So Let's be honest... A realy ugly coachbuilding design. Not one line in the back follows the superb design of the front. A kind of Frankenstein car. Still cool to see what they were doing back in the day. Stay safe Matt.
Well, I was looking for an old timer in which a Borzoi (huge sighthound) can comfortably travel. This just popped up on my recommended and I think it IS perfect (but I agree with you ). I'd take this car any day (and my dog fits in, yay!).
I agree with you. The roof join is hideous. The interior looks thrown together and the 'marriage' between the two bodies at the B pillar is awful. Best not to talk about the piece of wood with cabinet hinges acting as a rear seat brace 😂 Certainly original though.
I'd definitely wager that this is the only video of a Foxbat on TH-cam. What an intriguing oddball but very likeable for that reason. That has got every single quintessential English car hallmark possible from that period! Why wasn't one of these the star car in Mrs Marple ? Lol. Great video Matt
@@photoisca7386 I mean, both the Morris and the Jag would have been worth their weight in scrap metal back in the seventies. It's quite possible he was having a laugh and I'm glad that the Foxbat exists for that reason.
For the love of all that is holy, WHY! The builder must have done a lot of mind altering drugs in the 60s and early 70s to even think this was a good idea.
To be fair, Travellers were made in two parts and stuck together from the factory so that seam is to be expected. Not sure the roofline is very straight though
@@TheGalacticEmperorOfLabels I take it that you've never seen a Wedding Dress then. I've seen a lady struggle in a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Aire in a Wedding Dress so not a hope in this gorgeous Foxbat. . Sorry.
@@jakekaywell5972 For instance most of the crossover/soft-roaders currently being marketed by the major manufacturers. Also Rolls Culinan and Bentley Bentayga.
I'd take it over a Prius or a Tesla, and those stupid Smart for two things. Now they really are ugly cars. Personally, I think the Foxbat is really cool.
@@carlreading9916 I'm inclined to agree. I think the soft-roaders being made by the ultra-luxury carmakers are the worst looking things going nowadays. Have you seen the Lamborghini Urus? Tragic! I personally think the Bentley Bentayga is relatively clean and restrained compared to most of its peers.
Oh hell, it looks great. Looks like an old English coach built shooting brake to me. It works fine. It just not what people are used to seeing in modern times. There's been a few shooting brakes built back in the day that can out-weird this any day. Don't be scared of the weird. Embrace it. Or don't....
I really love this. Not only does it look really cool, but there's the added satisfaction of knowing that the entirety of the Morris Minor owners club will be getting their knickers into a right old twist, and all the Jaguar purists will be crying into their beer in disgust. Absolutely marvellous. Whoever created this, I'd like to buy you a pint sir.
Excellent vid (as usual) - about a car I never would have wanted to exist. Basically the successful effort to ruin two brilliant classic cars at a time....
As a non-british person, I dont see this as sacriledge at all. So what if the workmanship isnt top notch either. I like it. I will always applaud those that go their own way. Cool and different.
Even standard Morris Minor's were effectively widened using a strip down the middle, as Issigonis decided the car was too narrow, just before full production was to start. That is why the strip goes down the bonnet of every Minor and early cars had an extra piece modded in to front and rear bumpers. The bumpers had already been pressed, before the decision to widen was made.
The original Minor had the flat 4 Mosquito engine. That car didn't need the extra track width. With the change to the original A series and revisions to the torsion bar front suspension the track widened and the cheap fix for the bonnet was to add the raised strip down the centre. Also made the bonnet more rigid.
@@delukxy surely a flat four would be *wider* than the longitudinal inline 4 (which was of course, the Nuffield USHM side valve, rather than A series, at introduction)
@@emmajacobs5575 What you say is true. The Minor's birth was decidedly traumatic and in many ways a sign of how the various incarnations of the company would continue. Nitty gritty here. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Minor
Let's not forget that this was done only four years after the Traveller went out of production, so basically this was probably an old banger, although I'm a bit surprised because I'd assume the ash frame was usually the first thing that fell apart on these. Still might have been badly damaged in an accident or something, leaving the rear end mostly intact.
So you want to keep and enjoy your fine driving XK150 but you need the extra load area for whatever reason, perhaps even family transport to include one or two kids? Brilliant solution, and although the looks are a little unusual I'd certainly find it some drive space if I could afford it.
This bizarre vehicle reminds me of the story a ex policeman of my acquaintance once told me of how a farmer on the Isle of Wight had converted a old Rolls Royce into a pick-up truck. Apparently as soon as Rolls Royce heard about this abomination they immediately dispatched a 'hit team' to the island and had it crushed!
