Mystery car pix

fintail

That Imperial is gorgeous. I'd take it

andre1969

I'd LOVE something like that! IIRC the '56 Imperial was on a 3" longer wheelbase than the '55. Something like 133", versus 130"? That's one reason why there's such a big gap between the rear of the door and the wheel cutout.

andys120

Look at those tailights!

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fintail

I wonder how many of those are left in such a condition. I only see the normal sedans.

andre1969

how something that's literally just tacked on, such as those taillights are, can still come off as so graceful. I never really noticed how the backup lights are on the '56 Imperial. That's neat how they integrate them into the chrome strip that wraps around the back of the fin, just above the bumper.

Mr_Shiftright

Nice car, pre-monster fins.

Asking price is way out of line, though, about double market value. A "classic" case here of true rarity not equaling value. The limo would be worth quite a bit more than the 8P sedan. Possibly a Pebble Beach quality limo could approach 20K but it would be a tough sell. Oddly enough, the limo is not as rare as the sedan but is worth more, probably because of style and functional use as a "classic for hire".

andys120

I can't say I know much about it. :confuse: ">

Mr_Shiftright

ugly little mutt...well, BIG mutt...let's see....it looks British....MGA wheels? Cut down Jaguar body? Fiberglass?

hell I dunno....

PF_Flyer

Looks like Jonathan Steed and Mrs. Peel should be geting out of it!

andre1969

the name Cunningham is popping into my mind. Y'know, if they widened and lowered the grille a bit and moved the headlights out a bit, it wouldn't be a bad looking car.

danf1

Looks like an Aston Martin grill.

fintail

The window line reminds me of a German car called the Goliath.

Dunno about those plates...Sweden I think, if it matters

andys120

The license plates are indeed Swedish but the car is a Brit as so many have guessed. It's a 1954 Jensen Interceptor built on an Austin A70 chassis and powered by a 4.0 liter Austin 6 in both coupe and cabrio forms w aluminum bodywork.

The Interceptor name is best known from the Mopar powered cars of the 60s and Jensen was the builder for the bodies of the Austin-Healey 100/3000, Sunbeam Tiger and Volvo P1800/1800ES.

The pictured car is yours for only $35,000.

http://www.hemmings.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/popups.carphoto/id/2189234

Mr_Shiftright

You'd have to be certifiably crazy to pay that for it. It can't get out of it's own way, it's ugly and nobody knows or cares what it is. Other than that...hey, a "classic".

Real value? Maybe $18,000 if it's really tip top.

andre1969

back in the old days when they used to offer both an 8-passenger sedan and a limo? I'm thinking mainly like 1954 and earlier Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, and Chrysler. IIRC they were on the same wheelbase and looked the same from the outside. Did the limo have a partition between the front and the back?

Oh, here's a pic of a '56 Imperial limo. If you all thought the regular 4-door sedan was long, check this mastodon out!

http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1956/Limo/1956CrownImperial.jpg

Note the fins are a bit different here. That's because low-volume '56 Mopars, such as station wagons and the Imperial limo used some carryover 1955 stampings. Instead of making a whole new quarter panel for the limo and wagon with a fin incorporated into it, they just took the old '55 quarter panel and literally grafted a fin onto it. The seam was then hidden by a chrome strip.

rsholland

When I was in high school (early '60s) one of my buddies had a '54 Chrysler New Yorker limo. It used to be the family car, as he was from a large family, and his father was an MD, so they could afford it. Anyway, has the kids got older, the limo was eventually handed down from brother to brother. My buddy was the third brother in line to get it as a hand-me-down.

We had a ball with that car. It was a hemi, and we would "triple-date" in it, as it had small fold-away jump seats in the back. It was painted "institutional green" (think old high school bathroom colors), and it was known all over town, as the hot ride—in more ways than one!

Bob

rsholland

If you look at that Imperial, you can see some of the Chrysler heritage that the new 300 exhibits.

Bob

Mr_Shiftright

for such a big car it's rather handsome...not pretty, but handsome. Looks like a train.

andys120

The Mopars of that era showed a strong Italian influence, especially Chryslers and Imperials with their beautifully proportioned grillework and flowing fenders. The funny thing is that the Italians and other Euros were copying American styling heavily but not always successfully

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wale_bate1

that Italian influence might have come from those Exner Ghia showcars? On that note, is a Ford Mustang II Ghia or a Granada Ghia influenced by the Italians too? :P

Mr_Shiftright

Italians don't ALWAYS get it right but they usually do. They been bangin' on metal for a long time, those people.

You will see American influence on European design now and then, but it has rarely been successful for obvious reasons (see photo above). Nothing worse than fins on a SMALL car.

andre1969

I kinda like it. The front-end makes me think a bit of a '56 DeSoto or a '55-57 T-bird, or a combination of both. FWIW, I always thought the meshy grille of the '56 DeSoto made it look a bit T-birdish. The little fins on that sucker look kinda Ford-ish.

andys120

The funky T-bird knock off is an Auto Union/ DKW 1000SP c.'59-'60. A roadster version was introduced in '62. Both coupe and Roadster were mechanically similar to the contemporary DKW sedan with two strokes/3 cyl. It was the last car to bear the illustrious Auto Union name and the next to last to be sold as a DKW. This was shortly after VW absorbed Auto Union and began using the Audi name as it's luxury brand.

The four rings of Auto Union still seen on Audis stood for the component brands of the original Auto Union (a kind of German GM): Audi, Horch Wanderer and DKW.

More on the 1000SP

andys120

fintail

Citroen Dyane, the 2CV's ugly sister

andys120

Citroen Dyane, the 2CV's ugly sister

You gotta go some to be the ugly one in that family.

fintail

The 2CV is tolerable in a bug like way, it's cheerful. The Dyane is just unhappy looking. I think happy and unhappy looks go a long way with ugly cars.

andys120

Mr_Shiftright

C Pillar is a giveaway so I'll shut up for this one. Actually nicer looking than a Corvair because it's cleaner. don't like the hubcaps though.

fredmcmurray

Front view of the same model?