Cars you didn't know existed...

[Puddenchucker]

Drogo Jaguar:

(Or how to make an E-Type ugly)




They also rebodied Ferraris:

Ferrari Drogo GoldenCar Navarro Special

From the front it's not catastrophically bad:



But from the side & rear:

[NomduJour]

Two 250 SWBs got Drogo bodies similar to the E Type one. Quite liked them.

[LuS1fer]

Jimmy Recard said:

LuS1fer said:

Intellectual property and use of trademarks.
Ford once had a massive purge on people making unauthorised merchandise, using their logo and especially the Mustang brand and shut them down they did. rather like the kit car manufacturers who basically copied designs and were similarly ruled against and had their assets seized.

But he wasn't selling the car as a Rolls-Royce. Was he even claiming it was a Rolls-Royce in public? I'm pretty sure the Rolls-Royce grille was just there to reflect the Rolls-Royce engine, not to convince everyone it was a Rolls-Royce.

You could put a Phantom grille on a Ford Escort or Vauxhall Astra. Rolls-Royce could do nothing about it - you own the car and the grille and can do what you want with them.

Thanks for that. However, you're wrong.
https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/john...

[Jimmy Recard]

LuS1fer said:

Thanks for that. However, you're wrong.
https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/john...

Having looked it up, he was barred from passing it off as a Rolls-Royce. Therefore I was wrong that I suspected he didn't do that, but right that he can do what he wants with the grille.

[talksthetorque]

Not Far Off?

[Doofus]

talksthetorque said:

Not Far Off?

No, not far off. Except for every single detail.

[talksthetorque]

Doofus said:

No, not far off. Except for every single detail.

Spoilsport

[rodericb]

deltashad said:

I watched that last night, the design is a total copy of the LS400. Had some interesting little quirks to it though. Especially how it converted into a limousine.

Japanese manufacturers have always had their large sedans. This Hyundai thing was a joint venture with Mitsubishi. The Mitsubishi version was the Proudia. When you look at the various large sedans from the Japanese manufacturers they all look very similar. It has been like that since the 1960's.

[Pacman1978]

SimonTheSailor said:

Never knew there was a Rover 820 Coupe, shes a big old girl -

Is it a concern that the above raises more smiles than the much more exotic cars posted?

(anyone else have the robocop 6000SUX enter my thoughts upon seeing the rover Coupe?)

[bongtom]

AppleJuice said:

Infiniti FX50S

One passed me on my commute this morning... Lovely to hear a V8 burble rather than a 4-cylinder drone.

They did a Sebastien Vettel special...for £100k.

The earliest that one can be is a 2012 (which is why it has a private plate on) and it still looks good. They are now called the QX.

[TonyF55]

W221 S280, I thought the smallest petrol W221 was the S350.

[Jimmy Recard]

Pacman1978 said:

Is it a concern that the above raises more smiles than the much more exotic cars posted?

(anyone else have the robocop 6000SUX enter my thoughts upon seeing the rover Coupe?)

Craftsmen finished 80% of it by hand, don'tcha know.

[CanAm]

NomduJour said:

Two 250 SWBs got Drogo bodies similar to the E Type one. Quite liked them.

This is one of their better attempts:-




Ferrari wouldn't sell Count Volpi a 250GTO, so he had Drogo design the 250 Breadvan, based on a 250SWB. Quite legitimately modified within the GT rules of the time, that didn't stop Ferrari using their muscle to have it moved into the prototype class at some races, as it was more advanced than their own GTO.

[Dapster]

1977 VW Passat GTI

Tacky boot spoiler and not even twin pipes?

[anonymous-user]

MXRod said:

Fast Bug said:

P5BNij said:

I came across this yesterday, a one off Rolls Royce...(?)

It's nothing to do with Rolls Royce, it was built by this chap as seen in a later guise of the car

I am sure I have seen and heard this car , the name of the builder eluded me until pointed out by LuS1fer, John Dodd,
The guy used to have a garage in Locks Bottom near Orpington , his speciality was automatic transmissions , His tag line was “name of garage” the secret of shiiiift

I am sure the car appeared at the Bromley Motoring Pageant a few times

Edited by MXRod on Friday 2nd February 08:02

I saw the beast in person a few years ago at wings and wheels, I believe john was driving it and he did get a little sideways out of the car park

[Fast Bug]

Dapster said:

1977 VW Passat GTI

Tacky boot spoiler and not even twin pipes?

Early mk2 Golf GTIs only had a single tail pipe

[Willy Nilly]

Halmyre said:

Willy Nilly said:

It would have been better if RR could have come to some arrangement with that him about that car, because it's very cool and could have been a good publicity tool.

It's not cool, it's hideous! It fell out of the ugly tree, hitting every branch on the way down.

I don't think either Rolls-Royce the car maker or Rolls-Royce the engine maker are interested in a fibreglass kit car powered by a 70 year old engine.

Of course it's cool, it's got a Merlin engine in it? How is it possible to not be cool with a 27 litre engine? This sort of thing should be encouraged.

[Halmyre]

Willy Nilly said:

Halmyre said:

Willy Nilly said:

It would have been better if RR could have come to some arrangement with that him about that car, because it's very cool and could have been a good publicity tool.

It's not cool, it's hideous! It fell out of the ugly tree, hitting every branch on the way down.

I don't think either Rolls-Royce the car maker or Rolls-Royce the engine maker are interested in a fibreglass kit car powered by a 70 year old engine.

Of course it's cool, it's got a Merlin engine in it? How is it possible to not be cool with a 27 litre engine? This sort of thing should be encouraged.

OK, I'll grant you that (even though, pedantically speaking, it's really a Meteor tank engine, not a Merlin) but, that bodywork...

[soxboy]

Willy Nilly said:

Of course it's cool, it's got a Merlin engine in it? How is it possible to not be cool with a 27 litre engine? This sort of thing should be encouraged.

Cool concept, hideous execution.

[5lab]

couple of bits of weird americana for you

GMC envoy XUV - pickup (ish) that turns into a SUV - watch the vid to understand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRDrSPUmHpI







oldsmobile tornado - '400bhp' (old measurement), v8, front wheel drive. The review makes me very glad cars have come a long way

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/oldsmobile-to...

review said:

The third stop was the one. Describ­ing the situation as mere violent instability would be too flattering. But for the quick­ness of the test driver, the guard rail along the strip was as good as gone, and a clean, one-owner Toronado would have soon been in need of cosmetic restoration. The power-assisted, disc-braked Oldsmobile Toronado finally came to rest after three breathtaking cycles of sideways oscillation with nothing worse than outrageously smelly brakes and flat-spotted tires. It was a relief. Admittedly, the first stop was ex­ceptional for such a big car but the fade encountered during the following stops and the disastrous lack of directional stability are totally inadequate for travel on crowded, high speed throughways.