24 cracking classic estate cars

Estates of the art

Sometimes you want a bit extra from a car. Whether you’re off for a bumper trip to IKEA, or perhaps taking the family and the dogs away, estate cars are wonderfully useful.

However, classic wagons are rare things. Many first served as family workhorses, then were handed down to tradesmen as work hacks before their eventual return to mineral form via the ravages of tin worm.

While the more obvious sportier and luxurious members of the model range survived into an era of classic appreciation, the humble estate was often forgotten, even more so than its saloon brethren. On the other side of the coin, one-off shooting brakes (sometimes the spelling ‘shooting breaks’ is used) offered extra space for the well-heeled who could afford a limited-run conversion.

However, classic estates – if you can find them – can often be worth rather a lot these days, while shooting brakes are always collectible.

We’ve brought together 24 of our favourite classic estate cars and shooting brakes – some everyday models, some very special one-offs. Let us know which are your favourites…

1. Mercedes-Benz S123


The Mercedes-Benz 123-series was a landmark car for the three-pointed star. Though still reassuringly expensive, it helped to bring the brand to a wider audience.

Despite a conservative look, it packed a lot of the technology and engineering rigidity from the visually similar S-Class into a smaller shape.

It soon became known for its innate toughness, and rampantly successful sales figures across its saloon, coupé and estate forms. The latter was a new thing for Mercedes-Benz – the S123, or T models (T standing for Tourismus und Transport) was the first factory-built estate car for the firm. Nearly 45 years later it’s hard to imagine the Mercedes-Benz line-up without an estate in it.

After a period as just a secondhand Mercedes, the 123-series in general has rocketed up in price.

2. Volvo 1800ES

The Volvo 1800ES lived only a short life, but its influence has been felt at its car maker many times since. The P1800 upon which it was based was designed to take on European and American sports car markets. Its journey from concept to production was a twisting one – a subject for another time – but it became very popular due to its appearance in The Saint.  

Late in the model’s life, the 1800ES was launched – a two-door sports estate. Despite stiff competition from Sergio Coggiola and Pietro Frua, in-house stylist Jan Wilsgaard’s ‘beach car’ design got the nod.

Engine power was detuned to 125bhp due to a reduced compression ratio and thicker cylinder head gasket, but this served to make on-road performance less peaky. The rear seats folded flat, to create a long loading area perfect for surfboards.

Sadly with expensive-to-implement American legislative changes looming for 1974, the ES would live for only two years, and just over 8000 would be built.

3. Packard One-Twenty Deluxe Station Wagon 

The Packard One-Twenty holds a fascinating point in the marque’s history – the One-Twenty was an important car because the brand had only just avoided financial peril during the Great Depression.

It needed a mid-market car to keep the money coming in, seeing as there were now fewer wealthy people around to buy its most expensive models.

Powered by two versions of a straight-eight engine, the first generation was built between 1935 and 1937, before the brand name was folded into the Packard Eight range.

The name would return for 1939-1941, with just one straight-eight engine, a 282cu in unit, offered. For 1941 only, two station wagon options were available – Standard or Deluxe – and were built by Hercules of Evansville, Indiana, using framework of light-coloured white ash with insert panels of dark mahogany.

The woodie station wagons were at the very top of the model range and as such are luxuriously finished and rare.

4. Audi RS2

The Audi RS2 was the brainchild of one of the most exacting automotive managers in the business – Ferdinand Piëch. He wanted an estate car with the performance of a sports car, so turned to Porsche to make his dream happen.

Built on the same Rossle-Bau production line that gave the world the Porsche 959 and Mercedes-Benz E500, what started as a noble but dull Audi 80 Avant became something that could out-accelerate a McLaren F1 to 30mph.

The original Audi five-pot was given a thorough upgrade, with a bigger turbo and uprated intercooler, fuel injectors, camshaft, exhaust system and ECU, while the suspension and braking systems were upgraded to Porsche specification. Its 0-62mph sprint of 4.8 secs is still quick today, aided by its four-wheel-drive system.

5. Fiat/Autobianchi Giardiniera 

The Fiat 500 was a great success for its maker, but, like the Mini, growing families needed more room.

