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Desirable limited editions


Mr Laurence

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Re: ax special Editions
I remember “Memphis” and “Chicago” but otherwise unsure if any other US cities featured.  Presumably “Phoenix” would have include a/c and “buffalo” snow tyres. When in reality it’s all about a sunroof and pinstripes.

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Just remembered my Dad having an ex-demo Peugeot 309GTI Goodwood (?) in 1992,I think it was no more than a nice metallic green paint job, grey leather trim, grey wheels and an optional Momo wooden wheel and gear knob. He never fitted them but they were in the loft still boxed for years afterwards. We didn't have it that long, maybe 18 months or so but I used to see it round Colchester until 2007 or so, it looked rather sorry for itself towards the end. Occasionally I'd harbour notions of leaving a note under the wiper but just never got round to bothering. J320BWC I think, might be wrong on the numbers. Bet it's long gone. There was a run-out 406 Mi16 too, was it called Le Mans?  He replaced it with an Mi16 but it wasn't a special edition, K405DTW, again probably bean tins by now. 

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The Astra Antibes always stood out to me as it had the white trimz and other warmish body work and interior. I didn't realise you could get Cavalier versions.

Antibes always seem like a bit of an odd name too. Back before google I had no idea it was a place it sounded like some kind of bee sting anti venom.

 

1988 Vauxhall ANTIBES Limited Edition Range Sales Brochure - Nova ASTRA  Cavalier for sale | eBay

Vauxhall T85 - Astra E & Belmont

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17 minutes ago, Amishtat said:

Just remembered my Dad having an ex-demo Peugeot 309GTI Goodwood (?) in 1992,I think it was no more than a nice metallic green paint job, grey leather trim, grey wheels and an optional Momo wooden wheel and gear knob. He never fitted them but they were in the loft still boxed for years afterwards. We didn't have it that long, maybe 18 months or so but I used to see it round Colchester until 2007 or so, it looked rather sorry for itself towards the end. Occasionally I'd harbour notions of leaving a note under the wiper but just never got round to bothering. J320BWC I think, might be wrong on the numbers. Bet it's long gone. There was a run-out 406 Mi16 too, was it called Le Mans?  He replaced it with an Mi16 but it wasn't a special edition, K405DTW, again probably bean tins by now. 

Many years ago I had a 309 “Trio S”. Pretty basic all round with manual choke and no toys (certainly no wooden gear knob). It did however have bright green seatbelts and very jazzy seats with green piping. Nice car.

According to Parker’s they were only produced for three months in 1991, but whether that rarity counts for any desirability in Peugeot fan circles, I’ve no idea.

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Just now, Wilko220 said:

Many years ago I had a 309 “Trio S”. Pretty basic all round with manual choke and no toys (certainly no wooden gear knob). It did however have bright green seatbelts and very jazzy seats with green piping. Nice car.

According to Parker’s they were only produced for three months in 1991, but whether that rarity counts for any desirability in Peugeot fan circles, I’ve no idea.

My mate's neighbours had one of those! I could have had it for nothing a few years ago when scrap was on its arse but didn't have anywhere to put it so it got cubed despite having nothing wrong with it, they'd just got bored and got something newer. White with white wheel trims and a green (?) stick-on coach line? 

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37 minutes ago, Amishtat said:

From memory the Citroen AX came in an absolutely bewildering array of special editions, I don't know enough about them to know whether any of them amounted to more than paint colour, stickers and different seat fabrics though. 

I think there are a few standard trims in this lot. An AX GT500 sounds fun though 

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1 hour ago, Fumbler said:

Nissan went mad with edition names with others like VIbe and Tropic. Peugeot did one with the 106 and called it a Zest, and Toyota had an edition of Starley called Solara, whatever that means!

My grandma had a Micra Passion. Exactly the same as a bog standard one but with green paint and a sticker on the boot.

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1 minute ago, GeordieInExile said:

My grandma had a Micra Passion. Exactly the same as a bog standard one but with green paint and a sticker on the boot.

Similarly, my parents' Tropic was the exact same as a base L trim 1.0. The only difference between the two was the badge, a radio and rear wash-wipe.

