Which single model of car had the most bodystyles?

[Formula Autos]

Even then, 6 bodystyles, so the Astra is still winning.

So you have decided to exempt the Land Rover then.

No, but there was some debate over which Series to count. The Astra is only ahead at the moment.

[Milford Cubicle]

Drawing with the R8 Rover 200/400.

[Formula Autos]

Drawing with the R8 Rover 200/400.

I think the quoting going on at the top of the page has accidentally introduced some confusion here Milford - You've cited 6 bodystyles for the R8, but the Astra Mk2 has 8 styles. The 6 styles mentioned refers to ADO16s (BMC 1100/1300s). Or are you counting the 4 and 5 door Concertos? That would bring it to 8, but the Concertos are arguably the 'same' bodystyle as the Rovers, with minimal changes.

[Milford Cubicle]

I got a bit confused there, I thought you were saying the Mk2 Astra has 6 bodystyles. Carry on!

[Tayne]

.

[Formula Autos]

Even discounting the military versions, we clearly have a winner here.

 

Or does anyone know any different?

[catsinthewelder]

Wouldn't you count most of those Land Rovers as commercial vehicles though? If a mainly commercial type vehicle is included then various eras of Ford Transit van are going to be giving it a close run for its prize.

 

Anyway Astra? That had 8 bodytypes available in the UK, the Escort had the 8 in the UK plus the 2 door saloon and pickup from warmer climes.

 

Another contender could be the Mini, but I can't work out which ones to count. Heres where I am so far

 

Saloon (Austin + Morris)

Saloon (Wolseley + Riley)

Estate

Van

Pickup

Clubman

Clubman Estate

Moke

 

Any more?

[chaseracer]

Another contender could be the Mini, but I can't work out which ones to count. Heres where I am so far

 

Saloon (Austin + Morris)

Saloon (Wolseley + Riley)

Estate

Van

Pickup

Clubman

Clubman Estate

Moke

 

Any more?

There was a fibreglass version of the Mini built in Chile, which may count as a ninth - here's a pic:

 

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveseven/3447765583/

 

...and here's a bit of explanation: http://www.lrclub.cl/Foro/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=194

 

Usual disclaimers apply as to accuracy of information...

[Alexg]

Although not a winner the Ford Sierra deserves a mention.

 

3 door hatch (xr4i style)

3 door hatch (rs500 style)

4 door

5 door

estate

pick-up

[Mat.T]

probably not the most, but I just like the picture:

I count 8or9 there,

3 different pickups

swb, van, mini bus

lwb, van, mini bus

SuperLWB, mini bus

[brammy777]

Although not a winner the Ford Sierra deserves a mention.

 

3 door hatch (xr4i style)

3 door hatch (rs500 style)

4 door

5 door

estate

pick-up

And then you also have the three door facelift body shell too, looks so odd seeing them in pictures.

Probably a good thing youve decided not to include facelifts, as that would double the Escort MKIV figure and make the Sierra one alot higher too.

[Pillock]

The split-screen VW Type 2?

 

I'm not going to list them all, but if you include all the variations on left/right/both loading doors, both hinged and sliding, pickups and crewcabs, microbuses which had all the same door variations and then there were the factory specials like ambulances and fire trucks - to order, but they had a specific body style and the build plate reflected this.

 

Would you count those? There's dozen of them! To me they're not different bodystyles but they are treated as such, some being rarer than others. Find a twin sliding door deluxe 23-window microbus with full length sunroof and you're on a winner, for example.

[Formula Autos]

The split-screen VW Type 2?

 

I'm not going to list them all, but if you include all the variations on left/right/both loading doors, both hinged and sliding, pickups and crewcabs, microbuses which had all the same door variations and then there were the factory specials like ambulances and fire trucks - to order, but they had a specific body style and the build plate reflected this.

 

Would you count those? There's dozen of them! To me they're not different bodystyles but they are treated as such, some being rarer than others. Find a twin sliding door deluxe 23-window microbus with full length sunroof and you're on a winner, for example.

