Rare & Soon To Be Extinct Vehicles

[deville_56]

San Storm​

I won’t be surprised if some of us don’t even have heard about this car. It was the first made-in-India low-cost convertible which had enormous potential but was letdown by its now-defunct manufacturer. Storm launched in 1998 and priced somewhere in the range of Rs.6 Lakh. It was designed by the LeMans Group and equipped with a 1149CC Renault D7F engine producing 60 BHP and 9.6 Kgm torque. It was assembled in Bangalore and chassis marriage performed in Goa. Storm’s sister concepts, San Dune and Storm Coupe never saw light of the day. Good part is that the Storm found its export market in locations like Malta, Cyprus, Bahamas and U.K.

View attachment 275689

View attachment 275690​

Drive Safe,
350Z

Came with fiberglass body. It was plagued with issues since the beginning. It was priced in the range of sedans of that time. No service network or dealership across the country. Parts were shipped to the customers (if any) and serviced at local garages. Had to pay more for onsite service.

 

[VISHNUCARCRAZY]

Fiberglass body is quite prone to quick damage in our road conditions isn't it @deville_56 bro ?

 

[deville_56]

Fiberglass body is quite prone to quick damage in our road conditions isn't it @deville_56 bro ?

Not necessarily with normal use, but will crack on impact, not flexible like metal and sometimes on their own.

BTB, there were Indian cars before in fiberglass like the Sipani Dolphin and the never mass produced Kazwa, etc. Corvettes and Lotus used FG as well.

 

[350Z]

BTB, there were Indian cars before in fiberglass like the Sipani Dolphin and the never mass produced Kazwa, etc. Corvettes and Lotus used FG as well.

Even the Maini Reva was made of high-impact vacuum formed ABS panels.

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[deville_56]

Even the Maini Reva was made of high-impact vacuum formed ABS panels.

Drive Safe,
350Z

FG and ABS plastic are two extremes. USP of the Reva was the shatter-proof light-weight body. Still remember the guy hammering it in every auto show.

 

[deville_56]

Sipani Dolphin

Launched by Sipani before the arrival of Maruti 800, but was eventually killed by 800 despite decent sales. Dolphin was the British Reliant Kitten, powered by Reliant 850 cc petrol engine, which was decently powerful then and caught up in the rally scene. It replaced the stupid Mr. Bean rival Reliant Robin and its 4 wheeled version. Dolphin was upgraded with 3 more doors and many M800 parts and renamed as Montana. Montana was made to compete with M800 with M800 parts and got killed by M800 Montana also had a diesel version with a Mitsubishi tractor engine.

 

[deville_56]

Tata Indigo XL Classic.

Maybe the rarest car from Tata stable. Long-wheelbase version of the Indigo made as a cheaper alternative to Toyota Corolla, but failed to take off. It was a more comfier version with lot of creature comforts. An unmatched rear space with flight-style trays and center arm rest. Leather and electronically adjustable seats. Rear AC. Faux wood interiors. Dual head rest LCDs. Powered by FIAT-sourced 1.4 litre 100 bhp petrol motor (Same FIAT engine was used in the Indica Sport twins) and lazy Tata DiCOR engine. Only produced from 2007 to 2009. Manza pulled the plug of Indigo XL. Retained it in the commercial market, stripping down the premium features with CNG option and a better CR4 diesel engine.

Indica XL was also developed, but never saw light as Vista was already there.

 

[deville_56]

Rarest version of the Matadors, RA307.

One of the failed attempts by Tempo after being wiped out from market by the Tata 407. For the first time, they ditched the FWD and opted for RWD with same OM616 engine from F307. RA stood for rigid axle. There was also R307 without rigid axle. R407 was listed in a part vendor's manual, but no such version per any source. RA307 had higher ground clearance compared to their F307 counterpart and came with a different grill extension. Don't think they launched van version.

 

[deville_56]

Peugeot 309

It was a gem of a car, but dated on arrival. A comfy car with a fuel-efficient diesel motor. Initially launched with 1.4 petrol engine, then got the 1.5L TUD-5 engine, our national engine of that time. Though the Peugeot ended miserably in India, the heart found its way into Zen, Esteem, Accent, etc. Reason for fail is cited as labor and dealer/service issues, but the real problem was the partner itself, the Premier. First, they insisted on older models to keep the cost down and launched this dead-in-1994-in-rest-of-the-world model in 1998 in India. Secondly, PAL partnered with FIAT again while things were boiling with Peugeot. This prompted Peugeot to break the alliance and leave India, stranding the poor 309 owners with the already useless Premier service network. Total units sold in India was only around 1000. Apart from the PAL issues, the parts were costlier like every other failed European sedans.

 

[prasann]

Tata Mobile is now also a rare multipurpose vehicle.

 

[350Z]

Tata Mobile is now also a rare multipurpose vehicle.

True that. Your profile suggests that you own a Fiat Uno. That’s one car which definitely deserves to be in this thread. Do tell us more about it as well.

Drive Safe,
350Z

 

[ajay999]

Opel Corsa

Next from Opel stable was the Corsa range and Opel's last model before they shut the shop. It replaced the Astra. It was offered with a 1.4 and 1.6 L motors, churning out 88 and 92 bhp respectively. It weighed over a ton with its compact dimension and was known for its comfort. Still there are many well-kept examples in Kerala and surprised to see many of them in Tirunelveli. Rivals were Esteem and Accent, even the former couldn't fight with the latter, so the Corsa was out of picture soon, catalyzed by the poor and expensive after sales of Opel (as said in previous post). Launched in 2003 and stopped in 2006.

View attachment 274835 View attachment 274836

Opel corsa was not a replacement for the ASTRA but both were available simultaneously.Corsa was launched in 2000 and not in 2003. there was even a variant with sunroof named CORSA ROYALE

 

[astra275]

Chevorlet Aveo 1.4-VGIS

Scrapped example. Seen more Optras on roads than these.

 

[astra275]

VW Jetta Mk.5 with the mighty 1.9TDI
How do these even end up like this?? Isn't the VAG 1.9TDI really reliable around the globe

 

[multiport]

Opel Vectra 2.2 in a rarer bamboo green over cashmere interior spec. Probably the most run Vectra in KL, perhaps even the most run Opel here

Photos from a year ago. In a slightly worse state now
Got 'em matching tyres