For various reasons I won’t bore you with, I’ve not been able to go to as many car shows as usual this summer. And I’m going to miss the National Alfa Day and spend another day looking at the greatest gathering ever of 200 years of railway locomotives in Derby, the spiritual home of much of the British railway. So, I went to the Curbside Classic Cohort Show instead, and here are some of the highlights, selected with a European preference and presented in no particular order. I’ve included a couple of my exhibits as well, because I can.
A 1935 Austin Seven (or 7 if you prefer), rejigged at some point as a special and now perhaps serving as an art piece at an outside space of some sort.
A 1999-2007 Toyota MR2 series 3 – or MR2 Spyder in the US market – seen in Budapest, Hungary. 1.8 litres of mid engine fun, usually without the optional hardtop.
A 2005 Fiat Panda, although first registered in the UK in 2009. It appears to be a Cross Edition, with the raised ride height and aftermarket snorkel. Given that it’s right hand drive, its provenance is potentially interesting; answers on a postcard…..
Less familiar than a Fiat Panda is a car from the opposite end of the Fiat Auto range – a Dutch registered 1994-2000 Lancia Kappa saloon. I’ve shown a Kappa before, but that was the even rarer Coupe.
There was also an estate version of the Lancia Kappa, manufactured in low volume by Pininfarina.
One car lined up against the Kappa was the Volvo S70 and its coupe derivative, the C70. Strangely, given my usual reaction to Volvos, I have a bit of a soft spot for these. I blame Peter Horbury.
Next, a CC favourite – a Volvo 122 Amazon 2 door saloon. If you’re a Volvo expert and want to suggest it’s actually a 121 or 123 please use the comments. This one was seen in the Netherlands.
Also Dutch, by sighting and origin, is this 1994-96 Volvo 440 hatch, a post facelift edition of the original 1988 car. These were the successors to the Volvo 340/360 series, a car for which, when I profiled it on CC, readers needed a health warning. These were a lot better, but not actually great.
The Volvo 440 was a product of the DAF business absorbed by Volvo in 1975; this is a 1973-75 DAF 66 Marathon 1300, in some ways peak DAF with the CVT (known as Variomatic) and Michelotti styling.
Another CC favourite – a Peugeot 404 from one of the several great angles to admire the Pininfarina styling. And being photobombed by a Renault Estafette van.
No European car show is truly complete without a Citroen 2CV and CC does take regulation seriously….this example from Belgium looks to be early 1970s to me, but if it’s yours and you want to clarify that, then go ahead.
If Citroen ever replaced the 2CV, it was perhaps with the Citroen Visa. This is a 1978-1981 first series model with the “why does it matter if some think it’s ugly” front. Seen in Chile.
No selection from Europe could be complete without some small Fiats – this is a 1996 Cinquecento, or 500. This was Fiat’s entry car from 1991 to 1998, produced in Poland, sold below the Uno and Punto, and even below the Panda. Engines ranged 700 to 1100cc. Please do not confuse this with the current 500 – they are very different products.
The Cinquecento succeeded the 126 – essentially a 1950s rear engined 500 with a smarter 1970s suit. This is a 1990 126P, with a water cooled 704cc, shared with the Cinquecento. The 126 family was produced in Poland and became a national favourite in 1980s and 1990s.
The Fiat 127 was perhaps the first true supermini, preceding the Renault 5, Peugeot 104 and VW Polo. This is a 1971-1977 series 1 car, seen in the Netherlands.
Sharing some of that Fiat bloodline is the 1990 Yugo 55. Not likely to be many people’s pick from this selection, I suspect.
A 1983 Trabant, seen in Hungary. I suspect if you can get the parts (or substitute something from a VW Polo into it) and don’t mind the dynamics, these will keep going and going.
This one is a 1990 car, so very likely built with a VW engine.
Another essential for popular appeal is a Jaguar E Type. This is a 1966 2+2 FHC, seen in the UK.
Striking, but not as elegant as the Jaguar, is this 1959 Vauxhall Cresta PA series. It may not be everyone’s ideal choice, with the first generation’s three piece rear window and fins. You can’t argue with the presentation though, and the sense of optimism the American inspired styling implied. This one caused an impression to get its own post a few weeks ago.
