Slow-living cardiologically challenged Fenlander trying to cram less and less into each day. I write about cars but not as much as before. Electric is my thing (EV-ing since 2013). Life-long Labour member of a centrist persuasion. English of Welsh extraction. Interested in Germany (lived there twice). US politics/CNN fan. Like cats but I don’t have one myself. Studied at Oxford and Bayes. Live in the beautiful cathedral city of Ely. Background pic: North Shore beach at Skegness. #davidsdailycar
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Last Notes npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Yesterday, I posted a photo of a Volkswagen 181 with a drab khaki colour scheme reflecting its original military service with the German Bundeswehr. Here we have a much more jolly orange civilian 181, which I snapped last weekend at the Practical Classics resto show. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins This Volkswagen 181 from 1971 originally served with the German armed forces and eventually turned up in the UK, where it was recently on display at the Practical Classics resto show. Like the recently featured Mini Moke, it was an attempt to produce a light military utility vehicle using components from a cheap mainstream road car, in this case the Beetle. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Yesterday, I mentioned that the British Army was starting to retire its fleet of Land Rovers. This was one of the more exotic applications of the Landy - as a long-range desert patrol vehicle for the elite Special Air Service. This heavily modified Series IIA ‘Pink Panther’ version dates back to the late 1960s. Pink was found to be the best camouflage colour for desert conditions. Pic taken at the British Motor Museum, 2024. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, a rival to yesterday’s Toyota Avensis, and one also produced in the UK. This is the Vauxhall Vectra B, introduced in 1995, successor to the Vauxhall Cavalier and Opel Ascona lines. This high-spec 2.6 V6 CDX example was actually the last Vectra off the production line at Vauxhall’s main car plant at Luton before it closed in 2002, and has fittingly ended up at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, another photo sent to me by my brother from Berlin, specifically from the ‘icons’ display at the Volkswagen Group’s Unter den Linden DRIVE showroom. A very nice early ‘splitty’ Volkswagen camper. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins A bit of a treat today. My brother sent me these photos from Berlin a few days ago of this lovely old Peugeot 404 in the traditional German ‘Hellelfenbein’ (pale ivory) taxi colour scheme. Apparently it was plying for hire on the taxi rank at the Ostbahnhof alongside more modern machines. Not sure whether it works every day or just occasionally. Either way, not bad for a car that is more than half a century old! Just beautiful. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins In 1992, Mercedes launched the first-generation W202 C-Class as the successor to yesterday’s W201 190. The W202 was available with a wide choice of petrol and diesel engines and also as an estate. I saw this lovely early C180 Esprit base model with its orange indicator lenses and black bumper/rubbing strips at the Festival of the Unexceptional in 2023. One of my all-rime favourites. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Question: What’s Japanese, electric, and even smaller than a kei car? npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Another small Subaru today. I’ve mentioned the Japanese kei car regulations a few times, which define a class of tiny lightweight vehicles for mainly urban use. An early car that met the formula from 1958 was the Subaru 360, which had a tiny 360cc two-stroke engine. The 360 wasn’t officially sold in the UK but was exported to both Australia and the US. I saw this one on display at the Subaru stand on the first press day of the Geneva Motor Show in 2013. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Yesterday’s S-Cargo was one of a range of small quirky retro models produced by Nissan in the late eighties, the so-called Pike cars. Another was this, the Pao, seen here at the Festival of the Unexceptional in 2024. While the S Cargo was clearly inspired by a single historic vehicle, Citroën’s 2CV Fourgonette van, the Pao seems to draw on a number of influences - perhaps including the Mini and Renault R4. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins One of the leading providers of ‘unofficial’ Lotus Seven inspired cars was Westfield. But in the last few years, the company has developed a new additional focus with the acquisition of Chesil, the British makers of Volkswagen-based Porsche 356 replicas. This one, seen at this year’s NEC Classic Motor Show, would normally cost £68,000 but there was a show discount of about £10,000. Not exactly cheap but less than the real thing! npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins A gratuitous click-bait crowd-pleaser today. I saw this early-seventies Citroën 2CV Fourgonette van at this year’s Festival of the Unexceptional in Lincolnshire. Patina. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Yesterday, we viewed the Austin Montego from the front. Today we are looking at it from the back. First, the saloon with its slightly awkward wraparound rear window, seen at the Allegro 40th anniversary celebration at Gaydon in 2013. The second car is the more handsome estate model, seen at the 2024 NEC Classic Motor Show. (1/2) npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins As I’ve previously explained, Leyland went into the seventies moving away from badge engineering, with the FWD Maxi and Allegro being sold as Austins and the more traditional Marina being a Morris. But in 1974, Leyland introduced the sumptuously equipped ‘wood and leather’ Allegro-based Vanden Plas 1500. There was no Morris Allegro but badge engineering was back, as we shall see tomorrow. Photos from the Allegro 40th anniversary bash at Gaydon, 2013 npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins The main competitor for the Morris Marina was the Ford Cortina Mk3, seen here at The Great British Car Journey. The Marina seemed to be benchmarked off the earlier Cortina Mk2 in terms of size and spec but ended up facing the larger Mk3, which had OHC engine options, a fancier coil-sprung rear axle and double-wishbone front suspension, while the Marina still had its ancient Minor-derived leaf-sprung rear and outdated lever damper set-up at the front. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Leyland probably deserve some credit for being good sports by going along with CAR’s ideas to improve the Marina. But I’m not sure it worked in PR terms because they didn’t end up changing the production car much despite the project showing that some fairly easy changes could have made the car much better. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, an interesting chapter in the story of yesterday’s car, the Morris Marina estate. In 1973, Leyland entered into a collaboration with the respected CAR magazine to explore how its humdrum workhorse might be improved with a bit of imagination and readily available parts. The result was the Marina Marauder (foreground). The blue car was a parallel, Leyland-only project. My copy of the original 1974 magazine, snapped at McDonalds this morning. (1/2) npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins A couple of days ago, @npub1494…2av5 astutely commented on the lack of family resemblance between the old-fashioned Morris Minor and its modern 1960s stablemate, the 1100/1300. There was a big difference between the modern face of the Morris range - the FWD Mini, 1100 and this, the bigger 1800 ‘Landcrab’, on the one hand, and the old Minor and Oxford models on the other. Pic taken: The Great British Car Journey, 2023. (1/2) npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins A few days ago, I explained how the first Morris Minis were called Mini-Minors. By 1965, when this Morris Mini won the Monte Carlo rally, the ‘Minor’ bit had been dropped, and within a few years, Mini would become a marque in its own right. Meanwhile, although the by-now ultra-fashionable Mini won rallies and attracted many star buyers, the original Morris Minor just kept on selling. Pic taken: British Motor Museum, 2024. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Two Minis - but one is also a Minor. The white car was launched as the Morris Mini-Minor in 1959 - in fact 621 AOK (snapped: British Motor Museum) was the first Morris-badged example. The red car is a 1959 example of its Austin Se7en counterpart (The Great British Car Journey) - note the different grilles. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins In 1953, Morris introduced a van version of the Minor. The all-metal raised-roof rear bodywork is completely different to that of yesterday’s wood-framed Traveller estate. This 1970 vehicle saw service with the Royal Mail, a big user of the type. Note the higher-mounted headlamps fitted from 1949 and the single-piece windscreen introduced in 1956. I saw this one at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu in 2023. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins While we’re on the subject of the Austin A30, here’s a lovely convertible version from 1952, which I saw at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon earlier this year. (2/3) npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins In 1951, Austin announced its rival for the Morris Minor, the A30. But the rivals immediately became stablemates when Austin and Morris merged to become the British Motor Corporation (BMC) in 1952. This gave Morris access to the A30’s superior A-Series OHV engine, which was fitted to the Series II Minor straight away. It took an Austin engine to make the most famous Morris complete. Pics taken at The Great British Car Journey, Derbys. (1/3) npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today we’re moving up to the heart of the Borgward range with the much larger Isabella, probably the company’s best-known car, produced from 1954. Offered in a wide range of handsome body styles. I saw this estate version at Techno Classica Essen in 2018. Note the side-hinged tailgate. One more Borgward tomorrow. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Over the last week or so, I’ve been telling the story of how, in the space of a decade, the Bavarian car-maker Glas advanced from the almost toy-like little Goggomobil to the Maserati-like V8 models. I’ve just discovered that I’ve got another photo of the original Goggo, which shows off its design better than the pic I previously posted. Snapped at the Bremen Classic Motor Show in 2014. Another Goggo treat tomorrow. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins More German post-war minimal motoring today with the Goggomobil T250, seen here at Techno Classica Essen in 2014. The T250 was announced in 1954. It was produced by the Bavarian manufacturer Glas which, as I explained in my posts of a few weeks ago, was later bought by BMW. The Goggomobil took a different approach to the recently featured Isetta BMW and Heinkel bubble cars by adopting a conventional three-box/four-wheel design but shrinking it to tiny proportions. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Something small again today. My brother sent me this photo of a Microlino electric car which he saw in Prague recently. The Microlino, a design that has clearly been inspired by the 1950s Isetta bubble cars, is made in Italy but the company is Swiss. Vitae appears to be a small Czech company specialising in lighting technology, by the way (just looked it up). npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, the BMW E9, the successor to yesterday’s 2000 CS coupé. The two cars were basically the same aft of the windscreen but the E9 had a stretched wheelbase to accommodate a much more powerful inline six in place of the previous four-cylinder. The redesigned nose set the BMW ‘look’ for the next quarter century or so. This beautiful 2800 CS in Chamonix White, registered in 1969, was at Techno Classica Essen in 2023. More on BMW C-pillar badges tomorrow. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, a third branch of the BMW family tree stemming from the 02 and, by extension, the Neue Klasse. This is the three-door hatchback Touring version of the 02, the forerunner of the 3-Series Compact and ultimately the 1-Series, although the Touring designation itself was later used for BMW estates rather than hatches. I saw the maroon car at Retro Classics Stuttgart in 2016 and the white car at Techno Classica Essen in 2013. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins After the BMW 02 range was replaced by the first-generation E21 3-Series, the coachbuilder Karosserie Baur produced an open-topped variant of the new car, the TopCabriolet, which featured a similar Targa-style roof to later versions of the previous 02 convertible. I saw this one at Techno Classica in 2013. This particular branch of the Neue Klasse/02 family tree went on the feature generations of 3-Series, and later 4-Series, convertible models. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today I met this bold-as-brass seagull* in the port town of Lowestoft in Suffolk, UK. Not remotely bothered by the close presence of humans. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins From 1965, Triumph opened up a new front in its war with the Rover P6 by launching the estate version of its 2000, a move to which Rover didn’t respond. Triumph was way ahead of the game with this lifestyley executive saloon based estate. The main German premium manufacturers only entered this market ten to twenty years later - and Rover’s first large estate only arrived in 2001 with the 75 Tourer. This is a late facelifted 2500 model. Snapped locally. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins By 1968, Rover had found a great solution to the up-engining of the P6 2000 model. This involved buying the rights to an all aluminium alloy 3.5-litre V8 from GM. The V8 was about the same length and weight as the 2000’s four-cylinder engine, so few modifications or compromises were involved. This late model 3500 P6 has an interesting history as a Metropolitan Police ‘plain clothes’ car. Snapped at the Practical Classics retro show in March. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Yesterday, I explained how the Rover P7 represented an attempt to fit a five-cylinder engine to the P6. But in the early sixties an even more exotic engine option for the P6 was explored with this T4 prototype; a gas turbine. The T4 actually predates the commercial launch of the P6. Visible next to the T4 at the British Motor Museum in the first photo - the previously featured Rover/BRM gas turbine racer. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Yesterday, @npub1emq…xekg mentioned the NSU Sport Prinz, introduced in 1958. This provided the basis for the car shown here, the 1963 NSU Wankel Spider, the company’s first rotary-engined model. In this case, the rotary engine was at the rear. I saw this one at the Bremen Classic Motor Show in 2014. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, we’re back at the Practical Classics resto show in March, but we’re moving on from Poland to the former East Germany. This is the Wartburg 353, introduced in 1966. It can trace its basics - notably its North/South front-wheel drive layout and two-stroke 3-cylinder engine - back to pre-war Auto Union technology, which makes it a distant cousin of sorts to West German DKWs and Audis of the same era. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, the Skoda Popular 955 Liduška model from 1939. Still right-hand drive despite the switch to driving on the right in Czechoslovakia the same year. Note the slightly unusual 3-speed gear shift pattern with first on the bottom left of the ‘H’ and second on the top right. Photo from my brother on a visit to the Skoda Classic Cars Museum in Slovakia. Apparently, admission to the museum is only €5, which seems like a bit of a bargain to me. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, another example of the Skoda Popular series from the thirties. This is the Popular 912 OHV Tudor from 1937 - and very nice it is too. Snapped by my brother recently at the Skoda Classic Cars Museum in Slovakia. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins I was going to move on to a new subject today but entirely coincidentally my brother, who is currently visiting Slovakia, yesterday sent me a supply of extra photos of lovely old Skodas. This is the 422 Tudor from 1930. Note that this car is right-hand drive. In those days Czechoslovakia drove on the left. These are from a small but exquisite Skoda museum my brother chanced upon in Trenčín. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, a second old Skoda from #SMMT Test Day. This is the Felicia convertible produced between 1959 and 1964, a relative of the original 1950s Octavia. Both the Felicia and Octavia nameplates would, of course, be revived for modern Skodas. Like yesterday’s 1203 van, the original Felicia and Octavia were front engine/rear drive. Note the ‘mirror image of normal’ gear shift pattern - that’s for real, not a misfitted gear knob or mirrored image. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, another fairly exotic police car. This Jaguar XJ-S coupé, which lives at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, was a demonstration car that was lent out to police forces for evaluation purposes in the early 1980s, although I’m not sure whether any ended up being sold for police use. Jaguar’s four-door saloons have, of course, often been used by the police in the UK. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Yesterday, I explained how car-making at BMW started with a British design, the Austin Seven. For Bristol, the roles were reversed; the luxury British car operation was founded on BMW’s designs, including its straight six engines, acquired under the system of post-war reparations. The first Bristol was the 1947 400. Its successor, the 401 (snapped at the Great British Car Journey) had evolved styling but retained the BMW-style ‘kidney’ grille. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, another random white car I came across while working back through my photo roll. Meet the Austin Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite. The colour is actually Old English White, a slightly ‘warmer’ parchment/cream shade traditionally seen on British cars over the years. An option of this name appeared on the Rover 75 paint chart, for example. The Frogeye spawned, if you’ll forgive the pun, a couple of spin-offs, of which more in the next two posts. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, one of my favourite modern unusual cars - the now rarely seen (in the UK at least) Hyundai Veloster, which was introduced in 2011. The main distinctive feature of the Veloster was its asymmetric bodywork, which had a single door on the driver’s side and two doors on the other. There were therefore two different body shells for right-hand and left-hand drive models. Seen locally a few weeks ago. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins PS I forgot to mention it but there is a truly fascinating historical link between Matra, the Espace, the Avantime and the recent sequence of posts on the 2000-2005 era MG Rover. If this deal between MG Rover and Matra had gone ahead, it might have helped both companies survive longer! npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins As I explained yesterday, the Talbot Matra Rancho pioneered the space frame/GRP construction that was then used in the Renault Espace. When Renault took Espace production in-house instead of using Matra, the Avantime, which used Espace style construction, was supposed to keep the production lines at Matra going. Anyway here are links (see also (3/3) to my previous posts on the Espace which fill the gap between the Rancho and the Avantime in the Matra story. (2/3) npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today we jump forward in the Matra story to the 2001 Renault Avantime, seen here at the recent Practical Classics resto show. This was a sort of two-door coupé/hatch grand tourer which was in retrospect aimed at the same ‘French luxury’ niche as today’s DS models. It was quite unlike anything else, and car buyers didn’t really get it. Sales were low. Which of course means that it was loved - even revered - by later generations of car geeks (1/3) npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, another couple of examples of Rover’s highly successful R8 range. While yesterday’s hatchback versions were badged as the 200 series, the handsome four-door saloon (white car) and Tourer estate (grey car) were badged as 400s. The system of model naming was the same as BMW’s, so the ‘420’ badge on the estate signifies a 400-series car with a 2-litre engine - although this was before BMW took over Rover. Pics taken: NEC Classic Car Show, 2024. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Long before the motor industry invented terms like platform-sharing and scalable architectures, Triumph was already doing it in the 1960s with the Spitfire (green car) and six-cylinder GT6 (yellow car), which were based on the Herald/Vitesse, a process facilitated by the Herald’s separate chassis and bolt-on panels, which made it easier to offer different body types. Photos taken at The Great British Car Journey in 2023. Back on the saloons tomorrow. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins In 1959, Standard-Triumph returned to the Triumph brand for its new small car, the Herald, which replaced the Standard Eight/Ten/Pennant line. The British car-makers were turning to the Italian design houses in search of a dash of style, and Triumph found it here with Michelotti. Although it was in most respects an advance, the Herald reverted to a traditional separate chassis structure. Snapped at the National Motor Museum in 2023 and 2024. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Yesterday @npub1q04…kc46 posted a picture of an older model Land Rover that had been used as a ‘bush fire vehicle’. This put me in mind of a small fire-fighting vehicle based on a Land Rover that I saw at last year’s NEC Classic Car Show. It was used as part of the in-house fire precautions of a big publishing company in Aylesbury in the UK in the 1960s and has apparently only done about 4,000 miles. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Yesterday I posted a photo of the last-generation Land Rover Defender high-capacity pick-up. Today, I’m covering another legendarily tough pick-up, the Peugeot 404. This particular example is still very much in daily use in Tunisia, where my brother snapped it a few days ago. Magnificent. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Yesterday I posted a pre-Geely Volvo, the first-generation S80. Today, we’re looking at a pre-Geely Lotus, the original Europa, first launched in the sixties. I saw this 1969 S2 model at the NEC Classic Car Show last year. The photographs show how Lotus borrowed the engine and gearbox from the Renault 16 for a mid-engined layout. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins After yesterday’s post about the original Renault Zoe, @npub1jk9…m8v8 mentioned the earlier Peugeot 106 Electrique, which was produced between 1995 and 2003. But before the 106 Electrique, there was this, the Citroën AX Electrique, which was introduced in 1993. A total of 395 were sold. It was replaced in 1996 by an electric version of the Saxo, a sister car of the 106 Electrique. Photographed at Techno Classica Essen in 2017. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins I’ve just been out for a walk and discovered that my local post box has acquired this jolly crocheted seasonal ‘topper’ featuring a gingerbread house. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today we’re looking at our sixth car with a Vauxhall fluted bonnet, the L-Type Wyvern, produced from 1948 to 1951. During the Second World War, Vauxhall mostly gave up car production in order to build tanks, so picking up the thread again, especially given post-war austerity and rationing in the UK, must have been quite an effort. But it’s nice to see that they didn’t sacrifice little flourishes like those bonnet flutes. Snapped: British Motor Museum. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins I mentioned that the owner of the Fiat 128 I posted yesterday, Simon Hucknall, had also been the custodian of Vauxhall’s collection of heritage vehicles. This, the 1903 5hp light car, the second oldest surviving Vauxhall, is one of those - and a Vauxhall that would actually have been built in the London district of that name before the company moved to Luton in 1905. Driven from the back seat and steered via a tiller. Pic taken: British Motor Museum. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins It’s Small Red Fiat Day again today. This is the Targa-style convertible mid-engined X1/9, designed by Bertone and manufactured by Fiat from its introduction in 1972. From 1982, production of the later ‘big bumper’ models like this one was switched to Bertone. These cars also got a 1.5-litre engine in place of the original 1.3. Pic: NEC Classic Motor Show, 1924. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins From the BBC Archive. 1971. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins More about the Noddy connection here. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins A few days ago when I was posting about Lancia, someone mentioned Noddy. The Enid Blyton Noddy car was actually one of these, a Fiat Vignale Gamine, produced in the late 1960s. This particular one was at the 2024 NEC Classic Motor show. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today we move on from Aston to Lancia but we’re sticking with Zagato bodywork. This is a Lancia Fulvia Sport. The Sport was based on the Fulvia Coupé but rebodied by Zagato to a design by Ercole Spada. Early cars had aluminium bodywork but later cars were steel. I saw this particular example at this year’s NEC Classic Motor Show. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins In the 1970s and 1980s, the Peugeot 504, both the saloon/sedan, and the coupé (seen here at Techno Classica Essen in 2019) achieved enormous competition success in African rallies, including the Safari. One striking thing about this example is that compared with later competition cars, it appears to be remarkably standard apart from the roll-cage and raised suspension - although the engine got a decent power boost as well. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins After yesterday’s smaller Facel 6, here’s more ‘French luxury’ with a representative of the company’s earlier Facel Vega range of larger, more powerful cars, I think an HK500, a model introduced in 1959. These bigger cars used V8 engines from Chrysler or other Mopar brands. Photo (sorry for the blur) from Techno Classica Essen, 2013. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Someone mentioned this yesterday, so here’s the convertible ‘Décapotable’ version of the Citroën DS. This one was impressing the crowds at Techno Classica Essen in 2014. I believe the coach builder Chapron produced an official ‘factory’ version of the convertible for sale by Citroën, as well as some which it made/sold outside this channel - not sure which this is. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins After the DS facelift featured yesterday, Citroën’s then design chief turned his attention to this, the frankly spectacular SM, a two-door mile-munching continent-crossing coupé with a Maserati V6 engine that drove the front wheels - powerful FWD cars were a rarity in those days. Introduced in 1970, it still looks modern today. Snapped on a visit to Citroën’s Conservatoire near Paris in 2012. 1/2 npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, we’re looking at another advanced Citroën prototype/concept, the C10 from 1956, seen here at the Rétromobile Classic car show in Paris in 2014. The aerodynamic teardrop shape was combined with a roomy lightweight body and the tiny 425cc engine from the 2CV. Hydropneumatic suspension. The C10 didn’t go into production but gave a strong indication of Citroën’s thinking on efficiency, which was reflected in many of the company’s later models. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, the car that represented the pinnacle of the German-market Mk1 Ford Capri range, the RS2600, which used the then-largest 2.6-litre version of the Cologne V6 engine. This turned out 150 PS - which was a lot in those days. Note the double headlamps and split front bumper. Also (sorry @npub1hsf…9xzc) this one has a contrasting gloss dark blue bonnet which is extended to the A pillars and lower window line. Techno Classica 2023. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, we’re looking at the coupé version of the first-generation Ford Granada. This is a later car - the first coupés had a slightly different, curvier ‘Coke-bottle’ lower side-window line. Top-spec Ghia model with the British 3-litre Essex engine. When the second-generation Granada appeared in 1977, the coupé was dropped from the line-up. Snapped at the Cambridge and District Classic Car Club show, 2024. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins A Beetle at Beaulieu - at the National Motor Musem to be precise. This particular car was presented by Volkswagen to Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, the founder of the museum, in 1963, when cumulative Volkswagen sales in the UK reached 100,000. Production of the Beetle was restarted after the Second World War under the leadership of Major Ivan Hirst, with the factory at Wolfsburg remaining under British administration until 1949. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins After yesterday’s very early Volvo P1800, here’s a late example of the P1800ES, a two-door estate/hatch version from the early seventies, notable for its long side windows and - appropriately for #FensterFreitag - its all-glass tailgate. This car is from Volvo’s UK heritage fleet, and was seen at last year’s Southern Group of Motoring Writers heritage driving day in Hampshire (yesterday’s pics were from this year’s event). npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins This magnificent P1800 from Volvo UK’s heritage fleet is a bit special. It’s the second oldest RHD P1800 and like other early examples was actually built by Jensen in the UK. Note the split front bumper and chrome belt-line trim, which were absent from later cars. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Today, the Ineos Grenadier. Any resemblance to the old Land Rover Defender is entirely coincidental, of course. Snapped at an industry event for journalists in Hampshire today. npub1qcxklqtglfxee5nexntz42hkew97jsczjyumz7pkra49grkx9pzs4j4np6 David Wilkins Another gem from Saturday’s Cambridge and District Classic Car Club annual show - this 1950s Zodiac estate/station wagon from Ford’s British operation. Estates were a low-volume niche option in those days, so Ford contracted the coachbuilding firm E.D. Abbott to carry out conversions on an official basis. Note the unusual side-hinged tailgate. Later estate models, which sold in bigger numbers, were built by Ford itself as standard production line models.
