Answers to the Anorak’s New Year Quiz | Axon’s Automotive Anorak

1: Which of the following Japanese car makers has NOT built a model in the UK as yet?

-Honda

-Toyota

- Mitsubishi

-Suzuki

-Nissan

-Mazda

A: Unlike all of the other Japanese car brands listed, as yet, Mitsubishi has never built a vehicle in the UK. The Nissan plant in Sunderland was the first British factory to produce a Japanese car in Britain in 1986, followed by Toyota at its Burnaston factory in 1992 and then Honda, initially at the former British Leyland (now MINI) plant in Cowley, Oxford. A badge-engineered version of the second-generation Ford Fiesta was built in Dagenham for Mazda as the 121, with the Suzuki Swace rebranded version of the current Toyota Corolla Estate made on the same production line in Derbyshire.               

2: Which is the odd one out of post-war Aston Martin production facility locations?

-Newport Pagnell, Bucks

- Coventry, Warks

-Feltham, Middx

-Bloxham, Oxon

-Farsley, Yorks

-Gaydon, Warks

A: All of the locations listed saw examples of Aston Martin models being built there post-war, excluding Coventry.  Little remembered today, a number of the Aston Martin DC2/4 models were made in Farsley in Yorkshire, where then-owner David Brown had his DB tractor factory based at the Newlands works.

A number of DB2/4 models were made at Farsley, to supplement production at the former-Lagonda plant at Feltham. Aston Martin relocated to Newport Pagnell in 1955. The DB7 (mass-produced by Aston Martin standards by TWR in Bloxham near Banbury in Oxfordshire until 2004) predated the move to Aston’s current home at Gaydon in Warwickshire.  

3: Which creature will you find inside a every post-2006 Vauxhall Corsa? 

-Elephant

-Hippopotamus

-Dog

-Deer

-Lion

- Shark

A: Inside every Vauxhall/Opel Corsa made since 2006 (plus a number of later Astra models) you will find a friendly looking cartoon-esque shark molded into the plastic glovebox lid hinge. The same quirk also applies to the glovebox range of the current Astra, with another shark motif also to be found at the base of the Astra’s front cupholder!    

4: Which of these car makers has yet to build a 16-cylinder powered engine?

- Jaguar

-Maserati

-Cadillac

-BMW

-Bugatti

-Rolls-Royce

A: Although it was one of the first car manufacturers to popularise V12 engines in almost mainstream models, Jaguar has never made a 16-cylinder motor, unlike Maserati which introduced a mighty V16 for competition in 1929, using two straight-eight connected by a crankcase that housed twin crankshafts. Auto Union and BRM also famously went on to use V16 engines to power their competition cars, with mixed results.  In 1930, Cadillac launched its own production V16 for its 452 luxury roadster, with this powerful but thirsty engine configuration remaining rare in later years.

Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz experimented with V16s in the 1990s which never made production, and Rolls-Royce used the former’s unit for its 100EX prototype in 2004. When the Volkswagen Group acquired Bugatti, it married two 4-litre V8s together to create a W16 engine for its 2005 Veyron and subsequent models.  

5: Which Volkswagen model is the odd one out?

-Kever

-Coccinelle

-Kafer

-Fusca

- Caribe

-Maggiolino

A: Although a production Volkswagen model in Mexico (the Caribe being a locally built version of the original VW Golf), it is the odd one out, as all of the other VW model names are local language terms used for the Volkswagen Type 1, more familiarly known as the Beetle. Kever is its Dutch name, Coccinelle was used in France, Kafer is German, Fusca its original Brazilian name (later changed to Sedan) and Maggionlino is Italian for Beetle.  

6: Which of the following is the odd one out?

-Citroen 2CV

-Sunbeam Alpine

-AMC Hornet

-BMW 7-Series (E32)

-Renault 11

- Aston Martin DB7

A: Despite his strong association with Aston Martin, James Bond never drove a DB7 in any 007 movie, unlike each of the other cars listed; the Citroen 2CV in For Your Eyes Only, Sunbeam Alpine in Dr. No (the very first car we see 007 driving), the AMC Hornet in The Man with the Golden Gun (this being the first car to achieve a full summersault), the BMW in Tomorrow Never Dies and the Renault 11 in A View to a Kill, which results in the Renault getting sliced in half!

7: And which one of these is the odd one out?

-Reliant Scimitar SS1

- Fiat 125

-BMW 2002

-Daf 44

-Hino Contessa

-Triumph 1500

A: Each of the above cars were designed by gifted Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti, apart from the Fiat 125. Being generous, I would accept the Hino Contessa, too, for being the only rear-engined car on the list! 

8: In which year did BMW introduce its first production front-wheel-drive model?

-1928

-1934

-1951

-1972

-1995

- 2014

A: Amazingly, BMW was a real late-comer to recognise the benefits of front-wheel-drive, not introducing its first production front-drive model (the 2-Series) until an embarrassingly tardy 2014, 80 years after its domestic Audi rival and decades behind the majority of the modern motor industry.

9: What do special edition derivatives of the following cars all have in common?

-Fiat 147

-Chevrolet Omega

-Infiniti FX

-Vauxhall Viva

-Fiat Bravo

-Alfa Romeo Spider

A: A special limited edition of each of the cars was sold to honour a world champion Formula 1 driver.

These are the Emerson Fittipaldi edition for the Brazilian market Chevrolet Omega (plus a version of the Fiat 147), Sebastian Vettel for the 150 examples of the expensive Infiniti FX Vettel built in 2012, and the Jack Brabham-supported Vauxhall Viva HB Brabham with go-faster stripes in 1967.

The Fiat Bravo (and Seicento) Schumacher special edition celebrated the World Championship titles for then-Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher, plus the Niki Lauda edition of the 1970s 105-series Alfa Romeo Spider for the USA, where a limited Lauda edition of the Fiat X1/9 was also sold. A special white and yellow Keke Rosberg edition of the Opel Calibra was also sold in Germany, to mark the Finish driver’s 1980s F1 world championship and his subsequent DTM drives for the Opel team.

10: Which propriety mainstream car did the first production Lamborghini (the 350GT/400GT) source its headlamps and tail light units from?

-Austin A40

-Volkswagen 1600

-Fiat 1300

- NSU Prinz

-Opel Rekord

-Lancia Flavia

A: The humble little NSU Prinz provided the front and rear lighting for the first Lamborghinis, with the front and rear lamp units for the iconic Miura that followed ‘borrowed’ from the Fiat 850 Spider, which was also designed and built by Bertone on the same production line as the first Lamborghini supercar. 

Mitsubishi, Aston Martin and Jaguar images courtesy of Getty Images.