I believe a couple of ancient Rolls-Royces were actually converted into railway locomotives, one running on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in the 1930s
That was done by quite a few people, particularly during the war, when old Rollses weren't particularly valued all that much. I suspect Rolls-Royce would have been too busy, particularly during the war, to worry that much
Love these weird self built cars! Maybe not the most beautiful car ever, but pretty well executed and useful space in the back. Great video Matt, keep it up.
Sadly from 2030 on all the combustion cars including classics will be banned from public streets in EU :-( In Germany the Green party gave order to shorten fuel supply from 2025 on by reducing petrol stations to only one station per city. :-(
No need of a welder when repairing the back end, just a tenon saw and screws. Proper cut and shut engineering. Thank you for the look around a vehicle I never knew I needed to see and hear about.
Thank goodness it’s a one off🤢😂. Each to their own I suppose and I can kind of see the thinking. But there are no words....... Still enjoyed the video though!
Wonderful video. As good as classic coupés can be, classic sedans and especially estates/shooting brakes are even better in my eyes. And this is just bonkers-fantastic. Saw a BMW E34 Touring for sale last week, had a real struggle not to buy it, it was so cool.
I'm glad whoever built this built it when they did. No one would dare try something like that now! In '75 a Jag XK150 was just a thirsty old clunker. '73 fuel crisis didn't help either.
I dreamt that I was watching a jag and moggie combined as one car.... Oh hold on it was not a dream I woke early. Intresting car that combines the best of a sports car and a estate.
Imagine driving down a motorway, not really paying attention to your mirrors (like they'd be much use back then anyway), seeing a flash of white to your right then seeing the backend of a Morris Minor Traveller tearing away from you at 120 mph. :)
I would like to own this vehicle. I would get in it and drive, very slowly, through the centre of Bedford, wearing a black silk shirt, heavy jewellery and expensive shades, whilst smoking a cigar and drinking a can of Tenants Super, with 'For Doz That Slept' by Black Sheep blasting from a huge sub woofter in the boot. I would be the talk of the town.
Correct, as evidenced by the raised section on the centre line of the bonnet, and on early cars, the extra piece joining the two halves of the front bumper.
Not a particularly happy marriage Matt, but a fete that met many prestigeous and powerful cars back in the 50s and 60s that were worth very little but still with plenty of life left.Many pre-war Rolls -Royce cars with limousine bodies ( and hearses ) became shooting-brakes and even the body removed beyond the B pillar and a lifting crane fitted to become a garage breakdown truck !.
NOT A ONE OFF, two of these were made..one was registered as 558NOT then went to france and was reregistered on a french license plate as 12 CMK 38...the vehicles were made as motor sports support vehicles.
I'd love to be kind to this thing - it's a great concept, as has been proven by many other shooting brake type conversions - but crikey, it's not much of a looker is it. And I'm not sure if I were a dog I'd appreciate the XK's extra performance over the standard Morris!
So Let's be honest... A realy ugly coachbuilding design. Not one line in the back follows the superb design of the front. A kind of Frankenstein car. Still cool to see what they were doing back in the day.
Stay safe Matt.
Well, I was looking for an old timer in which a Borzoi (huge sighthound) can comfortably travel. This just popped up on my recommended and I think it IS perfect (but I agree with you ). I'd take this car any day (and my dog fits in, yay!).
@@mimicri326 Original choice no doubt.
Hmmmm interesting and unique yes, worth £45K in todays financial climate, not too sure about that?
More “cobbled together” than coachbuilt
I agree with you. The roof join is hideous. The interior looks thrown together and the 'marriage' between the two bodies at the B pillar is awful. Best not to talk about the piece of wood with cabinet hinges acting as a rear seat brace 😂 Certainly original though.
Cut and shuts were less sophisticated back in the day. At least now the crims use the front and rear of the same car.
I agree😂😂
My wheelchair would finally fit in a sports car
Gloriously bonkers. Who else but a british bloke would spend a few years hard work creating something that devalued his car by 50%. Love the doorbell
I'd definitely wager that this is the only video of a Foxbat on TH-cam. What an intriguing oddball but very likeable for that reason. That has got every single quintessential English car hallmark possible from that period! Why wasn't one of these the star car in Mrs Marple ? Lol. Great video Matt
Ive just looked...it is the only one!
"It fits so perfectly" .. Dear God!
Distant cousins united into one (cousins meaning both makes vehicles i.e Morris & Jaguar were under the British Leyland group)
If Terry-Thomas played Lovejoy.
Screw electric and charging like a phone no time for that I'm borrowing some paintings from my friend's house and loading into my cargo jaaag.
