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The auto industry hasn't a single universal definition for a "shooting brake." Long story short, there's confusion between what constitutes a "shooting brake" from a stations wagon, 2+2, coupe, hatchback, sports wagon, etc. So, this article was inspired by the hopes of settling the confusion and informing enthusiasts about the history and evolution of these automotive body styles that began as horse-drawn vehicles.
The Shooting Brake Archive
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
1973-1982 Volkswagen Brasília
1973 Chevrolet Corvette Shooting Brake
1974 Corvette Shooting Brake
1974 Cadillac Eldorado Estate Wagon
1974 Fiat 130 Maremma
1974 Lotus Elite
1974 Triumph TR6 Shooting Brake
1975-1986 Reliant Scimitar GTE (SE6/ 6A/B)
1975 Jensen GT
1975 Ferrari 365 GT4 Croisette SW by Felber
1975 Lancia (Beta) HPE
1976-1977 Triumph TR7 Tracer
1976 Vauxhall Magnum Sportshatch
1976 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Shooting Brake
1977 Pontiac Firebird Type K by Pininfarina
1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Shooting Brake
1977 Renault Project 121
1978 Porsche 928 Shooting Brake by Evil Genius Racing
1978 Lamborghini Faena Concept by Frua
1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Shooting Brake
1980 ARTZ Audi UR Quattro Kombi
1980 Porsche 924 Kombi
1980 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II Shooting Brake
1981 Ferrari 365 GT4 Croisette SW
1982 Lancia Gamma Olgiata by Pininfarina
1982 Lynx Eventer XJS Shooting Brake
1982 Volkswagen Series II Polo Squareback
1983 Bentley Mulsanne Turbo Shooting Brake
1983 Jaguar XJS Shooting Brake by Andreas Burlet
1984 Porsche 928-4 Shooting Brake Prototype
1985 Pontiac Trans Am Kammback Concept
1986 Citroen BX Dyana
1986 Volvo 480 ES
1986 Honda Accord AeroDeck Shooting Brake
1986 ‘N13’ Nissan EXA (Pulsar NX)
1987 BMW Z1 Coupe
1987 Porsche 928 H50 Shooting Brake
1987 Aston Martin Lagonda Shooting Brake
1988-1990 Middlebridge Scimitar
1988 Porsche DP44 Cargo
1989 Volkswagen Corrado Magnum Sport Kombi Prototypes
1991 Subaru Amadeus
1992 Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake
1994 Alfa Romeo 145
1994 Mercedes-Benz S 500 Shooting Brake by Zagato
1995 Ferrari 456 GT Venice
1996 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Sportsman Estate
1998-2002 BMW Z3 E36 Coupe
1999 Toyota NCSV
1999 Chevrolet Nomad
1973–1982 Volkswagen Brasília
The Volkswagen Brasília is a rear-engined compact car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen in Brazil between 1974 and 1982; in Mexico from 1975-1982; and as knock down kits in Nigeria, where it was marketed as the Igala from 1976–1980.
Designed to replace the Beetle (or Fusca) in the Brazilian market and initially available in a three-door and five-door hatchback body style, the Brasília combined the air-cooled engine of the Volkswagen Beetle, the chassis of the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, and styling reminiscent of the Volkswagen 412.
Developed by Volkswagen do Brasil (Volkswagen of Brazil) and internally designated as the Type 321, the Brasília was named after Brazil's capital city. By the end of 1982, over one million examples had been manufactured.
1973 Chevrolet Corvette Shooting Brake
This wild Corvette wagon for sale on Craigslist has a practical hatch in the back and a proto-lightbar upfront. Builders have been grafting a more extended roof onto the rears of Corvettes for decades. In the 1970s, several designers and builders all made their takes on how a long-roof C3 Corvette should look.
One such builder, Michigan-based custom car builder Chuck Miller had a client with a tall order. As Corvette Magazine reports, Uriel Jones, a drummer in Motown’s the Funk Brothers, loved his Corvette but was disappointed that it couldn’t haul his gear. Miller decided that the best way to fill Jones’ needs was to build a wagon. Miller contacted Harry Bradley, an industrial designer that worked at GM and designed Hot Wheels for Mattel, to design a wagon rear end that matched the Corvette’s design.
The result was a wagon with an expanded cargo capacity that looked like it rolled out of the factory that way. Miller built a handful of Corvette wagons before passing the torch onto Ralph Eckler, who sold the wagon conversions as a kit. Bradley’s design for Betterton would take the Corvette wagon idea to the extreme.
