Which one car had the most body style variants?

". ." (xllx) 10/21/2016 at 07:58 • Filed to: None

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My post about the Polonez from a few days ago made me wonder which one car had the most body styles.

Here are the Polonez variations I could think of that existed throughout the years:

5-dr hatchback:

3-dr hatchback:

Coupe (looked similar to the 3-dr, but was actually quite different):

Truck short cab, various wheelbases:

Truck medium cab:

Truck long cab:

Camping (camper van):

Cargo (passenger and cargo van/ambulance):

Van:

Analog (4x4 ute):

Jamnik (stretch limo):

Atu (saloon):

Kombi (estate):

Not really a separate body style, but there was also a mid-engined rally car based on the 5-dr that used a Stratos motor:

Orange Exige > . . 10/21/2016 at 08:18

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Wow. I did not expect to keep scrolling.

Here I was about to suggest the “Mini Cooper”. I don’t consider them all “Mini Coopers” (and they’re not all the same car either), but Mini does. You got the 3-door hatch, 3-door convertible, 5-door hatch, Clubman, Countryman, Paceman (RIP), Red Bull Mini pickup thing, and then for good measure we can add the Coupe and Coupe convertible (neither of which were branded ‘Coopers’ iirc).

Berang > . . 10/21/2016 at 08:19

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If outside coachbuilders count, I doubt anything would beat the VW beetle.

And let’s not even get into DIY kitcar stuff, there isn’t enough memory on kinja to handle all that.

kanadanmajava1 > . . 10/21/2016 at 08:30

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Opel Kadett B is also a good contender. The factory made a lot of different variants. A bit weirdly they didn’t think that a convertible would sell.

Berang > . . 10/21/2016 at 08:44

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And if we’re sticking to things made in factory, then the obvious winner is the Model T.

Four door above, center door below, yes they’re different.

two door.

coupe

convertible coupe

roadster

touring car

town car

“torpedo” runabout

runabout

Delivery van

pickup

truck

And more I’m not willing to spend time finding pictures of.

And that’s not counting different iterations of the same type of body style.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > . . 10/21/2016 at 09:04

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...and here I was thinking that Toyota made a ton of versions of the Corolla in the 80s.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Berang 10/21/2016 at 09:05

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Forgot one.

duurtlang > Orange Exige 10/21/2016 at 09:15

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Cooper is a (performance) trim level on Minis. However, if I’m not mistaken, the non-Cooper versions were typically not offered in the US.

Jobjoris > Berang 10/21/2016 at 09:50

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It’s French little cousin might come close.

DipodomysDeserti > . . 10/21/2016 at 09:59

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How about the most radically different variants in the shortest period of time? They made the Corvair for less than a decade, had two different generations, and made a coupe, sedan, wagon, convertible, van, and pickup. They also had two different generations of engines and three or four different engine choices.

Probenja > . . 10/21/2016 at 10:06

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Wow, that is a lot of variants, reminds me of GM and the Corsa B in Latin America (Sold under Opel and Chevrolet, made in Brazil, Argentina, China, Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Venezuela and Germany):

Three door:

Five door:

Wagon:

Sedan:

Pick Up:

Van:

Coupe (Tigra)

Not to mention the countless facelifts and other cars based on the same platform to keep it running since 1993 untill 2016.

The Corsa C was just as bad too but it ended production in 2012.

. . > Probenja 10/21/2016 at 10:08

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They also had a Corsa B cabriolet!

Probenja > . . 10/21/2016 at 10:18

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Woah never seen one of those, what an ugly little thing... Apparently they tried to make an SUV too but never got into production:

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > . . 10/21/2016 at 10:30

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And to think you could have all these variants on one single vehicle.

KnowsAboutCars > . . 10/21/2016 at 11:01

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I think old Ford and Chevrolet trucks come close. Let’s take look at the 3rd generation F-series for example.

styleside short bed

styleside long bed

stepside long bed

stepside short bed

panel

heavy duty chassis cab (can be made into flatbed, wrecker, firetruck or pretty much anything)

double cab style side

double cab stepside

Now the Ford Brasil variants:

I think these sedan trucks are called cabinar in Brazil

Excursion predecessor

latter without rear side doors

naugahide > DipodomysDeserti 10/21/2016 at 15:08

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Forgot one? Does This count?

Orange Exige > duurtlang 10/21/2016 at 18:21

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Yeah true... I definitely knew about this at some point in time. Particularly with the originals when they were just Austin/Morris/whatever Mini’s.

But truthfully I don’t think .0001% of the American population would know that ‘Cooper’ is a trim because every Mini here is a Cooper, even the slow ones. I’ve definitely heard of the Mini One and maybe others, but there’s absolutely nothing in it for me to pay attention because it’ll never matter to me as an American.

But also, even though it’s a trim/designation, pretty sure even the Countryman (which is entirely different from the normal hatch) is labeled as a ‘ Mini Cooper Countryman’, which is also the complete opposite of the standard naming convention ‘Make Model Trim’. Double confusing.