Most surprising parts sharing?

[donkmeister]

I had a couple of videos in my YouTube feed this evening that show the engine covers for at least one model each of SEAT and Skoda are VW covers with a badge stuck over the VW one; no surprise, VW have never made any secret that the parts bins are shared so a bit of trim like this it seems a cost-effective option. It got me to thinking, I'm sure I'm not alone in having had conversations with people who know that certain parts of their car are shared with another (possibly more sporting or posher) marque.

SEAT

Skoda

It gave me an idea for a thread: What is the most surprising/eyebrow-raising shared part between two marques or models of car?

We all know that if you prise a Vauxhall badge off an Insignia you can see an Opel logo underneath, that's not surprising. What I'm thinking about are things like Tesla using old E-class Mercedes Airmatic suspension, or Aston Martin using Volvo keyfobs with stickers over the Volvo logo, or someone recently posting that they tried to order a clutch for a Ferrari F50 from Maranello, were told it was out of stock but the exact same part was used in a much more common-or-garden car (I want to hear more about that one!!! )

[nickofh]

Many German brand snobs would love it to be told that their Mercedes or BMW has a fully or part French engine in it.

[donkmeister]

nickofh said:

Many German brand snobs would love it to be told that their Mercedes or BMW has a fully or part French engine in it.

Good start, be more specific though

You remind me that the Nissan 350Z and Renault Espace shared their 3.5 litre V6 (and the Nissan Elgrand MPV, too).

[ambuletz]

i'd wondered about this lately, not so much with older (pre-00s) cars but with more modern ones. especially as nowadays with modern tech it's fairly easy to design and build a part,

[555 Paul]

It used to make me laugh that Subaru used to use Mitsubishi turbo chargers on their cars. The Espace using the 350Z engine was a surprise to me too.

[Jakg]

Bit of a boring one, but the headlight washer pump on my MG ZT was also used on an E38 BMW, and on the Rolls Royce Phantom (BMW parts bin).

The genuine MGR part was £60.

Same part in a RR box was £250.

[Pericoloso]

donkmeister said:

Good start, be more specific though

You remind me that the Nissan 350Z and Renault Espace shared their 3.5 litre V6 (and the Nissan Elgrand MPV, too).

Not too surprising considering Nissan and Renault are under the same umbrella.

[greysquirrel]

Lotus are great at using any old st in the parts bin. My S1 elise had a heater matrix from a london black cab, rolls royce number plate lights, metro mirrors, vauxhall side repeaters, citreon windscreen wiper motor, rover engine and plenty more.

Edited by greysquirrel on Sunday 15th April 00:53

[DonkeyApple]

The VW Santana rear light cluster on the AM Virage was mildly entertaining but the real biscuit has to be the Rover 25 controls in the Zonda?

[Tannedbaldhead]

greysquirrel said:

Lotus are great at using any old st in the parts bin. My S1 elise had a heater matrix from a london black cab, rolls royce number plate lights, metro mirrors, vauxhall side repeaters, citreon windscreen wiper motor, rover engine and plenty more.

Edited by greysquirrel on Sunday 15th April 00:53

On the subject of Lotus the interior door handles in the Esprit were shared with the Austin Maxi and Morris Marina.

[cologne2792]

The oil filter for my 2002 Ford Ranger also lists Ferrari 308 on it's applications list.

[texaxile]

Some of my Colt lancer turbo (1981) parts are shared with the Hyundai Pony / Stella and Volvo V40 for some odd reason, and brake pads the same as an early RX7. Impreza air filters are shared with 350Z nissan models according to Cosworth.

[Butter Face]

donkmeister said:

nickofh said:

Many German brand snobs would love it to be told that their Mercedes or BMW has a fully or part French engine in it.

Good start, be more specific though

You remind me that the Nissan 350Z and Renault Espace shared their 3.5 litre V6 (and the Nissan Elgrand MPV, too).

The Mercedes A Class uses a Renault/Nissan 1.5 dci engine.

The new Smart car is basically the same as a Renault Twingo. Just different exterior and interior panels.

[alorotom]

Can’t remember the exact details and he was known for BS but in the 80s my uncle needed a part of the drive train for his TVR (who couldn’t supply one at the time) and being an engineer he got hold of the pattern and it turned out to be identical to a part on a Lada Riva

[dvs_dave]

About the biggest major component that’s shared incredibly widely are ZF automatic transmissions. A notable example is the ZF 8HP transmission is used in everything from a lowly 3-series through to the 7-series, most quattro Audi’s, Bentley’s, Rolls-Royce’s, most JLR stuff, various global market Hyundai’s, Jeep Grand Cherokee’s and even the Dodge Demon. There’s many many more on top of these few. It’s an incredibly ubiquitous component, yet no one realises as it’s not on show. Similar story with its predecessors, the 5HP and 6HP, and a few other transmission manufacturers.

Also, not many people realise that for the longest time, Porsche Tiptronic Transmissions were actually just recalibrated Mercedes automatic transmissions.

And a Gallardo really is just an Audi R8 in a frock.

[Jader1973]

Years ago I visited a supplier that made inlet manifolds. The last station on the production line was where they put the badge on. They had about 6 to choose from. The Tier 1 suppliers are very interesting from that point of view.

IIRC my Dad had a BMW Mini that had Citroen logos on bits in the engine bay.

[Graunching_dave]

The Ferrari front boot storage area light is the same as a Fiat 500 interior light and the Ferrari puddle lights in the bottoms of the door cards are the same as Fiat 500 boot lights.

Ford electric window/ seat switches used in Aston Martins, Volvos, Freelanders and Range Rover Sports.

[croyde]

I had a Citroën CX Pallas in the early 90s. I knew it shared it's wing mirrors with something exotic.

Had to look it up and found this list from another PH thread from last year.

Aston Martin DB7, Virage, Vantage, V8
Jaguar XJ220
McLaren F1
Lotus Esprit, Excel
Citroën CX
TVR Griffith, Chimera, S4

[Turbotechnic]

The late Lamborghini diablos used Nissan 300zx head lights.

[steviegunn]

MK1 MX-5 interior door handle is also found in the Aston Martin DB7.