I convinced my mum to buy a new daf 55 in 1972. It just seemed to have great quality. However, the gearbox was a source of constant complaint, and mum replaced the car with a new Honda civic, which was faultless.
@@andrewcumming6319 It did sound rather stressed. It made the Engine sound a little like a two stroke. Probably the engines didn't have a long life with the extra revs used. Forgive it for it's looks, though.
Nice to see you driving a car from my country! When DAF started building cars (they built trailers and military vehicles before that), they made a huge point about how easy the Variomatic was to drive. This quickly gave them the name of being cars for old ladies, a reputation from which they never really recovered, despite ventures into racing. The belt drive was commonly known as suspender drive.
Not just any suspenders, the type that hold up a lady's panty hoses: the "jaretelle" drive. ;) They're still in use today. Those three-wheeled motorcycles that you can ride on a car license, for instance, those are all Variomatic. They need the rubber band changed every 10000 km (6000 miles).
Its so sad that car companies such as Daf have gone. Life would be so much more interesting if companies like Daf still existed, and not everyone just bought boring German cars.
The 66 coupe is indeed one of the most beautiful coupes going, Van Doorme wanted to create a small automatic car and ended up creating a fleet of them over the years because of how good the variomatic was. The transmission is mounted on the back axle and has no ratios or another way of putting it... infinite ratios. It always keeps the car in the correct ratio at the right time and was so succesful at doing this - DAF became a name to be feared when it came to the dutch rallycross in the 60s and 70s as nobody could compete! Fun fact that on the Variomatic is that it makes the car go backwards just as fast as forwards! I have just completed a history video based on the history of the CVT and it has quite an understated history but potentially a very important future - VW are currently testing a CVT transmission in their E-Golf because of it's potential to create extra torque and therefore reduce the size of the electric motor and therefore use smaller batteries. Cracking video as usual :)
Una delle più belle coupe??? E bella la daf coupe ma c'è ne sono molto più belle la fiat dino coupe la fiat 850 sport o coupe fiat 130 coupe a che la, simca coupe, era bella anche opel Manta prima serie è stupenda c'è ne sono di piu belle della daf poi sono gusti
My grandmother bought one of these when she passed her automatic only test at 56. She didn't do more than a few hundred miles in it, then gave it to my cousin as her first car. I remember it as a decent car. I always thought it looked rather like my aunt's Fiat 850 Coupé.
I love the Daf 55 Marathon, the logic of the Van Doorne transmission is inescapable even if it doesn't quite work in reality. The transmission is in the rear, comprises two pairs of pulleys that (thanks to a mixture of engine inlet manifold vacuum and centrifugal bob-weights) would adjust to speed and load. I believe there's also a centrifugal clutch, which is why you need a few revs to get going and it doesn't creep like a conventional automatic. The transmission also serves in lieu of a differential, so you effectively have a limited slip rear end and DAFs worked very well on ice and snow.
Indeed the DAF Variomatic did not "creep" or "Crawl". This was also unwanted because it was actually a friction-clutch. Until the 55 it was a "pure"centrifugal clutch. The 66 had a "plate-clutch" in which the plates ware pushed together through centrifucal rolllers. If the car had been "crawling" the clutches would have burned out real fast ;-)
Travelled cross country from Worcestershire to London in a Daf 44 Saloon back in the Summer of 1974 with three other students. The car's performance was OK though I do recall the driver telling us he was using quieter roads, keeping it at around 40 all the way to save money on petrol and hoped we didn't mind! As it turned out, it made for a nice trip.
This video nor the comments do justice to the brilliance of the CVT. You might not like it, but it's still brilliant and it has hardly significantly improved from the Variomatic. There was hardly any automatic option for small cars in the 50's, lots didn't even have 4 synchronized gears yet. In actual daily traffic up to about 70 km/h the undermotorized DAFs were quicker than most. The variomatic also served as a limited slip differential. It's driving ease and favouring by old people, lots of them who got their licence at later age, gave it the wrong image. DAF tried to save that by rallying and introducing the Marathon coupe, but it was too late and they kept using the CVT to compensate for lack of power and torque.
For me this is one of the most beautiful and interesting cars you have reviewed so far. When I was 16 I used to get a lift in one of these from a friend who was a bit older, we managed to confirm that they do indeed do the same speed in reverse as in forward! Anyway it’s a beauty and I went straight to stonecoldclassics but it’s already sold.. I seriously would have been in the market for this, it’s so rare a nice Daf coupe comes along.
Awesome car!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻My grandmother always drove these DAF’s (a 33,a 44 and a 55!) and I remember the trips in it with her. Sweet memories…! This coupe is the most pretty one.
Neighbour had a 55 in yellow back around 1980, then updated to a 343., yellow again. Never knew these coupes existed, really is quite an exotic looking little car.
Furious said they didn't make a point of revealing acceleration figures, but I found a 1971 German ad for the DAF 55 coupe which boasts: "Uns erreicht in 5 sec bereits 50 km/h."
A school friend's father was a DAF dealer,and an Aunt,had a 33.She was a larger lady and drove it,accompanied by a large collie(Lassie) type dog,as front seat passenger.
Stunning exterior which looks like a Datsun 1000 and Mazda 1000 coupe. The back, including light assembly, looks like a mixture of Mazda 1000 and 1200.
Im a 23 year old, super into oldtimers, and managed to buy a DAF 55 Coupe today, it's gonna need some loving but im so happy and excited to finally be driving an incredible oldtimer car and participate in events. :D
At 16 Had a daf33 given to me which had been crashed. Only front wing needed. My dad helped me repair it. I was ordered not to drive it before 17. I did my dad found out and sold it! Drove lovely
I had a 66 Marathon in the 70s. Super little car. In its day would beat anything away from the lights in the first 50 meters! I used to love challenging people to find the fuel cap. Nobody could - it was hidden beneath the fold down number plate!
Such a neat little car!And very well preserved.Seems like DAF were ahead of their time with the CVT,and it was probably better made than most of the CVT equipped vehicles today.Great video!
The variomatic (CVT) was situated in the back (you pointed toward the engine). The variomatic was quite heavy but in the back. This resulted in a surprisingly good wieght-distribution. The variomatic in models prior to the 66 ( except the 46) had no differential in the traditional sence. There were two belts, one driving each rear-wheel. Difference in cornering speed was handled by the pulleys. I had a 55 and the advice, in tight corners, was to give a liitle more throttle then you normally would to have the inner wheel spin in order to prevent the half-axle to take too much strain. Also, pushing this thing around a corner was impossible on your own. The 46 was sort of a study to try a de Dion-axle but had only ONE belt. Although I liked the model more than the 66 (Which I also had once) the 66 (with a tradional diff + de Dion axle) drove much nicer, though The variomatic did drive nice, in my opinion.
My first ever Volvo was a 340 with a variomatic gearbox, it was different but ok to drive, except when a belt snaps! but at least it was a quick fix, great video with a great little car
What an absolutely brilliant little coupe, with some great non-standard additions! I remember the 44 and it’s strange CVT Variomatic gearbox back in the 70’s and early 80’s. Highly undesirable, unlike this little gem.
