20 1960s classic cars with unconventional engines

Daring to be different

Motoring manufacture today is largely a risk-averse affair, which makes the wild days of experimentation during the 1960s seem to belong to an entirely different universe.

More than 60 years ago, many major car makers were enjoying the boom that came along with post-war recovery. This era led to both fantastic, forward-thinking engineering and some dire dead ends, though it was anything but dull.

Here, in chronological order, we chart some of the boldest and most creative uses of engine layouts and designs in production-car history, and highlight several automotive firsts that we now take for granted.

1. 1960 BMW 700 Saloon

We might struggle to see BMW as anything other than the massive and highly successful international car manufacturer it is today but, in the 1950s and ’60s, it was very different.

Right up to the introduction of the ’02 series, BMW had lurched from one failure to the next. Even its glamorous and expensive 507 sports car apparently resulted in a financial loss.

Numerous small cars at the affordable end of the motoring market were floated yet most fell short, however, the Munich maker struck gold (relatively) with the 700.

Giovanni Michelotti penned a small, neat, four-door saloon to sit atop an engine largely lifted from the two-wheel side of the business.

In this instance, a two-cylinder, rear-mounted, air-cooled motor, based on the one fitted to the R67 motorbike.

2. 1960 Chevrolet Corvair

Infamous rather than famous, the Chevrolet Corvair might have been somewhat unfairly made the scapegoat for all the safety ills of the motoring sector in the 1960s, but it certainly wasn’t short of genuinely innovative engineering. Though the less said about its initial rear-suspension design the better…

Putting an engine in the back of a car was hardly a new concept by 1960, but a flat-six was – this was three years before the Porsche 911, remember.

The Corvair’s engine – which, incidentally, spun anticlockwise – featured hydraulic tappets and was even available with a turbocharger from 1962; only the second mass-production model to be so equipped.

3. 1962 Isuzu Bellel

The Bellel was Isuzu’s first major independent model.

Having learned its craft by building a version of the Hillman Minx under licence, Isuzu graduated to the Bellel.

That name, incidentally, roughly translates as ‘50 bells’ – the ‘suzu’ part of its maker’s moniker means ‘bell’.

Beyond largely marking the beginning of Isuzu as a car manufacturer, the Bellel was also significant because it introduced Japan to the diesel engine.

The frugal buyer (usually a taxi driver) could specify his/her Bellel with a 2-litre, naturally aspirated, four-cylinder, compression-ignition unit.

4. 1962 Matra-Bonnet Djet 

Matra is well known for its exploits in Formula One. The road-car side of its business, however, is far less well documented. Perhaps that’s because it only came about as something of an afterthought.

Racing driver and small-volume sports-car constructor René Bonnet had relied upon Matra’s composite skills and factory space to make his novel little Djet sports car a reality, back in 1962.

Facing financial difficulties a few years later, due to a lack of demand for said pioneering machine – the first production car to feature a rear-mid-engine layout – Bonnet sold his firm to Matra in 1964.

Matra went on to improve the Djet, producing it until 1967.

5. 1962 Oldsmobile Jetfire

By the early ’60s the adage ‘no replacement for displacement’ was getting ridiculous. Engines of 7 litres or more were necking fuel like it was going out of fashion.

Facing stiff competition from more efficient imported models, General Motors decided to innovate.

Aside from its cousin the Chevrolet Corvair Monza – that beat it to market by a few weeks – the Jetfire was the first turbocharged mass-produced model. 

It used the 215cu in V8 and a single Garrett T5 turbo with methanol injection; due to the motor’s 10.25:1 compression.

Sadly, the methanol-injected mix, called ‘Turbo Rocket Fluid’, was stored in a remote pressure vessel that owners rarely bothered to refill.

6. 1963 Chrysler Turbine

Dreams of whooshing along the freeways and interstates of the USA, powered by a jet-turbine engine, had been forming in the frontal lobes of automotive engineers as early as the Second World War.

It wasn’t until the 1950s that Chrysler, above any of the other Big Three, got a prototype working well enough to evaluate. 

Fast forward a decade and 50 American drivers received their new, pre-production, Ghia-bodied, bronze Turbine cars for evaluation.

If feedback was promising, we’d have had jet cars in every showroom around the world in short order. Perhaps it goes without saying that it wasn’t, because we don’t, but the bonkers idea of powering a car with a jet engine was, briefly, made reality.

