Retro, hillman, hillman hunter, hunter, iran, paykan, peugeot

Hillman Hunter? No, Paykan!

Just as the Hidustan Motors Ambassador kept the design of the '56 Morris Oxford alive for decades, the Iran Khodro Paykan enabled the design of another fine British car, the '67 Hillman Hunter, to remain in production until 2005 (though the Hillman engines were replaced with Peugeot units starting in the mid-80s). Here's a little Paykan history lesson, courtesy of one of the car's many Iranian aficionados.

3:20 PM on Mon Apr 14 2008
By Murilee Martin
883 views
26 comments

Comments

Isetta at 03:32 PM on 04/14/08
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OK, I'll be first to ask, "What's that song?".
Bentos, Der Frischmacher! at 03:34 PM on 04/14/08
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@Isetta: It sounds like the Middle Eastern version of "Knight Rider"
FreeMan at 03:47 PM on 04/14/08
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That pink was enough to make my eyes bleed.

That looks like it'd be a cool little toy to put a big motor in, but there's no room in there for anything bigger than a Singer & a couple of squirrels.
muleshoe at 03:52 PM on 04/14/08
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They made good for drag cars, BUT JUNK is JUNK
ranwhenparked at 03:57 PM on 04/14/08
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the pickup truck version of the Paykan is actually still in production, sort of a Paykanamino, so this thing's not completely dead yet.
DeadFlorist at 04:01 PM on 04/14/08
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When are the Iranian kids going to start giving these babies the full Shawarma Shuttle treatment: [ru]

+ Watch video
charles_barrett at 04:02 PM on 04/14/08
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Watching that video and hearing that music gives me an overwhelming desire to dash out and paint all the nude statues surrounding my Beverly Hills mansion in flesh tones, complete with dark pubic hair... what, you say that's been done already...? Nevermind then...
Dave7 at 04:03 PM on 04/14/08
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Sold as the Sunbeam Arrow in North America too.
Bentos, Der Frischmacher! at 04:07 PM on 04/14/08
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@charles_barrett: really? I heard the music and now my office has blue carpet and gold curtain rods!
muleshoe at 04:15 PM on 04/14/08
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Hey Guys if we can't FUCKEM UP worse Let Use a PUKEJO Motor
Scroggs! at 04:29 PM on 04/14/08
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Great, now I'm craving falafel.
graverobber- Same... at 04:37 PM on 04/14/08
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@charles_barrett: Geez, I used to drive by that place on my way home from work every day.
graverobber- Same... at 04:42 PM on 04/14/08
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@Isetta: I think it's "Iran" by Flock of Seagulls.
thatguy01 at 04:52 PM on 04/14/08
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Trivia: The London Sydney rally is probably Chrysler's greatest international competition victory, technically.
UDMan at 04:57 PM on 04/14/08
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@graverobber- Same great taste, new low price!: Ugh.... can't believe you posted that....
earlofhalflight at 04:58 PM on 04/14/08
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@ranwhenparked:

Not only is the pickup version still listed on Iran Khodro's website, but they announced that the Paykan is going back into production in Sudan, so there's plenty of life left in it yet.
earlofhalflight at 05:00 PM on 04/14/08
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@FreeMan:

Rootes looked at a V8-powered version of the twin-under-the-skin Sunbeam Rapier, and when the project was abandoned a few private individuals built their own. No reason you couldn't do the same to a Hunter/Paykan.
earlofhalflight at 05:04 PM on 04/14/08
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If memory serves, the Peugeot engine was for the diesel model. Petrol models from the 80s on used the Hillman Avenger engine in place of the Hunter one.

Remember that Hillman by then was part of PSA Peugeot-Citroen so it was all in the family.

Another Paykan variant still in production is the Peugeot RD - a Peugeot 405 body fitted with the oily bits from a Hillman to make it rear wheel drive.
kuperman at 05:07 PM on 04/14/08
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I want one. You know, so my wife can have flashbacks about her childhood.

"Hey baby, I picked up the new car."
*incomprehensible screaming in Farsi*
"Glad you like it."
Bazza at 05:54 PM on 04/14/08
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when i was in iran back in '03 the majority of objectsin the 50mile suroundings where white Prides and white Paykans or Peykans or whatever they're spelt, but the current successor (samand, which is a peugeot 405 that looks like a passat) is considered too expensive so more people have resorted to the Kia Pride, making an invasion more justified.

there is a plan where you can hnd in you old Lincoln Continentals, chevrolet blazers and novas to get a pPride for 10% off price or something.
tad49 at 06:01 PM on 04/14/08
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I had a new '67 Arrow & then a new '69 Hunter GT. (same as the beige one) Mechanically ok, but always things falling off!
Armand, Star-Spangled... at 08:40 PM on 04/14/08
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@thatguy01: And it was almost won by a Citroen DS until some drunk Aussie cops in a Mini crashed into it. Still, the 120-horse Holbay-tuned Hunters were pretty friggin' sweet. My fellow Sunbeam Alpine owners have developed lots of ways of squeezing more power out of the Hillman/Sunbeam/Rootes Group powerplant.
Novaload at 09:14 PM on 04/14/08
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Note to self:
1. When your battery is almost as big as your engine block, you've probably got a shitbox.
2. This car defines the difference between the third world(s) and the first two.
3. People all over the world love whatever cars they can find--homely, underpowered, strange--a hoon or a nerd will find it and love it.
akirachan at 10:13 PM on 04/14/08
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Love the music. Does it come standard with the car?
Number_Six at 10:54 PM on 04/14/08
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I'll take mine in orange, with bundle of snakes header.
MuleKiani at 09:05 AM on 04/15/08
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The song is only fitting, the crooner declaring his endless love in flowing farsi verse.

The Paykan is declared (among other things) to be the quintessence of:

Kindness
Light
Love

As well as 'the source of ones energy'
and the 'fire of the world.'

In Iran, it seems that passion is a given.