The wagon portion was built on a steel roll cage flanked by Lexan side windows that wrap around the roof. A more detailed ad for the car says that the wagon roof portion is attached to the chassis using rubber mounts and can flex with the rest of the vehicle. Bradley also ditched the Corvette’s taillights, instead opting for the full-width taillight setup from a 1971 Ford Thunderbird.
1974 Chevy Corvette Shooting Brake
In addition to its Camaro-esque exposed peepers, this Corvette has been upgraded to a 1980-82 front clip, with its integrated chin spoiler. We don’t know when this conversion was completed, but its designer/builder must have had a crystal ball–not only did they predict the AeroWagen concept, they also knew that pop-up headlights were a thing of Corvettes past.
1974 Cadillac Eldorado Estate Wagon
A number of coachbuilding companies created Cadillac station wagons back in the 1960s and 1970s. Many were based on Fleetwoods or DeVilles and wound up looking like hearses.
1974 Fiat 130 Maremma
In 1974, Sergio Pininfarina presented two versions of the Fiat 130 that he had dreamed up to Fiat management: the Maremma and the Opera sedan. True, there's no ruling out that the designer's close friend Gianni Agnelli was the one to propose a shooting brake version of the 130. At the time, the Fiat 130 sedan sales were far from impressive, even after launching a coupé version in 1971 with a 3.2-litre V6 engine and a revamped interior, so they needed something extraordinary that could pique the interest of potential buyers. Something luxurious that also had a sense of sportiness – for example, the Maremma, named after the region in Tuscany famous for its olive groves and vineyards and was popular among hunters.
1974 Lotus Elite
The sloping wedge we see here was the second time Lotus used the Elite name in its lineup. The first was back in the late 1950s when the Elite was a super-light coupe weighing 1,110 pounds. This original Elite remained in production from 1958 to 1963, replaced by the entirely more famous Elan. Lotus would leave the Elite name dormant for some time until it was ready to use it on an entirely different sort of vehicle. Debuting for 1974, the Elite shed its light on a compact coupe body for a wedge design with a hatchback. It was the sort of thing the British and select other humans call a shooting brake.
Though it was still considered a sports car, the Elite’s new persona no longer focused on being light and bare bones. Much more a luxurious grand tourer, the Elite paired its 2.0-liter inline-four engine to a manual transmission of four or five speeds or an optional three-speed automatic. The 2.0 was a more modern engine than Lotus used in previous vehicles, featuring dual overhead cams, an aluminum block, and 155 horsepower. This engine would go on (with modifications) to power the Esprit.
The original, simple tiny Elite was turning in its grave — but that was the plan. All Elites had four comfortable seats, room for cargo, and wood on the dash. Lotus was in the middle of a product revamp and image revitalization, the goal being competition with bigger and more serious manufacturers. And those manufacturers didn’t just offer tiny composite coupes. Lotus’ rivals had larger, more serious cars with buttons embedded in their wood panel dashes.
Lotus continued with a fiberglass shell for the Elite, mounting the whole thing to a steel chassis from the predecessor Elan and Europa. The slick (though blocky) shape made for an impressive drag coefficient of just .30. The Elite’s design had considerable input from Lotus founder Colin Chapman, and along with the similar Eclat, would become the last two roadgoing cars with significant Chapman influence.
1974 Triumph TR6 Shooting Brake
Triumph TR6 Shooting Brake. The TR6 was sold only as a two-door convertible (with a factory removable hardtop), but at least one owner has converted the sports car into a sports estate.
1975-1986 Reliant Scimitar GTE (SE6/ 6A/B)
1978 Reliant Scimitar GTE
1980 Reliant Scimitar GTE
In 1975, the SE6 series was promoted to the executive market. These models were two-door sports estates, again with the Ford V6 3.0 L engine used in the SE5A with 135 bhp. The wheelbase was increased by 4 inches (10 cm) and the track by 3 inches (8 cm), making the cars correspondingly longer and broader than their predecessors. The extra length improved rear-seat legroom and access, which enhanced the car's credentials as a 'genuine' four-seater. Noticeable changes from the earlier models were the increase in the size of the outer headlamps and the replacement of the chrome-plated bumpers with rubber ones. 543 SE6 models were produced.
In 1976, the SE6A was introduced. An easy way to spot an SE6A from an SE6 is the change to orange from red reflectors on the rear extractor vents, and the three vertical grooves in the front bumper (in front of the wheel arches) were removed. 3877 SE6As were made, making it the most popular version of all the SE6 shape.
