In this fourth episode of the DAF Museum tour we walk by a comprehensive collection of specialties. The one-offs, prototypes, concepts, toys for the rich and famous, locally used custom-built commercial vehicles and some fast machinery. In short, the vehicles you never see on the road or at the local car show.
The first vehicle you see once you’ve entered the museum is this DAF Mobile Raincoat prototype. Hub van Doorne designed it in 1943, it’s unknown when it was built. Since it’s only 80 cm (31.5 inch) wide, you can drive it right through your front door. The DAF has a 150 cc ILO four-stroke engine, giving it a top speed of 45 km/h. The hydraulic torque convertor is a DAF design. The engine and front wheel can turn 180 degrees in order to reverse the vehicle.
The canvas top is an emergency exit in case the mobile raincoat turns over and lands on its (single) door. After the Second World War it was used by two clowns in an amateur circus. How about that.
This pickup should have been in Part One, about the trucks. I wasn’t satisfied with the picture’s quality though, so I took a few new ones more recently.
The completely rebuilt and restored pickup truck in the museum is a 1955 DAF A 117. The model was introduced in 1951 and it’s powered by a Hercules JXE-3 gasoline engine, good for 91 hp. This neat truck model is clearly inspired by contemporary US Ford pickups.
This little 4×4 flatbed truck is a military DAF Pony, a 1963 design. The (American) Army Mobility Command ordered DAF to develop a small and easy to operate offroader. Something that could carry military equipment and was able to cope with the roughest terrain. The military Pony is powered by a 500 cc DAF boxer engine and a half Variomatic.
The lady is riding her pony. Actually, she’s operating a DAF Pony while walking behind it. You can see where the steering wheel went.
The 1964 ARKLA Handywagon from the USA has the complete powertrain of a DAF 750. Around 100 of them were built. Read all about it in The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture.
Another military design is the DAF Porter from the mid-sixties. Partly derived from the DAF Pony above.
The DAF Porter is clearly an amphibious vehicle.
This is the 1966 DAF O.S.I.-City, built in Turin, Italy. With a 750 cc engine and a Variomatic. On the left side it has a big sliding door.
The Swedish Postal Service ordered 1,000 of these 1967 Kalmar-DAFs, based on the platform and powertrain of the DAF 44. Later they were also sold through the DAF-dealerships in Western Europe, the Kalmar-DAF in the museum is one of them.
A 1967-1968 DAF Pony truck, towing a drawbar trailer. Technically it’s based on the DAF 44.
It was also available as a tractor unit, towing a semi-trailer.
The 1972 BATU project truck, BATU stands for Basic Automotive Transport Unit. A very simple, cheap and easy to assemble light truck with an air cooled DAF boxer engine and a Variomatic, meant for Asia and Africa.
The second BATU-project prototype was a 6×4 chassis. Unfortunately, due to the economic crisis at the time the project was discontinued.
A very wealthy Swiss lady was the proud owner of a DAF 55. Still, she thought it was a bit too small, and she also preferred four doors. She turned to coachbuilder Moretti from Turin. Moretti built this one-off four door sedan based on her DAF 55 in 1972. Many years later a DAF-enthusiast found it at a junkyard. After its restoration it’s now parked next to the Handywagon.
A homemade one-off 1996 DAF Automaat motorcycle, built by Mr. H.S. Bruine. Parts from a Honda 900 Bol d’Or, 1000 Gold Wing and 1100 Gold Wing. Plus the engine from a DAF 46, which means it’s an air cooled two-cylinder 844 cc boxer engine.
Giovanni Michelotti designed the DAF 44. But there’s much more, like this 1965 Michelotti DAF Coupe prototype.
It certainly would have been an enrichment, but DAF needed all the production capacity they had at that moment and it would have been too expensive, given the expected sales numbers.
In 1966 Michelotti designed this beach buggy, the Alassio, based on the DAF Daffodil Type 32.
On the occasion of the birth of Prince (now King) Willem Alexander in 1967 it was donated to the Dutch Royal Family.
The Royal Family renamed the beach buggy “Kini”.
The 1968 DAF-Michelotti-Shelette, based on the DAF 33. Former owners: Aristoteles Onassis and Jackie Kennedy.
This very sharp coupe is the DAF Siluro, a 1968 Michelotti design. His vision on a “dream coupe”.
