Everyone seems quite excited that the Callaway C7 Corvette Shooting Brake is finally happening. One reason is that it’s been in the works seemingly forever. I remember writing about that thing four or five years ago. It nearly got beaten to production by the unicorn-like mid-engined Corvette. But are we really excited because true shooting brakes are so rare?
The longroof, two-door wagon is indeed a truly uncommon sight in the modern automotive landscape. Automakers like Volvo and Toyota have flirted with them in concepts, but never actually brought them to production. And for good reason, I suppose; automakers have this bizarre and little-understood need to actually sell cars and make money, and longroof, two-door wagons are probably just too weird to make a business case for, especially in our SUV- and crossover-mad world.
I like the idea of a two-door car with a hatch that can carry all my stuff, but buyers want that extra set of doors, generally, and some ride height to make them feel powerful and important. My options for buying such a vehicle are limited. So are shooting brakes the most underrated car bodystyles?
I think maybe yes, but there are a lot of car designs that have come and gone over the years after being deemed not what buyers want. What type of car design do you think is most underrated, underutilized, under-appreciated?