutless, the little OHV engine is quite a willing little thing, but still!

Edit 

Full specs are online amazingly. 50 BHP, 0-60 in 17.1, top speed 88 MPH. Not terrible 

Apparently it's a CHT engine.  I think you're right about the opening rear quarter windows, even the XR3i didn't have them.

[FakeConcern]

1 hour ago, bunglebus said:

Opening rear quarter windows too. - seen them on a MK3 but I don't think we got them on the MK4? Could be wrong.

 

Interesting

1 hour ago, adw1977 said:

  I think you're right about the opening rear quarter windows, even the XR3i didn't have them.

I had a Mk3 & a Mk4 XR3i and both had fixed windows, but I remember seeing RSTs with opening windows and coveted them!

Now I'm trying to remember if Serries 2 (MK4) had them or not

Edit; there are some pics online showing them

 

no idea if that's original or not

[adw1977]

Opening rear quarter windows were an optional extra on Mark 3 Escorts up to mid 1984, when he option disappeared.