You learn something new... - Cars you didn't know existed, until now!

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Toyota EX7

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A 1970 Toyota concept with the same 5.0L V8 from the Toyota 7. In the MR concept it produced 450 HP.
 
Just to preface, that there is an Mk1 Jetta is not news to me.

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The only Mk1--and frankly, the only watercooled--Volkswagen that has ever really appealed to me is the Caddy (Rabbit pickup). That may have changed, as I just saw an Mk1 Jetta at the gas station after dinner tonight.

As I said, they're not new to me, but I only just noticed that crease that bends from the top of the quarter panel, up into the pillar just aft of the door shut line. I just assumed they were like the Mk2s, but no, and I really like this detail. It almost seems as though there should be a vent or something in the flat area that remains, but the design benefits greatly by the lack of any such thing.

I just wish it'd occurred to me to snap a pic then, as it was terribly difficult finding an unmolested example with that feature easily seen.
 
Right, this one should be an interesting one, and probably quite unheard of in countries that weren't involved with the Soviet Union or, to some extent, Europe
This is the МАЗ-2000 "Перестройка" or, if we wanna use English letters, the MAZ-2000 "Perestroika" .
It's spelled with an "i" in English and on the trailer but the pronunciation is closer to a "y".
It was made in 1988, and it was intended to be a concept for a roadtrain(yes, roadtrain), but it wasn't exactly what you'd call conventional.
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As you can already see, the design was far from mundane, no matter if you're comparing it to trucks from 1988, or from present day. I'd imagine that someone could mistake it for an unused Back To The Future prop even. The design itself was made with aerodynamics in mind, streamlined for fuel efficiency, and also speed, to the point of wheel covers being present on this specific design. The top speed was 120 km/h, and while that might seem slow for a truck nowadays, the top speeds of trucks back then, like the Mercedes NG or the Scania 3-series were closer to just 90 km/h. Even though you probably wouldn't get to use the top speed in the 2000 with a speed limiter installed.
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^ A closer look at the truck itself, also showcasing that the cabin sliding doors, and a badge which tells you that the truck uses an MAN engine.
This specific design appeared at the 1988 Paris Motor Show(called "Mondial de l'Automobile" at the time) actually, and as far as I can tell, the truck received high praise, to the point that it was awarded a gold medal in terms of technical solutions.
Now, as i've pointed out, the truck has wheel covers, even on the front wheels, so if we were to assume that the truck would have used the steering system seen is just about most other vehicles, that the wheel covers would prevent the wheels from turning, and they would.
But of course, it's not like the designers didn't notice, infact, they've had a different plan.
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...Yep, this is how it steers, couldn't have won a gold medal at an autoshow if it couldn't steer, could it?
According to a scale model of the truck, the trailer's rearmost axle could also potentially steer?
You see, the MAZ-2000 wasn't assembled like most other trucks, in a normal truck, you'd have the truck itself, and a trailer that you hitch onto it from some company.
The Perestroika, however, was divided into modules.
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^ Interestingly, the initial prototype, despite not having wheel covers, attempted to extend the panels on the lower part of the trailer
^^ Presumably this was changed for an easier time with the steering radius.
First you have the cabin module, necessary for a driver to be able to actually drive the thing, along with a seat for a passanger of course, secondly it had its own trailer module, which is necessary for being able to carry and deliver stuff like a normal truck, as well as the previously-mentioned aerodynamics, and last but most definitely not the least, the hauling module, which has the 12-speed manual gearbox, the previously-shown steering, and the engine, a 290hp flat 6-cylinder diesel with 1200 N m of torque, all of which are quite obviously necessary to make it go anywhere.
The problem with the module idea came in the form of, not only the steering being complex to work with in traffic and other tight places, but also everything in the hauling module being hard to repair. But to be fair, Europe already decided to go with caboover trucks which are less easy to tinker with compared to longnose trucks
But with more of the second and the third modules, you'd be able to change the 2000 from a single-trailer truck to something closer to an actual roadtrain.
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Conveniently, this photo not only demonstrates the usage of extra modules, but also a later, alternate design. Which seems to have sacrificed some of the aerodynamics to make it look somewhat closer to a regular truck and presumably to cut down the cost of the truck and/or the extra modules, which would have been quite necessary in a Soviet country, the more mundane design is also exactly the reason why I myself prefer the one from the three first pictures.
That said, despite the front wheels being open now, it seems to have retained the steering system from the previous design.
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...And yet the closer-to-mundane design (with a 6-wheel trailer as opposed to a 4-wheel, this was gonna be an option had the truck made it into production.) is the one that got restored in 2010 to display at the Minsk vehicle factory, the aerodynamic variant being previously scrapped for metal. It got a makeover in the restoration process, too, with the red cab and the black hauling module.
"And yet these types of trucks are nowhere to be seen on the roads, so what happened?"
The fall of the Soviet Union, that's what! Once it fell, the MAZ Perestroika project was "halted" for good.
"...But it was shown in France, so everyone else had to have seen the idea, right? And it has potential, so why didn't other brands attempt to make their own modular trucks?"
That's a fair point, and MAZ didn't seem to patent the concept of a modular roadtrain, but the problem here is that you'd need to severely redesign the infrastructure of freight transport, as well as the standards of technical specifications and requirements for trucks for a modular roadtrain to be even considered anywhere else.
With that said, the concept of a modular roadtrain might possibly re-emerge when there's demand for it on the off-chance a transport corridor from Europe into the Far East ends up being made, but that's most likely wishful thinking, as it would rely on two big "if" conditions.
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These are the best interior pictures that seem to be available, note how different the first one is from the other two(you might need to quote the post to see the second one, doesn't seem to appear in the preview, but if that doesn't work try this link), so we can presumably deduce that the first one is from the white-blue-orange prototype in the fourth picture, as the interior proportions match better with that one.
Should also mention that the latter two interior pics were found on a long but seemingly well-researched post on another forum, i'd imagine that it covers way more details and is possibly more accurate than my post here, as well as way more pictures, but it's also in Russian so serious translation would be required. and this post took long enough to write and probably read already.
 