Fully based on the contemporary DAF 55 platform and powertrain. Which means it has a 1.1 liter Renault engine and, of course, a Variomatic.
Now let’s pick up some speed, of course you can race with a DAF Variomatic transmission. Above a 1965 Alexis Mk5 Formula 3 single seater.
And a 1966 Brabham BT18.
The Huron 4A track- and hillclimb race car from the early seventies, designed by Swiss engineer Jo Marquart. Power from a 2.0 liter Cosworth BDA, the transmission is a DAF Variomatic as used in the Formula 3 single seaters from the sixties.
And then there’s this: a Formula 1 race car, the Williams FW15C CVT with a 760 hp Renault V10 3.0 liter engine, built in 1992. From 0 to 300 km/h in 12 seconds, top speed 369 km/h. Thanks to its CVT it was several seconds faster per lap than any other contemporary Formula 1 car. Too good to be true…
Thus, officially and specifically banned by the FIA: this Williams-Van Doorne CVT. As an aside, the CVT was used in road cars before it was used in a Formula 1 car. And that’s a unique aspect too.
This was the last article in this DAF Museum series, I truly enjoyed writing them. This museum is absolutely worthwhile a visit. And remember: once you’re in my country, nothing in the Netherlands is far away anymore…
Part Two – The Military Vehicles
THANK YOU for this wonderful and informative series ! .
Who knew ? .
-Nate
Very cool collection!
That Pony…wasnt one of those the ‘ringleader’ of the evil trucks in ‘Maximum Overdrive “?
I checked IMCDB, that was a Willys M274.
Is there any connection between the two? I believe the M274 was developed for the Marines, and given how well our services have traditionally communicated amongst themselves, it’s not surprising the Army would have commissioned essentially the same vehicle from a second supplier.
In the early sixties the US Army was very interested in vehicles with DAF’s Variomatic. Anyone can drive them, without any training at all. Unlike something with a manual transmission.
DAF developed the Pony, with a half Variomatic (one belt, see below) and a 500 cc 2-cylinder air cooled DAF boxer engine. But it’s clearly the same kind of vehicle as the Willys.
I’ve read that 200 of them were built, and that they were dismantled by the US Army later on.
Regarding the Variomatic: several vehicles in this article were developed for city transport, or for city-delivery of goods. In that case a compact vehicle with a Variomatic is ideal.
Another picture I took of the military Pony. Front-view, while sitting on the ground.
As the nice lady in the article shows, the Pony could be driven while walking (not running…) behind it. In that case the soldier can stay low. On the vehicle’s seat you’re basically a sitting duck, as a soldier.
Wow, there’s some very trippy stuff for sure.
Good thing the Pony is exempt from the European Machinery Directive, it would generate quite a report on reviewing that thing…
I drive a car with a transmission on the evolutionary track of the DAF variomatic I suppose (Nissan). I’m just starting to trust it at 73k miles. Hope it lasts cause it’s pleasant to drive. Always seems strange to me that F1 or Indy car will outlaw something that seems ahead of it’s time. Seems we all would be better served by that development. CAFE seems to be the driving force for the CVT but I would rather it had been something that required durability.
Excellent series of stories. Another world.
This is what I’ve been told at the museum, regarding the Williams F1 car:
Frank Williams: “What’s all that fuss about ? I’ve got only one gear !”
All his competitors: “No, you’ve got 1,001 gears !”
From that moment on a F1 car had to have 4 to 7 gears.
Hub van Doorne developed the CVT, as we know it now, after he retired from DAF in 1965.
NASCAR does the same too. Look back at the mid ’60s when Ford wanted to run the SOHC 427FE. France the Dick said no.
Not quite the same, eh, given that NASCAR was a stock car series. Ever seen any SOHC 427s in factory street cars?
They held on to the 1957 fuel-injection ban for about 20 years after the last carbureted road car was sold in the US.
That’s totally different. In 1967, the cars were still heavily stock-based. Chrysler had to build and sell their hemi in substantial numbers. Not so by the 80s or 90s. NASCAR had become a formula-based series.
Great feature. The pickup truck reminds me of the International pickups of the fifties. This is certainly a museum I would like to visit as I know nothing about Daf vehicles.
Johannes this has been a terrific series. Thank you!
Growing up in Arkansas in the 60’s, I vaguely remember seeing those Handywagons. Didn’t know the backstory or remember that Arkla (now Centerpoint) used them as long as they did.
