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

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TIL in the early 80s Volvo made a prototype 760 Group A touring car, before deciding to stick with the 240.

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I had no idea Mercedes-Benz created a coupe out of the W100 series 600 sedan in 1966. Apparently they were testing the response to such a car, but decided not to put it into production. Thankfully it still exists and is in the hands of a private collector. Here's the full story. A shame it never made it to production. It looks great.

 
I recently re-watched the movie "Rush" and when watching Niki Lauda's Nurburgring crash, I noticed a Porsche 911 pulled up. Initially, I thought it was a pace car or something. So, I looked it up and learned that it was actually a fire engine.

I guess it makes sense to have this on the Nordschleife, it probably would arrive to a flaming wreck faster than a fire truck.
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and while looking up the 911, I also apparently learned that there was a 914 Fire Engine too.
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1955 300SLS Prototype. This chassis started life as a Gullwing, but was modified by the factory into a Roadster. In order to keep the chassis stiffness, the car used larger gauge tubes compared to the Gullwing. Notice the windscreen is angled differently than a production Roadster, and the shifter lever is much longer than what was used later on.
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Heldenzeit
1955 300SLS Prototype. This chassis started life as a Gullwing, but was modified by the factory into a Roadster. In order to keep the chassis stiffness, the car used larger gauge tubes compared to the Gullwing. Notice the windscreen is angled differently than a production Roadster, and the shifter lever is much longer than what was used later on. View attachment 900015 View attachment 900016 View attachment 900017
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Why the hell was this not produced by the factory? It's easily the best variation of the 300SL.
 
Still not as pretty as the 190SL, however. That one is the real beauty.
 
VXR
Still not as pretty as the 190SL, however.
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Few things are. 300s are a bit too "scarabesque" at the rear for my liking, and 190s simply don't have that issue by virtue of the more pontooned quarter panels. They're rather early '50s Dodge/Plymouth.

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GTboyz
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1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona 427 Super Coupe.

427 cu 485 HP. Meant to replace the legendary Cobra Daytona but due to production fell short, they weren't able to debut this car. Designed by Peter Brock.

With no offense to Mr. Brock, I think this looks horrible. If the rear axle is moved further to the back a bit I think it would look better, but I'm no Peter Brock...
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I'm gonna be honest. I think it looks awesome. it's odd proportions sell it for me.
 
Venturi Heritage GT3 2006
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Based on the look of the Atlantique cars from the 90s, this was a carbon tub with an MTM tuned supercharged 4.2 litre Audi V8. It tested once and that was all it ever did.
 
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Another South American Mopar--the Dodge Polara of Argentina. An A-body like the Magnum above, this one got unique sheetmetal and was powered by a slant six or, in top trim GTX, a 318-inch LA small block V8. Available from 1969 to 1980.
 
TexRex
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It's clearly an A-body, but rather than a Dart/Valiant, it's a Dodge Magnum sold in Brazil from 1979 to 1981. And I'm really loving that interior.
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So much joy with fabric interiors. Here's hoping the latest EVs bring that "artistry" back into newer cars.
 
TexRex
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Another South American Mopar--the Dodge Polara of Argentina. An A-body like the Magnum above, this one got unique sheetmetal and was powered by a slant six or, in top trim GTX, a 318-inch LA small block V8. Available from 1969 to 1980.
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There are so many interesting cars from south of the US border, someone could probably make a dedicated thread about it. "Cars of Mexico, Central and South America."
 
1990 Biagini Passo

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Arguably the first ever crossover convertible, the Biagini Passo was a reworked version of the 4WD Volkswagen Golf Country by the small Italian coachbuilder, Biagini. It was powered by a 1.8L I4 making 100hp. It is estimated that somewhere between 100 to 300 of these were produced.​
 
That head-on shot made me think it was an Olds concept at first. Killer side-view proportions, though.
 
GranTurNismo
2003 Mercury Messenger Concept. Designed by Gerry McGovern, an aluminum 2-seat sports coupé that was supposed to represents the “first expression of Mercury’s new design DNA”. Powered by the 4.6L modular V8 making 302hp, just like the Mercury Marauder.

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The A90 Supra looks eerily close to that front 3/4 pic. More so the Supra's headlights to the canopy.
 
Cristobal1234
Oldsmobile Incas Concept 1986

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It's like Mazda AZ-1 meets futuristic space shuttle! I honestly would never have expected this sort of design from Oldsmobile; I love this.
 
I find it odd that it would be an oldsmobile concept with a kph speedometer... perhaps a mis-label?
 
Zychotic1
I find it odd that it would be an oldsmobile concept with a kph speedometer... perhaps a mis-label?
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It was created by Italdesign, not Oldsmobile, which probably explains the instruments being metric.
 
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