In 1960, Fiat introduced the Giardiniera (gardener) estate car, with a longer wheelbase and its engine carried horizontally beneath the rear load area, maximising the luggage space. Despite its diminutive dimensions, it could carry four people and 127kg of luggage, and record a top speed of 60mph (eventually).

From 1968 production moved to Autobianchi, which had built its first car in the 1900s before gaining greater prominence with racing motorcycles.

Autobianchi was well versed in the 500, having built the Bianchina coupé on its underpinnings. It had also built the Panoramica estate car on the Giardiniera’s space-saving engine philosophy, but aimed at an upmarket clientele. The firm continued with Giardiniera production until 1977. 

6. Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham d’Elegance Station Wagon

Cadillac refused to officially enter the station wagon market for many years, only introducing one to the range with the CTS in 2010. However, plenty have been converted, by many different coachbuilders, going back to the start of the marque’s history.

The one you see before you was built by RS Harper Custom Coachbuilders for the Wilson-Crissman Cadillac dealership in Detroit, to shuttle around customers who brought cars in for service.

The only one thought to have been built with a sunroof, it was so beloved by the dealer principal’s mother she eventually kept it for herself. It later formed part of the Ed Meurer collection.

7. Morris Minor Traveller

The Morris Minor had been in production for five years before the Traveller joined the range with its wood-framed rear.

Crafted from varnished ash, these cars required the special attention of MG. Its Abingdon factory not only had the knowhow about how to deal with wooden bodies, but the main Cowley plant had moved away from body-on-frame production.

In later life, production moved to the ex-Wolseley plant in Adderley Park, where the Travellers would be built alongside their van and pick-up brethren; at the same time, vibrant colours such as lime green and turquoise became available.

Despite its rather genteel image and an engine that at best delivered 48bhp, the car’s rear-wheel-drive chassis would help develop the talents of a certain Tiff Needell. His flamboyant sideways driving style was, apparently, honed using his mother’s Morris Minor Traveller…

8. Lancia Thema 8.32 Estate

The Lancia 8.32 was always a peculiar car. While the concept of putting a Ferrari 308 engine into a saloon is a great marketing tool, mating it to a front-wheel-drive chassis could be seen as rather odd.

But then that was the luxury chassis Lancia had, one developed for use with the Fiat Croma, Alfa Romeo 164 and Saab 9000. The interior is truly luxurious, with handmade Alcantara or Poltrona Frau leather upholstery and matt-finished veneered burr wood.

The performance was strong, too – it could crack 60mph in around 7 secs and top out at 146mph. To aid high-speed stability, it featured a novel retractable rear spoiler. Well, the saloon car did – you’re looking at a one-off Thema Estate built for Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli. He had several one-offs built for him, and he appears to have liked this one, because he held on to the car from 1989 until 1995. Another unnamed ‘Italian VIP’ took stewardship of the car for the next five years.

It was offered for sale by Bonhams in 2005, a year after it had last been run. That didn’t stop it selling for €19,550 – we wonder where it is now? However, it’s not the only 8.32 estate – a Dutch example was offered by Bring A Trailer in 2018.

9. Aston Martin DB5 Radford

The Aston Martin DB5 might be a great enough car for a certain secret agent, but even Mr Bond has some jobs that require rather more than the standard car can provide – it wouldn’t be good for a tip run, would it?

However, a trip to the municipal recycling plant would be a bit below this car, the Radford-built DB5. It came about because David Brown, boss of Aston Martin, found getting his polo gear, hunting equipment and dogs into his car a tight squeeze, and his faithful hounds had a habit of chomping the leather seats. The factory happily built him a one-off, but once its existence became known, other Aston customers wanted one, too.

With the Aston factory at capacity, work was contracted to Radford. The car’s entire body from the windscreen backwards was changed, which meant that the conversion was spectacularly expensive, adding £2000 to the DB5’s £4412 base price – or nearly an entire E-type. Just 12 were built.

10. BMW 3 Series Touring

The BMW 3 Series Touring may now be a stalwart of the range, but its origins are distinctly unconventional.