Ford had stopped making the "Essex" engine by 1981, and production stopped completely in 1988, so one of the major differences with the SE6B was the engine. The German-built Ford "Cologne" 2.8 L V6 was used instead. The SE6B failed to replicate the success of the earlier models. The design may have aged gracefully, but demand tailed off. The last models were a real improvement over the earlier SE6s, though, as they were lighter, stiffer, and more comprehensively equipped. Only 437 SE6Bs were manufactured. Production ceased by 1986.
1975 Jensen GT
When the Jensen Healey convertible was introduced in 1972, it became obvious that there were a few issues with the reliability of the Lotus Type 907 1973cc engine. The sports estate proved to be a competent and practical road car with a Lotus Twin-Cam 144 bhp engine now mated to a 5-speed Getrag gearbox, 2 + 2 seating, and a reasonably sized boot. Still, by the time the Jensen GT was introduced in September 1975 (they had dropped the Healey part in the name as Donald Healey had now left the company), most of the early teething troubles had been ironed out. Under the shadow of the industrial crisis of the 1970s, including rising fuel costs which saw the demise of the big-engined Interceptors, Jensen Motors went into liquidation in May 1976, meaning that the GT production runs only lasted nine months with a total of only 509 cars built, less than half being right-hand drive.
1975 Ferrari 365 GT4 Croisette SW by Felber
Ferrari 365 GT4 Croisette by Felber, 1975. Willy Felber was a Swiss businessman and Ferrari dealer who made bespoke versions of Ferraris and other cars. The Croisette was a shooting brake version of a Ferrari 365 GT4; it remained a one-off.
1975 Lancia (Beta) HPE
The Beta HPE 2000 is a passenger car from Lancia, with front-wheel drive, a front-mounted engine, and a three-door estate/station wagon body style. The Lancia Beta HPE 2000 belongs to the 828 model family from Lancia. Powering the Lancia Beta HPE 2000 is a double overhead camshaft, 2 litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder motor and A 5-speed manual transmission that delivers the power to the driven wheels. The claimed maximum speed is 180 km/h (112 mph).
1976-1977 Triumph TR7 Tracer
Coachbuilder Crayford was commissioned by a Triumph dealer, Page Motors (notice the dealer logo on the side), to convert the 2 seater TR7 into a sporting brake. The Tracer was the result. In addition to the elongated roofline and large boot area, two additional fold-down seats were added, turning the car into a 2+2. Only two cars were built as part of the project in 1976/77. They were making this one of the rarest TR7 conversions.
1976 Vauxhall Magnum Sportshatch
The 1976-only Sportshatch was based around the Vauxhall Magnum Estate but fitted with the famous (and slippery looking) front end of the HP Firenza coupe. The HP was meant to be a new sporting flagship for Vauxhall, with anticipated sales of around 2000 a year. In the end, however, just over 200 were built in total, leaving Vauxhall with a large quantity of its ‘Droop Snoot’ nose cones leftover.
1976 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Shooting Brake
Besides a couple of photos, not much else is published on this clean Silver Shadow.
1977 Pontiac Firebird Type K by Pininfarina
The Type K (for Kammback) concept, initially shown in 1977, was developed by Gerry Brochstein under GM executive David R. Holls. The design did away with a conventional rear tailgate in favor of long, gullwing-style rear windows on either side that permitted easy access to the entire cargo area. Outback, a vertical rear window sat above a four-bar array that traversed the width of the rear, masking the taillamps and stop lamps unless they were illuminated.
Seeing the potential for such a product, GM design head Bill Mitchell approved the construction of two concepts based upon production Firebirds. One was gold with a beige interior, while the second was a more striking silver with a red interior. The conversion, which utilized steel body panels, was farmed out to Italy's Pininfarina, which had ample experience in assembling such concepts and low-volume models.
The public gave the Type K concepts an enthusiastic thumbs-up, and GM began to explore its options for production. One idea was to farm the work out to Pininfarina in Italy. At the same time, a second and potentially lower-cost plan called for building the Type Ks in the United States under Pininfarina's supervision. Somewhat of a halo car, GM targeted a selling price of around $16,000 for the Type K, at a time when a base Firebird was priced from $4,753 and a Trans Am from $5,889.
Though the reasons why are unclear, the gold Type K was reportedly destroyed by GM. The silver car, fitted with a 1979 Trans Am-style front end, appeared in a March 1979 two-part episode of The Rockford Files ("Never Send a Boy King to do a Man's Job"), driven by Odette Lepandieu (played by Trish Noble). With this much exposure and positive press, the Type K almost seemed destined for production.
