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  Another Peugeot estate today, the 505, which was introduced in 1982, three years after the saloon. In those days, Peugeot invested heavily in optimising its estate models, so the 505 Break got a longer wheelbase than the saloon, and a completely different rear suspension. This handsome Portuguese-registered eight-seat Familiale model came all the way to the UK for the Festival of the Unexceptional in 2023. #davidsdailycar #Peugeot #FOTU #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Today we move on to the Peugeot 104, the predecessor of yesterday’s 205. The 104 was introduced as a compact but roomy four-door in 1972 but the following year, Peugeot launched the much shorter coupé model seen here. This one was at the Festival of the Unexceptional this summer. I wasn’t able to get to #FOTU myself so these photos are from my friend @seanogrady@mstdn.social. My dad’s 1978 305 of fond memory was this colour. #davidsdailycar #Peugeot #WeirdCarMastodon

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  In 1969, the 912 model featured yesterday was replaced as Porsche’s entry level car by this, the VW-Porsche 914, which I snapped at Techno Classica in 2019. This is a rare 914/6 version which used a less powerful version of the 911’s flat six, but the vast majority of 914s were 914/4s, which had a two-litre four-cylinder VW boxer engine from the Volkswagen Type 411/412, rather than the old Porsche four used in the 356 and 912. (1/2) #davidsdailycar #VW #Porsche #WeirdCarMastodon

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  After I posted yesterday’s Australian-built Vauxhall VXR8, @mack505@feistycricket.org mentioned that similar rebadged Holdens such as the last Pontiac GTO were sold in the US as well. Another was a specialised police cruiser that revived a famous Chevrolet model name - Caprice. Here’s an earlier Chevy Caprice from that line’s heyday, the handsome big-selling 1977-1990 third-gen model, which I saw at Harpenden’s Cars on the Common recently. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Today, the final post in our journey through seven decades and eight generations of Chevrolet Corvette. The C8, introduced in 2019, represents a radical break from previous Corvettes because it drops the traditional front engine/rear drive set-up in favour of a mid-engined layout. Also the first Corvette to be offered straight from the factory with the option of right-hand drive. Seen at Cars in the Park in Lichfield last month. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Today we continue the Corvette story with another C3 model. Yesterday’s C3 was a convertible but this one is a coupé with a fixed top featuring a T-roof and removal panels. Snapped at Cars in the Park in Lichfield a few weeks ago. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Today we are moving on to the next chapter in the Chevrolet Corvette story with the fourth-generation C4 model, seen here recently at Cars in the Park in Lichfield. The C4 was introduced in 1984 and was mostly a clean-sheet design, both internally and externally. Google Image Search reckons that this is a later-year post-1991 C4. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

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  @Sir_Osis_of_Liver has advised me that yesterday’s Chevrolet Corvette C4 was a ZR1 model with a Lotus-developed quad-cam V8. Today’s Corvette C5 has a British connection as well - it is the first generation of ‘Vette to be officially imported into the UK, albeit still with left-hand drive. I saw this one at Cars in the Park at Lichfield earlier in the summer. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

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  After yesterday’s C5 model, today we turn our attention to the Chevrolet Corvette C6, produced between 2005 and 2013. This was the first Corvette since the C1 not to feature concealed/pop-up headlamps. Seen at Cars on the Park in Lichfield recently. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

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  After I posted yesterday’s photo of the Chevrolet Corvette C1, I headed off to Classics on the Common in Harpenden in Hertfordshire. There, among hundreds of fine classics, I saw this very similar Corvette C1, although this one, in white, has a completely different colour scheme. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Today, another American high-performance car that’s made it to Europe - the first-generation Chevrolet Corvette C1. I saw this ca. 1960 car at Techno Classica Essen in 2014. Earlier C1s had single headlights. #davidsdailycar #Chevrolet #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Today, we’re sticking with Mopar but switching brands to Dodge. Google Image Search tells me that this is a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. Seen recently in my local Waitrose car park. #davidsdailycar #Dodge #WeirdCarMastodon

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  After yesterday’s MCV Evora bus, another couple of vehicles that aren’t Lotuses but have a Lotus connection. When Lotus stopped making the Seven, the rights to the design were bought by Caterham, which has produced ‘official’ Sevens since 1973. A number of unofficial designs inspired by the Seven have also been produced, including these Westfields, seen at Cars in the Park in Lichfield recently. #davidsdailycar #Westfield #Lotus

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  As a couple of people pointed out, the Elise-based Lotus Europa from the 2000s in yesterday’s post was the second Lotus to carry the Europa badge. Here is the original mid-engined Europa, first introduced in 1966. That long raised engine cover was required to accommodate the longitudinally mounted engine/gearbox combination borrowed from the Renault 16. Pic: Cars in the Park, Lichfield, earlier this month. #davidsdailycar #Lotus #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Yesterday, I mentioned that later-generation Hyundai Sonatas didn’t come to the UK - although earlier versions did. This car isn’t a Sonata but it has a Sonata connection - it’s the original Kia Magentis, which is a lightly modified fourth-generation Sonata, thought to be the first example of Hyundai/Kia platform sharing after the two companies combined in 1998. I snapped this 2001/2 Magentis at a Kia event for UK journalists last year. #davidsdailycar #Kia #Hyundai #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Another odd example of someone importing the Japanese domestic version of a car that was sold officially in the UK anyway. In fact, the European version of the second-generation Honda Fit (Jazz in the UK) was actually built in Britain, so very much an example of ‘coals to Newcastle’. Saw this one in my local railway station car park yesterday. #davidsdailycar #Honda #WeirdCarMastodon

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  A good one for #Caturday. Just saw Kitty Cafe in Birmingham near New Street Station. Spend time with the cats while enjoying a tea or coffee.