The Variomatic is connected to the brakes and shifts back if you brake. Hence the powerfull brakes. The right switch in the dash is the socalled mountainswitch it changes the ratio for climbing and descending.
When I lived in Germany, leaving my village I could see the factory where this used to be made - now BMW make MINIs there... You mentioned Michelotti - can you see a bit of Triumph 1300 in the front end?
There was an Imp Californian and a Singer Chamois coupe that were detuned versions of the Stiletto. Just like the DAF they had no headroom in the back.
A really elegant little car. The designer's name is Giovanni Michelotti, pronounced Mick-. He's well known for being the designer of all Triumphs from 1960 onwards.
We had two Dafs in the family back in 1972 and 1981 respectively. A 44 Estate and a 44 saloon. If you haven't driven one you have no idea how quirky they could be, especially the 2 cylinder flat engined ones like the 44s At last I found someone actually drive one, well done 😊
1975 DAF sold their car manufacturing to volvo, and they only made the 66 renamedcto Volvo 66. And the predecessor Volvo 343. I don't think it was possible to get any DAF in 1981, and the DAF 44 was discontinued in the sixties.
I actually saw an older DAF in a parking lot in St.Louis Missouri USA, when I was a teenager. I knew what it was, but to see one actually in person was a treat. I don’t believe they were officially imported to the U.S.. Perhaps, through Canada(?). 🚗🙂
I always think a good analogy for a variomatic is to think of bicycle gears only with the sprockets and chain rings smoothed into a pair of cones and a rubber band instead of a chain. If you imagine Centrifugal force moves the band up the front cone and down the back one as you speed up you would keep peddling at a constant speed.
Excellent stuff. My first car was a DAF 66 Marathon Coupé, the de dion rear end set up, and the weight distribution (with the heavier cvt components at the rear balancing the front engine) made for terrific handling. It was certainly a match for my friends Ford Escorts.
Nice car, DAFs were (and still are) cool. Good build, finish and interior for a small car of the late 1960s/early 1970s I seem to remember, in fact I have a 55 Coupe brochure tucked away somewhere. The 44 actually outlasted the 55 by several years, not being discontinued until 1974. It then lived on as the 46 until 1976.
@@keithhooper6123 Me too, 33, 44, 55 and 66 plus Volvo 66 and 343 launch pack. My dad got the first 4 from an ex-DAF dealership that had re-franchised with FSO ~1978. They still acted as a DAF service/parts agent and offered a selection of used DAFs until 1980 I believe.
My wife bought a used (very used and cheap!) DAF 55 back in the early 70s. It had been neglected and thus had many mechanical faults, so she quickly changed it for a Nissan Micra. The lack of differential made it pretty difficult to make sharp turns out of a parking lot.
Not surprising with the constant high revving engine I guess! I bet a lot of them were moved on during the 1973 fuel crisis which sent petrol prices skyrocketing.
Chap around the corner from me has a variation of one of these - the Volvo 66 which is the successor to the DAF 55 it’s in a lovely metallic green.There is also another brown one in my area which is a DAF 55.
My local petrol station was once a DAF dealership I remember going in and asking for brochures shame I never kept them always loved these cars great memories 👍
Never seen one these Matt and what a strange cute little car , oh and I have a few kids I don’t like that would fit perfectly in the back 😉, no problem 👌🏻.
Matt this is completely different car although a very pretty car it id the CVT transmission which sets it apart the CVT transmissions today a vastly more complicated than the one in this Daf 66 much simpler CVT and doesn't cost a fortune to fix if it goes wrong
It's interesting that the Boing Drive is relatively common these days, albeit in a slightly different form. Hard to beat Italian styled coupes from the 1960's!
I used to work on these cars, If you broke a drive belt, the car would still drive as there was no differential, it relied on the slippage of the belts to act as a differential. They were great in the snow, as good are a limited slip diff. Myself and another mechanic, Alan, used to try and get the smaller Daff 33 to drive on two wheels, by going flat out into a bend and getting the car to tip up on to two wheels, no real diff so no loss of drive, fun times. The Daffs had a centrifugal clutch, that used what looked like brake shoes with a pivot at one end held by a spring, and centrifugal force pushed the shoes out onto a drum that drove an aluminium drive shaft to the rear variomatic unit. The variomatic unit worked on centrifugal force (weights inside the unit) and vacuum to change the ratio of the drive. The rear units had two vacuum pipes pre unit, slightly different sizes, if you put one pair of pipes on the wrong way, one unit would try to increase the drive ratio and the other reduce the drive ratio. If you floored the accelerator pedal, there was a vacuum valve that would force the transmission into a lower ratio, on the Daf 33 and Daf 44 this was mechanical, and on the Daff 55 and Daf 66, it was controlled by a micro switch and electric solenoid. This system suffered from what I called, "rubbermatize", owners would put rubber floor mats in the car, the rubber mat would creep up behind the accelerator pedal, and stop, driver being able to so call "kick down" the transmission. Happy times working at Cooper and Green, Elmers End Road, Beckenham, Kent.
My uncle was the technical advisor for Daf Car dealers in the North of England in the 70s , there was a myth that the cars would not run with a broken belt, so he took a belt off a car to prove it would still drive, as far as I remember the story was it drove fine except a for slight pull towards the drive wheel.
The factory in Born where this Daf was built is still around, today it's owned by VDL and it is manufacturing Mini's. Sadly, things are not looking good for them as the Mini production will stop soon and they struggle to find new assignments. The former Daf's car development last big job was the Volvo S/V40 and Mitsubishi Carisma, which were both produced in Born, then the product development was sold to Benteler, providing engineering services, today owned by Altran.
It's a good thing this one was hidden away in France during the 80s, because there was a madly popular banger race on TV in Holland: the reverse banger race. Presented by a popular comedian, this chaotic race had jumps and and hairpins and was driven completely in reverse. The ensuing hilarity was made possible because the Variomatic can hit the same top speed both forward or in reverse. It did empty all the breakers' of their DAFjes very quickly though.
My auntie had a few dafs when I was growing up because my uncle worked at a dealership for them. Ending up with a Volvo 340. She now owns a micra 1.3 cvt which she brought new in 1996 and as done less than 20k
As a 6 or 7 year old in the early ‘80s I was a bit confused when our neighbours said they had a broken daffodil in their garage. Turns out it was a little yellow estate car. They had a very early Volvo 343 as their main car by then so I guess were converts to the rubber band gearboxes.
Started my car driving in a later 66 marathon, the high backseat is because the cvt style gearbox is under the backseat. The later 66 version hade a dedion rear axel so the handling was very nice.
I once had a Daf 44,noise little thing but fun to drive ( for me anyway) I drove it all the way from Exeter, in Devon,all the way to London and back just for fun! Very easy to drive.
8:55 I owned a 55 T coupé myself. Although mine had other thumble switch gear , I guess the fourth switch is the engine brake for mountain driving down hill.
