Cars you didn't know existed until very recently.

[somewhatfoolish]

the high quality chromium badge identifies this as "Indigo SW"

 

indigo.jpg

 

Presumably the bloke fitting the badges was pissed or so slow he was walking around the ship fitting them enroute to yoorp.

[Cleon-Fonte]

Yeah, it'll be a Dangel-converted Peugeot Partner, which are quite popular with RM in rural areas. 

 

 

Until now I never knew they'd made an offroad version of the Peugeot 306, so that's one for this thread.

 

 

 

[vulgalour]

Same shape as that first one Cleon posted there, same height, on steels that looked too small and a fair amount of mud up halfway up the sides.  I'm not exactly out in the sticks here but there is a lot of farming and horsey types so I imagine there must be some terrible private drives RM have to navigate.  Nice to know Dangel are still going.

[twosmoke300]

Peugeot trekka! Used on the Isles of Scilly by the post office too

[chaseracer]

Peugeot trekka! Used on the Isles of Scilly by the post office too

 

 

RLY?

 

[Lacquer Peel]

The RM Partner Treks aren't 4wd, they are jacked up two wheel drives with an optional mechanical LSD.

[Supernaut]

The Kia KM450.

 

 

 

 

Hmm, looks familiar doesn't it? Yup.

 

 

It's a licensed Kaiser Jeep M715. Still listed on Kia's website.

[Spottedlaurel]

Stumbled across this gormless Micra thing today. At first I thought someone had been busy with some DIY surgery but it turns out to be a JDM production model. There's a whole slew of bizarre retro Micras including three different ones with Vanden Plas ADO16 front ends!

 

Tango is a new one to me.

 

The ADO16-esque version sounds like the Bonito:

 

Nissan March (K11) Bonito by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

Nissan March (K11) Bonito Cabriolet by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

 

Then there’s the Bolero and Rumba:

 

Nissan March (K11) Bolero & Rumba by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

[cros]

I'm a liar, I knew they existed, just didn't think anyone would be cunt enough to buy one until I spied this tub of gargoyle's spunk today.

 

30 grand.

[vulgalour]

It's difficult to think of anything as contrived as the Aston Martin Cygnet, it's a whole different sort of thing to the weird world of Micra variants above.    Then there's the price!  I understand why they exist, I just don't understand why anyone bought them.  They're somehow worse and more pretentious than a Vanden Plas Allegro.

[Timewaster]

There was some directive to limit a manufacturers average emissions.

Ferrari got away with it by claimimg to be part of Fiat, others did similar things.

 

The Cygnet was Aston Martins attempt to bring down the average CO.

 

Who the hell bought them is anyone's guess.

[17-Coffees]

I found out that Mercedes will still sell you a Euro 3, no thrills G-Wagon...if your a military buyer.

 

Likewise, the G-Wagon LAPV...

[vulgalour]

Hobbycar B612, which looks for all the world like someone did a Supermarket Sweep of 90s continental European car manufacturers, is amphibious and has hydropneumatic suspension.

 

 

 

 

 

Then, when hunting out pictures for that which looks something like the result of a love triangle between a Renault Safrane, Alfa Romeo 164 and a Renault Scenic, I stumbled across this ridiculously adorable little thing.

 

 

It's a one-off called the Martin Stationette from 1950.  It's pretty amazing.

 

 

 

[Negative Creep]

More of a "cars I thought existed but didn't", but I've just found out Lanica's entire range now consists of one car that's only sold in Italy. What a sad end to a great marque.

[Lacquer Peel]

What car is it? Ypsilon?

[Timewaster]

You can bet that won't be replaced for such a small market. Looks like it's the end of Lancia

[Negative Creep]

What car is it? Ypsilon?

 

 

Yep

 

 

With such stunning good looks I simply cannot understand why no one buys them............

[bramz7]

To be fair there isn't many Lancias about in Italy that aren't Ypsilons.

Plenty of Y left too. The recent 'other' stuff looks to have sold absolutely horrendously, there is very few of the rebadged Chrysler's about, and the Delta seemingly was also a flop.

 

They also sold the Chrysler 200 convertible as a Flavia.

 

 

I think Fiat just have no idea how to market Lancia anymore.

[tul66]

I think Fiat just have had no idea how to market Lancia for years.

Sorted that for you!

[vulgalour]

How *do* you market Lancia these days?  If they were still a mechanical tour de force with innovations out the wazoo you might be able to carve out a super-specific niche but that's not what Lancia have been for a very, very long time.  Rather like SAAB, they're a victim of putting the product before the profit.  That's why you see hideous things like the Bentaygo and Range Rover Kahn nonsense, those companies understand the compromises that have to be made in order to survive.  I hope (likely in vain) that the Ypsilon and distribution shrinking is a necessary evil, Lancia has a history of distributing worldwide for a bit and then disappearing back to Italy for a few years so let's hope that's what's happening and in another five to ten years they bounce back with something amazing.

 

I actually want to like the Ypsilon, and from the back I can at least appreciate what's going on.  Trouble is it all falls apart when I get a glimpse at the front.

[Mr Laurence]

It really is a pity what Lancia has become - for a while, they made some really incredible and advanced cars.

 

I do think it would have been good if the Alfa 4C was given a slightly larger engine and sold by Lancia as a new Stratos instead

[bramz7]

The Thesis made them fail, ultimately. Fiat took a chance, it went completely wrong. 16,000 cars in 8 years is crazy.

 

Still, I'd love a Kappa. Bland compared to a lot of Lancias but I bet they're alright.

[Cleon-Fonte]

Amusingly, despite Lancia selling only one model in one country, they still managed to outsell Alfa Romeo and PSA's hateful DS brand across Europe last year.

[carlo]

Amusingly, despite Lancia selling only one model in one country, they still managed to outsell Alfa Romeo and PSA's hateful DS brand across Europe last year.

 

I'm not sure what's worse though, Fiat's attempt to maintain Lancia's proud name on that lamentable Ypsilon, or Citroen's above cynical marketing ploy of resurrecting the iconic DS name, from a a car famed for its ride/suspension above all else, and using it as a brand of cars whose most notable feature is a lack of a proper suspension.

[cort1977]

Wow, that Thesis is solid gold shite, I now want one with a vengeance.

[RoadworkUK]

I reckon the Thesis has aged really well.

 

I remember Top Gear mag reviewing the Hobbycar, I remember it seeming massively more 'pro' than most other amphibs.

[quicksilver]

All Vauxhalls may be shit but this ain't no Vauxhall. It might look like a Viva but it's actually a Chevrolet Firenza Can Am, made in South Africa with a 5-litre small-block Camaro V8 and nicknamed the 'Little Chev'. They built 100 to homologate it for racing and about 30 are left with 2 in the UK. I had no idea such a thing existed and you've got to love the Saffers for shoving huge V8s in everything.

 

[inconsistant]

Think this sort of counts, I was in that France last week and saw one of these that I'd completely forgotten about. Couldn't get a photos this is a google search one. I remember seeing loads in Holland, France and Switzerland a long time ago. I don't think we got them here but they're a sort of 3 door version with normal headlights of the 323f we got as a 5 door with pop up headlights.

I think.

 

[vulgalour]

Wait, another version of the 323?  Did they make one bodystyle for each day of the year or something?

[chaseracer]

There was some directive to limit a manufacturers average emissions.

Ferrari got away with it by claimimg to be part of Fiat, others did similar things.

 

The Cygnet was Aston Martins attempt to bring down the average CO...

 

...when it stopped being part of Ford, I suppose.