Here's a car that I've never heard, which makes sense as only two were ever built.
This 1951 Iota 350 sports car has recently been acquired by Lane Motor Museum, which is in Nashville. This prototype is the only one that remains in existence.
Built by Iota Racing Cars â the 1951 Iota 350 Sports car is possibly the first monocoque sports car...
The body is notable for the smoothness of its line and for the rear wings which resemble aircraft props â resulting in a very aerodynamic vehicle. The 350 cc rear engine sits in the sleek sheet aluminum shell. T.T. Workshops of Westbury restored the car â keeping the original metal intact and restoring the car exactly as it was when it was initially completed.
The 1951 Iota 350 Sports car joins other rare British vehicles in the Lane Motor Museum collection to include a 1931 Trojan RE and a 1948 Morgan âFâ Super (3-wheeler).
The 1951 Iota 350 Sports car joins other rare British vehicles in the Lane Motor Museum collection to include a 1931 Trojan RE and a 1948 Morgan âFâ Super (3-wheeler).
steve_ says:
08:57 AM, 10/11/07
There's been a run of "Hudson Seafoam Green" cars over in the Mystery Car Pix discussion the last few days. Ugh. Think how sweet this would look in British Racing Green.
estreka says:
11:44 AM, 10/11/07
I became intrigued and did some research on monocoques.
The first monocoque auto was the Lancia Lambda
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancia_Lambda
Chrysler built the first mass produced monocoque chassis, the Airflow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Airflow
Also, haven't all Lotii been monocoques? I couldn't find anything specifying that, but I figure since Lotus vehicles are so light...
Sorry Bob. I got a little carried away. :-)
rsholland says:
11:52 AM, 10/11/07
Can't say. I just took the info from the press release supplied to me. At least the used the word "possibly" in there to cover their butts if they were wrong. :)
ateixeira says:
11:22 AM, 10/12/07
Boy is that car long! Nice looking, though. :-)