Pontiac "Super Duty 4" (or SD4)​
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I know this isn't quite a car, but there doesn't seem to be any better place to put this so here goes. The Super Duty 4 was the last in Pontiac's legendary Super Duty engine legacy, with the name being tied to powerful, specialty racing-grade engines. Previously they had all been V8s, such as the 421 and 455 from the golden age of muscle cars, but by the 1980s Pontiac only had the 2.5L four cylinder "Iron Duke" to it's name. The Iron Duke in itself was derived from essentially cutting an Oldsmobile 301 V8 in half, though parts from the two engines are not compatible; this wasn't the first time Pontiac had dabbled in four pots however, as they had conceived a 161 cubic-inch engine, also derived from a V8 (though in this case Pontiac's own 389) and planned to support it with performance parts, but it never saw production. Here, the normally anemic 90hp four was massively modified, with a much better flowing aluminum cylinder head, higher compression ratio, more aggressive cam, and an increased displacement (as if 2.5L wasn't big already) (I also wish I could divulge more details on differences from the normal version, but info on this engine is hard to come by). The first application of this engine was the 1984 Fiero Pace Car where it featured a 2.7L SD4 rated at 272hp, and later was installed in the Spice Engineering SE86 GTP and Fiero GTO/GTU also developed by Spice for IMSA racing.
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However, there was one more evolution the SD4 saw during it's life span:
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This was no ordinary SD4, rather a special DOHC 16-valve version developed with Cosworth, marking the first time GM worked with them since the 1970s. This version was punched out further to 3.0L, and put out around 330hp all while revving well over 8,000 RPM; certainly a far cry from the production version that abhorred spinning above 3,000. Now, you could technically buy SD4 parts from Pontiac, but they certainly didn't want any old Joe Fiero using them, with the blocks being sold "raw" and in need of being machined before they were ready to be used. There was a site by the name of Kansas Racing Products that used to make and sell SD4 parts after GM quit making them, but it doesn't seem like they offer the parts anymore. I'll finish with adding this neat old video featuring a Camel Lights car sporting an SD4:
 
Here's another interesting Porsche 911 ya'll might not know about, so gather round. Here is the Porsche 911 Turbo “RS”, commissioned by Austrian composer Herbert von Karajan in 1975. It’s a 911 with a Turbo 3.0 engine shoved into a 3.0 Carrera RS body with an RSR chassis. Why? Karajan wanted a sporty, lightweight version of the 930 Turbo which only the Carrera 3.0 RS body and RSR chassis would allow for.