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The first car I remember my parents having was a blue Talbot Horizon 1.3 LS, which did the job but wasn't anything to write home about. However this thread just jogged my memory about seeing this at a show in Suffolk about three years ago. There was a two tone brown/gold example just about hanging on in Coventry when I went to university there in 1998 but it disappeared shortly after and I'd forgotten all about them. Really like those wheels. 

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There were at least 2 runs per year of special editions during the late 80s to early 1990s for the classic mini, mainly on the 1000 City Spec with a different seat cover or a Britax sunroof.

There are some proper desirable spec limited edition minis - Mary Quant, Designer, the original Sprite from 1983, and the Cooper S Sport 5, the Cooper being my preference

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2 hours ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

Ford, we’re of course the masters of the Special Edition, probably invented it in Britain.

The fact that Ford Scene Tax exists makes it difficult to say if any are worth any more than a similar condition “ normal” example . Often they weren’t based on top spec models anyway, so they won’t be worth as much.

A Zephyr Special , for all its cloth insert seats, white vinyl roof and radio is probably not as desirable as a full fat Executive.

Similarly a Cortina Crusader is never going to be worth more than a 2.0 or 2.3 S. A Mk2 Granada Chasseur or Sapphire on the other hand starts off as a Ghia then adds more equipment , so in addition to the rarity they were the best Granadas you could get at the time.

My suggestion is the Range Rover CSK and yes I’m kicking myself for not buying an immaculate one for £2000 a few years ago, thing is,at the time a normal Rangie would have Ben £4/500.

I had a few Mondeo Veronas they were just an LX with air con and some different wheels,   Probably a modern day successor to a Cortina Crusader

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3 hours ago, 1duck said:

it feels like every mx5 is a 'special edition' or limited to 500 made affair, all that seems to change is the steering wheel and little bits like that.

They seemed to make a few different versions each year! Some of them are quite nice, but the only one that seems to be seen as more special is the RS-Limited. They made them for Japan, and they were just a normal JDM MX5 with BBS alloys, red RS stickers and carbon Kevlar bucket seats. The seats alone are worth £3k, and the few cars that still have them are worth as mich as £10,000 now
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How about the 205 Rallye as well? The RHD UK market one is just a basic 205 with some decals isn’t it? They seem to have a bit of a following now.

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I had a few Mondeo Veronas they were just an LX with air con and some different wheels,   Probably a modern day successor to a Cortina Crusader

Yes they were an LX but at a lower price point available in two colours initially with an edition specific wheel and the Verona badge was applied by the guys in the showroom after removing the LX badges is fitted.
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1 hour ago, cort16 said:

The Astra Antibes always stood out to me as as it had the white trimz and other warmish body work and interior. I didn't realise you could get Cavalier versions.

Antibes always seem like a bit of an odd name too. Back before google I had no idea it was a place it sounded like some kind of bee sting anti venom.

 

1988 Vauxhall ANTIBES Limited Edition Range Sales Brochure - Nova ASTRA  Cavalier for sale | eBay

Vauxhall T85 - Astra E & Belmont

I spent many miles as a passenger in my mate’s Astra Antibes. Very poverty spec inside - not even a fag lighter. 

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59 minutes ago, Mr Laurence said:

How about the 205 Rallye as well? The RHD UK market one is just a basic 205 with some decals isn’t it? They seem to have a bit of a following now.

The original Rallye from 1989-91 was a stripped out lightweight (sub 800kg) 3-door with a special 1294cc TU engine fitted with twin dirty great Webers. Later ones were a stripped down XS/XT producing less bhp than the original.

 

Same for the 104ZS Rallye & Samba Rallye - originally a 1.2 litre XZ suitcase with monster carbs, later ones were a cooking 1.4 XY engine

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1 hour ago, Six-cylinder said:

There were some rumours that the last few had a LSD, but I have never seen a confirmed sighting.

2.0i 8v 109 bhp in a heavy car sounds like they had some to use up rather than a need!

I'd have thought an LSD would come in jolly handy in the Volvo's Svedish homeland. 

I was surprised to read that the kerb weight of a 240 was around 1300kg. Heavy thirty years ago, seems fairly light by 21st century standards.

