The image above caught my eye over all the others. It was the weird door trim. I had never seen that before on a K11 Micra, so I decided to chase the trail.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
The trim seems to appear only on UK/Euro versions of the K11 Micra. Almost Coca-cola like.[/caption]
Inevitably we always seem to run into the Nissan March Super Turbo. A K10 chassis Micra/March. The super turbo features a 0.9L motor which is equipped with both a Turbo and Super charger from factory.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
80's monochromatic Nissan Super Turbo March[/caption]
One of the cheats I use to stumble on information is google images. It's got a bunch of neat tools and features that allow a really nice flow of discovery. By clicking on 'visually similar' images it presents a bunch of photos that feel framed the same, with a similar color palette. This is often a great way to run into a vehicle you may have never seen before! Today's find through this process was a Maserati, but not just any Maserati!
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
The Ellena Maserati G3.0. Coach built Hearse by Ellena Funeral Car. [/caption]
I know, a bit of a jump from a Nissan March super turbo, but this next jump wasn't logical either. Digging further into images revealed what I thought was a 2009 Ford Focus....
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
2014 Lada Vesta[/caption]
Yup! That's a Lada. Though it looks pretty competitively modern. It goes to show the economic and cultural progress of the Russia. It's disappointing though, as I myself need a country to rely on for antiquated technologies still sold new. I guess I'll rely on South America for now, as Cuba too will be making great progress towards modernization soon.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="520"]
The Poch SA built Lada Niva Saint Tropez[/caption]
Naturally we had to dive into the world of Lada. Pictured above is a french built Lada Niva. The Saint Tropez was built by Poch SA a french importer of Ladas. It was mostly an exterior restyling. The above customer paid extra for the optional roof spoiler.
Poch SA also built the stylish Niva Grand Large.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
Another 80's Monochromatic design approach.[/caption]
Another abstract Lada is the Porsche influenced Lada Samara (2100). This happens to be rare 'Springer' version. I can only imagine the name is inspired by the talk show.
While chasing the Porsche origins of the Samara I started dipping toes into the world of Porsche Prototypes. Below are a few examples of the 928, wrapping up today's post.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
Porsche 928 ASC-Estate concept. Apparently two were produced.[/caption]
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
This particular early 928 concept has similar taillight styling to the Z31 300zx. Porsche being the major influence for the taillight panels of the late 70's and early 80's.[/caption]
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="618"]
An even earlier clay model with different proportions than the final production version.[/caption]
Today's drawings. I feel I'll focus on high glass cars. I personally, really enjoy a car with more window than body.
