Welcome to Car Cover Challenge, a new series in which we take a picture of a car under a car cover, and you try to figure out what it is. This particular car sits on the side of a street in Santa Monica, California, where I walked past yesterday as I returned from a stroll to my go-to ice cream shop. My initial guess of what this vehicle was — based solely on its diminutive size — was Opel GT, but I was quite wrong. Let’s see if you can be less wrong.
The first thing I noticed about this mystery car is that it is small. Not quite microcar small, but far, far smaller than anything almost anything on sale in the U.S. today.
The Mitsubishi Mirage, Mini Cooper, and Miata be shorter, but I cannot imagine they’re narrower, because whatever this car is could be a foot from the curb and it still wouldn’t stick out as far as the Kia Telluride behind it:
Here are a few more shots of this vehicle. Notice the angled buttocks and the big straight tailpipe jutting out:
 
Let’s hear your guesses!
Update: Somehow you folks guessed the answer within seven minutes. How is that even possible?! Slightly embarrassed, here, allow me to offer another challenge, also from the streets of Santa Monica:
I’m concerned that this one will take even fewer than seven minutes. Gulp.
The station wagon looks a lot like a 60 Mercedes estate conversion, likely by IMA as other commenter mentioned (but hey, it could be an even rarer Portuguese conversion, we did have some of those, built in small batches by a few local coachbuilders).
Both of them are entirely custom one-off fabrications that just happen to mostly mimic the shape of existing vehicles. It’s all been a mean trick you’re playing on us.
Fulvia Coupé and then a Corvair Wagon?
This is easy:
Mercedes-Benz Heckflosse Universal conversion by IMA.
ECTO-1, sans roof-mounted ghostbusting hardware.
Family Truckster Wagon Queen?
Checker Wagon?
1. Lancia Fulvia
2. Checker Station Wagon
“I’m concerned that this one will take even fewer than seven minutes. Gulp”
1967ish Mercedes Wagon is my guess
Forgot to add a pic:
http://www.stationwagon.com/gallery/pictures/1967_Mercedes_Benz_230s.jpg
I don’t see the hood ornament. Otherwise I’d be agreeing with you
Stolen decades ago to hang around some hoodlum’s neck.
1: Lancia Rally 037 (my god, I’m sure I’m wrong but I very much want to be right)
2: I would very much like this to be a Citroen ID21. But I suspect it’s … not.
Second car: I’m struggling to recall the size of 1970 station wagons compared to modern day minivans. I’m leaning towards 1970 Ford Country Squire.
2nd set of images: Cadillac Eldorado Estate
I don’t think it’s wide enough to be a Cadillac. Besides, how often do you see an old Cadillac wagon?
I really think the second car is a 1954 or 1955 Studebaker Conestoga wagon.
Excuse my French, but Holy Fuck is it insane how fast some of you can do this. I’d be on Cars.Com for weeks!
I think you’re correct. Just amazing.
I’ve always been in to Studebakers, my dad almost bought a Conestoga once.
Still, my sincere compliments.
Thanks
I was feeling REAL confident in my 1962 Chrysler wagon answer… then I saw this. I think you’re correct on the Studebaker!
That rear ‘porch stoop’ certainly fits. I remember circling back repeatedly to a junkyard one in the 80s just in awe of the splendor of that beast
Front bumper looks like match. Top of grille to top of headlights looks good. Fins past the rear window line up. Rear wheel arches are a match.
A jorb well done, Cooper!
I forgot to add this, the bump in the center of the hood is the hood ornament studebaker conestoga
damn, that link doesn’t work…