10 top unlikely automotive collaborations

From marriages of convenience to perfect partners

It may look odd that Bertone broke out its set squares to create the glamorously boxy Volvo 780, but the Italian/Swedish joint venture is a fairly tame tie-up compared to these tales of the unexpected.

There’s a variety of reasons why some truly random collaborations have happened – often it’s not enough money, sometimes it’s too much, and more often than not it’s purely convenience.

In some cases the results have produced an exceptionally good car, or at least one that can drag its manufacturer’s accounts out of the red and into the black.

In many you’ll find failure – be that through low production numbers, or simply a wholly unsuitable car for the job.

There’s also plenty of variety, with sports cars, saloons, compacts, coupés and convertibles covered, as well as a couple of 4x4s for good measure.

They cover a range of eras, too, though it appears that the economic boom of the ’80s was responsible for many of the strangest.

While some of these curiosities will be familiar, there are plenty that barely registered on the mainstream radar.

Either way, from transatlantic production lines to rotary-engined Aussies, via a German-engined, Italian-built, Japanese 4x4, all have a story to tell.

1. Chevrolet and Lotus

Think Chevrolet Corvette, and you probably picture an all-American sports car powered by a big pushrod V8.

What you probably don’t think of are high-revving, four-valve heads and input from a certain Hethel-based specialist sports-car manufacturer.

With Lotus owned by GM at the time of the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1’s development, however, it made sense for the Norfolk firm to work on a 32-valve, quad-cam V8 to power the pinnacle of the Corvette range.

The engine produced a mighty 385bhp (later 405bhp) and would be built by Mercury Marine.

To cope with a level of power not seen since the early 1970s, the 1990 ZR-1 wore 315-section rear tyres that required the widening of the rear bodywork by 3in, and received adjustable Bilstein dampers.

Unusually for the period, these could be controlled electronically from inside the car and gave 12 different levels of stiffness.

Unfortunately, rave reviews from the motoring press couldn’t get buyers past the high purchase price.

While the ZR-1 initially got squared-off tail-lights and different rear bodywork to easily differentiate it from lesser Corvettes, these were soon rolled out to the rest of the range, limiting appeal to wealthy poseurs.

After respectable initial sales, interest tailed off and the ZR-1 was discontinued in 1995.

Anorak fact C4 Corvettes with the six-speed manual ’box got a system called CAGS, or Computer Aided Gear Selection. This caused the driver to shift straight from first to fourth at low revs to protect the transmission

2. Nash and Austin

Unlike the vast majority of American car manufacturers, who were happy to build ever larger cars as the country entered the 1950s, Nash did quite the opposite.

Buoyed by customer feedback to the idea of an economical runaround to be used as a second car, it went into partnership with Austin to create the Nash Metropolitan.

Nash provided quintessentially American styling and much of the engineering, while Austin built the cars at Longbridge with its 1.2-litre, four-cylinder engine.

Performance, especially in later 1.5-litre form, was peppier than that of a contemporary VW Beetle, although the Bug vastly outsold the Metropolitan.

That’s partially down to the impractical design, with its minuscule rear seat and, on early models at least, no bootlid.

That meant flapping down the rear bench and digging around in the dark for your luggage.

Anorak fact Nash demanded a three-speed ’box, believing that more cogs could unsettle buyers, so Austin simply blocked off first on the A40’s four-speeder

3. Maserati and Citroën

The first-generation Maserati Quattroporte set the template for the typical luxury supersaloon.

This V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive brutal beauty was introduced in 1961, eventually going out of production in 1969 – not long after Citroën had purchased Maserati to help with what would become the SM.

Although it had been very publicly beavering away on that car’s V6 engine, there was plenty of work going on in the background and this bore fruit with the second-generation Quattroporte II, which stunned enthusiasts when the covers were pulled off at the 1974 Paris Salon.

Unfortunately, they were mainly stunned that Maserati would release something quite so sluggish.

Beneath the Modernist, Marcello Gandini-styled bodywork there was a stretched version of the SM’s platform, including its 2.7-litre V6 engine – unaltered – driving the front wheels, and its hydropneumatic suspension and braking system.

So much for following the template.

Not that many people even got the opportunity to buy one.