A BMW engineer by the name of Max Reisböck was frustrated he couldn’t get all his family and gear into his E30 saloon, so he decamped to a friend’s garage with a wrecked 323i saloon and set about building one himself over a period of six months. At the insistence of his family and co-workers, he showed it to his BMW bosses, who were so impressed they kept the car. Three years later the Touring was born, with only very minor adjustments to Reisböck’s design.

The E30 Touring went on to become popular, with 103,704 built by the time it went off-sale in 1993. You can choose from a range of four- and six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, delivered to the road via either rear- or four-wheel drive.

11. Rolls-Royce Phantom II Shooting Brake

The Rolls-Royce Phantom II was the last of 40/50 HP models, and used an all-new chassis to house the improved Phantom I 7668cc straight-six. The crossflow cylinder head was a new design, while the engine was mounted directly to the four-speed manual transmission for the first time.

Unlike earlier 40/50 models, the power was directed to the rear wheels with an open driveshaft, a hypoid bevel final drive and a Hotchkiss drive. The use of semi-elliptical springs allowed the frame to be lower, which improved handling.

Around 1400 Phantom IIs were built, with bodies from Park Ward, Brewster, Thrupp & Maberly, Carlton, Henley and Hooper, though this particular 1930 shooting brake’s designer is unknown.

Originally owned by SC Harrison from British city Birmingham, it passed to cigarette magnate WF Player of Nottingham, who replaced its original Weymann fabric saloon body with this wooden shooting brake one. It would later pass through the hands of Lord Doune, the Earl of Moray (descendent of King James V of Scotland), before heading to Florida’s Woodie World museum.

It was sold in 2020 via RM Sotheby’s for $285,000.

12. Lynx Eventer

The Jaguar XJ-S/XJS had plenty of what GT buyers wanted: lusty performance from a straight-six or V12, impeccable trim inside, and an elegant look that while not quite as immediately popular as the E-type, was soon warmed to.

It’s one of the most popular classic Jaguars among enthusiasts, and it’s easy to see why. The only problem is that there isn’t much space for dogs, luggage or golf clubs. Enter Lynx with the Eventer shooting brake.

Just 67 are believed to have been built, but this particular example is the only one to have received the full gamut of TWR upgrades. The first owner was Raymond Burton, son of Montague Burton who founded the Burton men’s outfitters retail group, who after just 341 miles sent the car to TWR for a 6.1-litre engine displacement upgrade, which yielded 380bhp. It later passed through a couple of owners, was restored in 2010-2011 and offered for sale by Bonhams MPH in 2020.

13. Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country Station Wagon

The Chrysler New Yorker of 1957 was a fresh look for the New Yorker brand – it was part of Virgil Exner’s ‘Forward Look’ design philosophy push, a project that is believed to have cost $300m.

However, Chrysler’s faith in Exner was rewarded with critical success – US title Motor Trend was so impressed with the handling, performance and styling that it gave the New Yorker its coveted Car of the Year award.

The New Yorker certainly had the performance to live up to the title, with a 392cu in Firepower Hemi V8 that delivered 325bhp (though this was later replaced with the 350bhp Golden Lion V8). If the shove was more basic in its appeal, the technology pioneered on the New Yorker was distinctly novel – the ‘Torsion Aire’ torsion bar suspension improved ride and handling.

The car put Chrysler firmly on the map at the luxury end of the market, and this was one of the most expensive cars in the range. As a result, little more than 10,000 New Yorkers of this era were built, a handful of which were Town and Country Station Wagons. 

14. Saab 95 Break

The Saab 95 lived a very long life – the first cars rolled out in 1959, the last in 1978.

Originally based on the 93, for its first eight years it used an 841cc three-cylinder two-stroke engine, but in 1967 it was replaced with the four-stroke Ford Taunus V4 used in the Sonett, which was matched to a four-speed manual gearbox.

The presence of that four-speed ’box meant that the 95 was campaigned in rallying before the 96, which still had a three-speed unit. So, in 1961 the 95 was entered into the Monte-Carlo Rally; it didn’t win but it set Saab up for its more successful returns with the now four-speed 96s in subsequent years.

Production of all 95s ended in 1978, totalling 110,527.

