Another mystery car
Discussion
threespires said:
Something that confuses me and is illustrated in these two pictures.
Notice how the rear wheel encroaches into the passenger compartment of the Mystery car
I can't see how the designer managed to get a seat in there.
..And on similar lines, looking at the height of the bonnet, the amount of front wheel clearance, the rear wheel position (if it's impounding on the cockpit area, perhaps the front seats are quite inset/touching each other with not much of a transmission tunnel) and the rear overhang - then it's quite likely to be rear engined?Notice how the rear wheel encroaches into the passenger compartment of the Mystery car
I can't see how the designer managed to get a seat in there.
threespires said:
I agree, the bonnet line is extremely low. If rear engined, how does the cooling work I wonder.
If the bonnet line is low, and there's not much room for a transmission tunnel, the we're back to front-engined/front-wheel drive, flat-twin territory. I'm still backing a Panhard engined French car.
Shades of Devin about it too : http://www.cliffreuter.com/etceteriniBillDevincars...
But then, in period, everyone was playing around with similar styling anyway.
But then, in period, everyone was playing around with similar styling anyway.
galro said:
As I posted in another forum I think the frontal styling might have been inspired by this drawing from the 1959 book sportscar of the future.
[/img]
Good shout. The doors appear quite similar too - a distinctive part of which being the leading edge that is fore of the front window pillar and fore of where you'd naturally expect the A-pillar to be.[/img]
I've been looking at a few NZ cars, Buckler and De Joux designs; some front similarities but no.
My go-to man for this type of thing who seems to specialise in GRP cars of the 50/60s etc has stated that it's just not any sort of 'production' car and must be a one-off; otherwise he'd know what it is.
I think the drawing and the car in the picture have four similarities: Both have a drivers door that are cut in to the roof, both have a wraparound windshield, both have a combination of angular hooded headlights and otherwise rounded front ends, and both have a rear wheel well that have been pushed so far forward that it cuts into the drivers door and effectively means that the driver will have to share the space (either next to or on top of) with the rear wheels. All these are quite unusual features and I have never seen them combined before, which is why I think that drawing is the likely inspiration for it.
I can see what you are thinking of, but I'm 100% sure it is a stripe and just not a reflection. However if it is a stripe then it could suggest that the car is lft as it seems likely that the stripes lines up with the driver. It also suggest that the design is either American or the owner wanted to give it a American look given that blue with white stripes are their racing colors and I would imagine that this was common knowledge at the time.
It probably do not help all that much, but it is fun speculating none the less.
It probably do not help all that much, but it is fun speculating none the less.
threespires said:
Is this the first time a car has beaten everybody?
I've known of one-off cars being identified on these pages before, but it seems that this one could be the one that got away.
No. There's this one as well : http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...I've known of one-off cars being identified on these pages before, but it seems that this one could be the one that got away.
marshalla said:
No. There's this one as well : http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Ah yes I remember that one too, thanks..Frustrating innit?
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