Citroën’s perilous financial position at the time meant that it couldn’t afford European Type Approval for the Quattroporte II, so the dozen or so that were made all ended up in the Middle East.

With Maserati heavily invested in a car that had limited appeal and an even more limited number of places to sell, it’s no wonder new owner Alejandro de Tomaso quickly killed it off, eventually replacing it with… a V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive saloon.

Anorak fact Rather than the SM’s bizarre brake ‘button’, the Quattroporte had a more conventional-looking pedal – albeit with next to no travel

4. Mazda and Holden

There’s a rich history of engine swaps turning the ordinary into the legendary.

Not all of them supply undernourished cars with the power levels their chassis are crying out for, however – quite the opposite can happen should the circumstances be strange enough.

In the mid-’70s, Mazda was looking to fill a large-car-sized hole in its domestic model line-up, and settled on the Australian Holden HJ Premier as a suitable candidate rather than expensively developing its own alternative.

A deal was agreed for Holden to send cars to Hiroshima for Mazda to rebadge and sprinkle with a little more luxury, creating the Mazda Roadpacer AP

But the Japanese firm decided to be clever, and was bitten hard on the backside.

To dodge local taxes on big-capacity motors, the HJs were shipped without their engines so Mazda could fit an alternative.

The 13B twin-rotor Wankel it slotted in had similar power to the old straight-six, but far less torque produced much higher up the rev range.

Acceleration in this near-1600kg tank was glacial, while its sub-15mpg thirst made a mockery of the fact that AP stood for ‘Anti-Pollution’.

After somehow selling around 800 examples, Mazda pulled the plug.

Anorak fact Some sources suggest Mazda got its HJs from General Motors for free, in exchange for information on perfecting rotary-engine technology

5. Isuzu, Chevrolet and Lotus

Giorgetto Giugiaro has designed his fair share of instantly recognisable cars, and the 1979 Isuzu Ace of Clubs was no exception.

Such was the response from press and public alike to the concept that it took Isuzu just 48 hours to give it the green light for production almost unchanged.

It was handy, then, that Isuzu had already sent Giugiaro a few Chevrolet Chevettes to work from.

This ‘T-car’ platform was shared with the more mundane Isuzu Gemini launched in 1974, along with the Vauxhall Chevette and its originator, the Opel Kadett.

Once in production and renamed ‘Piazza’ it did indeed look just like the concept car, down to the wacky pods on either side of the steering wheel that housed the various controls.

It didn’t go how it looked, though, with the antiquated live rear axle contributing to disappointing reviews from the press.

Cue another company joining the development party: Lotus. Reworked springs, dampers, suspension geometry and tyres calmed the tail-happy turbocharged tearaway, turning the Piazza into a rather entertaining little coupé.

Anorak fact The Piazza wasn’t the only Isuzu to get ‘Handling by Lotus’ badging. The Japanese-market Trooper was also available with Hethel fettling

6. Chrysler and Maserati

It was all the fashion in the 1980s for American automotive giants to go courting the Italians.

Over at Chrysler, Lee Iaccoca decided in ’84 to partner up with his old chum – and Maserati owner – Alejandro de Tomaso, leading to the Chrysler TC by Maserati

Rather than dump a big V8 in the middle of a supercar à la Pantera, the plan was to sprinkle some fairydust on to the dowdy front-wheel-drive Chrysler K-car range with a two-seater sports car that would be co-developed and built by Maserati.

Despite it looking like the shortened K-car it was, the TC’s bodywork was created by Maserati, which also designed a 16-valve cylinder head for the most powerful engine option, a Chrysler-sourced 2.2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder.

In the end, Cosworth built the heads, Mahle supplied the pistons and Maserati bolted it all together.

Unfortunately for this international effort, Maserati took its sweet time with the project.

Instead of being the first sporty two-door K-car launched, leaving cheaper and more workaday models such as the LeBaron to bask in its leather-lined glory, when the TC finally landed in 1988 it looked like an overpriced and beheaded econobox.

Anorak fact If you didn’t want four cylinders in your TC, there was the option of a Mitsubishi-sourced V6 that was also to be found under the bonnet of the Dodge Caravan MPV

7. Autech and Zagato

If you think ownership of a car designed and handbuilt by Zagato is the preserve of only the ridiculously wealthy, think again.