The "gearbox" switch you were messing about with was the low gear hold. It was used for holding the lower ratios for hill climbing or descent. When disengaged, the transmission changes up and down the ratios to maintain the best one for the road conditions. It changes into high ratio as soon as conditions permit, and engine revs drop dramatically. Having said that, fuel consumption was poor compared to a conventional transmission.
Much of my early driving years were in my grandad's 1972 vermillion 55 coupe which my folks took over when he was no longer able to drive it. (He made a probably unique transition to this from a Mk 1 Escort RS1600). I think it held its own against my mates rides, a bronze 1.2 Viva, an 0.9 VW Derby and a 950 pea green Fiesta, though the swing axle suspension made it feel terrifyingly squirrelly round the bends, and it seemed to constantly break those rubber bands. A distant relative exported the vehicle to NZ, perhaps it still exists
My grandparents had new Dafs in the 70s including 33s, 44s a 55 and a 66. I drove the last 44 they had kept for a bit longer in about 1983. The engine revs would drop considerably when they were cruising, I don’t remember even the 44 sounding that noisy but I guess they were much newer when I travelled in them.
I remember driving my mates Mum's orange DAF Vario in the early eighties not long after passing my test. I don't think I've ever seen another one since, and certainly not a coupe 🙂
First car I ever had APM255J. Bright yellow Daf 55 Coupe. The original tyres were not much wider than a 2CV and the steering wheel was huge. Great until a belt went twang and I discovered the spares i had been given with the car were for a 66 not a 55. Expensive repair as I remember.
Hi Matt I have not seen one of these before I do remember though when my uncle bought a Daf 66 a lime green one he took me out in it a bit noisy though.
Had a share in a Daf 46 estate for a while in the 90s. It was great, if scary sometimes when the ignition went on one cylinder and you had to pull away from a junction with the power from the other cylinder only/
Once you’re up to cruising speed, you can gradually back off the throttle to drop the revs and the car will keep driving along as a sort of variomatic high gear
This is the nicest DAF of them all ! Back in the day they did the London to Sidney Marathon rally in 55's and they were succesful ! To celebrate this DAF offered Marathon special editions. The 66 got a bigger version of the Renault engine. A popular upgrade is to swap the 1400cc engine of the Volvo 340 in it. With a double carburetor it would give the car about 75hp making it a zippy little car.
I used to drive my mums 44 back in the late 70s when you get up to speed if you slowly ease off the revs start to drop and you can maintain same speed thats untill going up hills, coming down hills different story if you are brave. I used to come off detling hill keeping my foot in used to pass nearly everything handling was great i could keep up with minis except 1275
My aunt had a daf in the old days. My father, rather more involved with cars, bikes and engineering, retained and passed on one piece of information to me about driving that car: it goes as fast in reverse as in forward. Were this ever actually tested, no idea. But I like the concept of my father going 65 backwards on the car park of the Ruislip lido.
A lot of Dafs, of all types and building years, were still driving around in the Netherlands during the early eighties. Until some TV maker came with the idea of backwards racing championships at the fomer F1 at Zandvoort. And since you could ride a variomatic car just as fast backward as forward they were wrecked in these races, which were broadcasted weekly on TV, commented by the most famous Dutch comedian Andre van Duin, and very popular. This spelled the death for most of the remaining Dafs in the Netherlands, within a period of a few years. They are quite rare now. Even in their country of origin.
4000rpm sounds like a lot. I can't remember the 66 that i sat in, revved that high. Perhaps there's a vacuum leak somewhere. In all DAFs, eventually the rubber membranes in the variomatic need to be replaced, and hoses can crack. The transmission is dumped into the lowest range when engine vacuum disappears (like when the throttle's fully open - or when there's a leak) - and then only the flyweight system controls the transmission. The actual load on the drive train also has influence - the harder you 'pull' on the belts, the harder they push the sheaves apart. It's such a beautifully refined system. There's also a low range mountain descent knob on the dashboard, which also keeps the transmission in low range for maximum engine braking.
A very stylish looking car both inside and out. I didn't realise DAF used the Cleon engine, I had the 1108cc in my Renault 5. Not sure about that CVT though, in theory they sound great with its ability to keep the engine in its peak torque constantly but on practice they just didn't seem to hit the spot. I remember seeing a video of an F1 car fitted with one under acceleration and it was so strange as the engine pitch was consistent throughout.
I'm not sure about the 55, but the 340 had the CVT underneath the rear seat, it sports two CVT transmissions side by side, the different revolutions is done with two conical disks on each side of each belt, front and back, the discs moves together or apart depending on if it is was the front or the rear pair, thus pushing in or out the belt from the center, the disk movement was and is done with centrifugal weights that pushes the disks when the speed alters. Snowmobiles uses the same type of CVTs still, only with one belt on one side of the engine and drive axle. The reason the rear seat is high and rather stiff is that the CVTs needed space underneath. When Volvo wanted to install an ordinary gearbox and a 2 liter "B21" (same pistons as in the B20) they still couldn't make the rear seat more comfortable as the sparewheel had to move to the rear, the fueltank was made like a saddle straddling the rearmounted gearbox. But the 360 which it was called was a very well balanced car. :)
My parents had a friend who was a Daf dealer in the 60s and 70s in Hemel Hempstead. By easing the throttle once up to speed the variomatic would actually drop the revs for cruising purposes. The other trick that John always demonstrated to this car mad 10 year old , was that will actually go as fast in reverse as forwards - very scary indeed even at 40mph. I have a very distant memory of Dafs racing in reverse and the Marathon was, if my memory is correct , the sporty version which might account for some of the performance tweaks.
Looks fantastic. And I can’t remember ever seeing one, and I’m middle aged. However, approx a month ago, on a local FB page about the local area here, someone mentioned how they remembered a person in one of the pictures who had a DAF car which “sounded like it was broken all the time”….which is the kinda thing people say when they don’t know about this technology. I currently drive a modern Honda VETEC with CVT automatic….things have moved on a very long way. The revs are very well contained now & it feels and reacts more or less identical to a traditional automatic…..certainly a lot smoother than VW DSG or ASG or earlier Honda I-Shift…all of which are automated manuals. Btw I am getting 51.5mpg average…..and around here it’s hilly so the mpg is dragged down a bit (petrol E10).
Are you never tempted to buy one of the cars you take out for a drive? I would very much be with this one. And as the real one's not really an option in my situation, I thus settled for the very nice scale model from Schuco. 😀 I like Dafs quirkyness, but also think especially the 55 and 66 coupé were very stylish; the Michelotti-touch was unmistakable with Dafs B-body models. In the 1960s, you had all those little coupés (Daf 55, Hillman imp californian/stiletto, Peugeot 204 coupé, Simca 1000/1200S coupé, Fiat 850 coupé are the ones I can recall immediately) offering sporty style for a very reasonable price; if only those days could return ... Thanks for this most lovely goes for a drive!
I had a Daf 44 for a while, from my grandmother, with the 2 cylinder 34 hp aircooled boxer. It sounded fast, but it was only up to 40 mph. You have to learn to treat the throttle in a special manner to get the revs down after accelerating: When you' re at speed, just release the throttle a little, and then the ' Variomatic' will reduce revs. Your foot is the 'computer' that manages the transmission, since computers weren't available in cars then...