Something that CC perhaps doesn’t see often enough – a 1987 Moskvich 2142, seen in Hungary. By this time, sales outside the eastern bloc had stopped.
When did you last see a Simca 1000 on the road? Here’s one in Chile, hopefully going to a good place – we can only cross our fingers.
A 1973 Vauxhall Viva HC saloon – once a staple of the British High Street but by this time playing a second fiddle to the Ford Escort and with the newer Opel based Chevette and Cavalier were waiting in the wings.
A Ford Transit is not remarkable – it is still Britain’s best selling vehicle, but a Mark 1 is now scarce. This one, in the second series of the Mark 1 and in minibus form, was seen in Latvia.
The Renault Vel Satis was, in retrospect, perhaps France’s last attempt at a large executive class car to compete with Germany and it aimed to achieve through practicality and comfort what the Renault name couldn’t through image. This is a 2001-2005 pre-facelift car, though you are forgiven if you can’t spot the difference. Not Renault’s most successful moment.
Was the Citroen DS the greatest French car ever? It’d get my vote – truly a top table car by anyone’s reckoning. This is a post 1967 car with the directional headlights – just one of many innovations in this remarkable vehicle.
Also seen in the Netherlands, a 1975-77 Jaguar XJ-C 4.2. A few points lost for not having a V12, mostly recovered for the colour scheme and the apparent regular use, thus still leaving many points in the bank. An all time favourite and as good as a justification for lottery tickets you can make.
Or something more practical for a Saturday morning supermarket sweep? A 1934 Morris Light Van, derived from the contemporary Morris Cowley saloon? A half ton payload and a gentle recommendation not to get behind it in hilly country.
A stop for ice creams whilst house hunting, and there’s a 1937 Austin Seven Opal tourer. What’s not to like?
A 1975 (or thereabouts) Renault 16 automatic on pre 2007 Paris plates and an inspiringly low number of dented panels for a car living in Paris for 50 years, where touch parking is part of the driving test (probably).
Paging Professor Tatra87……clearly a post war Citroen Traction Avant but defining the precise variant is beyond my immediate knowledge. My guess is a 1952-5 o 15-Six, but I’m ready to be corrected. And attend his classes if necessary.
Or perhaps you’d prefer a 1956-58 VW Beetle, in some sort of daily use? This was at a golf club, of all places, not far from Salzburg, Austria. Yes, this car was built with semaphore indicators – flashing indicators were not added on European models until 1960. But you knew that.
And to conclude, a car park in the Netherlands….. a 1981-92 VW Scirocco Mk2, a 2000-2005 Honda Civic Gen 7, a 1982-91 Audi 100 C3 and a 1978-84 Opel Kadett D.
Hat tips to Nathan Williams, RiveraNotario, crash71100, Roshake and L Seddon for the Cohort shots.
The 90 Trabant appears to be a regular 2-stroke car. The grill, bumpers, and hood all point to that (although these could be changed). The clear give away would be the wid bolt pattern wheels. 2 strokes used those with drum brakes to the end, whereas the 1.1 VW engine models had disc brakes with a standard small bolt pattern. 1990 was the last year for 2 strokes
Lovely summer selection, Rog.
Methinks the Traction Avant is a 11 B (same body as the 15/Six, but with the 4cyl engine), probably late 1952 to 1954, given that the trunk hinges are painted.
My vote, though, will be going to the Vauxhall Cresta – I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in the metal, but they seem like the best 50s Euro-sized American design ever devised. Leagues ahead of the Ford/Simca Vedette or the Opels.
I’m currently in France, btw and determined to find a VelSatis. The story of Renault’s ultimate flop merits its day on CC. It won’t be easy to find a candidate to pose for a few photos though – I’ve only seen one so far, and it was not sitting still. Wish me luck.
Thanks Roger and Cohort posters for this marvellous collection!
My brother had a three-door Kadett D 1.3 S in that exact same shade of blue as the one in the last picture. IIRC, his was from 1981. It was his second car, after he parked his lime green, 1978 Fiat 127 1050 CL on top of a log alongside a back road. By accident, of course.
The Fiat was a happy revving go-kart. That was how it was driven all the time, anyway. The Opel was, well, an Opel from that era. Straightforward, easy to drive, nothing special, good quality overall.