The climax to an superb series. Always had a soft spot for DAF, but I didn’t know half of the whole colorful story. These cars here today are all highly attractive to me, as someone who loves quirky small cars. There’s not one of these I wouldn’t love to have, but the green American-style pickup would be my first choice simply because it would be so much fun to mess with folks heads: what’s that pickup you’re driving? A DAF??
Thank you from myself and all of us for taking us on this great tour.
My pleasure.
I remember reading about DAF cars occasionally in the magazine CAR, but never realised what a full history this company had.
An amazingly diverse range of cars/trucks/and prototypes…..AND RACE CARS.
The Michelotti cars manage to veer away from the look the designer seemed to be locked into with the Triumph brand.
BTW, the one-of-a-kind/custom 4 door sedan pictured looks A LOT like a car built by the Panther car company in the U.K. The Panther Rio was a “re-bodied” Triumph Dolomite that cost 3 times as much as the donor car.
The Moretti DAF says Fiat 124/125 loud and clear.
Some nice detail pictures here:
http://www.automoretti.com/news/DAFmoretti5-2013/INDEX.html
I believe this is actually a different and even more obscure Moretti based in Switzerland:
http://www.moretti-cars.net/de/fotos/daf-moretti/
There are scans of an old Dutch magazine article there that might have some more details, although it’s way too tiny (and in a language I don’t understand!)
Coincidentally, I just received two books on Moretti (my latest obsession) in the mail yesterday. No mention of DAF whatsoever, which doesn’t necessarily mean anything – and they do actually have a Swiss connection in chief stylist Dany Brawand (who previously worked for Michelotti). But I’d be very, very surprised if it turned out that this car was actually built by them. It doesn’t look like anything else they built in the early ’70s:
That’s really interesting ! A Swiss coachbuilder from Geneva, also called Moretti. Which would make sense, since the owner of the Moretti DAF also came from Switzerland.
Damn ! Where’s Don A. when you need him…
Intriguing. Ghia-Aigle of Switzerland was originally a subsidiary of Ghia (Turin) but eventually became an independent concern. I was thinking the same thing could have been the case with Moretti (maybe even something to do with the Brawand link), but there was also a Swiss coachbuilder called Moret for which I can find no info apart from this listing;
http://www.swisscarregister.ch/english/site/carosserien_e.html
The business seems to have ceased operations (or the founder died) in 1950. Did you actually see any Moretti badging on the car?
I agree with Sean: this sedan looks nothing like Moretti’s output.
Meanwhile I did some additional reading. The late Martien van Doorne, son of DAF-founder Hub van Doorne, confirmed that a rolling DAF chassis was sent to (the Italian) Moretti in the early seventies for a “special project”. DAF never heard of it again.
The car has a shortened Fiat 128 body, Fiat 128 Sport headlights, Alfa-Bertone front seats, Fiat 1500 rear seats and Opel bumpers. Plus a very heavy handmade grille.
Moretti denies having built this car.
Nice work. You know, it also has a touch of Frua about it…
hehehe
Oh yes, with a stretched Fiat 128 body.
Johannes, were you able to make out any of that Autovisie article? I’m wondering what their conclusion was: http://www.moretti-cars.net/de/dokumentation/zeitschriften/auto-visie-39-01/
If Martien van Doorne says DAF once sent a car to Moretti, I think it’s very likely that this is that car. But that would make it a distinct anomaly; the only “one-off” cars that Moretti generally built were prototypes and show cars. They never operated as a coachbuilder in the traditional sense, where work was commissioned by customers on an individual basis. I’m sure that if someone sent a DAF 55 + a list of demands, there was absolutely a price that could get it built – Moretti’s financial situation was always precarious, after all – but that price would have been extreme.
If the story is true and Moretti really did build this car, I also find it very odd that they would later deny it. Maybe there would have been some reason to do that back in the day, when they were still a going concern (hiding it “off the books” for tax purposes), but Dany Brawand only passed away recently and he would have been intimately involved with this car. AFAIK, he never said anything about it, and a Fiat 128-bodied DAF would have been one of the more unique projects they took on during this era.
Also, why Moretti when there were still a number of companies in Italy (and elsewhere) that actually did this kind of fully custom work regularly?