Yes driving the variomatic cars did need the driver to come off the throttle when they reached the required speed and then slightly back on the throttle and the revs would reduce but the speed stayed the same.i can remember back in the late 80s when i worked at a Volvo garage, if we went out for a test drive with potential buyers we would point out how to drive them correctly. Also the CVT gearbox 340s could go as fast in reverse as they could going forwards, not that we ever tried that 😌. (Well just the once but it was quite scary).
What a wonderful machine! Always liked these, since teenage viewing of Van Der Valk. Two takeaways; Triumph Dolomite rear panel! Why fit a tachometer in a CVT car?
I once owned a late Volvo 340 from 1987. No Renault parts in that one at all. It had the B200 engine and the fivespeed M47 gearbox. B200 (110bhp) was a smaller version of the B230 in Volvo 240 or 740. M47 gearbox could be found in both 240 and 740. It was a fun wintercar. 300kg lighter than my 240 and had much better weight distribution. Rust killed it.
I thought these had the transmission on the rear axle and not where you point after 6:40 in the clip. The later 340/360 did get manual transmissions but they were mounted on the rear axle having a de Dion tube to the engine in the front and quite long gear linkage.
I'm sorry I do have to step in here for a moment. There is no de Dion tube going to the back... there is a tortion tube going to the back in which the propellor shaft turns... The de Dion axel is in the back and connects both rear wheels. This rather special construction allows the rear wheels to keep the same position relative to the road. So no camber or caster differences when cornering...
CVT isn't in the front😂 , drive shaft runs at engine speed!!, it's in the rear, secondairy parts of the variomatic directly (separately, L/R) connected to the rearwheels (on the, later, 66, connected to a Dion-axle)
When I was 13, the mother of one of my classmates drove us home from a school camp in her Daf 44. It was quite a nice and fun ride, but I think I would have preferred a ride in his father's car, a Citroën CX..
This beautiful car has obviously had the RIGHT owner! Is that an original steering wheel? It is probably an expensive special one, and REALLY beautiful! Like the wonderfully colour-co-ordinated interior - not like today's horrible "funereal" black, or grey interiors! Actually, I'm not surprised about the maker's claim about exceptional hill climbing ability. I had a ride in friend's really rare AIXAM French microcode, kind of the size of the old Mini. That was slow, being only 500cc. BUT it came into it's own when it simply SCUTTLED up hills, as if they were NOTHING! Gears DO seem to zap hill climbing, because the AIXAM car also had this transmission system. The front GRILLE reminds me of the original Triumph 1300 - and that TOO was also by master designer, MICHELOTTI. You have been most WISE to point out about avoiding getting appeared on the quarterlight pillar, and that reminds of another design, by the stylish, (but lethal!) designer, MICHELOTTI. Namely the Triumph Dolomite. Only it's the same kind if fault on the REAR doors this time! The rear corner of the door frame is square framed, and could make a nice semi-sharp corner to catch your eye on ( - if you so wish!) And to compound the issue even MORE, all the doors are on a door - stay spring. This is, I expect, to prevent strong winds catching the door as you open it, and whacking it back against the bodywork. That happened on my Fiat 128 - and dented the FRONT wing! Okay, so these heavy door springs on the Dolomite protect the CAR, but NOT the occupants! You have to force the REAR door open, against the pressure of the heavy spring - and then the spring almost rips the door out of your hand - pulling it open - hopefully giving you enough time to avoid getting the sharp top Door corner in your eye! A good review as usual. I think you reviewers on these programmes are unbiased, and professional, unlike some T.V. and magazine car testers!
Very good looking design. One of my Primary School teachers drove a Daf 33 which was very different although I didn't know how different at the time. The shape was like a normal saloon where most small cars were Minis, Simca 1000s or Renault 5s. The shape of the Daf was weird low bonnet, taller bootlid and far too tall roofline like a cartoon car. Very cool in leaf green.
I'm not sure the gearbox is at the front, I think it's an early version of what became the Volvo 340 chassis , if it is it's a trans axle , the gearbox under the back seat
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One of those gorgeous small Coupes from the Sixties, along with Simca and Alfa Romeo. Small Cars don't have that prettiness and glamour anymore.
And the Renault Caravelle.
And Fiat 850 sport coupe, even more like an imp with the engine in the rear.
Probably because they arent small anymore. Even a Golf is huge nowadays
I convinced my mum to buy a new daf 55 in 1972. It just seemed to have great quality. However, the gearbox was a source of constant complaint, and mum replaced the car with a new Honda civic, which was faultless.
@@andrewcumming6319 It did sound rather stressed. It made the Engine sound a little like a two stroke. Probably the engines didn't have a long life with the extra revs used. Forgive it for it's looks, though.
Nice to see you driving a car from my country! When DAF started building cars (they built trailers and military vehicles before that), they made a huge point about how easy the Variomatic was to drive. This quickly gave them the name of being cars for old ladies, a reputation from which they never really recovered, despite ventures into racing. The belt drive was commonly known as suspender drive.
Not just any suspenders, the type that hold up a lady's panty hoses: the "jaretelle" drive. ;)
They're still in use today. Those three-wheeled motorcycles that you can ride on a car license, for instance, those are all Variomatic. They need the rubber band changed every 10000 km (6000 miles).
Und jetzt gibt's nur noch Automatik Getriebe bei den E-Autos, schon lustig wie sich die Welt entwickelt
Its so sad that car companies such as Daf have gone. Life would be so much more interesting if companies like Daf still existed, and not everyone just bought boring German cars.
Well DAF still exists, unfortunately only manufacture trucks with a very reliable reputation.
@@gerardbosvonhohenfels1866 And it US owned...
"...and not everyone just bought boring German cars"
Yeah... like Teslas, Toyotas, Hyundais...
really no choice left...
A lot of moderns are fat SUVS that all look similar and are ugly.
@@plechaim Agreed, tax them off the roads. Many are just FWD, totally needless
The 66 coupe is indeed one of the most beautiful coupes going, Van Doorme wanted to create a small automatic car and ended up creating a fleet of them over the years because of how good the variomatic was. The transmission is mounted on the back axle and has no ratios or another way of putting it... infinite ratios. It always keeps the car in the correct ratio at the right time and was so succesful at doing this - DAF became a name to be feared when it came to the dutch rallycross in the 60s and 70s as nobody could compete! Fun fact that on the Variomatic is that it makes the car go backwards just as fast as forwards! I have just completed a history video based on the history of the CVT and it has quite an understated history but potentially a very important future - VW are currently testing a CVT transmission in their E-Golf because of it's potential to create extra torque and therefore reduce the size of the electric motor and therefore use smaller batteries. Cracking video as usual :)
Una delle più belle coupe??? E bella la daf coupe ma c'è ne sono molto più belle la fiat dino coupe la fiat 850 sport o coupe fiat 130 coupe a che la, simca coupe, era bella anche opel Manta prima serie è stupenda c'è ne sono di piu belle della daf poi sono gusti
My grandmother bought one of these when she passed her automatic only test at 56. She didn't do more than a few hundred miles in it, then gave it to my cousin as her first car. I remember it as a decent car. I always thought it looked rather like my aunt's Fiat 850 Coupé.
