Ten years prior to the launch of Renault’s Espace people carrier, microcar company Marden debuted their Espace in 1975. By 1979, Marden had dropped the Espace nameplate, now simply known as the 49 or 125 (depending on which engine you chose).
The Martin, despite vigorous promotion, never went beyond three prototypes. Before you is a one-of-a-kind aerodynamic vehicle built by Martin Aircraft Company of Garden City, New York.
At the 1932 National Automobile Show in New York, James V. Martin displayed two experimental rear-engined cars of his own design–the four-wheeled Martin and the three-wheeled Martinette.
James V. Martin was a prolific inventor who spent years designing cars that he hoped someone would be willing to produce. The Stationette in front of you is his last attempt.
René Bonnet continued to make cars under his own name and also became a driver for Renault. To support his competition exploits, Bonnet unveiled three cars at the 1962 Paris Salon. The top range was his pioneering D´jet.
In 1963, Engins Matra, a large airplane and armaments company, took over the assets of a small sports car company run by René Bonnet. Bonnet was at the forefront of French motor racing, and was unfortunately much better at building cars than running a business.
By 1980, the Bagheera had been replaced by Project M551, or the Murena. It was designed by Greek stylist Antonis Volanis, who also worked on both the M530 and the Bagheera.
Matra’s 530 was the first all-Matra road car design, carrying over the mid-engine architecture of its predecessor, the Jet (neé D’jet) series. The polarizing design was led by Philippe Guédon (later, best known for the Renault Espace) and styling was by a Simca stylist on loan, Jacques Nocher.
This vehicle was created as a promotional vehicle for the McQuay-Norris Company of St. Louis, Missouri, which manufactured replacement pistons, rings, bearings, and other parts used to rebuild an engines.
One of the most famous names in automotive history, Daimler-Benz (“Mercedes” was only a Benz model name in 1901; the company became known as Mercedes-Benz in 1926) can trace its roots back to 1889 and the first motorcar, Karl Benz’s PatentMotorwagen.
In August 1965 the new W 108 body/chassis platform was unveiled to replace the 220 and 300 “Fintail” sedans. The Mercedes-Benz 280S seen here displays all of the comfort and spaciousness the S-class 4-door Luxury Sedan bodies had to offer.
The Messerschmitt was one of the first and among the most successful of the many microcars that hit the motoring scene in the 1950s. Although it bears the name of the famous aircraft builder–Willy Messerschmitt–he had little to do with the car’s design.
The MG B proved even more successful than its predecessor the MG A. In 1965 came a coupé version–the MG B GT, which had an attractive and functional closed version of the standard body.
The M Type shown here was MG’s first high volume sports car. Simple and fairly reliable, the M Type offered reasonable performance at a very low price.
