Beautiful and Strange Old Cars

[Wilfried]

Horch 853A Spezialcabriolet


According to Richard Owen of supercars.net:


There's no question that Germany was at the forefront of automotive engineering in the 1930s. Ferdinand Porsche launched the seminal Volkswagen Beetle while Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union were dominating Grand Prix racing. Furthermore, companies like Horch and Mercedes-Benz were producing luxury cars that challenged the rest of the world with their advanced aerodynamic design. Such is the case with our 1938 Horch. It was intricately crafted by Voll & Ruhrbeck of Berlin and can currently be considered their most elegant design.

Germany was the very first country to produce a streamlined coupe. The Mercedes-Benz 500K Autobahnkurier of 1934 caused a sensation at the Berlin Motor Show and motivated Ettore Bugatti to go back to Molshiem and design his Type 57S Aérolithe. Both these cars were influenced by aviation design and the functional beauty of the aerofoil. Not long afterwards Italian, French and American designers caught onto this trend.

[Wilfried]

1936 Stout Scarab


When the Stout Scarab was introduced, there was nothing on the road quite like it. Its 90 horsepower Ford flathead V8 was mounted in the rear providing lots of room to accommodate passengers inside. Outside, it looked more like it was built by an airplane designer than by an automaker. In-fact, it was. William B. Stout served as chief engineer of Packard's aircraft division during World War I. After the War, he designed a high-winged monoplane without the struts and wires that characterized earlier aircraft. Still later, his design for a three-engine commercial aircraft served as the inspiration for the successful Ford Tri-Motor.

Inspired by aviation techniques, the Scarab - named after the hard-shelled Egyptian beetle - with its metal panels over a framework of tubing, took much of its strength from what was essentially an exoskeleton.

Not only was the exterior and much of its design revolutionary, the interior packaging was most astonishing. Unlike its contemporaries, the fenders were incorporated into the body and the running boards dispensed with - thus reducing wind resistance and interior noise. Flush window glass and hinges were quite novel, too; as was flow-through ventilation with dust filter, thermostatically controlled heat, electric door locks, movable seating (including a table), and indirect interior lighting.

[Aloha]

Ford Rambler, short life span but super cool car and what a trip around the world as far as assembly. 

[Wilfried]

Peel P50


The Peel P50 is a three-wheeled microcar originally manufactured from 1962 to 1965 by the Peel Engineering Company on the Isle of Man. Until 2009 it held the record for the smallest automobile to go into production.

It has no reverse gear, but a handle at the rear allows the very lightweight car to be physically maneuvered when required.

Designed as a city car, it was advertised as capable of seating "one adult and a shopping bag." The vehicle's only door was on its left side, and equipment included a single windscreen wiper and only one headlight.

50 of them were produced, and only 27 of them are known to be still in existence.

At 54 in (1,372 mm) long and 41 in (1,041 mm) wide and with an unladen weight of 59 kilograms (130 lb), until 2009 the P50 held the record as the smallest car ever to go into production.

On 28 October 2007, the P50 was featured in a segment of the BBC motoring programme Top Gear on BBC Two, during which the presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, entered the car and drove through central London to work. Clarkson, who is 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) tall, demonstrated that it was possible, although difficult, for tall people to get into the P50.

Upon arriving at BBC White City, one of the BBC's buildings, he drove past the car parks, between bollards, to the front of the building, after which he pulled the P50 behind him to his office. He then showed the car to the enthused production team, with Clarkson saying, “I've never seen the Top Gear production team this excited about a car before.”

So - for your entertainment - here’s the video   

[Wilfried]

Tatra 87


The Tatra 87 was a car built by Czechoslovak manufacturer Tatra.

The body design was based on proposals submitted by Paul Jaray of Hungarian descent, who designed the famous German Graf Zeppelin dirigibles. A fin in the sloping rear of the Tatra helps to divide the air pressure on both sides of the car, a technique used in later aircraft.

Many design elements of the Tatra 87, Tatra V570 and the later T97 were copied by later car manufacturers. Ferdinand Porsche was heavily influenced by the Tatra 87 and T97 and the flat-four-cylinder engine in his design of the Volkswagen Beetle, and was subsequently sued by Tatra.

A T87 is on display in the United States at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The museum displays 13 Tatra, including a 613 ambulance.

A 1948-built silver T87 is exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

[kirk13]

I've got some fun stuff stored in my external hard drive...I'll have to have a look through and get some of it uploaded

[dks]

I posted theso a few weeks ago but I think that this is a cool looking car. Maybe it looks more normal now with all the soft-roaders but when it came out it was considered weird.