I love the Daf 55 Marathon, the logic of the Van Doorne transmission is inescapable even if it doesn't quite work in reality. The transmission is in the rear, comprises two pairs of pulleys that (thanks to a mixture of engine inlet manifold vacuum and centrifugal bob-weights) would adjust to speed and load. I believe there's also a centrifugal clutch, which is why you need a few revs to get going and it doesn't creep like a conventional automatic. The transmission also serves in lieu of a differential, so you effectively have a limited slip rear end and DAFs worked very well on ice and snow.
Indeed the DAF Variomatic did not "creep" or "Crawl". This was also unwanted because it was actually a friction-clutch. Until the 55 it was a "pure"centrifugal clutch. The 66 had a "plate-clutch" in which the plates ware pushed together through centrifucal rolllers. If the car had been "crawling" the clutches would have burned out real fast ;-)
Travelled cross country from Worcestershire to London in a Daf 44 Saloon back in the Summer of 1974 with three other students. The car's performance was OK though I do recall the driver telling us he was using quieter roads, keeping it at around 40 all the way to save money on petrol and hoped we didn't mind! As it turned out, it made for a nice trip.
This video nor the comments do justice to the brilliance of the CVT. You might not like it, but it's still brilliant and it has hardly significantly improved from the Variomatic. There was hardly any automatic option for small cars in the 50's, lots didn't even have 4 synchronized gears yet. In actual daily traffic up to about 70 km/h the undermotorized DAFs were quicker than most. The variomatic also served as a limited slip differential.
It's driving ease and favouring by old people, lots of them who got their licence at later age, gave it the wrong image. DAF tried to save that by rallying and introducing the Marathon coupe, but it was too late and they kept using the CVT to compensate for lack of power and torque.
For me this is one of the most beautiful and interesting cars you have reviewed so far. When I was 16 I used to get a lift in one of these from a friend who was a bit older, we managed to confirm that they do indeed do the same speed in reverse as in forward! Anyway it’s a beauty and I went straight to stonecoldclassics but it’s already sold.. I seriously would have been in the market for this, it’s so rare a nice Daf coupe comes along.
even in the netherlands this coupe is rare. what a great example...
I had a 44, and ran it until the engine finally died. Wish they still built them! One of the most economical cars I've ever had.
Awesome car!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻My grandmother always drove these DAF’s (a 33,a 44 and a 55!) and I remember the trips in it with her. Sweet memories…! This coupe is the most pretty one.
Dutch pride! My aunt had a DAF Daffodil, but the Coupe is such a looker. Beautiful car and tastefully modified.
In my youth there were races in these things driving in reverse which they do as fast as forward driving. Broadcasted on national television.
Neighbour had a 55 in yellow back around 1980, then updated to a 343., yellow again. Never knew these coupes existed, really is quite an exotic looking little car.
Furious said they didn't make a point of revealing acceleration figures, but I found a 1971 German ad for the DAF 55 coupe which boasts: "Uns erreicht in 5 sec bereits 50 km/h."
Well Mathew. you have finally managed to get a hold one that A/ ive never heard of and B/ ive never driven.
A school friend's father was a DAF dealer,and an Aunt,had a 33.She was a larger lady and drove it,accompanied by a large collie(Lassie) type dog,as front seat passenger.
Stunning exterior which looks like a Datsun 1000 and Mazda 1000 coupe. The back, including light assembly, looks like a mixture of Mazda 1000 and 1200.
The button on the right is the 'low ratio hold' selector, which simulates engine braking when going down hill - not used very much in Holland.
My first car was a 66 marathon coupe, bright yellow with a large black stripe. Full sunshine roof and it was amazing.
Never any DAF 66 is as Epic as this 55 Coupe.
66 was better, true.
Enjoyed that Matt, brought memories of my Dad's Daf 44. From memory the knob on the dash is to keep it in low gear
The "Artwork" of the clocks especially the speedometer is fantastic!
Im a 23 year old, super into oldtimers, and managed to buy a DAF 55 Coupe today, it's gonna need some loving but im so happy and excited to finally be driving an incredible oldtimer car and participate in events. :D
At 16 Had a daf33 given to me which had been crashed. Only front wing needed. My dad helped me repair it. I was ordered not to drive it before 17. I did my dad found out and sold it! Drove lovely
I had a 66 Marathon in the 70s. Super little car. In its day would beat anything away from the lights in the first 50 meters! I used to love challenging people to find the fuel cap. Nobody could - it was hidden beneath the fold down number plate!
Such a neat little car!And very well preserved.Seems like DAF were ahead of their time with the CVT,and it was probably better made than most of the CVT equipped vehicles today.Great video!
The variomatic (CVT) was situated in the back (you pointed toward the engine).
The variomatic was quite heavy but in the back. This resulted in a surprisingly good wieght-distribution.
The variomatic in models prior to the 66 ( except the 46) had no differential in the traditional sence.
There were two belts, one driving each rear-wheel. Difference in cornering speed was handled by the pulleys.
I had a 55 and the advice, in tight corners, was to give a liitle more throttle then you normally would to have the inner wheel spin in order to prevent the half-axle to take too much strain.
Also, pushing this thing around a corner was impossible on your own.
The 46 was sort of a study to try a de Dion-axle but had only ONE belt.
Although I liked the model more than the 66 (Which I also had once) the 66 (with a tradional diff + de Dion axle) drove much nicer, though
The variomatic did drive nice, in my opinion.
What a nice example! Really nicely modified too. I love it! ❤️😀
Its fantastically preserved, amazing for its age and so cool!
My first ever Volvo was a 340 with a variomatic gearbox, it was different but ok to drive, except when a belt snaps! but at least it was a quick fix, great video with a great little car
They were unbeatable in Rallycross in the seventies. So much that the other cars got a head start. Jan de Rooy won about every race.
What an absolutely brilliant little coupe, with some great non-standard additions! I remember the 44 and it’s strange CVT Variomatic gearbox back in the 70’s and early 80’s. Highly undesirable, unlike this little gem.
The Variomatic is connected to the brakes and shifts back if you brake. Hence the powerfull brakes. The right switch in the dash is the socalled mountainswitch it changes the ratio for climbing and descending.
Great car, great interior and I'm impressed by the levers in the front seats which seems very forward thinking
When I lived in Germany, leaving my village I could see the factory where this used to be made - now BMW make MINIs there...
You mentioned Michelotti - can you see a bit of Triumph 1300 in the front end?
Yes, there are echos of that arent there
Where did you leave, must be next to the Dutch border?
@@yt-nx1qm Gemeinde Selfkant, Westzipfelpunkt, next to Nieuwstadt...
The Imp comparison was interesting, particularly if you look at the Imp coupe profile - very similar roof line - nice review.
I meant to say the Imp Stilleto coupe version ( I guess you knew what I was getting at!)