Until the final build cost assessment came in, that is. Even with Pininfarina doing all it could to contain costs, the final retail price of the Type K would have needed to be in the $25,000 range for GM to turn a profit, making it as expensive as two 1979 Corvettes. To make matters worse, a new Firebird was already in the works by the 1979 model year, which meant that the cost of developing a new Kammback body would also need to be factored in. The idea of a two-door wagon on the F-body platform was killed off a second time.
1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Shooting Brake
In 2015, this custom 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Shooting Brake appeared on eBay and had bids reaching $4,150 in the final hours.
This breadvan is powered by a 400 cubic inch Pontiac V8 that was emissions choked down to 180 horsepower and 325 ft-lbs of torque. Performance with a stock 400 and slushbox transmission will be lackluster but uncorked, they can make plenty of power and noise.
1977 Renault Project 121
A small, sporty shooting brake developed in partnership with Ligier from an original idea by Robert Broyer, who had designed the Renault 14, upon which this concept was based. Had the project gone ahead, Ligier would have built the car for Renault.
1978 Porsche 928 Shooting Brake by Evil Genius Racing
While Evil Genius Racing was building the roll cage for the Members Only car, it became apparent that making a shooting brake rear body on a 928 just required a couple of cuts in a pillar, some bending, and some welding. The Members Only car was then sold to a team in Florida and shipped across the country. After a few years of racing in California, the 928 shooting brake was sold to Come Monday Motorsports and shipped from California to Florida. Since that time, this car has campaigned at various South and Gulf Region LeMons events.
1978 Lamborghini Faena Concept by Frua
The Italian coachbuilder Pietro Frua created the only four-door Lamborghini in existence in 1978; the Frua Faena was constructed on a reinforced 1974 Espada Series II chassis (nr. 18224). It took Pietro Frua 8 months to create his four-door Lamborghini; he stretched the standard Espada chassis 178 mm (7 in) to accommodate the rear seats and ended up with a car totaling 4586 mm (18 ft) in length which added 200 Kg (440 pounds) to the total weight.
This ‘special’ was revealed on the 57th Salone Internazionale dell’Automobile, in Turin during the spring of 1978, and it was shown again to the public at the 1980 Geneva Auto Show. The car’s lines looked clean at the front, with big headlights mounted in twin pop-up units, but the rear design spoiled the vehicle. It included a sliding sunroof, unlike the weird-looking glass panel found on one specific Espada. Although it was very nicely built, the Frua Faena didn’t prove a success, and Pietro Frua hoped it could be produced in small quantities, but this show car was the only one ever made.
After the Geneva Auto Show, the car was sold to Lambo-Motor AG in Basle, who sold it to a German collector. He still owns the car, but it remained registered in Switzerland. In 1996 the Faena could again be admired at the Pullicino Classics in London; the vehicle was in excellent condition, although it wasn’t restored yet.
1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Shooting Brake
Commissioned in 1984 by Krug Champagne – one of the leading brands in the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy group – this panel van/shooting brake is based on a 1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II. It's got two seats up front for driver and passenger and a pair of refrigerators in the back. Adorned with special Krug livery in white and burgundy with acres of chrome, the attention to detail goes down to the special cork key fob. It was sold by the vineyard a few years back but has now been reacquired, returning to the House of Krug in Reims, Champagne-Ardenne, France, to serve as a museum piece.
1980 ARTZ Audi UR Quattro Kombi
ARTZ has somewhat of a knack for building strange variants of production cars. However, this took the iconic rally/road car and turned it into a 3 door estate.
1980 Porsche 924 Kombi
The Porsche 924 Kombi was built by a German coachbuilder Gunter Artz; 20 examples of the 924 Kombi were constructed in 1980-1981, using a 924 Turbo as a base a Carrera GT-look body kit.
1980 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II Shooting Brake
There was never, of course, an official factory-bodied estate version of the Shadow, but that did not deter those wealthy enough from commissioning their own, this example being created at the behest of the late John Entwhistle, legendary bass guitarist with 'The Who.' The coachbuilder is not known, but eight years ago, Bonhams sold a similar car that had been converted by FLM (Panelcraft) Ltd of South London.