The only similar car was the Fiat Pand 4x4

[Wilfried]

I've got some fun stuff stored in my external hard drive...I'll have to have a look through and get some of it uploaded

If it's old and weird or funny cars, I would love to see it!   

[Wilfried]

@dks

Great car!   

[gregozedobe]

The only similar car was the Fiat Pand 4x4

This one was a bit bigger, but still car-based (well, car, wagon or ute): The 1977 Holden Overlander 4x4

http://www.uniquecarsmag.com.au/news-and-reviews/article/articleid/85602.aspx

[Wilfried]

@gregozedobe

Every day I learn something new...   

I like this one also:

[Cupboard]

About the GM Firebird:

At first, Conklin was the only person qualified to drive it, and he tested it up to 100 mph (160 km/h), but upon shifting into second gear the tires lost traction under the extreme engine torque and he immediately slowed down for fear of crashing.

 

[Wilfried]

Vintage American Cars - Part 1

[derekmac]

One of my favourites is the 57 Chev Bel Air.


Also the old Chev Stepsides!

[Wilfried]

Jaguar Mark 2


The Jaguar Mark 2 is a medium-sized saloon car built from late 1959 to 1967 by the Jaguar company in Coventry, England.

Adhering to Sir William Lyons' maxim of "grace, pace and space", the Mark 2 was a fast and capable saloon.

Popular as getaway cars, they were also employed by the police to patrol British motorways.

The Mark 2 is also well known as the car driven by fictional TV detective Inspector Morse played by John Thaw.

[kirk13]

At Crystal Palace in 2012
 

[kirk13]

Crystal Palace 2013

[Wilfried]

At Crystal Palace in 2012
 

That's a very nice car!   

[kkokkolis]

London Taxi belongs here but I'll leave it to a Brit.

[Wilfried]

DAF 600


Also called the Dutch Volkswagen



The DAF 600 is a small family car that was DAF's first production passenger car: it was first presented at the Amsterdam Motor Show in February 1958 and was in production by 1959, although the firm had published the first details of the car at the end of 1957. It was available until 1963.

The 600 was the first production car after the 1920s Clyno to have a continuously variable transmission (CVT) system - the innovative DAF Variomatic.

There were quite some of them around on the Belgian motorways back in the 60s.

[Wilfried]

Oldsmobile Toronado (first generation)


The Oldsmobile Toronado was a two-door coupe produced by the Oldsmobile division of General Motors from 1966 to 1992.

The name "Toronado" has no meaning, and was originally invented for a 1963 Chevrolet show car. Conceived as Oldsmobile's full-size personal luxury car and competing directly with the Ford Thunderbird, the Toronado is historically significant as the first front-wheel drive automobile produced in the United States since the demise of the Cord in 1937.

Despite an average test-weight approaching 5,000 lb (2,268 kg), published performance test data shows the 1966 Toronado was capable of accelerating from 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) in 7.5 seconds, and through the standing 1/4 mile (~400 m) in 16.4 seconds at 93 mph (150 km/h).
It was also capable of a maximum speed of 135 mph (217 km/h).

[Aloha]

Austin-Healey
Not sure if this has already been posted.

[Wilfried]

Phantom Corsair


The Phantom Corsair is a prototype automobile built in 1938. It is a six-passenger 2-door sedan that was designed by Rust Heinz of the H. J. Heinz family and Maurice Schwartz of the Bohman & Schwartz coachbuilding company in Pasadena, California.

Although sometimes dismissed as a failure because it never entered production, the Corsair is regarded as anachronistic due to its futuristic features and styling cues such as faired-in fenders and a low profile.

The Phantom Corsair's steel-and-aluminum body measured just 57 in (140 cm) in height and incorporated fully skirted wheels and completely flush fenders while forgoing running boards.

The car also lacked door handles, as the doors were instead opened electrically using push-buttons located on the exterior and the instrument panel. The instrument panel also featured a compass and altimeter, while a separate console above the windshield indicated when a door was ajar or if the car's lights or radio were turned on.

Rust Heinz planned to put the Phantom Corsair, which cost approximately $24,000 to produce in 1938 (equivalent to about $370,000 in 2010), into limited production at an estimated selling price of $12,500. However, Heinz's death in a car accident in July 1939 ended those plans, leaving the prototype Corsair as the only one ever built.

The Phantom Corsair now resides in the National Automobile Museum (also known as The Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada.

[kirk13]

Phantom Corsair


The Phantom Corsair is a prototype automobile built in 1938. It is a six-passenger 2-door sedan that was designed by Rust Heinz of the H. J. Heinz family and Maurice Schwartz of the Bohman & Schwartz coachbuilding company in Pasadena, California.

