Another mystery car

Author
Discussion

nicanary

9,751 posts

145 months

Tuesday 26th November 2019
quotequote all
I know, I know, I know.........obviously this isn't the car, but there are styling cues. Edmond Pery was the founder of Apal cars in Belgium, who built pretty little coupes powered by all manner of stuff. This is an early work of his, Panhard based, which has the cowled headlamps, wraparound screen and Ace-style wheel covers. His later work was more rounded in shape, but could our mystery car be an interim design?


threespires

Original Poster:

4,289 posts

210 months

Tuesday 26th November 2019
quotequote all
That's an interesting one!

CanAm

9,114 posts

271 months

Tuesday 26th November 2019
quotequote all
Those three styling cues were unfortunately very common in the late 50s/early 60s.

nicanary

9,751 posts

145 months

Tuesday 26th November 2019
quotequote all
CanAm said:
Those three styling cues were unfortunately very common in the late 50s/early 60s.
Accepted. IMHO Apal would be the type of company which may have built the mystery car..

Dr G

15,159 posts

241 months

Friday 29th November 2019
quotequote all
Apal an interesting find, I like that this one:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1968-apal-horizo...

...at a glance has doors extending into the roof.

threespires

Original Poster:

4,289 posts

210 months

Friday 29th November 2019
quotequote all
Dr G said:
Apal an interesting find, I like that this one:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1968-apal-horizo...

...at a glance has doors extending into the roof.
That's a mix of allsorts I think.☺

acbluemarlin

8 posts

101 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
I can't help thinking this is Triumph based rather than anything else. The one piece flip front bonnet seems to be more like that than anything else. The Triumph Herald was around from 1959 and the original Bond Equipe was launched in May 1963, which has some of the features of this car, but is less fussy in detail and more productionised - I can imagine a project meeting where someone says "we'll need to lose the wrap around screen and gullwing doors lads". Could this have been inspiration for the Equipe, or even an early prototype? How does Herald wheelbase compare to the projections made from the photo's? The car has some of the "on tiptoe" stance I've always associated with Bond Equipes and I think Bond was mentioned as a possiblity quite early in the thread.

Had to get that off my chest, now I'll wait for it to be pointed out that I missed something on page 40 of the thread that makes clear the only thing it can't be is a Bond or anything Triumph based :-)

Edited to say that according to the Bond owners club website there were at least seven pre-production cars built prior to launch of the original GT 2+2 in May 1963 and two of them were "powder blue" SRN988 and TCK301. CK and RN both being Preston registrations, which makes sense.

Edited by acbluemarlin on Monday 2nd December 20:37

threespires

Original Poster:

4,289 posts

210 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
acbluemarlin said:
I can't help thinking this is Triumph based rather than anything else. The one piece flip front bonnet seems to be more like that than anything else. The Triumph Herald was around from 1959 and the original Bond Equipe was launched in May 1963, which has some of the features of this car, but is less fussy in detail and more productionised - I can imagine a project meeting where someone says "we'll need to lose the wrap around screen and gullwing doors lads". Could this have been inspiration for the Equipe, or even an early prototype? How does Herald wheelbase compare to the projections made from the photo's? The car has some of the "on tiptoe" stance I've always associated with Bond Equipes and I think Bond was mentioned as a possiblity quite early in the thread.

Had to get that off my chest, now I'll wait for it to be pointed out that I missed something on page 40 of the thread that makes clear the only thing it can't be is a Bond or anything Triumph based :-)
It certainly has the Equipe look about it.
What amazes me is that the car has been placed on multiple sites world wide, nobody has solved the puzzle. Yet folks post a 1920's car of which just a handful were made & they get ID'd immediately!
☺☺

Digby

8,230 posts

245 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
acbluemarlin said:
Had to get that off my chest, now I'll wait for it to be pointed out that I missed something on page 40 of the thread that makes clear the only thing it can't be is a Bond or anything Triumph based :-)
Must admit, my searches more or less started with this...


threespires

Original Poster:

4,289 posts

210 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
Digby said:
Must admit, my searches more or less started with this...

I like that!

CanAm

9,114 posts

271 months

Monday 2nd December 2019
quotequote all
Dr G said:
Apal an interesting find, I like that this one:

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1968-apal-horizo...