There was an Imp Californian and a Singer Chamois coupe that were detuned versions of the Stiletto. Just like the DAF they had no headroom in the back.
A really elegant little car. The designer's name is Giovanni Michelotti, pronounced Mick-. He's well known for being the designer of all Triumphs from 1960 onwards.
We had two Dafs in the family back in 1972 and 1981 respectively. A 44 Estate and a 44 saloon. If you haven't driven one you have no idea how quirky they could be, especially the 2 cylinder flat engined ones like the 44s
At last I found someone actually drive one, well done 😊
1975 DAF sold their car manufacturing to volvo, and they only made the 66 renamedcto Volvo 66. And the predecessor Volvo 343.
I don't think it was possible to get any DAF in 1981, and the DAF 44 was discontinued in the sixties.
So after a car manufacturer stops producing a car all the cars of the same model that were built previously dissapear magically?
@crazyyoutubeuser2471 sorry. I misread your post and thought you ment model years.
I actually saw an older DAF in a parking lot in St.Louis Missouri USA, when I was a teenager. I knew what it was, but to see one actually in person was a treat.
I don’t believe they were officially imported to the U.S..
Perhaps, through Canada(?).
🚗🙂
What a cute car Matt. one of my first car memories was a daf. as my next door neighbour had one when i was 4 or 5. but nothing as bonito as this
I always think a good analogy for a variomatic is to think of bicycle gears only with the sprockets and chain rings smoothed into a pair of cones and a rubber band instead of a chain. If you imagine Centrifugal force moves the band up the front cone and down the back one as you speed up you would keep peddling at a constant speed.
Thanks for doing this video, my Parents had a DAF 55 saloon for a few years in the late 70's/early 80's, so this brought back a few memories!
Because of the variomatic gearbox the Daf cars could ride the same speed forewarts as backwarts.
Ah yes, the Dutch backwards driving championships
Excellent stuff. My first car was a DAF 66 Marathon Coupé, the de dion rear end set up, and the weight distribution (with the heavier cvt components at the rear balancing the front engine) made for terrific handling. It was certainly a match for my friends Ford Escorts.
Nice car, DAFs were (and still are) cool. Good build, finish and interior for a small car of the late 1960s/early 1970s I seem to remember, in fact I have a 55 Coupe brochure tucked away somewhere. The 44 actually outlasted the 55 by several years, not being discontinued until 1974. It then lived on as the 46 until 1976.
I still have a set of brochures.
@@keithhooper6123 Me too, 33, 44, 55 and 66 plus Volvo 66 and 343 launch pack. My dad got the first 4 from an ex-DAF dealership that had re-franchised with FSO ~1978. They still acted as a DAF service/parts agent and offered a selection of used DAFs until 1980 I believe.
the variomatic "gearbox" is not there but under the rear seat. therefor the weight distribution was perfect.
My wife bought a used (very used and cheap!) DAF 55 back in the early 70s. It had been neglected and thus had many mechanical faults, so she quickly changed it for a Nissan Micra. The lack of differential made it pretty difficult to make sharp turns out of a parking lot.
They were known to be heavy on fuel. There were lots of these buzzing about in the 1970s. Thanks, excellent video. Peace be unto you.
Not surprising with the constant high revving engine I guess! I bet a lot of them were moved on during the 1973 fuel crisis which sent petrol prices skyrocketing.
These cars enjoyed great successes in rallying and rallycross, the later with Jan de Rooy of Dakar-fame at the wheel
Chap around the corner from me has a variation of one of these - the Volvo 66 which is the successor to the DAF 55 it’s in a lovely metallic green.There is also another brown one in my area which is a DAF 55.
My first car was a Volvo 66!
A great looking little car, with hubuts motto #powerlessismore it looks a fun little car to drive.
Excellent review as always Matt.
Really was entertaining. I know the variomatic is what makes it stand out but Id love to try one with a Volvo 340's rear manual 'box fitted
My local petrol station was once a DAF dealership I remember going in and asking for brochures shame I never kept them always loved these cars great memories 👍
Never seen one these Matt and what a strange cute little car , oh and I have a few kids I don’t like that would fit perfectly in the back 😉, no problem 👌🏻.
Matt this is completely different car although a very pretty car it id the CVT transmission which sets it apart the CVT transmissions today a vastly more complicated than the one in this Daf 66 much simpler CVT and doesn't cost a fortune to fix if it goes wrong
It's interesting that the Boing Drive is relatively common these days, albeit in a slightly different form. Hard to beat Italian styled coupes from the 1960's!
I used to work on these cars, If you broke a drive belt, the car would still drive as there was no differential, it relied on the slippage of the belts to act as a differential. They were great in the snow, as good are a limited slip diff. Myself and another mechanic, Alan, used to try and get the smaller Daff 33 to drive on two wheels, by going flat out into a bend and getting the car to tip up on to two wheels, no real diff so no loss of drive, fun times. The Daffs had a centrifugal clutch, that used what looked like brake shoes with a pivot at one end held by a spring, and centrifugal force pushed the shoes out onto a drum that drove an aluminium drive shaft to the rear variomatic unit. The variomatic unit worked on centrifugal force (weights inside the unit) and vacuum to change the ratio of the drive. The rear units had two vacuum pipes pre unit, slightly different sizes, if you put one pair of pipes on the wrong way, one unit would try to increase the drive ratio and the other reduce the drive ratio. If you floored the accelerator pedal, there was a vacuum valve that would force the transmission into a lower ratio, on the Daf 33 and Daf 44 this was mechanical, and on the Daff 55 and Daf 66, it was controlled by a micro switch and electric solenoid. This system suffered from what I called, "rubbermatize", owners would put rubber floor mats in the car, the rubber mat would creep up behind the accelerator pedal, and stop, driver being able to so call "kick down" the transmission. Happy times working at Cooper and Green, Elmers End Road, Beckenham, Kent.
My uncle was the technical advisor for Daf Car dealers in the North of England in the 70s , there was a myth that the cars would not run with a broken belt, so he took a belt off a car to prove it would still drive, as far as I remember the story was it drove fine except a for slight pull towards the drive wheel.
The factory in Born where this Daf was built is still around, today it's owned by VDL and it is manufacturing Mini's. Sadly, things are not looking good for them as the Mini production will stop soon and they struggle to find new assignments. The former Daf's car development last big job was the Volvo S/V40 and Mitsubishi Carisma, which were both produced in Born, then the product development was sold to Benteler, providing engineering services, today owned by Altran.
It's a good thing this one was hidden away in France during the 80s, because there was a madly popular banger race on TV in Holland: the reverse banger race. Presented by a popular comedian, this chaotic race had jumps and and hairpins and was driven completely in reverse. The ensuing hilarity was made possible because the Variomatic can hit the same top speed both forward or in reverse. It did empty all the breakers' of their DAFjes very quickly though.
I see the design similaritys with the old Triumph's 2000, 1300, Toledo/dolemite, ect
My auntie had a few dafs when I was growing up because my uncle worked at a dealership for them.
Ending up with a Volvo 340.