Although sometimes dismissed as a failure because it never entered production, the Corsair is regarded as anachronistic due to its futuristic features and styling cues such as faired-in fenders and a low profile.

The Phantom Corsair's steel-and-aluminum body measured just 57 in (140 cm) in height and incorporated fully skirted wheels and completely flush fenders while forgoing running boards.

The car also lacked door handles, as the doors were instead opened electrically using push-buttons located on the exterior and the instrument panel. The instrument panel also featured a compass and altimeter, while a separate console above the windshield indicated when a door was ajar or if the car's lights or radio were turned on.

Rust Heinz planned to put the Phantom Corsair, which cost approximately $24,000 to produce in 1938 (equivalent to about $370,000 in 2010), into limited production at an estimated selling price of $12,500. However, Heinz's death in a car accident in July 1939 ended those plans, leaving the prototype Corsair as the only one ever built.

The Phantom Corsair now resides in the National Automobile Museum (also known as The Harrah Collection) in Reno, Nevada.

Is it just me or would that have made an awesome Batmobile?

[Wilfried]

@kirk13


It surely could have been...

However, Batman’s first ride showed up in Detective Comics #48, February 1941. This “Batmobile” was originally red then blue & a convertible based on the 1936 Cord, but the nose looked more like that of a Lincoln. There were no wings, no bat-faced front grill or logo. In fact, it looked like anyone’s random 2-door coupe.   

[Wilfried]

Lincoln Futura / Batmobile


The Lincoln Futura was a concept car designed by the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company. It was originally designed by Ford Motor Company lead stylists Bill Schmidt and John Najjar Ferzely and built by Ghia entirely by hand in Turin, Italy, at a cost of $250,000 (2014 equivalent: $2,200,000) and displayed on the auto show circuit in 1955.

In 1966 the car was modified by George Barris into the Batmobile, for the 1966 TV series Batman.

[kkokkolis]

Rear engined Škodas

Eastern blocks cars were often a target for many jokes, but those rear engined - rear wheel drive Škodas selled a lot in Europe and won a lot of Rallies during their days.

Škoda 1000 MB, 1964-1969


Škoda 100, 1969-1976


Škoda 110 R, 1970-1980

[Etherealicer]

Brubaker Box

A body-kit van based on the Volkswagen Beetle
Wiki page

[kkokkolis]

German, Italian and Japanese Microcars

German, Italian and Japanese economies had to make a giant transition from (more or less) militarism to consumerism just after the WWII. All infrastructure was totally (or almost) destroyed but we all know what eventually happened. Germany, Japan and Italy sell a lot of cars (among other things) to those that won the war and their cars are considered the best there are. But the first two decades (up to the '70 sometimes) they relied a lot on economy microcars, often made under the same names that produced fighters, bombers and armoured vehicles throughout the war.

Trabant P50, 1957–1962


BMW Isetta 250-300 (Originally an Italian ISO design), 1955


BMW 600, 1957-59


Brütsch Mopetta, 1957


Brütsch V2, 1956-1958



Holbein (from BMW) Champion CH-2, 1949


Dornier Delta & Delta II, 1955-1972



Fend Flitzer, 1948-1961


FMR Tg500, 1958-1961


Fuldamobil, 1950-1969


Glass Goggomobil, 1955-1969


Heinkel Kabine, 1956-1958


Maico MC 400, 1955-1956


Messerschmitt KR175, 1953–1955


Messerschmitt KR200 Kabinenroller, 1955 -1964


NSU Prinz, 1957- 1973


Zündapp Janus, 1957- 1958


They didn't abandon the concept up there...
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ALL-CARS Charly, 1974-1985


Autobianchi Bianchina, 1957-1970


Casalini Sulky, 1971


Ferves Ranger, 1968-1971


Fiat 500 Topolino, 1936-1948


Fiat 600, 1955-1969


Fiat 600 Multipla, 1956–1965


Fiat Nuova 500, 1957 -1975


Fiat 126, 1972-1992 (my father had one)


Fiat X1/9, 1972-1982


Zagato Zele, 1974-1976


Autobianchi A112,  1969- 1982


They still do it also...



Daihatsu Bee, 1951


Honda S360-600, 1962-1964


Mazda R360, 1960


Mazda Carol, 1962-1970


Subaru 360, 1958 -1971


Subaru Sambar, 1961–1966


They still do it also...


There's The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum fro those who like those tiny vehicles.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Wow you've been busy with that post

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