The snappily titled Autech Zagato Stelvio AZ1 cost as much as two Honda NSXs when it was launched, but these days you’ll pay less than half of what an original NSX is worth for one.

Oh, and if you’re wondering what on earth Autech is, it’s a subsidiary of Nissan that tweaks, tunes and converts the firm’s regular road cars and commercial vehicles.

The company was started in 1986 with spruced-up versions of the Silvia and Skyline.

By 1987 plans were afoot to produce its own, more bespoke model based on the Nissan Leopard.

Zagato penned the outrageous body and its craftsmen beat the aluminium that would form it by hand.

Autech itself breathed on the Leopard’s turbocharged 3-litre V6 so that it would allegedly produce 280bhp, although in reality that figure is probably north of the 300bhp mark.

This was delivered to all four wheels via a four-speed automatic gearbox, setting the scene for a comfy but quick coupé.

While all of that must have seemed like a terrific idea during Japan’s bubble economy, it soon popped – ensuring that only around half of the intended run of Stelvios was produced.

Anorak fact Zagato and Autech paired up again in the early 1990s to make the far more tame Gavia, but by that time the writing was on the wall for this partnership

8. Daihatsu and Bertone

The Volvo 780 isn’t the only bizarre ’80s Bertone collaboration, and the Freeclimber is arguably even more weird.

This Daihatsu Fourtrak-based 4x4 went from carthorse to catwalk thanks to the addition of a restyled nose, OZ alloys and a leather interior available with a long list of luxuries.

Bertone figured that Daihatsu’s meek engines wouldn’t cut the mustard in something priced in Range Rover territory, so a selection of German BMW six-cylinders – 2- and 2.7-litre petrols, plus a 2.4-litre turbodiesel – was mated to Japanese-sourced componentry in the Italian workshop.

Despite limited sales channels, around 2800 Bertone Freeclimbers were sold from 1989-’92 and you still see them trundling around Europe’s mountainous regions.

Anorak fact The Freeclimber II, based on the smaller Sportrak, used a BMW-built 1.6-litre ‘four’

9. Cadillac and Pininfarina

When Cadillac decided to go after the Mercedes-Benz SL in the 1980s, it sensibly decided to get a bit of European assistance from Pininfarina to create the Cadillac Allanté.

The Italian design house was tasked with styling, engineering and building an open-topped two-seater that would receive Cadillac’s 4.1-litre V8 powering the front wheels.

Someone in General Motors’ planning department must have been on some pretty heavy medication, because the decision was made to load fully painted and trimmed shells on to Boeing 747s in Italy and fly them to Detroit.

They were then plonked on to a production line, where the subframes, engines and suspension were bolted in.

Early cars leaked and, despite improvements over the years, including the introduction of the far more powerful 32-valve Northstar V8, sales never lived up to expectations.

Anorak fact Each one of the three 747s involved in the ‘Allanté Air Bridge’ from 1986-’93 was specially converted to transport the completed Cadillac shells securely

10. Lamborghini and Chrysler

Before the LM002 and the Urus, there was the 1977 Lamborghini Cheetah, arguably the firm’s first SUV.

We say ‘arguably’ because Lamborghini was contracted to build it by an American company called MTI, which was looking to fill a request from the US Army for a new off-roader – a role that would eventually be filled by the Humvee.

To help ensure reliability and ease of servicing – not something it would worry about with the LM002 – a 5.9-litre Chrysler V8 was slung behind the rear wheels.

Unfortunately, its power output of just 180bhp wasn’t really enough in a two-tonne 4x4.

It was enough, however, to highlight the inherent handling issues that a rear-mounted engine can bring, even with a fully independent suspension set-up.

This interesting layout led to other problems, too, because it was suspiciously similar to another potential military vehicle called the FMC XR311.

A lawsuit ensued and the Cheetah project was canned, leading BMW to also pull the M1 project out of the raging bull’s hooves.

Anorak fact Tamiya made 1:12-scale radio-controlled models of both the Cheetah and XR311, complete with a rear-mounted electric motor