By Jim Brennan
This took a lot longer than I thought it would, but you guys came through, but only after I dropped a big hint, and then it was Lotte who came through and identified the mysterious French sports car.
This is what FacelVega wrote in his e-mail:
Hey hoon editors. My brother suggests a car for the mystery car series, a Jidé 1600s. In other news, he’s trying to get me to import a …………………, which is obscure enough as it is.
Now, why would I block out what he is trying to import? Stay Tuned… Getting back to the Jidé 1600s, this is a car that was so rare that only 60 were ever produced. It was made in 1973 by Jacques Durand with a 1600 Gordini 4 cylinder engine that produced 160 hp, an R12 Gordini 5 speed gearbox, and is very rare and very few left. See the posting here about one offered for sale in France.
Be truthful; How many of you knew about the Jidé 1600s before today. I didn’t.
Kamil Kaluski
It appears that it was not designed to hold two grown adults…
Perhaps they're just comically huge!
A couple years back, there was a picture in GRM of an old Berkeley shell, its headlights removed, sitting in a garage while its owner lounges in the front seat with a foot sticking out either headlight hole. I can't imagine this thing is much bigger than that.
Nope. This one was new to me. At first I thought it was a TVR or something. Big points to Lotte.
New to me. And I was raised in France! I'll have to check with my dad…
Some Googling reveals more information, in French: http://gtfrance.free.fr/jide.html and http://debrito.chez.com/MenuPrincipal.html
Another obscure French kit car maker: Fournier-Marcadier. http://www.marcadier.com/index_eng.htm
One more and then I'll be off to the kitchen…
Jaques Durant worked for SOVAM and designed some cars for them: http://jide-scora.fr/Sovam.html
By the way the name Jidé is the French pronunciation of its creator's initials, JD. Just like the creator of Tintin, George Remy, is RG (last name first), Hergé.
Huh….
Sick little car. It's more like something you'd wear rather than something you'd step into and drive. Sitting that low in something that small, I'll bet going 75 MPH would feel like pushing the sound barrier.
It's beautiful. I had never heard of it before today, but now I want one.
New to me, and I was working at a Renault dealership in 73. Sounds like a great combo of parts to cobble together though.
That is some kind of awkward sexy. Just how I like it. Nicely done Lotte.
I learned something new today too! I got lucky; went alphabetically through names, ended reading on an article about Aristas which had a link to a 'Jide', then hey, there's that distinctive bulge on the door!
Apparently there were many of this type of car back then, some of which are more famous then others (Alpine). Fiberglass bodies with mass-produced parts. Neat.