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41 minutes ago, bangernomics said:


Yes they were an LX but at a lower price point available in two colours initially with an edition specific wheel and the Verona badge was applied by the guys in the showroom after removing the LX badges is fitted.

Mine had ‘Verona’ on the sail panels, there were no badges or any of that. It was a Y plate so it was one of the run out models, probably one of the last few made. Scrapped it last year when I ‘traded up’ to a Mk4. 

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2 minutes ago, warch said:

I'd have thought an LSD would come in jolly handy in the Volvo's Svedish homeland. 

I was surprised to read that the kerb weight of a 240 was around 1300kg. Heavy thirty years ago, seems fairly light by 21st century standards.

Yes there were LSD for 240's in other markets. Always an expensive option.

I have always thought of 240 as heavy cars when my triumph Vitesse only weighted 915 Kg.  

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as has been said, mazda were masters of the limited edition mx5, this is just the Japanese range from 1989 to 1997

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some were pitched at those looking for a traditional 2 seater with lots of leather and wood, others were a sportier option with upgraded suspension, limited slip differentials, lightweight alloys.

my favourite is probably the "vr-limited combination A"

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in the uk, a similar number of models were released but the upgrades were generally cosmetic - paint, seats, wheels and wood trim. I don't think there were any uk cars with factory air con which was standard fitment to most japanese cars. 

but one fabulous limited edition that the uk did get is the mx5 le mans - fitted with a bbr turbo, fancy suspension and wheels and this amazing paint job

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at least one car is known to have been repainted to look normal - probably lost half of its value there !

when the mk2 came along, a whole new range of specials was released in both territories, the 10th aniversary model being a desirable collectors choice as it not only had fancy trim and paint but boasted a six speed gear box. owners got a special mx5 watch and pin-badge set too so they could show off at the owners club picnics :) 

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one special edition of note was the mx5 Angels, released to tie in with the re make of the film Charlies Angels - it is said that dealers actually had to remove the special edition decals in order to sell these cars as they were so cheesey :) 

 

even with the launch of the mk3, they were still at it - the z sport is a beautiful metallic burgundy with tan leather and mega expensive but fragile bbs wheels.

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the niseko is a sparkling metallic sky blue with brown leather seats, both very bonny cars which stand out in the range.

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the 20th anniversary was in white with really cheap looking graphics, still sold well but not my cup of tea.

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onto the mk4 and a 30th anniversary edition was called for - orange paint ? yes, I'm sure that will sell well ! (actually looks pretty good but I'm not sure I'd have one for a daily)

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my personal list of mx5s :

mk1 1.8 uk un-named dealer special in silver with red leather seats

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mk1 1.6 v-spec import in British racing green with tan leather and nardi wood steering wheel

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mk1 1.8 g-limited import in dark metallic blue with alcantara seats, momo steering wheel and bbs alloys

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mk1 1.6 import base model in blue, non pas, keep fit windows, did have air con though

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mk1 1.6 import base model in red with pas, electric windows and aircon 

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mk1 1.8 v-spec import in black with tan leather, nardi wood wheel and enkei alloys

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mk1 1.6 s-limited import in black with big rusty holes in it - broken to build the Exocet  

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some years back, I attended the mx5 owners club get together up in Pitclochry, of maybe 200 cars that turned up, I suspect I would have struggled to find two the same. So many limited editions and even the the old fogies can't help modifying their cars, I've never seen so much stick on chrome in one place ! (I had a quick wander round to look at the cars then went for a walk as I had a massive Guinness hangover and couldn't be arsed) There were some very nice cars there though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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the reason I came on was to mention the Renault Clio Campus and the Peugeot 106 Graduate, both presumably cynically targeting the parents of rich kids away off to uni - it certainly worked judging by the numbers of both to be seen bombing around Edinburgh in the 90s

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although it would seem that Renault got there first with the Campus idea

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one that my family still look back on fondly is the Renault 11 Boston which Dad bought from new

to the casual observer, appears very similar to the Renault 11 Turbo with the stripes and body coloured bumpers - had special upholstery, a sun roof and a Blaupunkt Boston radio cassette player - the first car I drove when I passed my test back in '89, if I was to find one in good nick, I would struggle to resist :) 

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