I suppose it might count. What I was after was variations of bodystyle, and by bodystyle I mean what you would get if you ordered a 'body in white'. The facelifted models mentioned throughout this thread would still have the same 'body in white', albeit with different bumpers, tailgates, bonnets, lights, etc. (i.e. the same shell).

 

To clarify, this is what I understand a body in white to be:

The shell, without any detachable panels.

 

This would rule out platform sharing, and the lumping together of Mk1&2 Astras.

 

I think Tayne's suggestion of the Defender may still be the leader.

[Pillock]

I suspect the defender would win, yes.... I could list "variations" on the Type2 all day being quite pedantic about door types, window arrangements and stuff.... but I'd wager the MoD-specific Defender styles alone would amount to dozens, plus all the regular ones, if you're going to go to that degree of, erm, pickyness.

[Albert Ross]

Actually, I suggested the SERIES Land Rover as it had more variants.....someone agreed, but Tayne gazumped me with the Defender reference. Let's be clear. The Defender appeared in 1989, as a name addition when the Tdi was fitted, to the very same vehicle that had been made since 1982 as a coil sprung thing, using the silhouette of a vehicle originally introduced in 1958 with leaf springs, to a design penned by David Bache. The doors still fit from a modern vehicle to a 1958 S2...... Bodyside tie down tabs still have the same part number as the ones fitted in 1948.....

[Jozza]

Actually, I suggested the SERIES Land Rover as it had more variants.....

1975 SIII brochure scan:

 

 

There was a statistic floating about a good few years ago- something like you could make Series III Land Rovers for 10 years at full production rates and never make two that were absolutely identical....although that could apply to almost any car if you factor in all the colours, trim levels, accessories, optional equipment and so on.

[Formula Autos]

So would a Defender body in white fit on any chassis from '58 onwards (of suitable wheelbase, naturally)?

 

If so, this lengthens the tally a fair bit, and probably assures victory.

 

BTW Pillock, I wasn't meaning to sound too picky earlier. Reading my posts again, I come across as a bit of an arse.

 

My half-arsed attempts to convey what I mean were the problem here. I was just trying to tidy up my own mess by going on about bodies in white etc.

[Pillock]

BTW Pillock, I wasn't meaning to sound too picky earlier. Reading my posts again, I come across as a bit of an arse.

 

Not taken as arsey

It is quite a hard thing to narrow down though.... VW used to create a new "type" for each variation they were asked to produce, so there was a build code for "Fire Engine" and "Ambulance" and stuff. Even though they may have only build 50 of them. These days, the manufacturers churn out the everyday stuff and people like Heuliez and Matra make (or made....) the oddballs.

[Jozza]

So would a Defender body in white fit on any chassis from '58 onwards (of suitable wheelbase, naturally)?.

Not from '58. The wheelbases were different forstarters (88" and 109" for post-1958 Series stuff, 92.9", 110" and 127" for coilers).

 

Series II/IIA/III bodies are interchangeable because all the crucial dimensions are the same (baring 5-door Station Wagons which have differently-shaped chassis).

 

You could put a brand new Defender body on an original One Ten from 1983. IIRC some things like the fuel filler position have changed slightly over the years but nothing major.

 

A lot of 109" and 110" bodywork is interchangeable because the overall vehicle length is the same despite the different wheelbases. A Defender 90 is longer overall than an 88" so that doesn't apply as much.

 

Of course it's easy to lash something together- there are plenty of 92.9" and 100" hybrids running around with modified Series bodywork on top.

[Albert Ross]

Also as an addendum to the SERIES Land Rover claim, the 6 cylinder and V8 models also had different fetures to the bodywork in the shape of the floors and bulkheads, and also the chassis' had different mounts for engine and gearbox, and in the case of the V8 Stage 1, a flush nose with mesh grille.

 

Both of my 2a's are proper leafers.

1961 109 Petrol ex MOD believed Wombat Portee.... Part of the first batch to reach the MOD in 1962.

 

1970 109 Diesel ex British Sugar. Daily driver.