She now owns a micra 1.3 cvt which she brought new in 1996 and as done less than 20k
That would be the only Daf 55 with a CVT box in the front….
With a Variomatic badge on the back end.
What a special machine 💪
Very heavily modified 😍
My dad had a 55 saloon in the early 80’s. I’d love to go to the DAF museum at some point
As a 6 or 7 year old in the early ‘80s I was a bit confused when our neighbours said they had a broken daffodil in their garage. Turns out it was a little yellow estate car. They had a very early Volvo 343 as their main car by then so I guess were converts to the rubber band gearboxes.
Started my car driving in a later 66 marathon, the high backseat is because the cvt style gearbox is under the backseat. The later 66 version hade a dedion rear axel so the handling was very nice.
I once had a Daf 44,noise little thing but fun to drive ( for me anyway)
I drove it all the way from Exeter, in Devon,all the way to London and back just for fun!
Very easy to drive.
8:55 I owned a 55 T coupé myself. Although mine had other thumble switch gear , I guess the fourth switch is the engine brake for mountain driving down hill.
Thanks for another fascinating test, hope it helps you forget about rust issues, even if only for a short while.
The "gearbox" switch you were messing about with was the low gear hold. It was used for holding the lower ratios for hill climbing or descent. When disengaged, the transmission changes up and down the ratios to maintain the best one for the road conditions. It changes into high ratio as soon as conditions permit, and engine revs drop dramatically.
Having said that, fuel consumption was poor compared to a conventional transmission.
Much of my early driving years were in my grandad's 1972 vermillion 55 coupe which my folks took over when he was no longer able to drive it. (He made a probably unique transition to this from a Mk 1 Escort RS1600). I think it held its own against my mates rides, a bronze 1.2 Viva, an 0.9 VW Derby and a 950 pea green Fiesta, though the swing axle suspension made it feel terrifyingly squirrelly round the bends, and it seemed to constantly break those rubber bands. A distant relative exported the vehicle to NZ, perhaps it still exists
My grandparents had new Dafs in the 70s including 33s, 44s a 55 and a 66. I drove the last 44 they had kept for a bit longer in about 1983. The engine revs would drop considerably when they were cruising, I don’t remember even the 44 sounding that noisy but I guess they were much newer when I travelled in them.
I remember driving my mates Mum's orange DAF Vario in the early eighties not long after passing my test. I don't think I've ever seen another one since, and certainly not a coupe 🙂
First car I ever had APM255J. Bright yellow Daf 55 Coupe. The original tyres were not much wider than a 2CV and the steering wheel was huge. Great until a belt went twang and I discovered the spares i had been given with the car were for a 66 not a 55. Expensive repair as I remember.
Hi Matt I have not seen one of these before I do remember though when my uncle bought a Daf 66 a lime green one he took me out in it a bit noisy though.
Had a share in a Daf 46 estate for a while in the 90s. It was great, if scary sometimes when the ignition went on one cylinder and you had to pull away from a junction with the power from the other cylinder only/
I think there was one an old man had in my grandparents village, complete with the "away and home" gearbox!
The right most button on the dash holds lower gearing to provide some engine braking when going down hills.
Once you’re up to cruising speed, you can gradually back off the throttle to drop the revs and the car will keep driving along as a sort of variomatic high gear
Do you think the rev counter is really useful in this car for that reason? Personally I don't like it being there.
@@timonsolus not really - you’d be able to feel/hear the revs dropping.
This is the nicest DAF of them all ! Back in the day they did the London to Sidney Marathon rally in 55's and they were succesful ! To celebrate this DAF offered Marathon special editions.
The 66 got a bigger version of the Renault engine.
A popular upgrade is to swap the 1400cc engine of the Volvo 340 in it. With a double carburetor it would give the car about 75hp making it a zippy little car.
I used to drive my mums 44 back in the late 70s when you get up to speed if you slowly ease off the revs start to drop and you can maintain same speed thats untill going up hills, coming down hills different story if you are brave. I used to come off detling hill keeping my foot in used to pass nearly everything handling was great i could keep up with minis except 1275
My aunt had a daf in the old days. My father, rather more involved with cars, bikes and engineering, retained and passed on one piece of information to me about driving that car: it goes as fast in reverse as in forward. Were this ever actually tested, no idea. But I like the concept of my father going 65 backwards on the car park of the Ruislip lido.
My dad had a sprint version of that. Red on top white at the bottom. With original DAF striping.
Oops it was called Marathon
And red/black. How memories get confused in 40 years.
Was 4-5 years old back then.
Didn’t recognize it as a marathon probably because of the stripes that are missing.
A lot of Dafs, of all types and building years, were still driving around in the Netherlands during the early eighties. Until some TV maker came with the idea of backwards racing championships at the fomer F1 at Zandvoort. And since you could ride a variomatic car just as fast backward as forward they were wrecked in these races, which were broadcasted weekly on TV, commented by the most famous Dutch comedian Andre van Duin, and very popular. This spelled the death for most of the remaining Dafs in the Netherlands, within a period of a few years. They are quite rare now. Even in their country of origin.
Interesting TV show .. would be sad viewing now 😮
4000rpm sounds like a lot. I can't remember the 66 that i sat in, revved that high. Perhaps there's a vacuum leak somewhere. In all DAFs, eventually the rubber membranes in the variomatic need to be replaced, and hoses can crack. The transmission is dumped into the lowest range when engine vacuum disappears (like when the throttle's fully open - or when there's a leak) - and then only the flyweight system controls the transmission. The actual load on the drive train also has influence - the harder you 'pull' on the belts, the harder they push the sheaves apart. It's such a beautifully refined system.
There's also a low range mountain descent knob on the dashboard, which also keeps the transmission in low range for maximum engine braking.
Great content. Glad it sorted the problem. Fingers and toes crossed!
A very stylish looking car both inside and out.
I didn't realise DAF used the Cleon engine, I had the 1108cc in my Renault 5.
Not sure about that CVT though, in theory they sound great with its ability to keep the engine in its peak torque constantly but on practice they just didn't seem to hit the spot.
I remember seeing a video of an F1 car fitted with one under acceleration and it was so strange as the engine pitch was consistent throughout.
My dad had a yellow DAF 33 and I owned a Volvo 340 which had a Renault engine and DAF cvt gearbox like the 55 in your review.
I'm not sure about the 55, but the 340 had the CVT underneath the rear seat, it sports two CVT transmissions side by side, the different revolutions is done with two conical disks on each side of each belt, front and back, the discs moves together or apart depending on if it is was the front or the rear pair, thus pushing in or out the belt from the center, the disk movement was and is done with centrifugal weights that pushes the disks when the speed alters. Snowmobiles uses the same type of CVTs still, only with one belt on one side of the engine and drive axle. The reason the rear seat is high and rather stiff is that the CVTs needed space underneath. When Volvo wanted to install an ordinary gearbox and a 2 liter "B21" (same pistons as in the B20) they still couldn't make the rear seat more comfortable as the sparewheel had to move to the rear, the fueltank was made like a saddle straddling the rearmounted gearbox. But the 360 which it was called was a very well balanced car. :)
My parents had a friend who was a Daf dealer in the 60s and 70s in Hemel Hempstead.