It’s hard to find concrete info since I’m at work and should be working, but despite the way the car looks today and the fact that it was built using the Carrera RS 3.0 body, it was apparently delivered to Karajan with the normal 930 front and rear bumpers, only later on was the car restored and fitted with the 3.0 RS bumpers. Karajan had the Martini stripes added with the blessing of Count Rossi of Martini to use the design from the 1974 Le Mans RSR.

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Also, bonus fact, Karajan’s Turbo RS hybrid thing looks very similar to the Turbo that debuted at the 1974 Paris auto show. Here is the 930 Turbo prototype, the very first glimpse at the 930 Turbo in 1974. I dunno, I wish it actually ended up looking like this! :lol:

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The production model kept that rear wing for its first year. I prefer that to the later whaletails.
 
The Fiat Uno is a well known car here and in Europe, but I never heard of its "luxury" brazilian version, the 1.3 Comfort Super.
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Power windows, elétric door locks, monochromatic interior trim, 3 passengers upholsters, analog watch on the cluster, blinkers on the front quarters, heated air, rear window cleaner and defroster.
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It has more accessories than 95% of the Unos on the road.

And this one here was selling for R$2400..A steal!

Was...Because I just bought it ;)
 
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VXR
The production model kept that rear wing for its first year. I prefer that to the later whaletails.
Close! The wing on the concept was from the 3.0 Carrera RS, in fact the whole body was a 3.0 Carrera with a 3 liter turbo engine.
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Similar wing, but a little smaller. I agree, I like it better on the early 3.0 turbos as opposed to the 3.3's wing.
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Going through a historic rally Porsche phase at the moment, more specifically the 911s that competed in the East African Safari rally in the 70s. The real deal cars, not the trendy Safari mods you see these days, so actual cars that competed. It's very fascinating to read about these 911s, from a company that's known for road cars and dominating Le Mans, there are moments in history where Porsche went off road and was actually pretty damn good at it.

Porsche sent 2 factory prepped Safari 911 3 liter SCs to the 1978 East African Safari, both dressed in Martini liveries and modified to handle the terrain. Both cars, numbered 14 and 5, did well (#14 placed second and #5 got fourth), but the #14 car lost it's chance to place first when it damaged it's rear suspension crossing a lake and hitting a rock. Both cars are currently at the Porsche Museum, where they went immediately after the 1978 rally.
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Anyways on to the car that belongs in this thread. Before the arguably more famous 1978 factory effort at the African Safari, there was an earlier attempt at the rally in 1973 with two yellow colored Bosch liveried 2.7 RSs, to match the livery of the 917/10 competing in the Interseries championship. Those 1973 cars didn't perform so well, so Porsche sent them away to get proper upgrades to compete in a rally as demanding as the East African Safari.

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The two cars that came out of that were two safari prepped Kuhne & Nagel livery 911 2.7 RSs, for 1974. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, weather proved to be too much for many of the cars competing in that year's rally. One of these 2 911s finished the race in 2nd (just can't get that 1st place!) and the other car, #41, retired from the rally due to mud seizing the engine. Porsche felt it wasn't worth salvaging, since the car died in such a remote location, and they sold it off to a local who kept it for many years using it in other rallies.

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That car eventually ended up in the hands of Uwe Kurzenberger in a bad state. The car was restored back to former glory, and rather than putting it on display, Kurzenberger and his wife regularly take it to classic rallies! What happened to the other car I hear you ask? Turns out Kurzenberger was able to track down and buy the second one too! Crazy! I can't find pics of both cars together in their current state, but it's really cool to hear about historic cars living on today and still being used.

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The Fiat Uno is a well known car here and in Europe, but I never heard of its "luxury" brazilian version, the 1.3 Comfort Super.
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Power windows, elétric door locks, monochromatic interior trim, 3 passengers upholsters, analog watch on the cluster, blinkers on the front quarters, heated air, rear window cleaner and defroster.
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It has more accessories than 95% of the Unos on the road.

And this one here was selling for R$2400..A steal!

Was...Because I just bought it ;)
You can see them in Argentina, too.
 