I love that DS. Nothing like the DS came before or after it so it gets my vote every time. A true French icon of design and engineering.
France didnt stop building largeish luxury sedans, Renault stopped, Citroen just carried on,
DS is cool but nothing it can do was deleted, my daily Citroen has everything a DS has and more.
Beautiful European collection.
All beauties, my weakness is the 404, but I’d also take the Amazon and the strange Lancia Kappa.
This is a great collection for us who live in The U.S. where most of these car and trucks have not been seen. That old Morris van I am sure is small but the drive looks HUGE in it.
Ooh three of mine!
The early Austin is definitely a driver, it was parked outside a brewery for an event
Whoa, that PAD Vauxhall is mint, D for deluxe, I owned a cou[le of PAs but veloxes Cresta assembly stopped with the 57 E model here the resumed with the PC model cool cars,
All the clever tricks the later DS and SM had are still present in my MK2 C5 but mine is all electronically controlled, they just kept fine tuning everything, steerable headlights should have become mainstream its a very neat feature. TA grille is wrong for a big 15 six I think,
That later model Simca 1000 weve seen from Napier NZ is still on the road and there was a red example for sale recently road legal,
Those HC Vivas were popular here one of my garage jobs as a teen was to register new cars ready for customers to collect and PD check HC Vivas dont like em much but rare cars now, assembly quality wasnt great.
The Renault 16 is notable in that it appears to have tinted glass. Extremely unusual for a Renault from the 1970s. Actually, I can only recall R17 coupes with tinted glass.
Didn’t Matchbox make a PA Vauxhall Cresta? I don’t know if I first became aware of the Cresta from the toy, or from one of our sojourns to the UK in 1960 and 1964. But as an American kid they had a weird appeal, even more than their tailfinned Rootes or English Ford contemporaries. With two tone paint, white whitewalls and all that chrome, this example looks like the perfect merger of Detroit (maybe Lansing) and Luton.
But today, my favorite is the red 2005 Panda. That minuscule rear side window and almost zero rear overhang are very interesting.
Indeed they did. It appeared in 1959 as #22, replacing an earlier-shape Cresta, and seems to have lasted until 1964.
I had a Cresta (and that 23b caravan too). It always had the role of the baddies car as I played, because I didn’t like the looks of it!
Hi T87, i saw a Vel Satis yesterday in Lot et Garonne….
You’ll recover, Roger.
The FIAT 127 is most likely a “Speciale” version. Manufactured from July 1976 by SEAT (then part of the FIAT Group) in Spain. It is recognizable by its modified grille and slightly different bumpers.
I checked its plate (24-GZ-93). It’s registered as a ‘Fiat 127 Special’, first registration in September 1975.
Oh yes, its curb weight is 700 kg. That’s about the average weight of an electric bicycle these days.
“Manufactured from July 1976” comes from the Italian Wikipedia article on the FIAT 127. Further proof that people shouldn’t trust Wikipedia too much.
About that Volvo Amazon, it’s registered as a Volvo P13121, June 1966.
Is that the 2-door 121 base model (one carb) with a 3-speed manual transmission?
At least that’s how I would read it.
Wow, the 404 jumps out at me. It’s identical to one I owned, in that oddball pinky color.
I’ll take the Panda 4wd home, though. We got them here, but in vanishingly rare numbers.
Excellent selection, Sir Rog.
I’m running late again but a great selection, Roger! I’m drawn to the Fiat 126, it being perhaps the car I spent the most time in second only to my own family’s car(s) while I wee lad, being owned by the mother of my best friend in elementary school and she wasn’t afraid to wring out every ounce of power of her 70’s example in beige, shifting and cornering as if possessed by Michele Mouton with the engine clattering away behind us…Good times!
The R16 and 2CV also reminds me of those days, being semi-plentiful in our area, but I’m most curious as to what event was transpiring in the Netherlands to cause a coming together of three iconic German ’80s vehicles at the end there.
Not much gets past the CC commentariat…….Matchbox model numvetz and years, tinted glass options in 1970s Renaults, painted boot hinges from the 1950s, Trabant wheelbarrow patterns…..glad you enjoyed the post