In trying to unravel this mystery, I keep coming back to the fact that nothing on this car really matches up with the numerous Moretti designs from the early ’70s. They sold a 128 Berlina “elaborata” at the time and none of its details align with those on the DAF. You’d think that if they built this car, they would have utilized at least SOME of their own custom interior parts or exterior trim at the bare minimum.
I’d love to know what the real story here is – it’s a fascinating specimen to be sure, and this is one of those times that I really wish I understood Italian (and Dutch) since there’s probably a bunch of info out there unavailable in English.
The only scenario I can imagine where both the DAF and Moretti camps aren’t lying is if the car was sent to Moretti originally, but they were only involved with it as a consultant, or only did some of the initial chassis work before sending it on to another firm – but this also seems unlikely and unprecedented!
Here’s the Moretti 128 Lusso interior:
And the exterior (grille inspired by Tatra T613?):
Two Moretti books, Sean? Many jealous emojis from me. Perhaps an article is in order…
re: this car. Maybe the person commissioning the sedan was so specific with their styling requirements, that – given the resulting awkwardness – Moretti took the job but did not want to be associated with it.
Sean, the Autovisie article (hard to read BTW, even after clicking on the text the letters are still a bit too small) basically says the same as what I wrote yesterday. I found that info on the Facebook site of the DAF Museum.
Quote Don A: “Moretti took the job but did not want to be associated with it”.
I think that nails it. The car was found in a Swiss junkyard. Extremely low mileage on the odometer. Yet with loads of body filler and misalignments, according to the Dutch restorers.
Sean (and Don), meanwhile I’ve read the Autovisie article with my nose almost against the laptop screen…
Here’s a crucial part: the car was found in Switzerland in 1992, completely by coincidence. The owner of the lot (and of the special DAF) where the car was found came up with a letter from DAF to Moretti regarding the warranty on the mechanical parts, so basically DAF’s rolling chassis.
What I think ? The poor elderly rich Swiss lady paid a large amount of money for a very mediocre (to say the least) end result…
Looking at the 1966 Michelotti beach buggy and the 1968 DAF-Michelotti-Shelette, I’m thinking that they are the results of the Monkeemobile having a few love-trysts while on tour in Europe.
The Monkeemobile was exactly the first thought that popped into my head when I saw the Alassio, as well.
That’s the coolest monkeemobile I’ve ever seen. What the world needs more of wicker seating….and wicker dashboards! Super cool!
A fascinating series. I thought I knew about DAF, but you’ve shown me there was much more to the company than I ever realised. Very informative and entertaining. Thank you, Johannes!
Those are some weird vehicles!
I did like the DAF 55, 44 and Siluro.
I also think other then one of the cars looking like the Monkey mobile, a few look like they may have been used in Sid and Marty Kroft shows and possibly Disney back lots.
The Kalmar-DAF (Swedish Postal Service) reminded someone here at CC of Postman Pat.
The wicker interior looks awesome but I don’t think I’d want to try and keep it clean in an open car.
A very interesting and informative series – thanks for sharing it with us. I always enjoy reading about the way they do things in other countries.
The “City Car” was my 1st exposure to DAF . As I had the Corgi toy of it.
Collector’s item !
And true to the original city-car. A sliding door on the left, two big doors on the right, and a huge hatch.
Johannes, thank you for all 4 installments. What can I say, this is several great stories I’d never heard before.
In this installment alone, we have 2 more attractive alternatives to a Fiat Jolly, and the Siluro, looking like the very sharp offspring of a Glas GT and Saab Sonett.
Awesome series, incredible collection. If I ever make it to the NL (hopefully!) I’d love to see it for myself.
I found a brief video on that Williams F1 car… where David Coulthard is talking about it as if it’s a semi-automatic, which it obviously isn’t – although I suspect that careful language was probably chosen with regards to the rulebook. It’s a shame that this car never got to compete on a racetrack:
Thank’s Sean. There’s also a video in the museum, testing with dry weather conditions. The Williams CVT F1 car sounds “unreal”, as there isn’t even the slightest clue of gear shifting. High revs all the way !
I want that DAF Pony tractor-trailer to haul my John Deere lawn mower.
I kind of really dig the idea of spacing the pickup bed back just enough to provide a space for the spare, instead of under the bed, where they get all nasty. On the other hand, it costs several cubic feet of bed space this way.
Quite a selection of fascinating vehicles! Thanks for documenting it for those of us who probably won’t find themselves in the Netherlands anytime soon!
Thanks for a very interesting series Johannes