While the AMC Eagle is mostly remembered in its popular wagon form, there were a few other body styles it was offered in. Starting off we have a relatively conventional sedan:
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Next is the sporty SX4 trim, only available in fastback coupe form featuring a more aggessive appearance, but no actual performance upgrades over a normal Eagle.
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The SX4 also had a short romp in the SCCA Pro-Rally championship, sporting the classic red-white-and-blue AMC racing livery.
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There was more than one hatchback form however, with the ultra rare Kammback variant grafting a later Gremlin rear end onto an Eagle coupe giving it a rather awkward look:
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Finally there is what I would consider the strangest variant, the Sundancer convertible.
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This is without a doubt the hardest version of the Eagle to find, only being produced in 1981 and 1982. The conversion was performed by the Griffith Company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and featured a rather unique double top with a removable targa panel and folding rear section as opposed to the more common single top design, though this may have been more of a byproduct of the integrated roll bar.
 
Back to boring cars, today i found out that the hybrid car Chevrolet Volt is sold in China as a Buick Velite 5. Seems that Buick is really popular in China.

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Ah, so with the Celica Toyota went from copying the Plymouth Roadrunner and Oldsmobile Toronado at the prototype stage to copying the Ford Mustang at the production stage.
 
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The Opel Adam is new to me, and with its well-placed creases and sail panel that narrows toward the bottom rather than the top (a characteristically French feature)--it's a small car done right. Floating roof trend needs to die, but I still find this car terribly handsome.
 
I don’t know if this counts, since these are well known cars in race form. But, did you know there are two converted road legal Porsche 917s? Or I should say were because one has since been converted back to race spec.

One belonged to Count Rossi of the famous Martini company. The neat thing about this car was that it had Alabama license plates on it since no European country would allow it to be registered. I dunno how that was possible, but here are photos of it on European roads with Alabama plates. Weird, but if you have the money, I’m sure anything is possible. Rumor is that despite it having legal Alabama plates, the car itself could not be driven on American roads if it were ever to be there.

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And the second (which was later re-converted back to race spec) resided in Germany. A 1970 car which had an accident at Le Mans and eventually ended up in parts to a man in Germany who reassembled it to road spec.

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Info from a Petrolicious article HERE
 
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While i have seen them several times before, i never knew what these two cars are until recently. Two South Korean brand's attempt at making Luxury cars back in the late 90's-2000's.

SsangYong Chairman H

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And there's the Hyundai Centennial

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-----
Kia also rebadged a Mazda 929 as the Kia Enterprise.

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-> The pre-facelift (Daewoo) Chairman H was so German:

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^ It was based by either the W124 & W140. With a M104 I6 engine.

-> If Daewoo/SsangYong Chairman was a heavily revised Mercedes, Hyundai Centennial/LZ450/Equus was a Mitsubishi Proudia/Dignity, Kia Potentia was a Mazda Luce, and Kia Enterprise was a Mazda Sentia/929.

-> This may be the most reliable Korean car ever made!

Daewoo Arcadia
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^ I would love to rebadge my KA8 if ever I get to buy one, and turn it into Daewoo Arcadia Coupe (steal the 'Coupe' badge from Hyundai)!

-> Heres some North Korean-inspired ads!


^ If you look closely, you might even see an 'ACURA' within the ad! lol

:D
 
Recently discovered that in the early 90s, Eunos sold Citroen products at their dealerships together with Mazdas.





Also, the 1997 Mitsubishi Pajero Jr. Flying Pug Edition. Only 1,000 units made. It was a tribute to the military-use 4x4 model from the 1930s.






TIL they made a Lantis sedan. Neat!
 
-> ...
Recently discovered that in the early 90s, Eunos sold Citroen products at their dealerships together with Mazdas.



^ Enfini, Autozam, & Eunos always gives me headaches for me to keep track of all their models! Plus, in that catalog, where is this car?

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BT -> Sure the (Lexus) SC300 was considered as a notchback Supra w/o Turbo, but I never realized that the JDM-only Soarer 2.5GT was THIS fun:



^ Manual + LSD = awesome sideways barge!
 
Recently discovered that in the early 90s, Eunos sold Citroen products at their dealerships together with Mazdas.
Autozam was similarly diverse - snapped this pic in an AZ-1 magazine I picked up in Japan. You could buy Delta Integrales and Thema 8.32s alongside AZ-1s, MX-3s and Carols...

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I've long thought they were quite appropriate bedfellows. Mazda is to the Japanese car industry much as Citroen was to the French or Lancia to Italy - a purveyor of slightly left-field, interestingly-engineered cars that you have to make a conscious decision to go for over something a bit less intriguing.
 
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