Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[Inspector Morose]

11 minutes ago, adw1977 said:

Vents at the rear suggest rear engined.

Hmm, that’s got me thinking. In the 50s, BMC was working on a rear engined saloon with ERA and it would be natural that Burzi would be brought in to style it. From the photos I’ve seen, this is nothing like what was produced but it might have been an initial styling idea.

The rear engined saloon project was dropped in favour of ADO15 -  mini.

[adw1977]

Some info on the ERA rear engined prototypes:

AROnline

[myglaren]

A 'Trotter' possibly.

Looks as though Trotters may have been involved in its creation.

 

[lesapandre]

On 27/02/2025 at 21:45, adw1977 said:

Some info on the ERA rear engined prototypes:

AROnline

Fascinating - yes that's possibly what it is part of. Amazing.

Clearly rear-engined - there are vents beside the rear lights.

First appearance of the word 'maxi' too.

[quicksilver]

Skoda Enyaq Coupe. I've just seen one this colour and it looked like a hideous bloated lime.

 

[Metal Guru]

1 hour ago, quicksilver said:

Skoda Enyaq Coupe. I've just seen one this colour and it looked like a hideous bloated lime.

 

I like that.

[Remspoor]

I think most of us have seen or heard of the Spanish Brand EBRO.

In the past they made Ford's Thames Trader lorries under licence. Plus the D series too. After various other models they were taken over  by Nissan in 1987. Nissan still make some models in Spain but the company name EBRO was sold to EV Motors in 2021. In 2023 a joint venture is signed between EV Motors and the Chinese company Chery Automobile.

Now they make two SUVs. Again licenced copies of another brand.

The EBRO S700 and EBRO S800. are shipped as CDK to Spain.

The same SUVs are also being sold in Europe by the Italian  DR Automobiles.

Badge engineering is just awful these days

 

[Yoss]

2 hours ago, quicksilver said:

Skoda Enyaq Coupe. I've just seen one this colour and it looked like a hideous bloated lime.

 

I saw one at Lidl the other day. 

[1duck]

When you're not sure if you want a people carrier, a golf, a 4x4 or a Passat estate.

[quicksilver]

3 hours ago, 1duck said:

When you're not sure if you want a people carrier, a golf, a 4x4 or a Passat estate.

I remember those. The slogan was literally "like a Golf but bigger", which pretty much summed up how pointless they were.

[1duck]

9 hours ago, quicksilver said:

I remember those. The slogan was literally "like a Golf but bigger", which pretty much summed up how pointless they were.

That actually triggered a memory, still didn't know it existed. 

[bunglebus]

Seem the plus, and a cross, but not a plus cross.

A bit like the Beetle Dune we didn't get here

[bunglebus]

See'd a Fiat 600 the other day, quite odd looking

[High Jetter]

Nissan BE-1

[JeeExEll]

For some reason that Nissan BE-1 looks like a modernised ADO16  to me. 

[Peter C]

[lesapandre]

4 hours ago, Peter C said:

Mucho wanto!

[GeordieInExile]

On 15/03/2025 at 10:47, High Jetter said:

Nissan BE-1

I really like this run of pseudo retro shite Nissan put out in the nineties. Especially the S Cargo.

[Remspoor]

12 hours ago, Peter C said:

There badged Mercedes built in Spain It is also known as the  DKW F 1000. A Mercedes-Benz MB100 is a just a re-bodied version of the F1000. The MB100 had was produced in several counties before the end of life.

8 hours ago, lesapandre said:

Mucho wanto!

https://www.milanuncios.com/venta-de-coches-clasicos/mercedes-dkw-512629223.htm

[warch]

Toyota’s innovative High Mobility Vehicle the BX10. Just the job for parking with extreme difficulty outside any school, leisure centre or horse riding establishment.

[Missy Charm]

On 14/03/2025 at 18:27, 1duck said:

When you're not sure if you want a people carrier, a golf, a 4x4 or a Passat estate.

A plus is a cross: +.  Surely that thing ought to be called the VW Tautology?

On the subject of weird cars:

we all know about the expensive, Audi Q4 E-Tron bustleback:

Well, I was waiting for a bus the other day and what should go past but one of those with a strange, silver pipe poking out of the back.  Even odder, the pipe was puffing out clouds of white steam.  It was one of these:

Yes, there is indeed now a 'fake' E-Tron which is powered by a petrol engine, of all things.  How very strange.  Audi call the thing the 'Q3 Sportback'.  To make things odder, there's set to be a plug-in hybrid version of the Q3, which will have to be called the 'Nearl-E-Tron'.  

[adw1977]

This is a current model, the Toyota Corolla Commercial:

It looks exactly the same as a Corolla estate, except the wheels are 15" steels with wheel trims, not available on the Corolla cars. 

Inside there are two seats, a metal bulkhead separating the seats from the cargo area and a rubber mat in the back, according to the brochure description.  Unfortunately the brochure doesn't actually illustrate the load area!  It also doesn't make clear whether the rear side doors open.

[Spottedlaurel]

2 hours ago, adw1977 said:

This is a current model, the Toyota Corolla Commercial..............

Japan have long had 'van' versions of estates, just seems to be a thing there. Makes sense for us to get one or two now the traditional car-derived van is no more.

Wonder if they are taxed as a commercial vehicle here, and if so what is needed to prove that?

[Remspoor]

7 hours ago, adw1977 said:

Unfortunately the brochure doesn't actually illustrate the load area!  It also doesn't make clear whether the rear side doors open.

An image from Eire may help

The Toyota UK website has a closer view of the load area. But you can see the rear doors open.

https://media.toyota.co.uk/images/corolla-commercial-interior-2023-current/

[D.E]

 

[Richard_FM]

Yesterday I saw a Suzuki Swift saloon, which I didn't know existed!

[motorpunk]

“Wow! What’s that unusual car over there?!” I asked the driver in my best Italian. “About 20 minutes, depending on the traffic” he replied, revealing that my best Italian is still incomprehensible to any real Italians. Anyway, have a Lancia Musa.

 

 

“That’s a rare car!” I continued. “No” he replied “your nipples are of no interest to me”.

[Muniphobia]

It's the Lancia version of the Fiat Idea which itself was named after the last word Michael Caine said in the Italian job "Hold on lads, I have a great idea" - not something often said about the Fiat Idea

[Yoss]

On 19/03/2025 at 22:50, Richard_FM said:

Yesterday I saw a Suzuki Swift saloon, which I didn't know existed!

I would recommend a trip to Hungary (for many reasons). They were (maybe still are?) built there and I still consider them Hungary's national car. 

The sight of a booted Swift alongside a Wartburg estate was enough to make me get off the trolleybus I was on to go back and take some pics. 

The Europeans do like a small saloon, you seem to get quite a lot of booted versions of things we only get as hatchbacks. See also booted Clios. 

[martc]

59 minutes ago, Yoss said:

They were (maybe still are?) built there and I still consider them Hungary's national car.

The Swift is now made in Japan. But the Hungarians still make the Vitara and surprisingly the SX-4 which I thought was dead and buried.

https://www.suzuki.hu/corporate/en/company/factory/about-us-1