[Tayne]

.

[whiskeyonesix]

Is true. Not so much now, but even back in 2007/2008 when I worked there they were knocking out Italian Army Defenders and some cherry-picker type 130's aswell as the everyday stuff on the line and whatever went out of the CKD dept.

[Drive-By]

I'd say its goin to be the land rover by the looks of things.

 

I would have said the Corolla before seeing the landy info.

[Drive-By]

Model T had quite a few....

 

http://www.youtube.com/swf/l.swf?video_id=S4KrIMZpwCY

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Lets kick the Landy out of this comp as its a separate chassis and bolted-together body so has an unfair advantage when it comes to being made into loads of different shapes.

[Richard]

The Land Rover is primarily a commercial vehicle too.

 

I can't see the Astra/Mk3 Escort being beaten really. Were all eight versions of either car available at the same time?

[Albert Ross]

Sore losers..... Series Land Rovers win. Ner! Leaf springs and drum brakes ROOL. That and Meccano like bodywork and a separate chassis. I spit on your monocoque.

[vicsmith]

The 89-94 Mazda 323 BG, though in no way a potential winner of this, deserves a mention due to having 3 and 5 door versions that look absloutely nothing like each other, have no interchangeable panels or trim and even totally different dashboards. To add to this, the 4 - door version shares nothing with either car except the 3-door`s headlights and front bumper. The wings and bonnet look the same, but they are not. It`s as though Mazda were trying to make the range as unprofitable as possible.

 

Mk2 Cavalier puts up a good fight, though:

 

4 dr saloon

2 dr saloon

5 dr hatch

5 dr estate

2 dr estate (Brazil)

2 dr coupe (Brazil)

Convertible

Chassis cab (perhaps)

[catsinthewelder]

Well you could look at it in classes

 

monocoque car and car derived van

 

currently winning.......80-85 Ford Escort 10

 

runners up, mk2 Astra,mk2 Cavalier,Sierra,Mini

 

non monocoque car and car derived van

probably winning...........Model T Ford

 

monocoque van and van derived car

 

currently winning.............VW Type 2 1948-67

 

Non monocoque van and van derived car

 

currently winning..............Land Rover

(argue between yourselves which one )

 

 

 

 

 

Ducks for cover

[scooters]

surely the winner for a mono is the Chrysler K Series - never sold in the UK it spawned dozens of derivatives in the 80's and with some models the early 90's:

 

Plymouth Reliant and derivatives (over a dozen)

Dodge Aries and derivatives (over a dozen)

Chrysler Lebaron and derivatives (over a dozen)

Dodge Daytona

Plymouth Laser

Chrysler Limosine

Chrysler Executive

Chrysler E Class

Chrysler New Yorker

Dodge 600ES

Plymouth Caravelle

Dodge 400

Dodge 600 ES Convertible

Chrysler LeBaron Coupe

Chrysler LeBaron Convertible

Sundance

Shadow

Dodge Duster

Shelby CSX

Spirit

Acclaim

Saratoga

Dodge Spirit R/T

Mexican Magnum

Dodge Caravan

Voyager

Town & Country

 

All the above was essentially the pinacle of US Chrysler badge engineering - the wonderful think about K series cars is that they are true AUTOSHITE. The badge engineering was so outrageous that the cars are essentially pretty much the same with the agricultural 2.0 or 2.5 lt four with or without turbo or sometimes the mitsubishi derived V6 a la Mk 1 Shoguns (a great engine) gearboxes both manual and auto are nasty and the steering linkages are the weakest bits of shit you have EVER seen - I stripped down one on a LeBaron - quite how it made it past testing stage is beyond me....

All the above cars shared the same monocoque body but to make each 'unique' each had shit body styling to make it look different from it's cousins

 

sorry , keep your GM and your ford and your Rootes

 

for me the Chrysler K car takes the crown for the shittest example of multi styling ever - thank god we were never subjected to this mince!!

 

I've owned a Le Baron Convertible and whilst pretty it was truly and utterly the shittest cat I have EVER owned