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

[TripleA5]

Anybody know what this is? Me and my dad have no idea what it is and i couldn't find anything on it.
Not sure if this is the best place to post it but it's a car i never knew existed.

 

[RocZX]

Anybody know what this is? Me and my dad have no idea what it is and i couldn't find anything on it.
Not sure if this is the best place to post it but it's a car i never knew existed.

It's a 1960-61 Chrysler New Yorker wagon and someone converted to a ute.

 

[SVX]

I didn't know about the Toyota MR-S VM180 Zagato until I found one on Goo Net.

 

[Lameonade]

Yikes. It's definitely different, but I dunno if it'd be able to grow on me.

 

[VXR]

It's almost like Zagato enjoyed the front of the contemporary Celica and wanted the challenge of making it uglier.

 

[Michelin Man]

Blimey, very different from the original MR-S , and whilst Zagato are my favourite coach builders, I'd say that's not their finest creation...

However that said, the more I look at it, the more it grows on me

 

[TripleA5]

It's a 1960-61 Chrysler New Yorker wagon and someone converted to a ute.

Perfect! Thanks for identification, it was bothering me not knowing what it was.

 

[Michelin Man]

Continuing my theme of race cars I didn't know existed, this time it's this Skoda Octavia Estate Hillclimb machine:

Basically it was a Skoda Octavia estate built to A1 category Supersalista regs (which were basically equivalent to the Supertouring regs used in Touring cars of the time), for Italian National Hillclimb racing.

Spec wise it made 300bhp and weighed 850kg , and seems it used parts from the Audi A4 Supertourer. What's also interesting it that despite being built by one guy; Fabio Danti, it was effectively a factory backed effort, since Danti had been flying the flag for Skoda for several years previously.

The Octavia estate was also pretty successful it seems, apparently winning all 10 of the races/hillclimb events it entered in '99, and Danti defended his title the following year. However he was tragically killed that year when he switched to Osella prototypes.

 

[-Fred-]

Supertouring Estates would have been such a cool series.

 

[Michelin Man]

Supertouring Estates would have been such a cool series.

Was literally thinking about this when I was reading about the Octavia, would have been an awesome to have an actual series dedicated to super-touring estates.

Mind you, would have been just as awesome if something like the Octavia estate above did race with all the other super-tourers, much like the Volvo 850 did in the BTCC. Would've been quite the spectacle .

 

[SVX]

Shameless plug for something I finished recently

An estate only version would have been cool, but I'd assume it would go the same way as JTCC where the building costs became so high, manufactures were better off sticking to the mode premier sport (in this case, JGTC).

 

[7up747]

Renault Laguna biturbo

 

[VXR]

With EB110 wheels in that second pic, no less!

 

[TexRex]

It's definitely different, but I dunno if it'd be able to grow on me.

Sure it would...like a fungus!

 

[JR98]

Some more racing transporters I just learned about

Bartolettii 642 Racing Transporter

Ecurie Ecosse Commer

Fiat Tipo 306 Racing Transporter

1968 Ford Trans Am Transporter

Elf Team Tyrrell F1 Transporter

 

[05XR8]

The Scimitar SS1 isn't a bad little car, the SST and Sabre revamps were OK too. Some of the early ones had weird step-sided doors though, a little like the BMW Z1.

Came across this today, new one on me, the Monica 560. One of the more obscure of many EU-US hybrids of the 60s and 70s, not bad looking:

I like this. It's like an Elan/Stag/Maserati/Alpine

 

[JR98]

Back to cars, this is a car I feel could've done well if it was actually finished, the Alfa Romeo SE 048SP Group C!

Built to replace the Lancia LC2 with the revamped Group C Regs, this was built using the same 3.5 V10 as seen in the 164 Procar, producing 620HP at over 13,000 RPM. Sadly, it never got past the development stage, so even though one car was built, it never raced.

