#davidsdailycar

A few days ago, I featured the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus and I mentioned to @DesRoin@geekdom.social that Vauxhall produced a similar model in the form of the Chevette 2300 HS. Both were small rear-wheel drive cars with high-performance sixteen-valve engines. The Sunbeam’s engine came from Lotus while the HS’ was Vauxhall’s own but the two engines had an intertwined history, and some competition versions of the Vauxhall used Lotus cylinder heads. Pic: #BritishMotorMuseum #Vauxhall #WeirdCarMastodon #davidsdailycar

Another Peugeot estate today, the 505, which was introduced in 1982, three years after the saloon. In those days, Peugeot invested heavily in optimising its estate models, so the 505 Break got a longer wheelbase than the saloon, and a completely different rear suspension. This handsome Portuguese-registered eight-seat Familiale model came all the way to the UK for the Festival of the Unexceptional in 2023. #davidsdailycar #Peugeot #FOTU #WeirdCarMastodon

Today we move on to the Peugeot 104, the predecessor of yesterday’s 205. The 104 was introduced as a compact but roomy four-door in 1972 but the following year, Peugeot launched the much shorter coupé model seen here. This one was at the Festival of the Unexceptional this summer. I wasn’t able to get to #FOTU myself so these photos are from my friend @seanogrady@mstdn.social. My dad’s 1978 305 of fond memory was this colour. #davidsdailycar #Peugeot #WeirdCarMastodon

In 1969, the 912 model featured yesterday was replaced as Porsche’s entry level car by this, the VW-Porsche 914, which I snapped at Techno Classica in 2019. This is a rare 914/6 version which used a less powerful version of the 911’s flat six, but the vast majority of 914s were 914/4s, which had a two-litre four-cylinder VW boxer engine from the Volkswagen Type 411/412, rather than the old Porsche four used in the 356 and 912. (1/2) #davidsdailycar #VW #Porsche #WeirdCarMastodon

After I posted yesterday’s Australian-built Vauxhall VXR8, @mack505@feistycricket.org mentioned that similar rebadged Holdens such as the last Pontiac GTO were sold in the US as well. Another was a specialised police cruiser that revived a famous Chevrolet model name - Caprice. Here’s an earlier Chevy Caprice from that line’s heyday, the handsome big-selling 1977-1990 third-gen model, which I saw at Harpenden’s Cars on the Common recently. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

Today, the final post in our journey through seven decades and eight generations of Chevrolet Corvette. The C8, introduced in 2019, represents a radical break from previous Corvettes because it drops the traditional front engine/rear drive set-up in favour of a mid-engined layout. Also the first Corvette to be offered straight from the factory with the option of right-hand drive. Seen at Cars in the Park in Lichfield last month. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

After I posted yesterday’s photo of the Chevrolet Corvette C1, I headed off to Classics on the Common in Harpenden in Hertfordshire. There, among hundreds of fine classics, I saw this very similar Corvette C1, although this one, in white, has a completely different colour scheme. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

Today, another American high-performance car that’s made it to Europe - the first-generation Chevrolet Corvette C1. I saw this ca. 1960 car at Techno Classica Essen in 2014. Earlier C1s had single headlights. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

Today, we’re sticking with Mopar but switching brands to Dodge. Google Image Search tells me that this is a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Seen recently in my local Waitrose car park. #davidsdailycar #Dodge #WeirdCarMastodon

After yesterday’s MCV Evora bus, another couple of vehicles that aren’t Lotuses but have a Lotus connection. When Lotus stopped making the Seven, the rights to the design were bought by Caterham, which has produced ‘official’ Sevens since 1973. A number of unofficial designs inspired by the Seven have also been produced, including these Westfields, seen at Cars in the Park in Lichfield recently. #davidsdailycar #Westfield #Lotus

As a couple of people pointed out, the Elise-based Lotus Europa from the 2000s in yesterday’s post was the second Lotus to carry the Europa badge. Here is the original mid-engined Europa, first introduced in 1966. That long raised engine cover was required to accommodate the longitudinally mounted engine/gearbox combination borrowed from the Renault 16. Pic: Cars in the Park, Lichfield, earlier this month. #davidsdailycar #Lotus #WeirdCarMastodon

Yesterday, I mentioned that later-generation Hyundai Sonatas didn’t come to the UK - although earlier versions did. This car isn’t a Sonata but it has a Sonata connection - it’s the original Kia Magentis, which is a lightly modified fourth-generation Sonata, thought to be the first example of Hyundai/Kia platform sharing after the two companies combined in 1998. I snapped this 2001/2 Magentis at a Kia event for UK journalists last year. #davidsdailycar #Kia #Hyundai #WeirdCarMastodon

Another odd example of someone importing the Japanese domestic version of a car that was sold officially in the UK anyway. In fact, the European version of the second-generation Honda Fit (Jazz in the UK) was actually built in Britain, so very much an example of ‘coals to Newcastle’. Saw this one in my local railway station car park yesterday. #davidsdailycar #Honda #WeirdCarMastodon

After I posted the Toyota Alphard and Lexus LM350h, @Aaron_David@universeodon.com mentioned that he owns another Japanese MPV, the Nissan Serena. I had a bit of a rummage and found these photos of a Serena that I saw in my local Sainsbury’s car park last year. The first-generation Serena was officially imported into the UK by Nissan but later models like this one came via unofficial channels. #davidsdailycar #Nissan #WeirdCarMastodon

RE: https://mastodon.online/@davidwilkins/116822769040932500 #DavidsDailyCar

Not all Jaguars were offered in Daimler-badged form. This unrealised prototype from 1986 explored how a Daimler version of the XJ-S might look. Note the alternative roof-line which does away with the XJ-S’ distinctive ‘flying buttress’ rear pillars. Snapped at the 2023 NEC Classic Motor Show. #davidsdailycar #Daimler #WeirdCarMastodon