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  After I posted the Toyota Alphard and Lexus LM350h, @Aaron_David@universeodon.com mentioned that he owns another Japanese MPV, the Nissan Serena. I had a bit of a rummage and found these photos of a Serena that I saw in my local Sainsbury’s car park last year. The first-generation Serena was officially imported into the UK by Nissan but later models like this one came via unofficial channels. #davidsdailycar #Nissan #WeirdCarMastodon

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  The recently featured Bedford HA van bowed out in 1983 after almost two decades of service, replaced by Bedford-badged van versions of the Vauxhall Chevette and Astra. In 1984, rivals British Leyland launched the Maestro van which was also popular with UK utilities. This Maestro van was seen having the British Gas livery applied at this year’s Practical Classics resto show. #davidsdailycar #Austin #BL #WeirdCarMastodon

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  As we have seen in the last few days, Rootes badged its commercials as Commer and GM in the UK used the Bedford brand. Leyland was quite random in terms of van badging but in 2001, MG Rover came up with the MG Express, a van version of the zippy MG ZR hatchback. These are quite rare. I saw this well-kept example at the Practical Classics resto show in March. #davidsdailycar #MG #WeirdCarMastodon

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  The day before yesterday, I posted a photo of the Austin Maestro van from the 1980s. As every BL fan knows, the Maestro hatch and van are sisters under the skin to the slightly bigger Montego saloon and estate. This old Montego, seen at this year’s Practical Classics resto show, used to belong to the Ministry of Defence. The giveaway is the plate format used by the British military, consisting of three pairs of white characters on a black background. #davidsdailycar #Austin #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Yesterday I mentioned the British system of military registration plates featuring three pairs of characters. Here’s another example, fitted to a Rover P5b that was used by the Royal Air Force in the 1970s. These also served for many years as ministerial cars with the British government. Snapped at a classic car meet in Ely, Cambridgeshire, in 2024. #davidsdailycar #Rovers #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Quite an exotic little car today from this year’s Practical Classics resto show, which tends to concentrate on more mainstream stuff. This is a 1967 Fiat 850 Vignale Coupé, and very elegant it is too. #davidsdailycar #Fiat #Vignale #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Yesterday, after I’d posted about the one off Daimler Corsica convertible, @BackFromTheDud mentioned the two-door coupé version of the original Jaguar XJ, which was also available as a Daimler. I’m not sure whether this one, which I saw at the 2023 NEC Classic Motor Show is a Jaguar or a Daimler. #davidsdailycar #Jaguar #Daimler #WeirdCarMastodon

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  In 1976, Leyland contracted the tuning firm Broadspeed to develop a racing version of the Jaguar XJ coupé featured yesterday for the European Touring Car Championship. I don’t think it was particularly successful, but it generated a huge amount of media coverage. Snapped at the British Motor Museum last year. #davidsdailycar #Jaguar #Broadspeed #WeirdCarMastodon

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  The two-door coupé version of the original Jaguar XJ saloon featured in the last two days was only produced between 1975 and 1977. The picture was complicated by the arrival, also in 1975, of another two-door (if less obviously) XJ-based coupé - the XJ-S - which lasted twenty one years in production until 1996. I saw this TWR-modified 1985 example at the 2023 NEC Classic Motor Show. #davidsdailycar #Jaguar #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Yesterday, I mentioned the long production run of the Jaguar XJ-S, which lasted from 1975 to 1996. There was a proposal to replace the XJ-S earlier in the form of this X41 (coupé)/X42 (roadster) prototype from 1988, but this was cancelled by Jaguar’s then-new owner, Ford. Some of the work on the X41 was carried over to the Aston Martin DB7. Pic taken: British Motor Museum, 2023. #davidsdailycar #Jaguar #AstonMartin #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Today, for #Caturday, we go right back to the very beginning of the post-war Jaguar roadster line with the sleek XK120, launched in 1948. The XK120 was the first Jaguar to use the legendary DOHC straight-six XK engine. This 1951 car lives at The Great British Car Journey, where I saw it last year. #davidsdailycar #Jaguar #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Today, I’m bringing the Jaguar coupé/convertible story a bit more up to date with the 2006 XK model designed by Ian Callum. Whilst it has fairly typical or even traditional curvy Jaguar looks, under the skin, it has an advanced aluminium alloy structure similar to that of the recently featured X350 and X351 XJ saloon models. Snapped at the British Motor Museum last year. #davidsdailycar #Jaguar #WeirdCarMastodon

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  Yesterday’s car, the Jaguar X150 XK, spawned this harder-edged, sportier version, the XKR-S, which became available when the XK was facelifted in 2011. Tweaks to the engine, suspension, exhaust and brakes were all part of the package. I had the chance to drive this one at a JLR press event at Goodwood back in 2012. #davidsdailycar #Jaguar #WeirdCarMastodon