The current vendor purchased this car from John Entwhistle's wife via Hanwells in West London seven years ago and then sent it to Coway coachbuilders in Bolton to be refurbished. The vehicle has been kept at an estate in Perthshire, Scotland, where it was mainly used for grouse shooting, and has been garage stored in a 'bubble' to maintain ideal air temperature. It has been routinely serviced by Alastair Scott of Abernethy, Perthshire, a recognized Rolls-Royce mechanical engineer, and over the last over seven years has not given any trouble. The car is offered with sundry restoration invoices, current MoT/tax, and Swansea V5C registration document.
1981 Ferrari 365 GT4 Croisette SW by Felber
This particular shooting brake, ‘The Croisette,’ is based on a Ferrari 365 GT4. Willy Felber was a Swiss businessman and Ferrari dealer who often made one-off versions of Ferraris and other cars. The 365 series might have been his favorite, as he also turned a Ferrari 365 GTC/4 into a Beach Car.
1982 Lancia Gamma Olgiata by Pininfarina
Perhaps the most unique Gamma of all was the Olgiata station wagon, shown in Paris in 1982. This was an elegant three-door station wagon similar to the Beta HPE. Again, this variant was not taken into production, and the car was advertised for sale in 1994.
1982 Lynx Eventer XJS Shooting Brake
With a reported conversion cost new of more than £55,000, the Lynx Eventer was an unapologetically expensive proposition new. Each car was hand-built strictly to order on a custom-made jig taking 14 weeks from order to delivery. With just 67 cars produced by Lynx, this is an extremely rare estate car version of the Jaguar XJS 5.3 HE V12.
The rearward shift in weight distribution required stiffer rear suspension, but the XJS accepted this modification gracefully. The Eventer weighed less than the standard XJS - so acceleration was sharper. Here was a small home-grown engineering company with the vision and the skills to create a car, under license by Jaguar that drove like the product of a multi-million pound R&D program, matched by a level of finish and detail to rival the best.
This extremely important 1982 Lynx Eventer was no less than the first-ever Lynx Eventer to be sold, and can be seen in the photographs, proudly bears the conversion No."002" (001 being the prototype). With its registration number of 1 HOP, it is the actual silver car depicted in the Lynx factory brochures and magazines. Of course, the importance of this car cannot be understated in the history of the Lynx Eventer. Copies of the original brochure and much in the way of magazine articles which, over the years, the Lynx featured in are included in the extensive paperwork that comes with this car giving the new owner not only the first Lynx to be sold but concise and complete history of the Lynx Eventer model as well.
1982 Volkswagen Series II Polo Squareback
Just one month after the Polo 1 ended, the Polo 2 was released to the public. It featured a new design that combined the hatchback with a station wagon. But that wasn't all.
The second generation was available in more body shapes, such as the "squareback," which combined a coupe with a station wagon, raked C-pillars, and a sedan with two doors named Derby. It was offered in three trim levels, and the top-spec CL and GL featured a drivetrain carried over from the first generation.
1983 Bentley Mulsanne Turbo Shooting Brake
It was coach built by Coway Ltd of West Horton, Lancashire. The car was supplied new to Jersey via St Helier Garages, Rolls-Royce main dealers, and was serviced by them until 1998. Upon leaving Jersey, it showed a milage of 33,000 total today 36,000, which is supported by the service book and MOT certificates
The vendor supplied the following information: "It is very rare to find an early Mulsanne Turbo; it must be unique to find one in shooting brake styling. They are finished in mustard with claret. Color-coded bumpers front and back, radiator shell, painted with chrome grille. It is fitted with Rolls Royce sports suspension."
1983 Jaguar XJS Shooting Brake by Andreas Burlet
This Jaguar was the exclusive work of a Swiss and passionate coachbuilder, Andreas Burlet. It was based on an XJS V12 HE from 1983. The Swiss homologation services approved this car after its transformation. The construction was done empirically, without a plan. Everything has been done traditionally, in curved, bent, and welded sheet metal. The five rear windows were made to measure and cast on templates.
1984 Porsche 928-4 Shooting Brake Prototype
While seemingly at odds with Porsche's roots as a sports car maker, the Panamera Sport Turismo wagon seems like a great fit in the brand's lineup because it combines style and extra utility. The company has toyed with the concept of offering a long roof variant of an existing model before, though. For example, the firm built a one-off 928 shooting brake called the 928-4 in 1984 as a 75th birthday present for Ferry Porsche. A recent video has put the spotlight on this unique vehicle.
