Sergio Marchionne, eat your heart out. There’s yet another car manufacturer in town. All the way from Iran, we present to you: SAIPA and the all new Miniator! Last weekend, Iranian manufacturer SAIPA launched their first Iranian-grown car, the Miniator, Automobilwoche [sub] reports. The compact sedan is powered by a 1.5 liter 4-banger – also of Iranian provenance – that makes 80 hp. Guess if they can build missiles and nuclear bombs, bulding a car should be within their grasp. A price for the ayatollah auto has not been announced. Saipa-chief Mehrdad Bazrpash said the “car will be affordable to give poorer people the chance to own a car.” It is widely understood that the price point should be somewhere around $10K. Saipa was established in 1966 to assemble the two-cylinder Citroën mini passenger car, the Dyane. Later they manufactured licensed versions of the Renault 5, Renault 21 and Kia Pride. SAIPA also produces the Citroën Xantia along with other Citroën models. The Iranian government is said to own 48 percent of SAIPA. I’m trying to talk Michael Karesh, who is currently with me in Beijing, to detour through Teheran on his way back to test drive the all new Miniator, but he’s making up excuses.
18 Comments on “Introducing The All New Ayatolla Auto...”
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Why is there a picture of the old one ?
looks exciting !
Can’t wait for the TrueDelta stats on this one. :D
@TaxedAndConfused: Automobilwoche has this as the current model. I found another picture, also alleging to be the Miniator – it could be a design study of the 2015 model, who knows.
I think you Ze German got it wrong… at least the pic part.
See here:
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=184821
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=78363§ionid=351020102
http://www.isna.ir/ISNA/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1253007&Lang=E
They also have the license from Renault to make the Logan over there along with IKCo.
The car you put in the picture is a facelifted Pride or Nasim as it’s called over there. They made an iranian development in the form of Saipa 141.
Actually I’m glad of the final result of the car (Miniator). It’s nice looking
@Stingray: Autombilwoche has http://cgimg.no.publicus.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=CG&Date=20081215&Category=DPA&ArtNo=812150316&Ref=AR&Profile=1008&MaxW=258&Border=0
I hope, we have the right one now … Do we?
What would the full disclosure statement on that review read like? ‘Full disclosure: The Iranian government
has put me in a military prison on charges of being an American spyhas provided me with accomodations and food for the duration of my review.’@Bertel… yes now you have.
The Iranians are so crazy, they WOULD think we’d sent someone to steal state secrets on how to build a 1.5 litre, 80 hp, high-tech front wheel drive automobile.
Besides that the car looks like a sad tiring remake of the 60′ making the 2CV comparable a radical designed (it actually was indeed) attractive and hipp alternative
I think it would be valuable if someone from TTAC visits Teheran to look at the car market.
If there is none – only for to find out that upper town Teheran is not sooo much different from other western cities (clever, very well educated upper class people meeting at private whiskey parties every night and skiing like in Switzerland, driving very highly taxed extremely expensive luxury import cars) – and lower town not much different from the Bronx (bumps, criminality, prostitution, dangerous radical religious whackos driving… well, tin cans down the street with sandals).
The (proxy) leader of the former great country shares with another “leader” west of him that he is not a outspoken charmer either, neither a dancer but an ass. (On the bright side, Iran has in the last 3.000 years not invaded any other country) But at least one of them is fluent in several languages and had a decent solid education.
Everything is relative.
So find one to report from a, regarding cars, white spot – at least your eyes we trust.
The prove is in the pudding – and only in him…
I think it’s quite interesting.
This is how the Morris Oxford would have looked like with continous upgrades, refreshments and replacements throughout the years.
Is it stuck in the sand?
No, it is leaking Oil, so they put sand under it.
Does this mean that in, say, 2011, there will be an indigenous Iranian auto industry, but none in the U.S.?
The remaining USA indigenous car industry (Honda, BMW e.g.) after the demise of the D3 will be more truly indigenous then the gone one ever was.
In every aspect of production, jobs, outsourcing and development the buyers, markets and workers alike will win.
Provided you look closely.
Looks like a Toyota Echo.
–chuck
Are the RPGs optional this year? Those and the shrapnel bombs should’ve been made standard by now. That’s alright, as long as they still give the rebate for 72 virgins then I’m happy.
You guys keep making condescending reamrks about the developing world and drown in cmplacency while one day you wake up and find yourselves as the new thirld-world nation of the 21st century (probably in a couple of decades). While American car industry is dying out due to making cars that nobody wants to buy, Iran is developing practical compact and mid-size cars with minimal consumption and pollution. Of course, you guys don’t like that for you’d rather see the middle-Easterners as the dumb consumers, that’s why you call Egypt, KSA and Jordan as “moderate” states, and Iran as the “bomb” nation. But if you open your eyes and check the scentific oympiads in the world, you’ll find Iranian university students always among the top 5 in math, physics, chem, biotech, nanotech… while America stands at between 17th and 30th in world rankings. Here is Iran’s GNC burning mid-size sedan: http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090213.021/new-most-powerful-natural-gas-engine-and-car-from-iran