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I walked past this today. With a bit of judicious googling and educated guesses I think I know what's under the tarp.
Any resident petrolheads care to have a guess?
Lotus Esprit S3 or Unimog. Can't decide.
Trident Clipper
Lancia Stratos.
Or James Bond's Lotus Esprit with the skis on the back hanging forward over roof.
Marcos?
Very low bonnet screams ginetta but i can fathom the sharp bits.
Something like a triumph herald convertible? It's got (actual) wing mirrors and a screen but nothing to the rear above the quarter panel.
Dutton Phaeton ? (Crappy 70s or 80s kit car)
Hibernating cockchafer
Do not wake it up!
No idea but that's the worst wrap I've ever seen.
Satsuma castanet.
Some Stratos-a-like kit car? - Though the sharp front is a bit high
Whatever it is. WTF is it doing there? (all the time??)
Toyota Supra Mk2 with raised popup lamps.
A terrible time to have such a small car though...Tesco OR Lidl, but not both.
Something like a triumph herald convertible?
Would have been my guess. Or a Sunbeam Alpine.
Some sort of early 60’s soft top.
Europa S2?
Ford escort
They look like Leyland wheels and ex of mine has on an earlier mini, but that's no mini...
Fiat X19 or a Triumph TR7?
something that WCA has built?
Something like a triumph herald convertible?
If - IF - I'm correct, this is the closest guess so far.
Contrary to how it might immediately appear, I believe that the nose of the car is on the left in this picture.
It's a marque no longer in production.
Hillman Minx maybe? I used to have those style Alleycats on a Imp.
Triumph Vitesse with the roof down?
It's an early Popemobile prototype made from holy fibreglass
Every time there was a problem with the fibreglass Il Papa fixed it via the laying on of hands
Hillman Minx maybe?
Bingo. 👏👏
A Super Minx I think. I'll swing back over and ask them at some point, and report back. I could, of course, be wildly incorrect.
My first car was a Super Minx. Not the earlier convertible though, a MK4 Estate with the mighty 1725cc engine.
Ford escort
Have you ever seen a Ford Escort?
That’s a Mk1, there’s loads of others, but I can’t find any that’ll show up on the site.
Pretty sure it ain’t an Esky.
Nevermind the car there’s a Lidl and Tesco in close proximity
Is it the Tesco? Ask the security guard, it’s probably his. 😉
If the front is on the left, as it looks like it might be due to where the wing mirrors are, then it's got a fairly short bonnet, and then a fairly steep windscreen. Doesn't look like it has a roof, ot up anyway, and then a very low rear end. Quite blunt ends and not much ground clearance.
Mini Moke maybe? Although it does look a little long for that, could be camera angle. The wheels do look a bit 80s Lotus
Upon reflection, I've changed my mind
It looks like an early Triumph Thunderbastard
It’s a tough one. And there’s no hint from those aftermarket Alleycat wheels.
And I also thought it was pointing the other way at first!
Not the earlier convertible though, a MK4 Estate with the mighty 1725cc engine.
This is a 1725 also, if I'm correct. The plate dates it as 1963.
It's a DMC DeLorean
I thought of a 304 convertible but the rear isn't finned, and Peugeot is also in production.
Also thought of Sunbeam Alpine but already been said.
I did wonder about Amphicar
This is a 1725 also, if I’m correct
I don't think you are. I believe the convertible was only produced 1962-3, the 1725 only appeared in 1965 in the mk 4. I think it would be a 1600, I'll have to hit Wikipedia to check. Don't have time to look now, it'll suck me into a rabbit hole as usual and I've things to do!
I have the benefit of knowing the registration number (unless my brain scrambled it in the five minutes it took to walk home, which isn't wholly impossible). 1725 is what it comes back with on gov.uk's lookup.
Like @scruffythefirst said my first thought was an early ish Lotus Europa possibly S2
But I can't quite match the sill line
1725cc In that case its not a Lotus & would make it a Roots group product or based on such?
I had to google "root(e)s group" and yes, you would seemingly be correct.
1725 is what it comes back with on gov.uk’s lookup
It's certainly possible, I think the 1725 was essentially just a bored out 1600 so probably a simple drop in swap. 1600 will be what it left the factory with but there's a lot can change in 61 years!
“root(e)s group”
Rootes it is, Sunbeam was the sporty marque, Humber the posh one and Hillman was the boggo cooking variant.
One of those is correct.
Lotus Esprit S3 or Unimog. Can’t decide.
Could quite easily be an Esprit S2, and what's under the tarp is what hasn't fallen off yet.
One of those is correct
My money's on it being a Hillman Super Minx then, I thought you'd said it was a Super Minx a while back? The other Rootes equivalents to the Super Minx are the Sunbeam Rapier and the Humber Sceptre and I've never seen either of them as convertibles in the wild, I'm not even sure they made them, as convertible was already a bit of a niche market.
66 Sunbeam Alpine?
Tasvan -- aka TVR Tasmin as per MrTricky
A Super Minx I think. I’ll swing back over and ask them at some point, and report back. I could, of course, be wildly incorrect.
So, was it?
A Super Minx I think. I’ll swing back over and ask them at some point, and report back. I could, of course, be wildly incorrect.
Like this one?
