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

[CGSmooth33]

Team Nakajima Honda entered this white NSX in Le Mans in 1995, as a friendly competitor to the red Kunimitsu Takahashi car everyone knows. Sadly, it did not pre-qualify. Could it be this?

For the love of all things holy....thank you SO much for clearing this up for me!!! I just recently got done photographing all of the cars in GT1 in racing mod form so I could research the real-life bases of each, and I was coming to the conclusion that this one didn't exist!! It's not exactly the same, with the decals and such, but it's close enough. Thanks!!

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Yeah, I need to work on my Mercedes-Benz research.

Ferrari 458 Italia; Niki Lauda edition

Toyota Corolla SR5 Sunchaser, the bodyshape reminds me of the Gen II Ford Mustang.

 

[Liquid]

Huandu CAC6430

Yet another British Leyland car manufactured in China after the 1980s were well and truly over. This monstrosity is a Morris Ital estate, manufactured in China as late as 1999 and sold under a typically memorable Chinese name.

Ford Sierra XR4x4

The four-wheel drive Sierra was, to me, better known on the Sapphire after production of the RS Cosworth was stopped. But it turns out you could get 4WD on a Sierra hatch. Pre-facelift, too.

Ford P100

Produced for the South African market, the P100 was a light pickup truck based first on the Cortina.

And latterly on the facelift Sierra for the Portuguese market.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Huandu CAC6430

Yet another British Leyland car manufactured in China after the 1980s were well and truly over. This monstrosity is a Morris Ital estate, manufactured in China as late as 1999 and sold under a typically memorable Chinese name.

Ford Sierra XR4x4

The four-wheel drive Sierra was, to me, better known on the Sapphire after production of the RS Cosworth was stopped. But it turns out you could get 4WD on a Sierra hatch. Pre-facelift, too.

Ford P100

Produced for the South African market, the P100 was a light pickup truck based first on the Cortina.

And latterly on the facelift Sierra for the Portuguese market.

Sweet Christ, an Ital estate? The Chinese car marker sure commited some of the biggest automotive atrocities, that much I can tell. Didn't they get the memo that the Ital was one, if not the greatest of all the mistakes that the British Leyland created? Even Italidesign removed the car from their list of designs found on the company's website, it was that tragic. Dear god...

Anyways, I remember that P100. I have a couple of books that were offered with the Jornal de Noticias newspaper, that were more or less a list of all the cars for sale in 1992 (IIRC). The later books were commercial cars, and the P100 was there. However, I wasn't aware that it was based off the Sierra, nor the fact that it was once a Cortina-based car. Neat facts, I like the Cortina very much, especially the MKV (and the Lotus, of course). It was also there where I saw cars such as the Bedford Super Carry, the Suzuki Maruti 800 and the only Citroen AX GTI convertible ever made, which by the way was a Portuguese effort; the BB Cabrio GT:

 

[Liquid]

Lotus Cortina

I also have to concede that I didn't know Lotus also covered the Mk2. Nowhere near as pretty.

 

[TheCracker]

Ford Sierra XR4x4

The four-wheel drive Sierra was, to me, better known on the Sapphire after production of the RS Cosworth was stopped. But it turns out you could get 4WD on a Sierra hatch. Pre-facelift, too.

And latterly on the facelift Sierra for the Portuguese market.

That XR4x4 looks (badly) modified to me. The regular one looked the same as the normal XR4x4, but just had a 4x4 badge on the front wing and sticker on the back.

Pretty sure the rest of Europe got the P100 too.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

That XR4x4 looks (badly) modified to me. The regular one looked the same as the normal XR4x4, but just had a 4x4 badge on the front wing and sticker on the back.

Pretty sure the rest of Europe got the P100 too.

I did some research, it is true that the P100 was exported to other European countries. It was built in Portugal, surprisingly enough, based off a Ford UK design (therefore the Sierra-esque shape). It's also a popular car to drift, due to its FR layout. Who knew that a workers pickup could be any good for drifting, eh? Some even go as far as to use Cosworth engines!

And apparently, it's also famous for this:
http://jalopnik.com/this-ford-pick-up-is-the-fastest-coffee-powered-vehicle-401749886

 

[Liquid]

I did think the wheels of that Sierra XR4x4 were aftermarket but I didn't know at all that you could get a 4WD Sierra before the Sapphire.

 

[TheCracker]

I did think the wheels of that Sierra XR4x4 were aftermarket but I didn't know at all that you could get a 4WD Sierra before the Sapphire.

They had 4x4 on lesser models too. Don't recall seeing that many around though.

 

[Tornado]

That Citroën convertible looks like a Geo Metro convertible.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

That Citroën convertible looks like a Geo Metro convertible.

That's... an unique take on things, to say the very least. I don't think many people over here in Portugal know what a Geo Metro is though, so that's good, I guess?

 

[Wiegert]

I did some research, it is true that the P100 was exported to other European countries. It was built in Portugal, surprisingly enough, based off a Ford UK design (therefore the Sierra-esque shape).

My old neighbour had a bog standard P100 for at least a decade. That thing succumbed to rust faster than anything else I've seen, though it didn't see much use outside the farm.

Still a few hundred left in the UK by my count. Down from the many thousands they sold here during the 90s.

Some even go as far as to use Cosworth engines!