The Porsche Development Centre in Weissach, Germany, started on this birthday present by taking the existing 928 S and stretching it by 9.8 inches (25 centimeters). The designers used the extra space to fit a pair of more comfortable rear seats inside. A higher roof ensured that occupants had enough headroom and forced the installation of a hatchback rather than the standard sloping liftback panel. They also made the B-pillar more upright, so it was easier to get back there. Upfront, fixed headlights replaced the production 928's pop-up units.
Ferry Porsche must have liked the color green because a dark shade covers the exterior and much of the cabin, including the leather trim and carpet. After doing the extensive body modifications, the company left the powertrain the same as the standard 928. The 5.0-liter V8 produced 306 horsepower (228 kilowatts), which allowed for an estimated top speed of 162 miles per hour (260 kilometers per hour).
1985 Pontiac Trans Am Kammback Concept
This white Trans Am Kammback (chassis number 0000EX4796) is fitted with the 190-hp H.O. version of the 305-cu.in. V-8 and a five-speed manual transmission. It reportedly served as an IMSA pace car for a brief period before Pontiac put it into storage. It took Michigan-based Pontiac dealer John McMullen to bust it out of storage and then turn the 36,000-mile prototype over to Scott Tiemann for a complete restoration.
The Kammback them remained in McMullen's collection -- alongside one of the Pininfarina-built Type Ks -- until 2007 when it sold at auction to John O'Quinn for $66,000. Since then, it sold at auction again -- for $44,000 at Barrett-Jackson's 2017 Scottsdale sale -- and ProTeam Corvette Sales has advertised it for $69,995.
1986 Citroën BX Dyana
With tip-up front seats, the generous front doors offer easy access to the rear. A large hatchback and the total absence of a loading threshold means optimum accessibility to the large useful space available. Its hydropneumatic suspension makes it ideal for passenger or goods transport under unsurpassed comfort, safety, and handling conditions, with maximum road-holding.
The Citroën BX Dyana was available as a five-seater with all the engine or finishes offerings of the BX range. It could be fitted with a children's bench, facing backward and located at the rear to raise the number of passengers to seven. A two-seater commercial version was also available, allowing French businesses to recover the TVA.
1986 Volvo 480 ES
The Volvo 480 ES was the first front-wheel-drive car with a transverse engine produced by Volvo. It's now been 30 years since this wedge-shaped car made its official première at the Geneva Motor Show.
When the annual motor show in Geneva opened on 6 March 1986, the Volvo 480 ES was one of the cars that attracted the most attention. It was not just the première of the first sports car from Volvo in over a decade. The 480 ES was also the brand's first front-wheel-drive car in series production. The model designation was tied to the 1800 ES sports wagon, which ended production in 1973. The low, wedge-shaped body with a pointed nose and pop-up headlights provided a hint of the future, while the abruptly-ending rear section with a glass tailgate was yet another way to pay homage to the 1800 ES.
1986 Honda Accord AeroDeck Shooting Brake
This 1986 Honda Accord AeroDeck was sold new in Japan and was recently imported to the US by the selling dealer. Power is provided by a carbureted B18A inline-four paired with a five-speed manual transaxle. The shooting brake bodywork affords a drag coefficient of 0.34 and features two-piece rear windows and a hatch with glass that wraps over the top of the roof.
1986 ‘N13’ Nissan EXA (Pulsar NX)
Making its debut in 1986, the ‘N13’ Nissan EXA (dubbed Pulsar NX in some markets) wasn’t mechanically remarkable. Far from it - the car was front-engined and front-wheel drive, and in its entry-level form, made a paltry 70bhp from a single-cam GA16i engine. A modest 90bhp from the later 1.6-litre CA16DE N/A inline-four was also available with a CA18DE 1.8 making a more reasonable 130bhp. Production ended in 1990, with the EXA replaced by the considerably less attractive and cutely-styled ‘N14’ NX.
1987 BMW Z1 Coupe
The 1987 Frankfurt Motor Show was a big event for BMW, marking the debut of the 750i powered by Germany’s first post-war 12-cylinder engine, the 3 Series Touring, and the Z1. At this stage, the Z1 was still a prototype, but that didn’t stop one visitor to the BMW stand offering 150,000 Deutschmarks for the privilege of owning a BMW with Gwyneth Paltrow doors. It’ll come as no surprise to discover that BMW refused the offer – not least because the prototype had cost two million Deutschmarks to build.