7. 1963 Panhard CD

Allegedly named after its company director’s initials – Charles Deutsch – the Panhard CD is most famous for its Index of Performance class victory at the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1962.

The extremely light and low-drag two-cylinder-powered CD was also able to fend off stiff competition – from the aforementioned Matra-Bonnet Djet – to finish 16th overall, causing such a stir that it was decided to put it into limited production.

With the CD moniker also proving apt for expressing this pint-sized machine’s 0.22 coefficient of drag, there was little need for a big engine.

Still, the Panhard flat-twin unit was good for around 100mph, in either of its two states of tune.

8. 1964 Tatra T2-603

This magnificent Eastern Bloc beast originally emerged from Tatra’s Czech works back in 1957, but here we’re focusing on the 1964 facelifted T2-603.

There’s no shortage of innovative engineering touches to this Tatra, though, sadly, post-facelift models did without the third, central headlight that rotated with the front axle, instead having four lamps arranged in two pairs.

What remains is this car’s party piece: a rear, air-cooled, V8 engine. The 2.5-litre unit makes just 99bhp, due mainly to its comically low 6.5:1 compression ratio.

We’d imagine – because it’s so low – it’d happily run on non-state sanctioned, bathtub-brewed vodka. Whatever its motor ingested, it was allegedly good enough to ferry around Fidel Castro.

9. 1964 Porsche 911

First revealed to the public a year before, the original Porsche 901 – renamed 911 due to objections from Peugeot – entered series production from September 1964.

Although it first appeared in 1904 – and was used before the 911 to power cars from Tucker and Chevrolet (48 and Corvair respectively) – the flat-six engine has become synonymous with Porsche.

We don’t really see it as odd today, but the fact the Porsche 911 deployed a rear-mounted, air-cooled, six-cylinder opposed engine was seen as strikingly different in 1963.

Its distinctive combination of powerplant and positioning have become mainstays of classic 911 interest ever since.

10. 1964 Honda S600

If you’re going to set out your stall as a car manufacturer, then Honda’s first export model, the S600, is certainly hard to beat.

This fantastically handsome and clever little sports car told the world in no uncertain terms that the name Honda meant meticulous mechanical engineering.

The S600’s tiny 606cc, all-aluminium, four-cylinder engine might have made a relatively modest 58bhp, but the whole car only weighed a smidge over 700kg (c1540lb).

That power, which wasn’t far off the magic 100bhp per litre, was produced at a monumental 8500rpm, with the redline arriving 1000rpm later.

It also boasted double-wishbone front suspension, independent trailing-arm rear suspension and rack-and-pinion steering.

11. 1964 NSU Spider 

In a similar vein to the little Honda we’ve just seen, NSU wanted to wow the world with its own technical prowess, also offering a small, light sports car that boasted a revolutionary powerplant.

In the case of this West German Spider, that meant the world’s first mass-produced version of Felix Wankel’s revolutionary (excuse the pun) rotary engine concept. 

Beyond its 250cc motorcycle-inspired powerplant, the Spider also boasted Bertone-penned beauty and bright colours that were hoped would appeal to buyers worldwide.

Unfortunately, reception to this genuinely novel sports car was muted, to put it kindly… Fewer than 2500 were made up to 1967.

12. 1964 Peugeot 404

For a long period of time, Peugeot was a brand that conjured thoughts of rugged and dependable engineering.

For decades, the famous French marque made models that were often compared to Mercedes-Benz and Volvo for dependability and longevity.

The model that arguably kicked off that bygone era was the 404. Neat yet unremarkable styling (at least for the four-door) came courtesy of Pininfarina, however, the 404’s real claim to fame was its range of diesel engines.

The original compression-ignition motor, which was rough and unreliable, was swapped for a more powerful version in 1964, largely heralding the start of the production diesel saloon as we know it.

13. 1965 Wartburg 353/Knight

The Wartburg 353 – known as the Knight in the British market – was one of those rare examples of a cheaply produced car from the Eastern Bloc that wasn’t entirely hopeless, and it was powered by a two-stroke, three-cylinder, 991cc engine.

In its cabin appointments, front-wheel-drive layout and aerodynamics at least, it was on a par (or even superior) to budget machines from the West.

Though those usually didn’t drive around followed by a blue tinted, burnt-oil fog…

14. 1967 Honda N360

The kei car has become a motoring cultural phenomenon the world over but, back in the 1960s, these tiny machines weren’t just fashionable, they were providing essential service on the narrow streets of Japan’s crowded cities.

