Mystery car pix

texases

Isuzu Vehicross, about 2001. Seems like they used one of these for inspiration:

stephen987

Suzuki X90, ca. min-late 90's. Silly car!

Exactly.

andre1969

Believe it or not, that thing is based on the Plymouth Volare! I'd never heard of a Monteverdi Sierra before, so I looked it up on Wikipedia. According to them, it came with a standard 5.2 (318) V-8. The Mopar F-body was never offered with a big-block, and the biggest engine it ever came with was a 195 hp 360-4bbl. A big-block will fit under the hood. I've seen it done, but it's a very tight squeeze. So I guess it's possible that the Swiss might have found a way to make it work?

FWIW, that pic posted above makes the car look a lot sleeker and more low-slung than it really is. I don't think it looks nearly as attractive in this picture...


Still not bad, although here it looks more like a Volare with a different front-end clip. I wonder how hard it would be to come across Monteverdi Sierra sheetmetal? That front clip looks like it would've bolted right onto my old '89 Gran Fury.

stever

Heh, we haven't had much action in the Separated At Birth? discussion lately.

andys120

I saw a Vehi-Cross the oher day, same colors.

andys120

I didn't realize that the Sierra or any Monteverdi was based on the Volare-Aspen. Most of the earlier offerings had their own unique chassis and bodywork by Frua or Fissore and almost all of them had big-block MoPars. I assume Wikipedia is correct about the 318 CID powerplant in the Sierra, my bad!.

It's true that there's a lot of frumpy Volare showing in your photo but IMO the Fissore front end looks very good. I'd replace those Torq-Thrust rims with some nice Cromodora are Campagnolo wheels though.

I imagine it would be impossible to find a Sierra front clip, I doubt more than 100 or so were ever made.

fintail

The wagons were even more obvious:



But the ragtop wasn't as bad:



That sheetmetal would be just a little easier to find than hen's teeth. If Sierra production reached triple digits, I would be surprised.

stephen987

The Monteverdi Tiara appears to be a derivative of the S-class Mercedes:



while the Monteverdi Sahara has humbler origins:



Can you spot the source?

fintail

That's indeed a LWB W126, and the taillights remind me of an E23 7-series. What a waste! The W126 is a perfect design in my eyes.

Here's a period brochure for a Tiara. I don't know whether to laugh or cry

The Sahara appears to be an International Scout.

stephen987

The Sahara appears to be an International Scout.

With good reason.

stever

Spoiler (Straightline)

andre1969

That's indeed a LWB W126, and the taillights remind me of an E23 7-series. What a waste! The W126 is a perfect design in my eyes.

Yeah, doing that treatment to the W126 messed it up, IMO. Especially the front, which just looks too Eastern bloc to me. Whereas that treatment to the Volare actually makes the car look a bit exotic, and doesn't do a horrible job blending in, here it just looks too hacksawed.

andys120

stephen987

Datsun 510/Nissan Bluebird, ca. 1968-70.

fintail

I won't click on the spoiler...it's a LR Defender with some kind of snow track setup. Date is indeterminate on those as they don't change much...late 70s to almost present day is possible.

fintail

I agree...the Volare mods make it look exotic in a way, with the kind of muscular shape to the fender. That was a Monteverdi trademark that was somehow lost on the W126 butcher job.

stever

Yep, it's a 1996 military-spec Defender 110 Hardtop. But it could be a '76. You can add the tracks to various civilian models, like this rig I saw one time:


See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com

stever

fintail

How fast can something like that go?

stephen987

Shot in the dark: '51 Olds convertible?

andys120

It's either a Chebby or Olds, ca. 1949-50, can't tell which without seeing the grille.

Looks like a Packard limo behind it, same vintage.

imidazol97

The Olds had the drooping eyelid pattern under their headlights so it doesn't look like an Olds.

imidazol97

The 1951 Chev had a zigzag chrome piece on the front fender side. This one is straight. So it should be a 49-50. The front parking lights look like the round protruding ones the 49-50 had. But the splash chrome behind the front wheel is 1951.

stever

It's a 1949 Chevrolet GK Styleline Deluxe, unless Sneakers is in error.

