You learn something new... - Cars you didn't know existed, until now!

[Heldenzeit]

W140 Landaulet built for the Pope.

 

[Dennisch]

JFK approves.

 

[05XR8]

What could have been

The Daihatsu X-021, which was introduced in 1991 was a proposal for a lightweight, two-seat sports car to rival the Mazda MX-5.

The Daihatsu X-021 was an advanced vehicle which displayed some promising tech and specifications. It featured an aluminium space frame chassis, plastic bodywork, and race-derived inboard suspension.

Powering the X-021 was a 1.6 litre. 16 valve, inline 4 cylinder engine which produced 140 horsepower. In such a diminutive vehicle, which weighed just 700 kgs (1,543 lbs), this drivetrain gave the X-021 a top speed of 125 mph (200 km/h).

The X-021 is one of those 'what could have been' cars. It's so unfortunate that rather than developing this little firecracker of a roadster, Daihatsu decided to go ahead and produce the Copen instead.

 

[VXR]

It looks like it could be launched now and not look out of place.

 

[Turbo]

Lomax 223
[URL='http://car-from-uk.com/sale.php?id=24990']

[/URL]
A three-wheeled sports car, based off the Citroen 2CV. It was sold in the UK throughout the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Styling was supposed to emulate a 1930s sports tourer, particularly the three-wheeled Morgan Super Sports.​

 

[05XR8]

That top pic looks like the seat is in a sidecar. Would have to be fun to drive that.

 

[TexRex]

I'm partial to the Blackjack Avion myself.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

I figured out what this Bentley is, a Continental R Azure.

EDIT: The story is basically that I saw this Bentley at a car dealership chain that was hosting a Cars and Coffee event and it was the first "Cars and Coffee" event I ever went to. There were basically a lot of high end luxury cars, sports cars, and supercars there with a couple of muscle cars aswell. I kinda was introduced to a bunch of Rolls Royces and Bentleys for the first time as I don't usually see those kind of cars.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Allard-Lexus based on the LS400. Allard wanted a road car tie in to their new Group C race program and attract manufacturer backing. They constructed 2 prototypes to get Toyota's attention. Allard was unable to present a marketing case and the project was dropped.

 

[Neddo]

thank god. What a rice!

 

[Silver Arrows]

How about the Ford Shogun?

And because he figures so prominently into it, why not post the video Jay Leno has on the Shogun?

 

[Tornado]

It looks like they were trying to make a Virage sedan.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Apparently I wasn't done with all the known supercharged Fiat Group cars of the 1980s, because even this wound up getting a supercharger;

The 124/Pininfarina Spider Volumex. According to this particular forum post, only 39 were ever built. Abarth-tuned, years before the modern day MX... er, I mean 124.

 

[titleguy1]

Alfa Romeo 145/146.

Not much to say, I just never knew about it until now. The back is a bit strange, and it came with many interesting engine options. Of course, I'm not going to tell you, because I'm a lazy 🤬.

 

[homeforsummer]

This happens infrequently, but I genuinely didn't know about this until I was reading through an old issue of Car: the San Storm.

Small Indian sports car conceived in the late 90s. And made until 2013 according to Wikipedia, which is remarkable. As you'd expect, as an Indian market vehicle, it errs on the economy side of sports, being both front-wheel drive and using the old 1.1-litre engine from the first-gen Renault Twingo. Only weighed 820kg though. Allegedly sold as a coupe, but virtually all the images I can find on the internet depict people actually driving the convertible version.

 

[Wiegert]

The shape makes me think of a Twingo-sized Mégane convertible. Something like that from Renault could have been nifty back in the day.

 

[Liquid]

Allard-Lexus based on the LS400. Allard wanted a road car tie in to their new Group C race program and attract manufacturer backing. They constructed 2 prototypes to get Toyota's attention. Allard was unable to present a marketing case and the project was dropped.

Weirdly, in the first two images this looks like a really cheap knock off of the 1990s Aston Martin Vantage.

 

[Turbo]

This happens infrequently, but I genuinely didn't know about this until I was reading through an old issue of Car: the San Storm.

Small Indian sports car conceived in the late 90s. And made until 2013 according to Wikipedia, which is remarkable. As you'd expect, as an Indian market vehicle, it errs on the economy side of sports, being both front-wheel drive and using the old 1.1-litre engine from the first-gen Renault Twingo. Only weighed 820kg though. Allegedly sold as a coupe, but virtually all the images I can find on the internet depict people actually driving the convertible version.

Ah, so that's how Nissan got the idea to make the Murano CrossCabriolet.

 

[tankuroded]

This happens infrequently, but I genuinely didn't know about this until I was reading through an old issue of Car: the San Storm.

Small Indian sports car conceived in the late 90s. And made until 2013 according to Wikipedia, which is remarkable. As you'd expect, as an Indian market vehicle, it errs on the economy side of sports, being both front-wheel drive and using the old 1.1-litre engine from the first-gen Renault Twingo. Only weighed 820kg though. Allegedly sold as a coupe, but virtually all the images I can find on the internet depict people actually driving the convertible version.

Found an image of the coupe:

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

1955 Cadillac La Salle Roadster Concept and I guess I know where the 1956-57 Corvette got some of its styling cues from now. So, the XLR wasn't the first Caddy badged Corvette afterall.
https://history.gmheritagecenter.com/wiki/index.php/1955_Cadillac_LaSalle_II_Concepts

 

[05XR8]

Tarrant Automobile. Never heard of the thing.

First car built in Victoria, Australia. Australia's first petrol engine car. Also featured on a stamp.
http://www.themotorreport.com.au/60...evers-orphans-and-lost-souls-part-1-1900-1940

A few others in that link I haven't heard of either.

 

[Razor440]

A little while ago, I learned about the Beifang QJC750, a Chinese microcar.

A good friend of mine made it playable in Midtown Madness 2.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Lorenz & Rankl modified 308 full convertibles.

 

[Tornado]

Looks pretty awful. The proportions aren't anywhere near balanced for a deck like that.

 

[ToyGTone]

That white VW pickup/ute thing in the background of this photo caught my eyes:

Can anybody tell me what this is?

 

[GDII]

That white VW pickup/ute thing in the background of this photo caught my eyes:

View attachment 623345

Can anybody tell me what this is?

VW Saveiro

 

[RocZX]

Barreiros Dodge Serra Boulevard 3700 GT
Based on the Barreiros Dodge 3700 GT made by coachbuilder Pedro Serra and designed by Michele Liprandi. Only 18 were made.

 

[Heldenzeit]

Cizeta made a single Spyder variant for a Japanese client.

 

[Neddo]

Never made Fiero successor

 

[VXR]

Never made Fiero successor

The SW20 front bumper is eerily similar.