1987 Porsche 928 Shooting Brake
In 1987, Porsche decided to stretch out the 928 and make a shooting brake out of it. Called the H50, this 928 featured a lengthened chassis to accommodate more legroom and boot space. Upfront, the V8 was tweaked to give it a monstrous 330bhp, around 100bhp more than the standard 928. Interestingly enough, although this car was made over 30 years ago, it was not unveiled to the world until 2012 at the Pebble Beach Concourse.
1987 Aston Martin Lagonda Shooting Brake
The Aston Martin Lagonda is a special car. Just 645 were built over 12 years of production, all sporting genuinely stunning William Towns design. This particular Lagonda, one of 85 fuel-injected Series III examples built, underwent an utterly unique shooting brake conversion in the mid-2000s.
According to Sotheby's, this car has had just two owners from new. The first, a Danish man living in Switzerland, optioned the car with a complete cocktail set, a television, picnic tables, and lamb's wool rugs. He kept the car up until 2006 when it was sold to the second owner in Sweden. From there, it was given to Swedish industrial designer Ted Mannerfeldt for its shooting brake conversion.
1988-1990 Middlebridge Scimitar
After production at Reliant ceased, Middlebridge Scimitar Ltd. acquired the manufacturing rights to the Scimitar GTE in June 1987. This company produced a 2.9 L version of the GTE with many modifications and modernizations (over 450), including electronic fuel injection and a five-speed Ford T9 gearbox (with the Ford A4LD 4 speed auto as an option). Middlebridge ever produced only 78 Scimitars before the company went into receivership in 1990.
1988 Porsche DP44 Cargo
DP Motorsport's most famous project may have been the Porsche 935 K3 that dominated endurance racing for many years, but they also made one of the most beautiful shooting brakes of all time in the late eighties. In place of the 944's large glass hatchback, DP Motorsport installed a heavily modified squared-off roof from a Volkswagen Passat wagon to make the dp44 Cargo, per Flat Sixes. It's pretty fitting, given that the 944's predecessor, the 924, was a project that got bounced around from Volkswagen to Audi and eventually Porsche. The 944 remained a similarly cross-Volkswagen-Group affair as it was built at Audi's Neckarsulm plant.
It's such a well-executed build that it looks like it came from the factory, but no! Porsche did not give us a 944 three-door. Perhaps they should have followed DP Motorsport's lead—again. As Petrolicious notes, people were so enamored with DP Motorsport's slant-nose cars that Porsche decided to make their own. According to Speedhunters, only eight dp44 Cargos were built globally along with a one-off turbocharged 924-based Cargo.
1989 Volkswagen Corrado Magnum Sport Kombi Prototypes
The Magnum project was VW’s attempt at a larger capacity, shooting-brake version of its sporty Corrado. Production on that car was limited in its own right, but the original plan for the Magnums, according to sources, was to develop as many as 200 models for the European public. When numbers didn’t add up, Volkswagen pulled the plug on the project in 1991, and Marold was left with two ultra-rare Corrado concepts and zero plan.
The vehicles were abandoned by Volkswagen and held by Marold, which eventually put the duo up for public sale. It put out ads for the pair at an astounding asking price of 3.2 million Deutschmarks, or over $2.2 million, which included all the paperwork, technical documents, wind tunnel test results, construction documents, German TÜV road safety appraisals, and even prototype tools. The cars failed to sell and disappeared off the map for some time.
1991 Subaru Amadeus
Subaru of America's 250-horsepower Amadeus concept sport wagon was presented at the 1992 Tokyo Motor Show. The Amadeus was an all-wheel-drive sport wagon based on the exciting Subaru SVX platform and includes the luxury sports coupe's controversial "window-within-a-window" design. Performance and safety features include a five-speed automatic transmission, four-wheel steering, electronic navigation system, heads-up instrument display, distance-monitoring system, and a 3.3- liter horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine. "We took the Subaru SVX platform, which is the epitome of what we know about building cars, and applied it to one of the most traditional Subaru vehicles: the all-wheel-drive station wagon," explained Chris Wackman, Subaru, vice president marketing.
1992 Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake
The Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake is a rear-wheel-drive road car, with the motor placed in the front and a three-door estate/station wagon body. It is powered by a naturally aspirated engine of 5.3 litre capacity. This unit features double overhead camshaft valve gear, a 90 degree V 8 cylinder layout, and four valves per cylinder. It produces 330 bhp (335 PS/246 kW) of power at 6000 rpm. The Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake is claimed to achieve a maximum speed of 245 km/h (152 mph).
