Even though the Rhinebeck Spring Dust Off is known for its encyclopedic selection of rare American automobiles, starting with the brass era and into the 1980s, every year the event features some great foreign cars as well. Last time we took a look at some of the ridiculously awesome American cars that appeared at Rhinebeck last weekend, so now it’s time to examine the foreign car contingent.
Every year the Rhinebeck Spring Dust Off brings out about a hundred foreign automobiles on Sunday. The foreign car contingent is not great in number, but what turns up never fails to surprise. Back in 2008 it was a Tatra 613 that made the trip from northern Massachusetts, and last year it was the wonderful Renault R10 which we gawked at just a couple weeks ago. And at the other end of the examples-made spectrum was the Volkswagen Quantum GL5 station wagon in concours condition. But this year showgoers were treated to a duo of DAFs, one of them wearing a Volvo badge. Intrigued? Let’s take a closer look after the jump.
This wonderful DAF 66 from 1975, brought by Vincent Carcaramo, just about stole the show at least as foreign cars were concerned. If there is one thing that people remember about the DAF 66 (presuming they are aware of a car with this name existing in the first place) is that it utilized a continuously variable transmission of DAF’s unique design which first appeared in the DAF 600. The 66 itself can be said to have been a heavy modernization of the preceding 55 model, but it remained in production for just four short years, from 1972 till 1975. The 66 was available as a 2-door sedan, a 2-door coupe, and as a 3-door station wagon, and was powered by an 1108cc engine making 53bhp. The short model run, during which more than 146,000 cars were made, can be explained in part by Volvo’s purchase of a stake in DAF around that time. And that conveniently brings us to the next car.
This 1978 Volvo 343DL was another great foreign car at Rhinebeck this year. This particular example spent a good portion of its life in San Francisco, being the personal car of a Swedish consulate staff member. So apparently there is now a Volvo dealership there that has some experience servicing a 343DL, because according to the current owner, that’s where the car was worked on. The Swedish diplomat sold the car on eBay in 2010, and it immediately joined a DAF collection in Vermont (where else?) This is one of 2.5 Volvo 340s in the US, with the second example sharing space with this one in the sam DAF collection. A third Volvo 340-series is reportedly somewhere outside of Baltimore in a partically disassembled state, perhaps having been forgotten/discarded in port. Which kind of begs the question, what else is lurking at that location?
This very Volvo appeared in the 2011 Richard Gere/Topher Grace epic biopic dud “The Double”, where it and a menagerie of US-spec Citroens posed in Detroit standing in for Paris. It’s sort of visible in this frame on imcdb. Yes, the French Paris. No, I don’t think Detroit has ever stood in for Paris before, but some kind of award has to be given to the props team.
This was a pretty sweet find to see at Rhinebeck. The paint looked original, as did the slabby design. But I have to admit it’s charming in a boxy sort of way, and if the price and the paint were right, one of these could make a great starter classic. I mean, when was the last time you saw a Datsun 210 station wagon on the east coast?
One of a couple sharp 190SL cars. The values of 300SLs have surged as of late, up to the $800K mark and beyond, leaving its smaller sibling far behind. And people are starting to notice and go “hey, that’s not right” and are paying bigger and bigger money for 190SLs that warrant it.
This was one of the few Alfa Romeo Spiders at Rhinebeck, and you’re bound to see several here every year in various states of preservation. This one appeared just okay condition wise, but it is an earlier example and appears to have been taken care of very decently.
One of approximately 4,000 Amphicars produced in Lubeck and Berlin-Borsigwalde by the Quandt Group, most Amphicars were (perhaps unsurprisingly) sold in the US. And I say unsurprisingly because economic conditions in Europe in the early 1960s still did not permit most people to buy something that is squarely in the toy category, being neither a practical car nor a practical boat. But it’s always nice to see these at car shows, and they invariably tend to be in such condition that many owners simply won’t allow them to be rained on, much less take them into a body of water. The most impressive part of the design in my eyes is the fact that the two doors stay watertight, not an insignificant feat given that the car is a convertible.
This was perhaps one of the oldest foreign cars at Rhinebeck this year, and this is of course the long-lived Austin Seven. This was one of the most popular, of not the most popular, British car of the 1920s, and it was made to be an affordable means of transportation. This example previously appeared at Rhinebeck in 2012.
A sharp-looking example of an Austin Mini Countryman. These are still quite a bit smaller than the BMW-made MINIs, even in this long-wheelbase form. The original design of the Traveler underplayed its hand to some degree, buying the owner merely a 4.25 inch increase in wheelbase and barn-style rear doors. But this is still better for runs to Whole Foods than the standard Austin Mini. And it’s still good for trips to True Value Hardware, but probably not IKEA (unless you’re only going to get stuff from The Marketplace).
One of my personal favorites from Rhinebeck, and returning from the 2011 edition of the event. This is of course the Wolseley Hornet, and it hails from 1965 as the plate cleverly advises. These are somewhat overlooked by stateside Mini enthusiasts, but I think these are wonderful and hilarious (in a good way).
Rhinebeck would not be complete without a Morgan 3-wheeler, so here’s an example that made an appearance this year. Everytime I see this one I instinctively step out of the way for fear of getting caught in it’s aircraft-like engine, which is very much out front. Pedestrian and driver safety is overrated anyways, and since the Morgan has been given the Jeff Glucker and Alex Roy seal of approval I’m going to have to finagle a ride in one of these.
This was a very nice Volvo P1800, one of a couple that usually appear at Rhinebeck every year. It’s nice to finally see these getting attention outside the Volvo community, as for a time they were quite affordable. Not so anymore, as these are beginning to be recognized for their Frua design.
That’s it for this year, gents. Next year’s edition of the Spring Dust Off will take place in Rhinebeck, NY, on the Dutchess County Fairgrounds on the first weekend of May. Of which we will of course remind you in advance quite a few times.
Massive gallery below, courtesy of me:
[Images: Copyright 2013 Hooniverse/Jay Ramey]
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