The Most Unexpected Cars Ever To Be Made

 

A Ferrari soft-roader?

It's a very fast V12-powered soft-roader, and one that may even introduce the Maranello wail to Dubai’s Big Red, a huge, shifting sand dune that needs traction and torque in spades to be successfully crested. But a maker of cars designed to go as fast as possible to point B from point A, a maker that has forever harnessed the benefits of Tarmac-skimming centres of gravity and sylphic frontal areas does not sound like a maker of vehicles featuring neither of these desirables. Still, the Ferrari Purosangue SUV is about as far removed from a World War Two Jeep as an iPhone is from a payphone.

It’s also what the market wants and accurately judging that fickle arena of desire has produced a lengthy line-up of cars that, at one time, would have been unthinkable progeny for their creators. Some have been jarring additions to their makers’ ranges. Some have fallen from grace with equally jarring effect. And others, unexpectedly, have become lynchpins for their makers. Here’s a selection of the most notable:

Rolls-Royce Cullinan (2019)

What we said then: “Rolls has, like Porsche did with the first Cayenne, tried to put clear Rolls-Royce cues into the design. Maybe they just don’t translate to an SUV, or maybe we’re just not used to it yet.”

The market demanded an SUV of Rolls-Royce and the market got it. An off-roading Rolls-Royce is not such an alien idea. The robustness of the early cars meant they were frequently used off road in Arabia, courtesy of Lawrence, and as armoured cars during WW1. But as with the first Cayenne, the Cullinan’s look is troubling but may well improve with familiarity.

Aston Martin Cygnet (2010)

What we said then: “To the majority of buyers of today’s conventional city cars, the launch of the new Aston Martin Cygnet must rank as one of the daftest this century.”

Apart from hijacking the innards of a Morgan three-wheeler, Toyota’s cubist iQ has to be one of the unlikeliest building blocks for an Aston Martin. Apparently the result of a (surely fevered) conversation between the bosses of these companies, the Cygnet struggled to find takers but, perversely, has become sought after now since deletion, and hold their value very well.

Audi R8 (2006)

What we said then: “The most radical road-goer to wear four rings since records began.”

Audi channelled its inner Lamborghini with the superb R8, a model introduction all the more surprising because Ingolstadt actually owned the Italian supercar maker. Even more surprising were the R8’s entertaining dynamics and a ride better than any other Audi’s, A8s included.

Toyota Yaris Verso (1999)

What we said then: “Brilliant package with neatly designed seating arrangement, all for a good price.”

This under-wheeled cargo carrier was among the first supermini-scale MPVs. Despite a body as ugly as it was voluminous, the Yaris Verso sold moderately well but it was still an image-compromising product.

Source: msndotcom

#Ferrari, #soft-roader, #Rolls-Royce, #Cullinan, #2019, #AstonMartin, #Cygnet, #2010, #rolls, #royce, #aston, #martin, #cars, #automobiles