15. Oldsmobile Dynamic Series 70

This Oldsmobile is definitely an anomaly – while the firm built a station wagon in 1940, it was only on the Series 60 chassis, and crafted by Mid-State Body Company of Waterloo, New York.

This car is thought to be the only prototype built on the 140-inch Dynamic Series 70 chassis. Its body identification tag shows it was a two-door saloon, which is believed to have been the basis for Mid-State Body Company’s custom creation.

It spent 30 years stored in a barn in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, before being discovered by a local enthusiast when said barn was demolished. Though in solid overall condition and able to run after a dash of fresh oil, the eventual restoration lasted two decades with as much of the original bodywork and interior kept as possible.

16. Citroën DS Break/Safari/Wagon

The Citroën DS brought true futuristic glamour to everyday life – it’s venerated as four-wheeled art now, but it was an everyday car. That meant it had to perform daily duties, too, and the cavernous estate versions didn’t trade elegance for practicality.

Known by a variety of names depending on where you were (Break in France, Safari and Estate in the UK, Wagon in the US, and Safari and Station-Wagon in Australia), the DS used a steel roof to support the standard roof-rack.

Of course, the looks aren’t the only beautiful part of the DS package – the hydropneumatic suspension system allowed the car to be raised or lowered depending on the ruggedness of the road, and provided a magic carpet ride. It was so good at absorbing bumps, the BBC employed one as a camera car.

17. Nash Rambler Station Wagon

The Nash Rambler is one of the most important American cars ever made.

The predominant view among American motorists was that they’d rather drive a secondhand full-size car than a new compact car. The Nash Rambler changed all that, by ensuring families didn’t have to scrimp on interior space, nor lose everyday practicality. It was the first compact car to be truly successful in the USA, helped by the brave decision to lead the car’s launch with a two-door convertible as a halo car, fed by its European looks.

The trick worked, aided by US citizens’ exposure to lighter, smaller and sporty European cars during the Second World War. Rather than a big V8, the Nash used a 2.8-litre 82bhp straight-six. While the traditional Detroit titans went for size and power, the little Nash won fans for its fuel economy and excellent equipment level.

A two-door station wagon joined the range in 1951, two years before a Pinin Farina restyle. A four-door station wagon would follow a year later, and yet another year later there’d be another restyle. Importantly, the interiors were designed by Helene Rother to increase its appeal among female buyers.

However, it wasn’t enough to turn a tide in American tastes that returned to ‘bigger is better’, and 1955 was the car’s last year. 

18. Ford Granada 2.8 Ghia X

The Ford Granada was the ultimate perch on the company car ladder for many people in the UK. The likes of Jaguar, Rover and some foreign fare might have been considered, but for many the Granada was the sure sign that you’d made it to the top of the company car fleet. And a Ghia X model? Well, you’d properly arrived.

It was the highest-specification car in the British Ford catalogue, and came with plush leather seats, an electric tilt and slide sunroof, electric seat adjustment, heated seats, trip computer, air conditioning and, of course, the grunty urge of a Cologne V6.

The MkIII Granada was a much curvier proposition that aped the styling of the controversial Sierra, and didn’t quite have the same pull as the square-cut MkI and MkII. Within a few years Ford of Europe pulled out of the luxury market altogether, with one eye on not competing with new acquisitions Volvo and Jaguar, or going head-to-head with an ever-easily attainable German opposition.

However, for those of a certain age, the sight of a Granada MkII will be more exciting than even the DB5 shooting brake from earlier…

19. Buick Invicta Estate Wagon

The Buick Invicta lived only a short life, but the ingredients were tasty. Into the standard-size LeSabre/Special body was placed the 364cu in and 401cu in Nailhead V8s, and big engines in small packages are rarely boring.

You can’t really say that about the Invicta anyway, because its design is very much of the maximalist, wings and flares style, carrying on the tradition of Ventiports on the front bumpers (sorry, fenders) from the Buick Century. Sales weren’t great, but the ride quality proved a hit among its owners.