Was showed off to the public at the 2010 Goodwood FoS with a 680HP 3.5 Ferrari V12 (likely because of how unstable the Alfa V10 was), but there's still little information on it.

The main reason the project was canned was because it would've caused a big hole in Alfa's touring car budget (and some of Lancia's WRC budget), which in turn would've meant we might not have seen the bonkers 155 2.5 V6 TI DTM machine that won the series in 1993, or the advanced BTCC car that won in 1994.

 

[TexRex]

Elf Team Tyrrell F1 Transporter

Needs another axle...

 

[ScottPuss20]

Needs another axle...

I see what you did there

 

[Aerocoupe]

'89-'91 Corsica Hatchback

Identifiable by the larger rear glass, this short lived hatchback version didn't get off the ground, even though it boasted a lot more cargo room (almost double IIRC) over the sedan.

There was also a Pontiac badged version called the Tempest, only sold in Canada and lasted 5 years fewer than the Corsica line.

 

[20832]

The Porsche C88. Yes, Porsche.

It was a concept that Porsche created in a competition for a new chinese car. It had a 65hp 1.1l engine.
Obviously it never made it out of the concept phase, but I never knew they've actually created something like this. Very interesting to say the least.

 

[ApexDrift123]

Aixam Mega Track

 

[NFSCARBON1]

Aixam Mega Track

What the Youiabain Puma wanted to be.

Also
Aixam Mega Monte Carlo

EDIT: Bonus race version

 

[Michelin Man]

What the Youiabain Puma wanted to be.

Also
Aixam Mega Monte Carlo

EDIT: Bonus race version

SNAP! Was literally just about to post about the Monte Carlo myself . One of my favourite super cars (and sadly lesser known one at that) .

That race car version, was the GT1 machine, used the same engine as the '97 CLK GTR apparently, with around 600bhp. Raced at Le Man in '98, but didn't race the next year, and no reason is really known as to why it didn't race, since only 1 was built, so there's next to no info about it.

Does remind me of the MIG M100 though, which was the predecessor to the Monte Carlo, which did race at Le Mans in '93 (?), kind of, since never got past qualifying.

 

[Tornado]

The GT1 class was stopped after 1998, and it doesn't look like the kind of car that would have been easily adapted to GTS.

 

[Michelin Man]

The GT1 class was stopped after 1998, and it doesn't look like the kind of car that would have been easily adapted to GTS.

Good point, forgot about that. Wonder, with it being the only car and thus a single car entry, that cost may have been a consideration, especially if it wouldn't have been that easy to adapt to GTS regs, or even the GT class for that matter.

 

[bremics]

2007-2009 Opel GT

Based off the GM Kappa platform, basically a rebadged Saturn Sky.

Was reading about Saturn after a few comments on Jalopnik, remembered the Sky, then saw they're was an Opel GT and was caught off guard.

Also was surprised by the weight (1300+kg) and that it's FMR.

 

[Turbo]

2007-2009 Opel GT

Based off the GM Kappa platform, basically a rebadged Saturn Sky.

Was reading about Saturn after a few comments on Jalopnik, remembered the Sky, then saw they're was an Opel GT and was caught off guard.

Also was surprised by the weight (1300+kg) and that it's FMR.

Out of the Solstice/Sky/GT trio, the Opel GT has consistently been the most forgotten. Interestingly enough, the only engine offered on the GT was the 2.0L Ecotec making 260 horsepower. Just over 7,500 were sold in its three-year lifespan.

Fortunately it was lighter than the Solstice and the Sky.

 

[VXR]

Regards the GT, I'm surprised they didn't just rebadge the Solstice coupe, since it is broadly reminiscent of the original GT.

 

[Aerocoupe]

Out of the Solstice/Sky/GT trio, the Opel GT has consistently been the most forgotten.

What's about it's Daewoo cousin?

While on the topic of Daewoo, have an Arcadia, essentially a rebadged Acura Legend.