Along with Sapphire RS Cossie body kits in most cases. Which look incredibly chavvy on a P100.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

My old neighbour had a bog standard P100 for farm use which he had for at least a decade. That thing succumbed to rust faster than anything else I've seen. And there's still a few hundred left in the UK by my count.

Ah rust, the greatest enemy of late Cortinas. And apparently, it's also the enemy of most P100s. That's not very surprising, but it's a pity. The P100 seems like a good working pickup, if anything...

Along with Sapphire RS Cossie body kits in most cases. Which look incredibly chavvy on a P100.

I... cannot possibly forsee anything else than a horribly riced up P100. And that's terrifying. Does the baseball cap come as an optional extra?

 

[TheCracker]

I... cannot possibly forsee anything else than a horribly riced up P100. And that's terrifying. Does the baseball cap come as an optional extra?

Terrifying, considering it's largely a Transit van (chassis) under that Sierra cab. Live rear axle and leaf springs. I'll take a pass on the Cosworth powered modification, thanks.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Terrifying, considering it's largely a Transit van (chassis) under that Sierra cab. Live rear axle and leaf springs. I'll take a pass on the Cosworth powered modification, thanks.

Those chavs have to set up a new suspension, right? They can't possibly run an engine-swapped old Ford pickup truck with leaf springs and a live rear axle!

Right?

 

[D.Kadettdriver]

The Daihatsu Fellow Max Buggy. Just 100 were produced...

 

[TheCracker]

Those chavs have to set up a new suspension, right? They can't possibly run an engine-swapped old Ford pickup truck with leaf springs and a live rear axle!

Right?

It's possible I guess. But not simple due to the fact that the rear end is ladder-frame, not a unibody/monocoque like the Sierra. You've got to really want a Sierra Cosworth pick-up to make it worthwhile.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

The Daihatsu Fellow Max Buggy. Just 100 were produced...

God dammit, Daihatsu. This is why I love you guys so much, you keep making cars that just draw a smile on my face. Also, talk about a car I had never heard of, that's a super rare piece of kit. It's like a shrunken Mini Moke! And it's awesome. 👍

It's possible I guess. But not simple due to the fact that the rear end is ladder-frame, not a unibody/monocoque like the Sierra. You've got to really want a Sierra Cosworth pick-up to make it worthwhile.

I'd want my Sierra Cosworth pickup to not kill me thank you very much, I'd put a 4WD system in that right away. Even if was a complex conversion, I'd rather not take that risk.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

I honestly didn't know that the Suzuki Cultus was sold here in the US as a Chevy Sprint.

 

[CSMDuty11]

So, apparently, the North American market didn't have the same second gen Focus as Europe

North American:

European:

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

Yup, one of the worst things that Ford of US has ever done in my opinion; denying us Americans the Euro Mk.2 Focus which included the MK.2 ST & RS.

 

[CSMDuty11]

Don't worry, you will most certainly get the 3rd gen RS.

 

[Legro]

Seriously, though. Who actually bought Euro version of the Mk2 Focus as a saloon? It's like a mythological car that never really existed.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

The funny thing is that if the Euro Mk.2 Focus got sold to the US, then I bet a lot of people here would buy the sedan version.

 

[Wiegert]

Seriously, though. Who actually bought Euro version of the Mk2 Focus as a saloon?

The Irish.

Seriously. I saw more of them in County Wicklow and Dublin over the course of 5 days than I have in the UK over the course of 10 years. Even the Garda use them.

 

[Liquid]

Seriously, though. Who actually bought Euro version of the Mk2 Focus as a saloon? It's like a mythological car that never really existed.

The Irish.

Who bought

Come on, Wiegert.

But seriously, I have never seen a mk2 saloon. Ever. Thanks for enlightening us that someone used them.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

^ I've seen the Global Mk.2 sedans toiling around here in Vegas with Mexi-plates. It was a sight to behold, as if it looks like it cost USD$10K more than the disgraceful Mk.2 we have here. And thats just the base model!!!

 

[-Fred-]

I honestly didn't know that the Suzuki Cultus was sold here in the US as a Chevy Sprint.

In Canada and certain parts or Latin America it was sold as the Suzuki Forsa, in Canada it was also sold as the Pontiac Firefly... And elsewhere, you could have it as an Holden Barina or Isuzu Geminett. It was pretty much "how many different version of this crap can we sell?"

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

In Canada and certain parts or Latin America it was sold as the Suzuki Forsa, in Canada it was also sold as the Pontiac Firefly... And elsewhere, you could have it as an Holden Barina or Isuzu Geminett. It was pretty much "how many different version of this crap can we sell?"

It kinda sounds like a lot of the other rebadging GM has done with their cars. Because they really badge engineer a lot.

A while back, I learned that there's some odd edition of a Toyota Camry that exists. It's called the Camry xSP and there's one at my school. It had carbon fiber wrap on the roof pillars.

 

[Legro]

We all know how BMW launched 5-door MINI last year, well BMC was about to do the same thing 50 years ago with this prototype of 4-door Austin Mini. Based on Mini Van/Pick-up/Estates and made in early 60s it could have changed the way we think about Mini. Instead the prototype built by engineering team in Longbridge was most likely scraped or lost in some other unknown way.

http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/mini-classic/concepts-prototypes-mini-four-door/