Monday, December 14, 2015

Reorient

Apologies about another long pause here, but I have an exciting news. I'm pleased to announce that an interview was published on Reorientmag.com with myself and my co-director Sohrab Daryabandari about our upcoming Paykan documentary film "Iran's Arrow: The Rise and Fall of Paykan". 

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Robin Hoods Bay

Photo by: David Christie
"The hired Hillman Hunter used for our family holiday in Scarborough -there being 4 of us not quite fitting comfortably in my Imp! It is seen here near Robin Hoods Bay on 26/7/72. Despite being a new car it broke down which meant we had to return to Essex by train."

Sunday, September 6, 2015

BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik


Looks kind of neat with those BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Victory Wheelers


G reg. Hillman Hunter at the 11th Victory Wheelers Road & Custome show. Photo by: Clive Barker

Pasha's Uncle

My good friend Pasha sent me this photo recently, his late Uncle and his cousin are sitting there. He can't remember the exact model year of the Paykan, but it must be either a 1972 or 1973. Thanks Pasha!

Monday, May 25, 2015

GT's Youngest Fan



Photos are from Leuft and this is what the GT's youngest fan has to say about their Arrows:

"Hillman GT (BRT 705H): 
I loved this car back then. Overdrive manual gearbox, Rev. counter (!), Twin carbs, High-backed front seats and Alloy wheels. All quite remarkable in a 1970 family saloon! I'm gutted my dad got rid of it way back in the late '70s / early '80s or whenever.  We lived near Great Yarmouth and would go up to Hull at least once a year in it to see me grandparents. I loved travelling in it. I want another one.

Hillman Hunter Estate (NVG 219P):   
I was disappointed with this compared to the Hunter GT we had had previously.   A nice colour for a 1977 car though. Note that the GT wheels had been carried over from our previous car. I think that it was my idea to swap them over and for some reason my dad listened and asked the garage that part-exed it to do so.  I remember seeing the GT for sale on the forecourt of the garage after we had part-exed it and I was so gutted that we didn't have it anymore."

Thanks for sharing the photos with us Leuft. I hope you find a nice GT soon, but they sadly are as rare as hen's teeth! :/

Paykan Overload#64

Photo from babakoto.eu taken at the Howraman Valley, Iran.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Great White Hunter

Australian advert.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Petrolicious

I am so stoked to be featured on the prestigious Petroloious website. I want thank my dear friend Samir Shirazi for making this happen and also the rest of the staff over at Petrolicous. Thank You!...

Here is the link to the article: BROKEN ARROW: FORMER DESIGNER WORKS TO REMEMBER IRAN’S FIRST NATIONAL CAR

Friday, April 24, 2015

PAP 995F





Very clean 1968 Singer Vogue automatic. Photos provided by Billy Henry

Abandoned Arrow#20

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Australian Safari

1970 Hillman Hunter Safari. Australian spec. Photo from Chrysler Restorers Club of Australia.

Paykan Lowrider#90

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Happy Nowruz 1394!

Happy Nowruz 1394 Everybody! :)

Tenerife Hunter






Miguel from Tenerife sent me these amazing photographs of his Hillman Hunter. He is actually behind the wheel and participated in a lot of races in that beautiful island! Who knew you could find a Tenerife Hunter! :) Thanks Miguel for sending me these shots. Muchas Gracias!

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Nation Builder











Last Tuesday (March 10th, 2015) there was a ceremony at IranKhdoro Tabriz, located northwest of Iran. Almost 48 years after the Paykan production started at IranNational (IranKhodro) on the outskirts of Tehran, the last Paykan pickup was rolled off the assembly line.

The Paykan pickup (known inside Iran as Paykan Vanet) was produced four years after the Paykan sedan production started back in 1967. This humble pickup during the last 4 decades did so much for Iran. It was the primary source of income for so many families, merchants and sellers. Today there are thousands and thousands of them are still running around Iran; without them the country's commerce will come to a stand still. It is an ugly creature with dreadful ride quality and cramped interior but for all its faults, I can't bring myself to hate it. I actually quite like it, perhaps because it was Made In Iran only. Yes I know, there were those Dodge Husky versions in South Africa but as far as the impact and production volumes goes, the Husky can't hold a candle to the mighty Paykan Vanet! I also admire it because inadvertently carried the Rootes Arrow's legacy all the way to the year 2015; for almost half a century!

Although the Paykan Pickup went through a lot of modifications and the later models were offered with ABS brakes and fuel injected version of the Hillman Avenger 1600cc engine and a lot more changes, but I believe they were the ultimate proof that the Arrow platform was one robust piece of engineering and tough as nails! Pun intended. :)

Paykan pickup was a nation builder, it carried goods from snowy mountain ranges of Alborz to scorching hot deserts of Iran, and now it might help out a neighbor too. There are reports that production will continue for export models to Iraq! We shall see if that actually happens though.

Now if you think this is the last chapter for Paykan in Iran you are in for a surprise my dear readers. Take a look at the replacement Pickup above. It is called Arisun, it is the pickup version of the facelifted Peugeot 405 body with the Paykan pickup underpinning and drive-train underneath. So in reality the soul of Paykan pickup still lives on and most likely for many many more years to come!... Making Rootes Brothers very proud indeed! :)

Nobody Can Out-Hustle the Hustler!...

Very cool photo of the Australian-only Hillman Hustler. Photo courtesy of Jeremy William Sullivan

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Paykan Overload#63

Photo by: hoj

Singer by the Park


Another one of those very rare Singer Gazelle models. The last time the SINGER name was used. Photo by: shagracer 

Count The Paykans#73

Photo was taken in 2002 at central Tehran by: Ensie & Matthias

New Zealand Orange

Photo was taken in Christchurch, NZ by Stephen Trinder.

Rope War





Luckily nobody was injured in the Paykan. The accident happened in Urmia, Iran. Photos from Fararu