AlternateRoute

Fintail, Mattracks recommends not exceeding 40 mph.

andys120

fintail

RHD Valiant kind of thing, weird plates, I will guess the South African variant, whatever it is named.

berri

If it was a domestic model I'd guess a Lancer because of the more horizontal grill, but I don't know what they called them overseas. Personally, I preferred the early Valiant front end that sort of resembled a small version 57/58 Chrysler 300 look. I thought the early Valiants looked a bit Eurpoean in their days whereas the Falcon was kind of US generic, but not a bad looking little car either. Of course, that's just personal opinion.

andys120

RHD Valiant kind of thing, weird plates, I will guess the South African variant, whatever it is named.

It's a 1963 DeSoto Rebel, a rebadged Dodge Lancer built in SA.

andys120

fintail

Matra Murenas with Dutch plates, early 80s

andys120

Matra Murenas with Dutch plates, early 80s

Yep, after PSA bought out Simca, who co-developed the car with Matra, they were sold in most markets as the Talbot-Matra Murena

Like the earlier Matra-Simca Bagheera, the Murena featured three-abreast seating.

stephen987

and what looks like an '80-82 T-bird with the hideaway headlights in the corner. . .

andys120

Can you get all five?


larger version

fintail

I don't know what's in the foreground, but behind the red roadster we have a second series Alfa Alfasud, an early 90s Porsche, a Mini, and maybe a Mazda 323 from the mid 80s.

stephen987

red: Sabra
yellow: Alfasud
dark bluish: Porsche 911
blue: Mini? hard to see
blue: Mazda 323/Familia

andys120

Stephen gets them all!

The Sabra is a 1967 Sabra Sports II, made in Israel under license from Reliant who sold the same car as the Reliant Sabre.
A 1.7 Ford motor from the Ford Consul supplied power.

stephen987

andys120

I'm going to guess that the white car is based on the original Austin/Morris Mini.
Beyond that I haven't got a clue on any of 'em.

stephen987

Nope, not Mini-based. Triumph-engined, if it helps.

magnette

Nice selection of sixtties British kit cars...
The red car is a Fairthorpe - I think an Electron Minor. The white coupe is another Fairthorpe TX, or a TXR. The dark blue one beyond might another of these, but Fairthorpes are somewhat confusing.
Behind, you have a white roadster, which might be a Super Two, or a Buckler - it could even be an early Ginetta.... The red roadster beyond that is probably a Super Two. I think the red coupe above the blue probable Fairthorpe is an Ashley, but again, there are several other alternatives.
The yellow coupe in the left background is possibly a Rochdale Olympic. There are various Lotus Seven or more likely replicas ie Caterham, etc, and there is aMarcos in the right hand background - next to the bloke in the white shirt.
The old sytle vintage looking roadster in BRG is probably an NG, and the purple bonnet on the extreme right is a Hurricane, I believe.

stephen987

I stand, humbled, in the presence of your greatness, Magnette.

I had the Fairthorpes, the Rochdale and the Marcos 3-litre spotted, but that's all. Thanks for filling in the gaps!

magnette

Actually, a lot of those cars are provisional, as the trouble with kits is some of them were actually made by several firms, and so there is a lot of guesswork. When I am at home, as opposed to using this lousy screen at work, I might be able to see the detail better in the background, and I can also then have a look at my old trusty book about these sort of cars - there were hundreds of these things made, and most have probably disappeared without trace.
There is a register for old kit cars in Britain, and I'll find the link, as it gives lots of interesting details about some of the rarities like this.
Presumably none of these were ever seen over with you apart from Lotus and Marcos....

stephen987

Presumably none of these were ever seen over with you apart from Lotus and Marcos....

For the most part, that's true. I've seen a couple of Rochdale Olympics advertised in the US over the years, probably more of these than either Ginetta or Marcos actually. But Fairthorpes--not a chance.

I have a lingering fondness for the British cottage-industry cars. I was passed on a freeway in North Carolina once by a baby-blue Gilbern Invader at a truly impressive pace.

magnette

here's the address to a site that is about mainly 1950's specials, as these kit cars were then called...

http://www.1950sspecials.com/home.htm

It isn't updated very often but it is quite interesting. I think these cars were ideal for the days before drink drive legislation - you went out in the country, broke down, found a lovely wayside pub.....

andys120

fintail

Trabi ragtop, Ostermann was the firm who chopped them.

andys120

Jahwohl, das ist korrect, Trabi 601 Ostermann Cabriolet.

andys120

stephen987

Peugeot?

andys120

Good guess but no, it isn't a Pug.