Cars that were 'oh so close' to market...

[LDN]

I'm always intrigued by cars that very nearly made it to market but didn't out of circumstance... the money and time spent on development only to be flushed down the lavvy.

I just found out about this and hadn't heard of it before. The 'Firepower' (what a name) Based on the Dodge Viper, with a 6.1 V8 and 0-60 in 4.5 seconds...

EDITED to add; it was apparently approved and was all set for manufacture... so more than just a concept car.

Concept:


In reality:


Rear end; a bit Aston Martin:


Any others worthy of note and worth a mention, that I might have missed !?

Edited by LDN on Tuesday 13th April 15:05

[paul26982]

waits the crazy ford, forgot the name

[varsas]

The large rover that was ready to go but pulled over fears that it would steal sales from the XJ.

BMW E34 M5 Cabriolet, pulled at pretty much the last minute for fears it would eat into M3 sales. Various M5 tourings were announced and canned.

[LDN]

varsas said:

The large rover that was ready to go but pulled over fears that it would steal sales from the XJ.

HMM, didn't know about that one, any name?

[anonymous-user]

paul26982 said:

waits the crazy ford, forgot the name

Iosis?

[jdw1234]

Dave_ST220 said:

paul26982 said:

waits the crazy ford, forgot the name

Iosis?

GT90

[LDN]

jdw1234 said:

Dave_ST220 said:

paul26982 said:

waits the crazy ford, forgot the name

Iosis?

GT90

AHH yes, I remember that but how close was it to market, if ever? I believe it was pure concept car through and through.

[anonymous-user]

LDN said:

jdw1234 said:

Dave_ST220 said:

paul26982 said:

waits the crazy ford, forgot the name

Iosis?

GT90

AHH yes, I remember that but how close was it to market, if ever? I believe it was pure concept car through and through.

GT90 was never going into production IIRC, Iosis in basically the latest Mondeo toned down.

[varsas]

LDN said:

varsas said:

The large rover that was ready to go but pulled over fears that it would steal sales from the XJ.

HMM, didn't know about that one, any name?

just had a quick look, I think it's this:

http://www.aronline.co.uk/index.htm?rovsd5f.htm

the P8. Seems a shame, at the time Land Rover could have used the money for any number of things.

[RichBurley]

Whatever happened to that VW campervan for the 21st Century that nearly got manufactured?

[LDN]

Dave_ST220 said:

LDN said:

jdw1234 said:

Dave_ST220 said:

paul26982 said:

waits the crazy ford, forgot the name

Iosis?

GT90

AHH yes, I remember that but how close was it to market, if ever? I believe it was pure concept car through and through.

GT90 was never going into production IIRC, Iosis in basically the latest Mondeo toned down.

I thought that Iosis was the new Focus with some funky doors, certainly seemed closer in size VS a Mondeo.

[Beefmeister]

RichBurley said:

Whatever happened to that VW campervan for the 21st Century that nearly got manufactured?

This:



It's rumoured that it's still going to be made...


It still kills me that this wasn't made:



Having spoken to guys in Torino who were on the project, it was sooooo tantalisingly close to production, based on the Punto platform, but was shelved so it was on the next platform, then fell foul of the cost cutting exercises within Fiat...

Rumours still circulate around Torino about it resurfacing - i really hope it does.

[The Wookie]

particularly with the Evora thread in mind

[james_tigerwoods]

How close was that ^^^^ ?

And I can't seem to find a picture of what the XJ220 should have been (V12, etc) - I won't shamelessly post up a photo of an XJR15 though

[Steameh]

james_tigerwoods said:

How close was that ^^^^ ?

And I can't seem to find a picture of what the XJ220 should have been (V12, etc) - I won't shamelessly post up a photo of an XJR15 though

I thought they made the SV, you can actually buy examples I believe.

[peterattheboro]

james_tigerwoods said:

How close was that ^^^^ ?

And I can't seem to find a picture of what the XJ220 should have been (V12, etc) - I won't shamelessly post up a photo of an XJR15 though

That made production I think. Not very many made though.

[AndrewW-G]

james_tigerwoods said:

How close was that ^^^^ ?

IIRC it was in production and selling, albeit in small numbers when the government allowed Rover to be killed off.

By all accounts a very interesting car and one that looks fantastic on the road if your lucky to drive or see one

[Marf]

Daihatsu/De Tomaso 926R. Canned due to Group B being canned.

[Mr Gear]

The only one I've ever seen is this one that races at Santa Pod http://mgsv-club.com/images/Buildlistimages/101s.j...

[LDN]

I remember seeing that MG in a mag yonks ago... very bold and I believe stupidly fast, no?

Edited by LDN on Tuesday 13th April 15:41