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Automotive Design and Development Ltd (ADD) was an English company responsible for the creation of the futuristic-looking Nova kit car. It was based in Southampton from 1971 to 1973 after which it moved to Accrington, Lancashire until 1975. ADD failed and the rights to the Nova were bought by Nova Cars in Mirfield, West Yorkshire in 1978, which continued until 1990. A low volume production run was made by Nova Developments in Cornwall in the 1990s and the company was sold to India-based Aerotec Nova around 1996.
The car was styled by Richard Oakes with engineering by Phil Sayers, combining a fibreglass shell on a VW Beetle chassis and mechanicals. A two-seater, it was highlighted by a dramatically opening canopy that combined roof and doors into one.
Licensed versions of the Nova have been built in Austria as the Ledl, in Australia as the Purvis Eureka, in France as the Défi, in Italy as the Totem and Puma, in New Zealand as the Scorpion, in South Africa as the Eagle, in Switzerland as the Gryff, in the United States as the Sterling and Sovran and in Zimbabwe as the Tarantula. There have also been numerous unlicensed copies. Some versions featured pop-up head lamps and gull-wing doors, but the basic silhouette remained the same.
Versions of the Nova have appeared in a number of films, including Cannonball Run II , Death Race 2000 , Winners and Sinners , Condorman and Mani Di Velluto .
A kit car is an automobile available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then assembles into a functioning car. Usually, many of the major mechanical systems such as the engine and transmission are sourced from donor vehicles or purchased new from other vendors. Kits vary in completeness, consisting of as little as a book of plans, or as much as a complete set with all components to assemble into a fully operational vehicle such as those from Caterham.
The Vauxhall Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) that has been sold by Vauxhall since 1980. Over its eight generations, it has been made at several GM/Opel/Stellantis plants around Europe - however most versions have been sourced from Vauxhall's plant at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England.
Sterling was a brand name of automobile marketed in the United States by Austin Rover Cars of North America, a division of the Rover Group company of the United Kingdom. It was sold in North America from 1987 to 1991, during which time Rover was in collaboration with Honda of Japan. Models sold were the Sterling 825, Sterling 827 and a limited production Sterling Oxford Edition based on the 827.
The Vauxhall Cavalier is a large family car that was sold primarily in the United Kingdom by Vauxhall from 1975 to 1995. It was based on a succession of Opel designs throughout its production life, during which it was built in three incarnations. The first generation of Cavalier, launched in 1975 and produced until 1981, was Vauxhall's version of the General Motors 'U-Car' - essentially an Opel Ascona B/ Opel Manta with a few minor visual differences.
The Rover 800 series is an executive car range manufactured by the Austin Rover Group subsidiary of British Leyland, and its successor the Rover Group from 1986 to 1999. It was also marketed as the Sterling in the United States. Co-developed with Honda, it was a close relative to the Honda Legend and the successor to the decade-old Rover SD1.
The Austin Montego is a British family car that was produced by British Leyland from 1984 until 1988, and then by Rover Group from 1988 until 1995. The Montego was the replacement for both the rear-wheel drive Morris Ital and the front-wheel drive Austin Ambassador ranges to give British Leyland an all-new competitor for the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall Cavalier.
The Jaguar XJ is a series of mid-size/full-size luxury cars produced by British automobile manufacturer Jaguar Cars from 1968 to 2019. It was produced across four basic platform generations with various updated derivatives of each. From 1970, it was Jaguar's flagship four-door model. The original model was the last Jaguar saloon to have been designed under the leadership of Sir William Lyons, the company's founder, and the model has been featured in countless media and high-profile appearances.
The Chevrolet Chevy II/Nova is a small automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, and produced in five generations for the 1962 through 1979, and 1985 through 1988 model years. Built on the X-body platform, the Nova was the top selling model in the Chevy II lineup through 1968. The Chevy II nameplate was dropped after 1968, with Nova becoming the nameplate for all of the 1969 through 1979 models. It was replaced by the 1980 Chevrolet Citation introduced in the spring of 1979. The Nova nameplate returned in 1985, produced through 1988 as a S-car based, NUMMI manufactured, subcompact based on the front wheel drive, Japan home-based Toyota Sprinter.
