Help identifying a strange little car

[Dapster]

Fastdruid said:

Has anyone managed to tie the year the photo was taken down?

It has to be >1955 Due to the DS

My classic cars identification isn't that good though, I see a 4CV and a >1952 Traction Avant. Anything newer than 1955?

To the left of the DS is a Peugeot 203 and then a Pug 403 (white saloon) which was launched in '55 too.

[crossy67]

Might sound like a crazy idea but if anyone's passing by, maybe on a Le Mans trip, why not call into the local shops and post the picture asking the locals. It will have been someones fathers car at some time.

[Dr Interceptor]

Falcon 515

[Fastdruid]

Looks more Caribbean than 515 to me.



A lot of details are right but it's still not it.

[Orangecurry]

Nahhhhh - proportions are way off - the key point is that all of the known cars are in-proportion - the mystery car is a dog.

Look at the size of the windows, thickness of roof, and rear roofline into the rear wing. None of it looks 'right'.

And therefore almost certainy a one-off.

[Dr Interceptor]

Fastdruid said:

Looks more Caribbean than 515 to me.



A lot of details are right but it's still not it.

The gap between the a-pillar and the front arch is too big, I know... it just looks so close.

[Orangecurry]

Look in particular at the bumpers - front and rear, both curve up slightly - awful bodge job

[jammy_basturd]

Dr Interceptor said:

Falcon 515

Looks quite close, but the rear seems too long.

I'd say the Falcon Caribbean is a better fit - http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/falconcaribbean.htm

[MarshPhantom]

Orangecurry said:

Look in particular at the bumpers - front and rear, both curve up slightly - awful bodge job

But the rear end looks accident damaged and a few people are of the opinion that the front "bumper" and "headlights" may be something attached to the rear of the car in front. If you look at the offside edge of the bonnet the wing appears to slope down towards the front of mystery car

[Orangecurry]

Accident - certainly

Look at the bonnet line where it rises toward the windscreen - is that real, in which case the bonnet looks accident damaged as well.... which would match the front headlight, if it isn't part of the black car.

I'm still saying the origin of the car is likely to be a war-damaged car pressed into service with a hacked roof, but seeing it's abandoned outside the pub, perhaps it's also an accident from Jacques having too many Pastis last night.

Not pasties.

ETA look also at the slight vertical crease in the front wing above the wheel - more evidence for a frontal impact?

Edited by Orangecurry on Friday 6th November 14:06

[ajprice]

Hmm, looking at that close up picture, the front looks like part of the car, not the black car's luggage rack, and it looks like it has seen better days, front and rear.

[eldar]

jammy_basturd said:

Looks quite close, but the rear seems too long.

I'd say the Falcon Caribbean is a better fit - http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/falconcaribbean.htm

Not that, I think, its fibreglass - the big dent at the rear looks wrong for fibreglass and right for steel.

A very frustrating thread, this

[Dr Interceptor]

Here's an early Karmann Ghia prototype...

Wrong shape rear end, but again, it has some similarities.

[Dr Interceptor]

...another Karmann Ghia prototype... they made a lot of different shapes.

[Orangecurry]

Dr Interceptor said:

Wrong shape rear end, but again, it has some similarities.

similarities... like hubcaps?

It's a good job some of you are not detectives....

Defense Lawyer said:

So Detective Sergeant, what evidence do you have to support your claim that my client is the bank robber?

Plod said:

Eeeeee's got similarities M'lud to the man in the blurred CCTV-still that we 'ave

Defense Lawyer said:

You mean he has arms and legs?

[Dr Interceptor]

Orangecurry said:

Dr Interceptor said:

Wrong shape rear end, but again, it has some similarities.

similarities... like hubcaps?

The angle of the windscreen, the distance between the a-pillar and front wheel arch, the squared off rear arch and curved front one.

I don't see you solving it?

[Blackpuddin]

Wimille? Only 20 or so were made and I can't find any pics that are an exact match but the front end looks similar. Could he have built a one-off?

[marshalla]

All of the coupés posted so far are close, but lack one essential thing (IMNSHO) - that huge "forehead" above the windscreen. It's as if someone has taken a nicely styled roofline and raised it to accommodate a tall driver.

[nicanary]

Orangecurry said:

Dr Interceptor said:

Wrong shape rear end, but again, it has some similarities.

similarities... like hubcaps?

It's a good job some of you are not detectives....

Defense Lawyer said:

So Detective Sergeant, what evidence do you have to support your claim that my client is the bank robber?

Plod said:

Eeeeee's got similarities M'lud to the man in the blurred CCTV-still that we 'ave

Defense Lawyer said:

You mean he has arms and legs?

This is an excellent post. Some of the guesses have been hardly worth bothering with.

It must be post-1956, because the latest car in the photo is a Dauphine, introduced that year. It could well be dated from around the running of the Le Mans 24-hours, since we know that that is the area of the town. It's possible therefore that the car was the property of someone in the racing fraternity who was staying in the area.

I still think that the bodywork is far too simple in style and finish to be anything from a quality coachbuilder. It may be unpainted aluminium. Everything points to it being a one-off, very probably built by an enthusiast in a local garage. Front-engined IMHO, very possibly Panhard powered.

That's my two-pennorth, again.

[Orangecurry]

Totally - and what seems to be being ignored is the large front overhang - all of the well-constructed coupes we have seen have a tiny front overhang.