Although the station wagon and commercial versions of the Volvo PV444 and PV544 had a similar appearance to their saloon counter- parts, technologically speaking they couldn’t have been more dif- ferent. The saloons with their famous rounded backsides (known in German as ‘Buckelvolvo’ and in Dutch as ‘kattenrug’ or ‘cat’s back’) were of a unibody […]
A characteristic, but somewhat strange feature of the earlier Fourgonnette versions of the popular Renault Juvaquatre was that the loading door at the rear opened to the right, the side of the pave- ment. This meant that you had to walk around the door to load or unload the vehicle. Somehow it was never an […]
After years of austerity in post-war Europe, economic growth in the mid-1950s saw the revival of design in consumer articles. With the Peugeot 203 saloon now looking a bit out-dated, its 1955 successor 403 was styled by the Italian designer Pinin Farina (from 1961 written as Pininfarina). Like its predecessor, two estate car versions were […]
Yes, it is a real Porsche, albeit worlds apart from the legendary sports cars of the same name. Both however share their roots. Fer- dinand Porsche was assigned by Adolf Hitler not only to develop the Volkswagen, but also a ‘Volksschlepper’ or ‘people’s tractor’. Three prototypes were made in 1934, all petrol-engined. A diesel engine […]
Manufactured in 1971, this eye-catching, brightly coloured van is one of the last Morris Minors to be built, as production ceased the following year. The British government’s telephone company, Post Office Telephones, which had operated Morris commercial vehicles since the 1930s, used this so-called ‘engineer’s utility van’ during the 1970s and ‘80s for maintenance works. […]