Eureka is a side-wheel paddle steamboat, built in 1890, which is now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in San Francisco, California. Originally named Ukiah to commemorate the railway's recent extension into the City of Ukiah, the boat was built by the San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad Company at their Tiburon yard. Eureka has been designated a National Historic Landmark and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on April 24, 1973.
Condorman is a 1981 American superhero comedy film directed by Charles Jarrott, produced by Walt Disney Productions, and starring Michael Crawford, Barbara Carrera and Oliver Reed. The film follows comic book illustrator Woodrow Wilkins's attempts to assist in the defection of a female Soviet KGB agent.
The Datsun Cherry (チェリー), known later as the Nissan Cherry, was a series of subcompact cars which formed Nissan's first front-wheel drive supermini model line.
Phoenix Racing is a motorsports team that currently competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series East fielding the No. 1 Toyota Camry and various Super Late Model events fielding the No. 51 Chevrolet SS for Jake Finch. Owned by Florida businessman James Finch, the team fielded NASCAR entries across the top three series from 1989 through 2013. The team fielded a wide variety of drivers and often changed manufacturers, though it often maintained a relationship with Hendrick Motorsports. In the Cup Series, Phoenix Racing was victorious just once in 251 starts over 24 seasons.
The Purvis Eureka is a sports car which was produced by Purvis Cars at Dandenong in Victoria, Australia from 1974 until 1991.
A vehicle canopy is a rarely used type of door for cars. It has no official name so it is also known as an articulated canopy, bubble canopy, cockpit canopy, canopy door, or simply a canopy. A canopy is a type of door which sits on top of a car and lifts up in some way, to provide access for passengers. It is similar to an aircraft canopy. There are no established sub-types of canopies, so they can be hinged at the front, side, or back, although hinging at the front is most common. Canopy doors are rarely used on production cars, and are sometimes used on concept cars.
Eagle Cars Limited was an English company, based in Lancing, West Sussex, originally operated by Allen Breeze, although it has undergone a number of ownership changes since. Originally making a Jeep lookalike called the RV, between 1981 and 1998 they built several iterations of a gull-winged car called the Eagle SS. The SS was based on an American kit car called the Cimbria, and was brought to the UK by Tim Dutton. In 1988 Eagle Cars moved inland, to nearby Storrington.
The Bond Bug is a small British two-seat, three-wheeled automobile which was designed by Tom Karen of Ogle Design for Reliant Motor Company, who built it from 1970 to 1974, initially at Bond Cars Ltd factory, but subsequently at Reliant's Tamworth factory. It is a wedge-shaped microcar, with a lift-up canopy and side screens instead of conventional doors.
The Opel Corsa is a supermini car engineered and produced by the German automobile manufacturer Opel since 1982. Throughout its existence, it has been sold under a variety of other brands owned by General Motors and also spawned various other derivatives.
Yugo is the common name used for the Zastava Yugo, later also marketed as the Zastava Koral and Yugo Koral. Originally introduced as the Zastava Jugo 45, various other names were also used over the cars long production run, like Yugo Tempo, Yugo Ciao, or Innocenti Koral. It was most commonly marketed as the Yugo 45/55/60/65, with the number referring to the car's maximum power. In the United States it was sold as the Yugo GV. It is a subcompact hatchback manufactured by Zastava Automobiles from 1980 until 2008, originally a Yugoslav corporation.
New Zealand had a long history of small garages and vehicle enthusiasts modifying and creating sports and sports racing cars. Out of these interests grew the New Zealand kit and replica car industry with the introduction of fibre-glass car bodies in the 1950s.
General Motors de Argentina S.R.L. is the Argentine subsidiary of the US-based company General Motors. The company is currently headquartered in Vicente López, Buenos Aires, with its factory located in Alvear, Santa Fe Province.