Autocade is an international car cyclopædia that’s geographically unbiased, carefully edited for enthusiasts and media who want a quick, accurate reference. There is a greater emphasis on models produced after 1970.
Inside Autocade
SEAT 800. 1964–7 (prod. 18,200 approx.). 4-door saloon. R/R, 767 cm³ (I4 OHV). Spanish four-door adaptation of the SEAT 600, the licensed version of the Fiat 600 (1955–82). Developed to compete with the Citroën 2CV and Renault 4. Prototype shown in 1963 at the Barcelona trade fair. Front suicide doors, shortened from the original, and conventional rear doors. Relatively few built as construction was labour-intensive, involving the cutting of bare SEAT 600 bodies from Zona Franca at Carrocerías Costa de Tarrasa, lengthening them by 18 cm, adding a new roof and the doors, then painted and returned to the regular production line for mechanicals, glass and trim. Tended to be used as taxis.
Manufacturing location: Barcelona, Spain
Marque: SEAT | Successor: SEAT 850
Pontiac Fiero. 1984–8 (prod. 370,168). 2-door coupé, 2-door fastback coupé. M/R, 2474 cm³ (I4 OHV), 2836 cm³ (V6 OHV). Neatly designed, small, mid-engined sports car, hampered by its Iron Duke engine (though the V6 was added in 1985 for the GT model). Never that sporting, and gained an image for poor reliability. Fastback from 1986, and new suspension design for 1988, finally sorting the car’s shortcomings. However, these last revisions proved short-lived, as Pontiac killed the line after it was made good.
Manufacturing location: Pontiac, Michigan, USA
Marque: Pontiac | Successor: Pontiac Solstice
Aston Martin DB7. 1994–2003 (prod. 2,461 six-cylinder, incl. 885 Volante; 4,100 Vantage). 2-door coupé, 2-door convertible. F/R, 3239 cm³ (I6 DOHC), 5935 cm³ (V12 DOHC). Developed from Jaguar XJ-S platform and clothed in a gorgeous body styled by Ian Callum. Some claim similarities to aborted Jaguar XJ41 project, though it more closelyresembled Callum’s own proposal called XX for TWR that was shown to Jaguar; whatever the case, DB7 seduced many thanks to its looks and became Aston’s most successful model. Supercharged six to 2000; V12 Vantage from 1999. Built at former Jaguar XJ220 TWR factory at Bloxham, Oxfordshire, rather than Newport Pagnell. Ninety-nine Zagato DB7s sold plus one to the Aston museum, see separate entry; same numbers for AR1 (American Roadster), also DB7-based. Not a direct successor to Virage, more one for the DB line (DB6, DBS, V8).
Manufacturing location: Bloxham, Oxfordshire, England
Marque: Aston Martin | Predecessor: Aston Martin Vantage (1972–3) | Successor: Aston Martin DB9
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