Autoworld is exhibiting some fifteen outstanding Station Wagons, primarily from the ‘50s and ’60s. Now you might be wondering, what’s the big idea? Station wagons? And I am supposed to even visit this? Stations wagons can be dull and boring, that would hardly be a reason for a visit. Still, Autoworld made it quite interesting by inviting a few exceptional rarities, including Amercian post-war mastodons. And there is a good reason for that…
The concept of breaks had its usage already in the wild west. In America, they are called Station Wagons because they were initially used to transport travellers with their luggage to and from the station. Probably the most iconic station wagons included the Wells Fargo stagecoaches of the Wild West. The cars exhibited here are some 100 years younger, though.
As the Station Wagon concept initially emerged in the United States, visitors can admire several American models. The first podium on the left features four American post-war mastodons.
The oldest is an impressive Packard Deluxe One Twenty Woody from 1941. These vehicles were similar to regular cars but had much more space, thanks to their extended rear ends. Before the war, they were commonly constructed, as least partially, from wood, hence the nickname “Woody”.
After the war, at the height of the baby boom, these cars became popular as family vehicles, first in the US and soon after that in Europe. But the ones here would never fit in the dense European traffic.
The newer, post-war soulmates on this podium feature imposing sizes. Both the yellow Ford Country Sedan from 1956, the light blue 1958 Chevrolet Brookwood and the dark blue 1955 Chrysler New Yorker can brag with lengths that count as extreme even by American standards. But the length of their name is not far behind 🙂
The other podium features a six-pack of European classics with more compact sizes, including a Citroën DS Familiale, a Mercedes 230S Universal and the iconic Volvo PV445 Duett.
Common models, like the Ford Taunus might not seem special, but every vehicle is hard to upkeep at this age. And these cars are restored to a virtually perfect state, defying their history of 70 years.
The third podium features a selection of shooting brakes (or shooting breaks), the particular kind of station wagons that combined a two-door layout with a large trunk.
Ironically, these cars were far from utility services or bread delivery. Instead, shooting brakes were optimised for the hunting needs of the noblesse.
The first car illustrates this well, as it is a 1948 Bentley Mark VI Radford Countryman Estate. Well, even its name is as long as the name of a baron.
Not only its title of noblesse, but also its size makes the following three cars look like the plebs.
The bronze coloured 1956 Chevy Nomad, the 1952 Packard 200, and the 1971 Triumph herald Estate are all fine cars, and by now, even their best selling versions are rare classics.
But none of them gets even near the Jaguar XJS Lynx Eventer in terms of style.
As usual, Autoworld can make a 15 car exhibition seem like a firecracker. Station wagons are an ungrateful topic, enumerating some of the most boring cars of the automobile history. I also had a comparison with the combi exhibition held at Audi Forum’s Museum Mobile in 2018.
The Museum Mobile has a gigantic paternoster escalator that slowly rolls the cars of the special exhibition, in this case half a dozen Audi stations wagons.
The difference between the Audis and the selection of Autoworld is quite striking.
From pre-war to the ’80s, from luxurious mastodons to commoners’ cars, Autoworld’s exhibition presented the topic from various angles. The show was inaugurated at the beginning of April and is scheduled to last until the the 30th of May. The next exhibition will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the legendary E Type.
