Paykan
|
|
The Paykan (pronounced "pay-kun") is a type of automobile produced by the Iranian company Iran Khodro. The car is a ubiquitous sight on the roads of Iran, and was on sale for over 35 years, most of them painted a characteristic off-white colour.
This boxy looking car is based on the 1966 Hillman Hunter, which was originally designed and manufactured by the British Rootes Group.
Paykan40.jpg
In 1967, Rootes began exporting Hunters to Iran Khodro in CKD form (Complete, Knocked Down) for assembly from kits. In 1978, Peugeot became heirs to the Rootes empire after it collapsed under the ownership of Chrysler; a year later it ended Hunter production at the Linwood plant in Scotland. The production tooling was exported to Iran, and the car was in full-scale manufacture under Peugeot licence until 2005. Although the car still looked very similar to the 1966 original, there were some changes, notably the substitution of the original 1725cc Rootes engine with a Peugeot 504-derived unit. Although it is the butt of many jokes over its high gasoline (12 miles to the gallon) consumption and outdatedness, the Paykan remained a highly sought after vehicle in Iran, and during its last years the order backlog was nearly two years long.
Production of the venerable Paykan ended in May 2005. It will be replaced by the Renault Logan and Iran's new national car, the Samand.
External links
- Iranian car hits end of the road (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4551841.stm)
- Paykan Jokes (http://www.abadan.net/joke/peykan.html)