As you can see from this particular example, modifying estates has become very popular, from ‘rat look’ surf wagons to highly professional projects such as those undertaken by the late, great Paul Newman, who dropped fruity engines into otherwise humdrum Volvo 240 estates…

20. Jensen GT Sports Hatchback

The Jensen-Healey owes its existence to the cancellation of the Austin-Healey 3000. The car had been very popular in America, and its US importer Kjell Qvale was keen to find a replacement. Jensen, who’d built the 3000’s bodies, was also keen to find a replacement, for fairly obvious reasons.

Initial design work was done by Hugo Poole, with finishing work from William Towns. Barry Bilbie, who’d engineered the 100, 100-6 and 3000, developed the chassis, while the engine was a four-cylinder, 16v Lotus unit.

The car received good reviews, but there were teething problems. Despite this, in 1975 the range was expanded with the GT Sports Hatchback, a two-door estate inspired by the Reliant Scimitar GTE and Volvo 1800ES. It lived a short production life, as Jensen entered receivership in May 1976 – just 511 are believed to have been built.

21. Bentley MkVI by Rippon

The Bentley MkVI was the first car to appear from the manufacturer after the war, and the first produced under the ownership of Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce believed demand for the traditional process of ordering a chassis and taking it to a coachbuilder for a custom body would fall away, and set up a contract with the Pressed Steel Company for a standard body to carry four people in comfort. However, the chassis would be made available to independent coachbuilders, too.

Rippon was one of those, and is responsible for this estate car body, of which just two are believed to have been built on a MkVI chassis. Rippon Brothers of Huddersfield had been associated with coachbuilding since the 15th century, and worked for the Earl of Rutland and Queen Elizabeth. The same firm was known as Rippon & Marsom from 1882, and then taken on by Rippon’s two sons. It later became known as Rippon Brothers Ltd, eventually closing in 1970, one year after Colonel Reginald Rippon’s passing.

This particular example was ordered by Captain George H Ackroyd, of the West Yorkshire carpet manufacturers TF Firth & Sons, and built to his specifications. This means that unlike many ‘woodie’ vehicles, it has a sunroof.

22. VW Type 3 Squareback

The Volkswagen Type 3 was the firm’s attempt to build more of a family car than the Beetle, and used the same air-cooled, rear-mounted engine and rear-wheel-drive layout. The original car launched in 1961, with the Variant (or Squareback as it’s known in the US) estate version appearing early the next year. While never as popular as the Beetle, more than 1.2 million were built.

The car became highly popular in the surfing community – not only could it carry your boards, but you could fold the rear seats flat to provide somewhere to sleep. It’s hard not to think of sunny surfing scenes without picturing a Squareback parked among the dunes.

It has also provided the basis for wild and wonderful modifications over the years.

23. Austin Mini Countryman/Morris Mini Traveller

The Mini was a massive success for its manufacturer, a triumph of intelligent packaging in such a small size. However, there’s always room for more space and, if you have a dog, unless it’s tiny the Mini is a challenging place for both owner and faithful hound.

In late 1960, the Austin Mini Countryman and Morris Mini were launched, both with a decorative, non-structural ash wood trim on the rear body. A fully steel-bodied car was launched for export markets in early 1961 and for the home market in 1962, at a lower cost than the wood-framed cars.

The car was 9.87in longer than the standard Mini. Production lasted until late 1969, having gained an automatic gearbox option and synchromesh manual along the way.

Around 108,000 examples of the Austin Countryman and 99,000 Mini Travellers were built, though versions were produced in South Africa, Portugal and Italy.

24. Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona Shooting Brake

The Ferrari 365GTB/4 was Maranello’s advance on a rapidly changing US market – it was bigger, bolder and faster than what had gone before.

Imports to the US were dealt with by the Chinetti family, and Luigi had won three Le Mans 24 Hours in Ferrari colours. However, his son (also Luigi), was not only a good driver, but also a talented designer. You’re looking at the one-off built to Luigi Chinetti Jnr’s specification.

After some detail work by Gene Garfinkle, the design was approved for Bob Gittleman (a leading architect of the time) and the conversion was entrusted to Panther Westwinds in the UK.

The rear compartment is accessed by two butterfly/gullwing-style windows, which looks fantastic, but might prove difficult to encourage your dog to get into…