1994 Alfa Romeo 145
Alfa Romeo introduced the Alfa 145 model at the 1994 Turin Motor Show. Designed to take over the old 33 Series on the mid-size hatchback sector, the new 145 model came in a 3-door configuration and featured an innovative cut-off dashboard. The exterior design was also considered quite edgy, while the platform on which the 145 was based on the same Fiat Tipo. This model received a new Cloverleaf variant in 1996 and replaced all its boxer engines with Twin Spark units a year later.
1994 Mercedes-Benz S 500 Shooting Brake by Zagato
The 1994 Mercedes-Benz S 500 Shooting Brake was created in 1994 and shown at the 1995 Geneva Motor Show. It was built on a 1992 W140 coupé chassis.
1995 Ferrari 456 GT Venice
The Ferrari 456GT Venice is a shooting brake design—though not Ferrari’s first—based on the two-door 456 grand touring car. Sporting a 5.5-liter V-12 from the coupe, the Venice separated itself with the roof extension and rear doors, which Pininfarina penned. While Ferrari later produced the FF sporting a liftgate at the rear, the 456GT Venice was ahead of its time when built in the mid-1990s.
1996 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Sportsman Estate
This creation was commissioned by two Swiss brothers in 1996, looking to add an inkling of usability to the typically sporty nature synonymous with Aston Martin products. It uses the V8 Coupe as its base and borrows the same 330-horsepower (246-kilowatt) V8 suitable for a top speed of 160 miles per hour (257 kilometers per hour) and a 0 to 60 mph (96 kmh) sprint of fewer than seven seconds. It wears the chassis number SCFCAM2SCTBL79007 and initially left the factory as a stock V8 Coupe before being returned and modified.
It’s a rare left-hand drive, automatic, and left the factory in July of 1996. Since then, the Aston Martin Works department has maintained the car meticulously, assuring this rare piece of motoring remains in pristine condition, now going on more than 20 years. The green leather interior matches the British Racing Green found on the body and comes with a smattering of walnut detailing throughout. In 1999, the factory entirely rebuilt the engine, having driven just 5,755 miles (9,263 kilometers).
1998-2002 BMW Z3 E36 Coupe
Launched in 1995, the Z3 was the first roadster built in large numbers after a long time. Its predecessor, the Z1, was only produced in 8000 units. Two years and a half after the Z3 roadster stormed the roadster arena, the BMW dared to do something even more outrageous: a shooting-brake based on the Z3. It was a car built by BMW engineers after working hours. Their project impressed the management in such a manner that the vehicle received a green light.
The car's front was similar to the roadster, with the same slats on the front fenders which evoked the BMW 507. From the A-pillars to the back, it was a different story. A fixed roof was stretched from the top of the windshield to the back of the car. Since there was no room to make it sloped, it was straight and, right behind the rear wheels, it was dropped with a raked C-pillar. In the back, the tailgate offered access to ample trunk space when considering the size of the car.
Inside, the manufacturer didn't try to install unusable tiny rear seats for lower taxes. It just installed a bigger trunk. The front bucket seats were placed lower. Since the car was based on the E36 platform, it shared some components with the 3-Series. It was the same instrument cluster and the same layout for the center stack.
Under the hood, the Z3 Coupe was offered exclusively with straight-six engines. The displacement was 2.8-liter between 1998 and 2000, and it was raised to 3.0-liter for the next two years, until 2002. All engine versions were mated as standard to a 5-speed manual.
1999 Toyota NCSV
The Audi TT has become a popular touchstone for coupes, but wagons? This quasi-family hauler from Toyota sports a TT-esque roofline melded with a wagon back to spell practicality with two doors. Its sliding rear seats allow its assumed sporty, fun, young drivers to expand the cargo area covered by a hard tonneau. When they get bored in traffic, they can always consult individual monitors that carry information and entertainment, just like People magazine.
1999 Chevrolet Nomad
Chevrolet's original Nomad between 1955-57 was such a powerful design that it had spawned numerous concepts, two recently. The 1999 version is built on fourth-generation Camaro/Firebird mechanicals. Reminiscent of previous Camaro and Firebird "wagons," the Nomad features a practical tailgate, generous cargo room, and performance an SUV can only dream of. Looked at from the front, more than a hint of first-generation Corvette puts a pure Chevrolet face on the car.
Timing for this Nomad couldn't have been worse, as rumors of the Gen IV F-Bodies (Camaro/Firebird) death were all but confirmed. At the 1999 Detroit Auto Show where the car debuted, the car was virtually ignored by GM's PR staff, who didn't want to give the concept too much play as its chance for production was zero.
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