© WikipediaAs you may have noticed from our Facebook and Instagram pages, our content this week has turned into a bit of a celebration of classic cars named after animals.
Our latest feature is also about a classic VW Rabbit - or Golf, if you’re European - called the Lamborbunni, so we can’t really shy away from the fact that we wanted to have a bit of fun this week. As far as we’re concerned, the world of cars - modern ones at least - is becoming quite a serious place.
Not sure what I mean? Well, have you noticed how car models nowadays are becoming an increasingly difficult to comprehend series of letters and numbers? With model names such as the Audi Q2 40 TFSI or BMW 420d x-Drive, flicking through a brochure is now more akin to doing algebra than buying a car.
The horror.
Anyway, I digress. Carrying on the animal theme of things, our latest edition of Dyler’s This Week in Cars is all about classic cars that are named after animals. Before you crucify us about not including the Ford Mustang or the VW Beetle, we’ve purposely done that because they seem a bit of an easy choice.
As you know, we only have space for five cars for our TWIC features, but we’ve done our best to be creative with our selection. If you think we’ve missed anything out, please drop us a message by clicking here, and let us know what you think we should have added!
Once again, thanks for reading, and we’ll see you next Friday!
1968 Dodge Super Bee
I’ll be frank with you here - most of the cars that have made this Classic Cars Named After Animals list are US muscle cars. That’s no bad thing, though - they’re big, brash, more often than not painted in a lurid shade of whatever, and they all have excellent names. Anyway, the Dodge Super Bee ticks all of the boxes I just rattled off, and that’s why it’s here. The Super Bee was the entry-level Dodge muscle car and based on the Dodge Coronet coupé. The Super Bee was fitted with three types of Dodge V8 - the 335bhp Magnum, the legendary 390bhp Hemi, and the hairy-arsed, 7.2-litre 425bhp “Six-Pack” engine. The interior was taken from the iconic Charger, and buyers had the choice between a “four-on-the-floor” manual box, or a three-speed automatic. Oh, and to let buyers know you were driving a Super Bee and NOT a Coronet, the Super Bee came with a “bee stripe” wrapped around the tail and a massive Super Bee logo to boot.
- PRICE:
- USD 65,000
- LINK TO CAR AND DEALER:
- Gateway Classic Cars
1971 Plymouth Road Runner
The Plymouth Road Runner was a mid-sized performance car produced by the Chrysler group from 1968 to 1980. The car we have here, a ‘71 model, is also widely considered to be the best of the Road Runner line-up thanks to massively improved aerodynamics and handling. Like its sister cars, the Dodge Super Bee, Dodge Charger, and Plymouth GTX, the Road Runner was available in V8 form only, with the 7.2L model the biggest of the bunch. By 2021 standards, the Road Runner is not a fast car in stock form with a top speed of just 125mph. However, it could be easily tuned and it boasted excellent handling, which is why it became such a sought-after machine amongst NASCAR drivers in the early 1970s. From 1971 to 1974, the Plymouth Road Runner won two NASCAR championships in the hands of Richard Petty who took 30 victories over the 1971 and 1972 seasons using Road Runner-based machinery. Does it have the coolest US muscle car name of all time? We’re not sure, but it’s a cool car however you look at it. Meep meep!
- PRICE:
- USD 59,000
- LINK TO CAR AND DEALER:
- Gateway Classic Cars
1984 Citroën Méhari
The Citroën Méhari was a utility vehicle made from plastic, which was produced from 1968 to 1988. All models were widely regarded for their lightweight construction, ABS, and removable, foldable, fabric roof. What’s more models from 1980 to 1983 were also praised for their 4x4 system, which meant that the Méhari was mountain goat-like in its off-road ability. Fitting, really, given that the plastic Citroën was named after the rugged Méhari camel which could be used for both racing and transport. As far as we know - and believe us, we’ve done the research - the Méhari is the only car to have ever been named after an ungulate.
- PRICE:
- EUR 23,000
- LINK TO CAR AND DEALER:
- Oldtimer Studio
1996 Chevrolet Impala SS
Don’t get us wrong, the Chevrolet Impala was a cool car. Yet GM has done what it does best to the current iteration of Impala, it’s a pale facsimile of what it used to be. Our favourite Impala is the seventh-generation car, which is the one here. It perfectly sums up that American optimism of “anything is possible” from the 1990s. This Impala may have been a bit plasticky inside (again though, this was the ‘90s, so find us a car manufacturer that didn’t go down the plastic fantastic route, and we’ll buy you a beer!) but it looked great with its ridiculously long, low slung body. When Chevrolet managed to shoehorn the 5.7L V8 motor used in its sporty Corvette and Camaro models , the rear-wheel-drive Impala SS was also very much a throwback to the muscle cars that made Chevrolet great during its heyday of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Oh, and if you were wondering about the animal kingdom’s version of the Impala, it’s a medium-sized antelope which looks like the lovechild of a goat and a deer.
- PRICE:
- USD 18,995
- LINK TO CAR AND DEALER:
- Streetside Classics Charlotte
2005 Dodge Ram SRT-10
The Ram SRT-10 is a rear wheel-drive Dodge truck. If the public weren’t sure of the SRT-10’s loud ‘n proud credentials, Dodge took the 8.3L V10 engine from its Viper sports car, and wedged it under the SRT-10’s hood just to make sure. The Ram is also named after a big-horned man sheep, which makes the concept of the whole car even more hilarious.
- PRICE:
- USD 65,000
- LINK TO CAR AND DEALER:
- Gateway Classic Cars
These cars were also listed in this week’s edition of the Dyler newsletter, which you can register for by clicking this link. We’d love to hear from you, so please tell us via email, Facebook, or Instagram what cars you’d like to see us feature in next week’s edition of This Week in Cars
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