By easing the throttle once up to speed the variomatic would actually drop the revs for cruising purposes.
The other trick that John always demonstrated to this car mad 10 year old , was that will actually go as fast in reverse as forwards - very scary indeed even at 40mph.
I have a very distant memory of Dafs racing in reverse and the Marathon was, if my memory is correct , the sporty version which might account for some of the performance tweaks.
Looks fantastic.
And I can’t remember ever seeing one, and I’m middle aged.
However, approx a month ago, on a local FB page about the local area here, someone mentioned how they remembered a person in one of the pictures who had a DAF car which “sounded like it was broken all the time”….which is the kinda thing people say when they don’t know about this technology.
I currently drive a modern Honda VETEC with CVT automatic….things have moved on a very long way. The revs are very well contained now & it feels and reacts more or less identical to a traditional automatic…..certainly a lot smoother than VW DSG or ASG or earlier Honda I-Shift…all of which are automated manuals.
Btw I am getting 51.5mpg average…..and around here it’s hilly so the mpg is dragged down a bit (petrol E10).
Are you never tempted to buy one of the cars you take out for a drive? I would very much be with this one. And as the real one's not really an option in my situation, I thus settled for the very nice scale model from Schuco. 😀
I like Dafs quirkyness, but also think especially the 55 and 66 coupé were very stylish; the Michelotti-touch was unmistakable with Dafs B-body models. In the 1960s, you had all those little coupés (Daf 55, Hillman imp californian/stiletto, Peugeot 204 coupé, Simca 1000/1200S coupé, Fiat 850 coupé are the ones I can recall immediately) offering sporty style for a very reasonable price; if only those days could return ... Thanks for this most lovely goes for a drive!
I had a Daf 44 for a while, from my grandmother, with the 2 cylinder 34 hp aircooled boxer. It sounded fast, but it was only up to 40 mph. You have to learn to treat the throttle in a special manner to get the revs down after accelerating: When you' re at speed, just release the throttle a little, and then the ' Variomatic' will reduce revs. Your foot is the 'computer' that manages the transmission, since computers weren't available in cars then...
Yes driving the variomatic cars did need the driver to come off the throttle when they reached the required speed and then slightly back on the throttle and the revs would reduce but the speed stayed the same.i can remember back in the late 80s when i worked at a Volvo garage, if we went out for a test drive with potential buyers we would point out how to drive them correctly. Also the CVT gearbox 340s could go as fast in reverse as they could going forwards, not that we ever tried that 😌. (Well just the once but it was quite scary).
My modern Japanese CVT behaves exactly like that too.
@@ronaldderooij1774wat voor auto is dat?
What a wonderful machine! Always liked these, since teenage viewing of Van Der Valk.
Two takeaways; Triumph Dolomite rear panel!
Why fit a tachometer in a CVT car?
Maybe the tacho is a just in case?
What a charming and pretty little car! Mechanically a Volvo 340 I guess! The design and execution of it is top drawer! Thanks so much for the drive
No, Volvo took over much later.
Very similar format but on a smaller scale!
I once owned a late Volvo 340 from 1987. No Renault parts in that one at all. It had the B200 engine and the fivespeed M47 gearbox. B200 (110bhp) was a smaller version of the B230 in Volvo 240 or 740. M47 gearbox could be found in both 240 and 740. It was a fun wintercar. 300kg lighter than my 240 and had much better weight distribution. Rust killed it.
I thought these had the transmission on the rear axle and not where you point after 6:40 in the clip. The later 340/360 did get manual transmissions but they were mounted on the rear axle having a de Dion tube to the engine in the front and quite long gear linkage.
You're correct.
If you watch on I do say its in the back and tell you about the aluminium prop shaft as well
I'm sorry I do have to step in here for a moment. There is no de Dion tube going to the back... there is a tortion tube going to the back in which the propellor shaft turns...
The de Dion axel is in the back and connects both rear wheels. This rather special construction allows the rear wheels to keep the same position relative to the road. So no camber or caster differences when cornering...
@@fretlessfender Thanks, this is what I like with all RUclips creators and nerdiness that exists. All the interesting knowledge.
CVT isn't in the front😂 , drive shaft runs at engine speed!!, it's in the rear, secondairy parts of the variomatic directly (separately, L/R) connected to the rearwheels (on the, later, 66, connected to a Dion-axle)
Didn’t actually say it’s in the front just pointed at the shifter, did say it’s in the back
When I was 13, the mother of one of my classmates drove us home from a school camp in her Daf 44. It was quite a nice and fun ride, but I think I would have preferred a ride in his father's car, a Citroën CX..
This beautiful car has obviously had the RIGHT owner! Is that an original steering wheel? It is probably an expensive special one, and REALLY beautiful! Like the wonderfully colour-co-ordinated interior - not like today's horrible "funereal" black, or grey interiors! Actually, I'm not surprised about the maker's claim about exceptional hill climbing ability. I had a ride in friend's really rare AIXAM French microcode, kind of the size of the old Mini. That was slow, being only 500cc. BUT it came into it's own when it simply SCUTTLED up hills, as if they were NOTHING! Gears DO seem to zap hill climbing, because the AIXAM car also had this transmission system. The front GRILLE reminds me of the original Triumph 1300 - and that TOO was also by master designer, MICHELOTTI. You have been most WISE to point out about avoiding getting appeared on the quarterlight pillar, and that reminds of another design, by the stylish, (but lethal!) designer, MICHELOTTI. Namely the Triumph Dolomite. Only it's the same kind if fault on the REAR doors this time! The rear corner of the door frame is square framed, and could make a nice semi-sharp corner to catch your eye on ( - if you so wish!)
And to compound the issue even MORE, all the doors are on a door - stay spring. This is, I expect, to prevent strong winds catching the door as you open it, and whacking it back against the bodywork. That happened on my Fiat 128 - and dented the FRONT wing! Okay, so these heavy door springs on the Dolomite protect the CAR, but NOT the occupants! You have to force the REAR door open, against the pressure of the heavy spring - and then the spring almost rips the door out of your hand - pulling it open - hopefully giving you enough time to avoid getting the sharp top Door corner in your eye! A good review as usual. I think you reviewers on these programmes are unbiased, and professional, unlike some T.V. and magazine car testers!
Very good looking design. One of my Primary School teachers drove a Daf 33 which was very different although I didn't know how different at the time.
The shape was like a normal saloon where most small cars were Minis, Simca 1000s or Renault 5s. The shape of the Daf was weird low bonnet, taller bootlid and far too tall roofline like a cartoon car. Very cool in leaf green.
A tall roofline was a must since Dutch people are on the average, tall!
There was a garage near me years ago that was dealers for these cars and my mate was a mechanic there too.
I'm not sure the gearbox is at the front, I think it's an early version of what became the Volvo 340 chassis , if it is it's a trans axle , the gearbox under the back seat
It is rear gearbox but this is much smaller than a 300