One of the smallest of them all was the clearly Mini-influenced Honda N360.

In its most diminutive domestic form, the N360 got its minuscule motive power (31bhp) via a tiny 354cc, in-line, two-cylinder engine, based on those found in Honda’s motorcycles.

A slightly more powerful N600 version was made available for export markets, but didn’t prove successful.

15. 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport

Having been narrowly beaten to the honour – by NSU – of producing the world’s first production Wankel car engine, Mazda did get in first with the dual-rotor-powered Cosmo Sport.

This sleek little two-seater was the marque’s first luxury coupé and paved the way for the future greatness of the twin-rotor engine; without the Mazda Cosmo, there would be no RX-7.

Mazda’s clever use of aluminium-carbon overcame technical issues with its rotor-tip seals.

Although it didn’t suffer the same catastrophic warranty recalls as NSU later would with its Ro80, the tiny number of Cosmos built (between 1200 and 1550) meant it made little impact at the time.

16. 1967 NSU Ro80

Speaking of massive warranty claims… As far as the automotive what-might-have-been goes, they don’t come much more agonisingly close to glory than the NSU Ro80.

This aerodynamically slippery and innovative front-wheel-drive saloon was exquisitely built and exceptionally advanced, a masterclass of European automotive design that was light years ahead of its competition. 

In one area however, it proved too much of a leap: its engine. Unlike Mazda’s take on the rotary, NSU never satisfactorily resolved the longevity of its rotor tips, which lead to financially crippling warranty claims for failures.

This ruined both the car’s and its maker’s reputations, ultimately forcing NSU into the hands of the Volkswagen group.

17. 1967 Saab 96 (V4)

Any of the teardrop-shaped Saab saloons of the 1960s would rightly deserve a place on this list. However, it’s the V4-powered 96 that we’ve singled out.

As opposed to its three-cylinder, two-stroke forebears, this 96 had a ‘proper’ engine, but one that was still of an unusual design. 

The V4 motor deployed had come from the Ford parts bin and was originally designed to power the 1962 Taunus – not to be confused with the more common V4 found in British Fords.

Both the V4s built in Britain and Germany would provide the foundation for enlarged V6s – the Essex and Cologne respectively – but it was the distinct thrum of the V4 that we fondly remember powering Saabs of the 1960s.

18. 1968 Volkswagen Type 3

Trying to expand its range beyond the Beetle, Volkswagen developed the more comfortable and advanced Type 3 platform in 1961.

This eventually gave Wolfsburg a handsome and larger saloon, estate and coupé to add to the still wildly popular Beetle line-up.

The engine was similar to that powering VW’s aforementioned peoples’ car, though its height was reduced, but that isn’t why it gains a place on this list…

From 1968, Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection became standard fitment to the Type 3 E, making it the world’s first mass-market, standard-fit, fuel-injected passenger car – qualities no one could or would level at the true fuel-injection pioneer, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL.

19. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL-1

What’s revolutionary about fitting a big-block V8 to a ’60s American muscle car you may ask yourself. Not a lot, except for that, in 1969 – if you knew which boxes to tick – you could specify your Chevrolet Corvette, Camaro or Chevelle with a Can-Am engine!

That’s right, the ZL-1 and other select COPO (Central Office Production Order) cars came with ‘Super Power’, which translated into a 427cu in, aluminium (or iron), 425bhp, big-block V8.

The ZL-1’s powerplant wasn’t quite a motorsport motor, yet it evolved from Chevrolet’s involvement in the Sports Car Club of America’s Can-Am Challenge Cup series a few years prior.

Engines with essentially the same architecture were, however, found in roadgoing Camaros that could trace their roots back to Bruce McLaren’s famous Can-Am monsters.

20. 1960 Ecurie Ecosse TS3 transporter

Granted, it’s not a car (which is why we’ve placed it last in our list), but if you can get over that then this wild card 1960s mechanical marvel demands your attention.

Did we mention it’s powered by a three-cylinder, two-stroke, supercharged diesel engine?

The famous Ecurie Ecosse racing team needs little introduction – you’ve no doubt already seen its successful Le Mans winning Jaguars – but did you know that the truck that carried them was powered by a remarkably special engine?

Developed by Kent engineering firm Tilling-Stevens, the TS3 featured two horizontally opposed pistons per cylinder, making six in total, all sharing a crankshaft, and a displacement of 3.25 litres that developed 105bhp at 2400rpm and 270lb ft of torque at 1200rpm.