...at a glance has doors extending into the roof.
Another angle shows it's actually got a lift off roof panel.

lowdrag

12,869 posts

212 months

Tuesday 3rd December 2019
quotequote all
borrani72 said:
MatthewBarnett said:
borrani72 said:
Wheel base orange car approx 90" width to outside of wheels 54" measured roughly 15" crossply tyres]
Is the track the same front and rear?

I've input the basic dimensions and can't get a proper match between the wheels/ track width on the CAD model and that in the photo's.

It looks as though the back axle is a few inches narrower. If you can get at it, it would be interesting to see whether what I think the CAD model is telling me matches the real car.


The windscreen is shorter front to back than the Minx rear window (ie more upright), so I'm thinking it's possibly a Vauxhall F-Type Victor windscreen.



I'll post a few images once I'm a little further along with it, but at the moment it looks like the car is about 100mm lower at scuttle height, as well as having the wider track and longer wheelbase.
Not a shadow of doubt. It's a Vauxhall Victor. Look at the chrome strips which in the main were in line front and back. I think it was only the Victor had them at different levels




Screens like that, curved at the sides, didn't last long because the refraction of headlights in your eyes was dazzling. The style came from the USA of course and it was when it became possible to fabricate curved not straight glass, like the difference between an XK140 and 150 or a Mk VII and VIII. They just went a bit too far though!



Edited by lowdrag on Tuesday 3rd December 12:36

MatthewBarnett

13 posts

99 months

Saturday 14th December 2019
quotequote all

Pericoloso

44,044 posts

162 months

Saturday 14th December 2019
quotequote all
Can't compare this latest suggestion as the OP pic has gone thanks to photo bucket.
I'm not looking through 1800 posts loooking for it.

CanAm

9,114 posts

271 months

Saturday 14th December 2019
quotequote all
Pericoloso said:
Can't compare this latest suggestion as the OP pic has gone thanks to photo bucket.
I'm not looking through 1800 posts loooking for it.
Here's my good deed for the day (it beats watching Strictly) smile


Pericoloso

44,044 posts

162 months

Saturday 14th December 2019
quotequote all
Thanks CanAm.
It's not a match though.
I read the letter on the 50s Ferrari too.......cool

SunbeamSteve

204 posts

65 months

Friday 20th December 2019
quotequote all
This is quite interesting if you read the first few paragraphs.
It's a pity there isn't a photo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apal

No ideas for a name

2,160 posts

85 months

Friday 20th December 2019
quotequote all
SunbeamSteve said:
This is quite interesting if you read the first few paragraphs.
It's a pity there isn't a photo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apal
As far as I can tell, this is the '61 Apal GT Coupé. From what I read, there was a non-porsche version too... that may be of interest.


Reference: https://silodrome.com/apal-porsche-car

SunbeamSteve

204 posts

65 months

Friday 20th December 2019
quotequote all
I thought that but it doesn't look like it has gullwing doors, I stand to be corrected though, said the man in orthopaedic shoes.
Also a few styling cues, the shape of the door, and the air intake behind the rear window.

Edited by SunbeamSteve on Friday 20th December 19:34

Swedishjames

7 posts

69 months

Thursday 30th January 2020
quotequote all
Bringing this thread into the new decade.

Still no closer to an answer but continuing the line of discussion above...

Posted previously, I can't help but think that this car created by Edmond Pery (pre-Apal) has something about it that is reminiscent of the mystery car:



I have been digging into the Apal side of things, and whilst I can't find anything definitive (surprise surprise) I have found a few interesting images of cars that he made in the late 1950's (including one with removable T-tops).






Yes, the features (fins, wraparound screen etc) are common for the era but I still feel it worthy of a post.

There is something about the overall look of the cars that is reminiscent, plus he was clearly a talented chap who built quite a few one offs (including a mysterious gullwing that I cannot find any images of).

Can't help but think the mystery car is almost like a missing link between the early cars and the Apal Coupe (wishful thinking!).

Again, nothing but speculation, but it's all good fun.

Edited by Swedishjames on Thursday 30th January 21:31


Edited by Swedishjames on Thursday 30th January 21:35