Archive Photos

Simon Goldsworthy wraps up our second trip through the automotive alphabet with a selection of publicity photos ranging from N for NSU through to Z for ZAZ, including the tricky Q, U, X and Y along the way!

Another trip down memory lane with press photos from manufacturers N-Z.

NSU

This cheeky little chappy comes from Neckarsulm in Germany – and the car he is driving is an NSU Prinz II. That company could trace its roots back to 1873 as a knitting machine manufacturer, but it had switched to bicycles in the 1890s and produced its first motorbike in 1901 – in 1955 it was the world's largest manufacturer of motorised two-wheelers. The Prinz first shown in 1957 marked a return to car manufacture after the war (their first car had been built way back in 1905), and featured a two- cylinder, air- cooled 600cc engine. The company should have stuck with what they knew – the Wankel- engined Spider of 1964 set them on the path to eventual ruin the cold embrace of Volkswagen in 1969.

PEUGEOT

Something about the way the young lady is standing calls to mind the Thunderbirds puppet series and we can almost see the strings jerkily moving her hands and feet, though we're sure that Lady Penelope would never have been seen dead dressed like that. As for the car, this has a rather more timeless elegance about it than the clothes. It is the Peugeot 304 Cabriolet produced from 1970-1975 with a 1288cc engine and a maximum speed in the 100mph area. Supposedly 836 of these were brought to the UK as RHD. The 304 saloon enjoyed a longer production run than the Cabriolet, being on sale for just over a decade from 1969-1980.

OLDSMOBILE

This looks at first glance like a typical promotional shot in a location favoured by the motor manufacturers of Coventry, but the car is an Oldsmobile and the year is 1940, so even without the LHD configuration and that US style number plate we'd have no trouble in identifying it as a Stateside location. Riding on a 116in wheelbase, we think it is one of the lower models in the Special wagon series which came with a 230cu.in. (3769cc) six- cylinder engine. The Woodie style was popular in America for many years, though in the 1950s this moved from structural to cosmetic, often using fake wood or even vinyl. Oldsmobile itself was founded in 1897, bought by General Motors in 1908 and died in 2004.

QVALE

We'll admit that there are limited options for Q cars, but rather than settle for the Quadro4 (which is more of a four-wheeled motorbike and a bit too modern) we are happy to revisit the Qvale Mangusta, pictured here at MIRA undergoing occupant safety testing. MIRA offered the motor industry indoor head- on crash impact testing from 1968, and these grew to include all manner of tests. On the end of that yellow arm is a mannequin's head which can be fired or extended forwards as far as the windscreen.

ROVER

In one of those curious quirks of timing, the Rover P6 and Triumph 2000 were launched within a week of each other in 1963 and battled over the same customers for more than a decade. One of their biggest differences was under the bonnet, where the Rover had to make do with a four-pot while the Triumph offered a silky smooth straight six. That changed with the launch of this P6 in April 1968 – the glorious and sonorous 3500 V8. Yes please!

SAAB

You don't need the car in the shot to know that this is the inglorious 1970s – the hair and the clothes tell you that! But isn't the car a beauty? It is the Saab Sonett III, powered by a Ford V4 engine of 1498cc and built from 1970-74. Those fashionable pop-up headlights were bang on trend for the era, but sadly it was never offered in the UK.

UNIMOG

The Uni-what? You are entitled to ask, because Unimog refers to a range of 4x4 utility vehicles rather than a classic car, but it was produced by Daimler from 1951 and sold as a Mercedes. The first Unimogs had been built in 1948 though, the name standing for UNIversal- MOtor- Gerät, or Universal Motor Equipment. With a flexible chassis that is part of the suspension, the emphasis for the Unimog was always on flexibility over all manner of terrain rather than ultimate load carrying capacity.

WOLSELEY

Clearly a studio shot, but there's little other information with this image from the BMC Press Office of a Wolseley 18/ 85 MkII. We can say that the MkII arrived in 1969 though, adding more walnut trim, rocker switches and plusher seats to the already well- equipped earlier version. The 18/ 85 was replaced by the Six in 1972, with a 2.2-litre E6 six- cylinder engine instead of the former 1798cc B- series – reputedly the only in-line sixcylinder engine factory fitted transversely to a FWD car. And the 18/ 85 name? Well, that was because the 1.8 engine produced 85bhp.

TRIUMPH

Did somebody mutter favouritism? OK, I will admit to having a soft spot for the much (and entirely unjustifiably) maligned Triumph Acclaim and say: 'Don't knock it until you've tried it!' This press shot shows the Acclaim on Gaydon's 'Third-World' test track. They are probably not allowed to call it that these days, but I am only quoting what is on the official handout of the day. Interestingly, BL only hooked up with Honda after a deal with Chrysler fell through which would have brought the Horizon, Alpine and Tagora into the new combined range.

VAUXHALL

Back to firmer ground now with the new Vauxhall Victor 2000 of October 1967. The big selling point being demonstrated in this posed shot is that the front and rear doors open through a wide angle. On the Victor 2000 model they even incorporate ashtrays and armrests concealing release levers. Vauxhall were also keen to draw our attention to the air extractor vents located at each side of the rear window, but we find it hard not to be mesmerised by this chap's hair greased back to a perfect DA. Old hat for 1967, surely?

X80

Sure, it was badged as an MG, but give us a break as there are not too many X options. Project X80 was MG- Rover's first attempt at restyling the Qvale Mangusta, making the most of its excellent dynamics but improving the questionable aesthetics. It was deemed too bland until reworked into the awesome MG XPower SV.

YUGO

East European marques seem to have made the tail end of the alphabet their own! This little Eurobox is the Yugo 45A, also sold as the Zastava and Innocenti Koral. In the States, the entry-level model was the Yugo GV, which stood for 'Good Value.' It cost $3990 in 1986.

ZAZ

And finally we have the ZAZ Yalta, pictured in 1968 at what we believe is the Belgian Motor Show. Built in the Ukraine, the Zaphorozhets range of rear- engined, air- cooled cars was produced from 1958-1994, and this second generation model was introduced from 1966. We have heard that the engine also saw service as a starter motor in military tanks, and that one reason the cold war never heated up was because the Warsaw Pact countries couldn't get enough of their tanks running at the same time to risk a fight. Of course, we would never repeat such spurious gossip.