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

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2008-2009 Saab 9-7X Aero. Obviously I've heard of the Saab 9-7X, a rebadged and more luxurious Chevrolet Trailblazer, but I was unaware of the short-lived, top-of-the-line Aero package. This was Saab's version of the Trailblazer SS and had the same specs; a 6.0L V8 making 390hp, allowing for a 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds.

Would this be Saab's quickest ever accelerating car? - or was the Saabaru 9-2x Aero quicker?
 
Would this be Saab's quickest ever accelerating car? - or was the Saabaru 9-2x Aero quicker?
Yes, at 5.6 seconds it is the quickest. The 9.2x Aero could do the 0-60 in 5.9 seconds, along with the 9-3 Turbo.

Some sources even claim the 9-7x Aero has a 0-60 time of 5.2. I don't know, but that seems a little too fast for a late-00s full-size SUV with less than 400hp.
 
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That's a far cry from a standard Alfasud Sprint, which had a boxer four driving the front wheels.

The prospect of a longitudinal mid-mount Busso has intrigued me for some time, but seeing one now, what intrigues me most is the transaxle it's mated to. It's obviously not a standard Alfasud 'box, which surely wouldn't hold up to abuse from a Busso, rather it appears to be a development of the ZF 5DS-25/2 that saw use in the De Tomaso Pantera, Maserati Bora and BMW M1.

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Mind you the unit pictured above has a cracked case above the clutch release shaft, but that's the best picture I could find in the same orientation.

The 5DS-25 was also used earlier in the GT40 and De Tomaso Mangusta, but "un-flipped" so that the differential sits above the input shaft.

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I never knew that Volvo had Duett panel vans converted to pickup trucks. :P

Those seem to be tractors. I'm not aware that Volvo themselves ever built a pickup, but I know coachbuilders converted Duett panel vans either by opening the rear body like a ute or by removing the rear half of the body and closing off the cabin behind the doors.
That's probably the reason why I didn't know Volvo had pickup trucks that don't exist.
 
Ugh. The Fisker-bodied R230 Merc was...okay...mainly because it was still fairly identifiable as an SL, but that's awful.
What's awful? That it is identifiable as an SL or the Force 1 V10?
 
What's awful? That it is identifiable as an SL or the Force 1 V10?
The "Tramonto" (I couldn't recall its name) was okay because it was still obviously an R230 SL with Fisker treatments to the front and rear.

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The "Force 1 V10" is awful. The only bits reasonably identifiable as the Viper on which it's based are the roof and glass. That's not inherently bad, but everything below seems to have been pulled down and out, including, so it seems, the rolling stock; it appears to have been "lifted" while the bottom of the body is no higher. It actually looks like all of the body modifications have been performed without actually removing a single original panel.

This is just my opinion, of course. And it's entirely focused on the subject; none of the criticism is directed at you for having posted it.
 
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The "Tramonto" (I couldn't recall its name) was okay because it was still obviously an R230 SL with Fisker treatments to the front and rear.

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The "Force 1 V10" is awful. The only bits reasonably identifiable as the Viper on which it's based are the roof and glass. That's not inherently bad, but everything below seems to have been pulled down and out, including, so it seems, the rolling stock; it appears to have been "lifted" while the bottom of the body is no higher. It actually looks like all of the body modifications have been performed without actually removing a single original panel.

This is just my opinion, of course. And it's entirely focused on the subject; none of the criticism is directed at you for having posted it.
It looks like something out of GTA V. It somehow manages to combine the Aston Martin Vantage, BMW 6 Series, Tesla Model S and Mercedes SL. Unoriginal to say the least.
 
It looks like something out of GTA V. It somehow manages to combine the Aston Martin Vantage, BMW 6 Series, Tesla Model S and Mercedes SL. Unoriginal to say the least.
I get Aston Martin. It's certainly in the grill but also the hood and fenders. It happens that Henrik Fisker was also head of design at Aston Martin when the DB9 and subsequent V8 Vantage were developed.

I don't get BMW 6-series apart, perhaps, from the character line along the side that is vaguely reminiscent of that found on the second generation 6. As it happens, Henrik was also at BMW in the late '90s and early '00s (he headed the Z8 project) while the 6 likely would have been in development. He also did a coachbuilt 6/M6 called the Latigo CS. It's awful. But don't take my word for it...

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Awful.

I don't really get Tesla Model S either. At all. Even if that were to be better defined, it isn't likely to be derivative because it predates the Model S. It actually predates the earlier Roadster.

Aaaaand that brings us to the SL...on which it's based...as has been established...repeatedly.
 
Okay so I already knew it had one, but you can be pretty sure from the header tube arrangement that there's a Buick Nailhead under the skin.
 
I dunno. The grille is kinda fussy and the wheels are awful, but I'm not seeing much but a direct upgrade over the droopy-eyed, saggy-assed 6-Series the Latigo was built off of. The rear end in particular looks like a dramatic improvement.
 
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Volvo P1900
Perhaps not too many are familiar with this car. Volvo’s first convertible, produced in only 68 examples between 1956 and 1957. It is by far the rarest production car ever produced by the Swedish manufacturer. It had a fiberglass body, a 70 hp 1.4 L engine with twin SU carburetors and a three-speed manual gearbox. As one can figure it is highly collectible today.

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1966-1969 Unipower GT. Designed by Ernie Unger, a former car designer at Lotus who wanted to create a British alternative to the lightweight Abarth sports cars of the time. Tim Powell, president of Unipower, a British commercial truck manufacturer, agreed to produce the car. It used a body made of fiberglass, and much of the parts and other components were the same ones used on the Mini Cooper. The Unipower GT was powered by either a 1.0L I4 making 55hp. or a 1.2L I4 making 75hp, and was mid-engined, rear-wheel drive, mated to a 4-speed manual transmission. At only 508kg, it was very lightweight, allowing the car to do 0-60 in 9.0 seconds and reach a top speed of 115mph. 73 Unipower GTs were built in total.



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Lindner Coupe, basically a sort-of knock-off East German Porsche 356

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I just found yesterday a Hungarian article/blog post about the story of these cars, found it very interesting. Admittedly I haven't looked hard for sources in English too hard, so I post here the Google-translated version of the Hungarian article. I skimmed through it and it seems to be a decent translation, however some measurements are incorrectly translated:
- when the article talks about the Kübelwagen’s chassis longer than the 356's, it should say 30 cm, NOT 30 inches
- later they talk about having acquired a 30 sq ft plate from the Czech Republic: it's not 30 sq ft but 30 sq meters, big difference. Also, and this is wrong in the original article, too: there was no Czech Republic at that time, the country was called Czechoslovakia (it existed from 1918 to the very end of 1992, well, apart from the time between 1939 and 1945 when it didn't basically).

Google-translated article: https://translate.google.com/transl...9/a_keletnemet_porschek_hihetetlen_tortenete/

Porsche press release about the topic: https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/his...alexander-fritz-restoration-engine-14700.html

EDIT: just read the letter from Ferry Porsche. The original parts they supplied were used parts, something that neither the Hungarian article, nor the Porsche press release mentions explicitly.

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