The day is perfect for taking your sports car for the spin, but you have chores to do, and you need a lot of trunk space. If you've ever been in this kind of situation, you probably thought how cool it would be to have a sports car and a station wagon all in one. And you're not the only one with such problems, and special vehicles were created just for those occasions called Shooting Brakes.
This obscure but endlessly fascinating class was created by mixing a sports car with a station wagon. Created in England, it was a favorite transport for people who needed a bigger trunk for their golf clubs or hunting gear but didn't want to drive anything than a thoroughbred sports car. That is how we got a three-door sports wagon, and here are the ten coolest ever made we wouldn't hesitate taking out for a spin!
10 Lynx Eventer
One of the coolest shooting brakes comes to us from Lynx; a small British company specialized in unique cars and conversions. The Eventer is based on the Jaguar XJS, and it has a sleek, three-door body and a slightly more power from the standard V12 engine. It was in production for over ten years, and only 77 cars were made.
9 BMW Z3 Coupe
The Z3 roadster proved to be a hit for BMW, but for shooting brake enthusiasts, the biggest news was the introduction of the Z3 Coupe. Nicknamed "Clown Shoe" for obvious reasons, this three-door sports car came only with a six-cylinder and was also available as the sublimely cool Z3 Coupe M with over 300 hp and a manual transmission.
8 Jensen GT
The Jensen Healey was a popular mid-'70s roadster, at least in the USA, and in 1975, Jensen Company decided to introduce shooting brake version. The car was practical and cool-looking, but unfortunately, only 511 cars were made and sold before Jensen went into receivership and disappeared from the market.
7 Volvo P1800 ES
The P1800 ES was one of the coolest cars of the '70s simply since it was a three-door station wagon with rear glass hatch, low silhouette, sporty performance, and exotica car feel. The P1800 Coupe was very successful and put Volvo on the map, but it wasn't convenient, so the company decided to give customers an alternative and make a shooting brake. It was offered for only two years, and just over 8000 were made.
6 Ferrari FF
Before Ferrari produces an SUV (which it will soon), the Ferrari FF is the closest thing you can get if you are looking for a "practical" supercar. It has room for four people, a big trunk, and a capable all-wheel-drive system. Not to mention 651 hp from a high-revving V12 engine and glorious soundtrack from quad tailpipes. This shooting brake is still an extremely controversial model for Ferrari traditionalists.
5 Callaway AeroWagen
If you are a Corvette enthusiast, you will recognize the Callaway name. This well-known company was responsible for some of the world's fastest Corvettes and was always the choice of owners who wanted to get a bit more from their cars. Recently, Callaway presented the AeroWagen, a shooting brake conversion for the C7 Vette. For $14,000, you will get a shooting brake conversion kit that will turn your Corvette into a station wagon.
4 Chevrolet Nomad
Even before shooting brakes were a thing, Chevrolet had one in their lineup in the form of the everlasting Chevy Nomad. This three-door wagon was a proper sports car when equipped with an optional fuel-injection engine straight from Corvette. With a 283 V8, which delivered 250 hp, the Nomad Fuelie was very fast for 1957 and quite strange, as well. That is why only about 100 were made.
3 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Shooting Brake
Long before the Ferrari FF and the GTC Lusso, there was a unique Ferrari station wagon. Dubbed the 365 GTB/4 Daytona Shooting Brake, it was totally re-bodied Daytona with unique design and an enormous trunk with two glass openings. It was a one-off creation, and we definitely can see why. Although strange, this Daytona was pretty fast since it was powered by a 4.4-liter V12 with over 300 hp under the hood.
2 Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake
There were Aston shooting brakes before, but the 1992 Virage is the one to have. Powered by a 5.3-liter V8 with 330 hp and filled with every luxury option, the Virage Shooting Brake has a decent amount of room and a big trunk. Unfortunately, this was a costly model that went for $350,000 in 1992 ($640,000 in today's money), and that is why only 75 were made.
1 Lotus Elite
Lotus thought that Jensen had a good idea with their short-lived GT, so they introduced their shooting brake in 1974 under the name Elite. It wasn't very powerful since it had anemic 2.0 or 2.2-liter four-cylinder under the hood, but it was light and handled well. However, even though Lotus tried their best, they only managed to sell a little over 2000 examples on the market for eight years.