How fast was that Moggie going, when it hit the Jag?
Must have been the Jag going backwards. The Morris is not fast enough.
👍🤪🤣🤣🤣
Blends ever so neatly🤔
Oh bugger🤭😅😅😅
I would still have it though.👍✌🇬🇧
😂😂😂😂
I’m glad you pointed out where the 2 cars join together, I’d been wondering that, it’s almost seamless !!😂😂😂
Slight sarcasm there. Yes, the marrying is a little obvious. 😳
Given how the original Morris Minor Traveller had much the same seam in the roof, I'd say it's good and proper here.
I thought it was a Specsavers commercial. He had to be having a laugh. Mind you I couldn't (wouldn't) attempt such a job.
@@photoisca7386 I mean, both the Morris and the Jag would have been worth their weight in scrap metal back in the seventies. It's quite possible he was having a laugh and I'm glad that the Foxbat exists for that reason.
Classic comment, unlike the car.
For the love of all that is holy, WHY!
The builder must have done a lot of mind altering drugs in the 60s and early 70s to even think this was a good idea.
It's something useful and interesting made from two old bangers (in the seventies). It's a great idea.
Hmm, the love child of a Jag and a Moggie. I'm not convinced that was an advisable union!
It’s an abomination!
@@thechumpsbeendumped.7797 Nah. More like something interesting and useful made out of two old bangers (in the seventies).
To me it looks more like the aftermath of a nasty traffic accident rather than the fruit of Mr Jaguar and Mrs Morris' liaison.
@@jakekaywell5972
The perpetrator should be sent to the Hague. 😉
@@thechumpsbeendumped.7797 The Dutch city and municipality?
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
Thanks for an interesting review. I think though you’re being very generous saying the roof blend is subtle.
To be fair, Travellers were made in two parts and stuck together from the factory so that seam is to be expected. Not sure the roofline is very straight though
@@EdsPlasticCars You’re right. I looked up a traveller picture after I watched the video. I’d never realised that before.
I actually LIKE the roofline - it's in keeping with the flowing curvy shape, even if it might not be to EVERYONE'S taste!
That would make a interesting hearse
Or wedding car, which, where the groom is concerned, is tantamount to the same thing.
@@TheGalacticEmperorOfLabels 🤣
@@TheGalacticEmperorOfLabels at least the wedding dress fits in, this way. :-)
@@TheGalacticEmperorOfLabels I take it that you've never seen a Wedding Dress then. I've seen a lady struggle in a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Aire in a Wedding Dress so not a hope in this gorgeous Foxbat. . Sorry.
In the same way a Lamborghini would make an interesting ambulance.
I can understand that the Jaguar was probably not worth a lot back in the 70s but this just looks wrong.
I disagree. There were a lot more cars (factory-made or coachbuilt) that looks worse than this.
@@jakekaywell5972 For instance most of the crossover/soft-roaders currently being marketed by the major manufacturers. Also Rolls Culinan and Bentley Bentayga.
I'd take it over a Prius or a Tesla, and those stupid Smart for two things. Now they really are ugly cars. Personally, I think the Foxbat is really cool.
@@carlreading9916 I'm inclined to agree. I think the soft-roaders being made by the ultra-luxury carmakers are the worst looking things going nowadays. Have you seen the Lamborghini Urus? Tragic! I personally think the Bentley Bentayga is relatively clean and restrained compared to most of its peers.
I applaud the imagination but not the execution. At least we all know not to do it again! Great video as always 👍
Yes, the roof looks a mess.
@@Phiyedough my wife has declared "it looks funky ". Who am I to question her taste 🤔
@@rodhili3946 I think you're AFRAID of the good lady! But she IS right!
Oh hell, it looks great. Looks like an old English coach built shooting brake to me. It works fine. It just not what people are used to seeing in modern times.
There's been a few shooting brakes built back in the day that can out-weird this any day. Don't be scared of the weird. Embrace it. Or don't....
Someone's wrecked a Moggie Traveller by putting a Jag frontend on it.....
I really love this. Not only does it look really cool, but there's the added satisfaction of knowing that the entirety of the Morris Minor owners club will be getting their knickers into a right old twist, and all the Jaguar purists will be crying into their beer in disgust. Absolutely marvellous. Whoever created this, I'd like to buy you a pint sir.
To Mathew Goodwin. As a fellow enthusiast - I would join you for that drink!
The vehicular equivalent of the duck billed platypus. Enjoyed the video Matt
Excellent vid (as usual) - about a car I never would have wanted to exist.
Basically the successful effort to ruin two brilliant classic cars at a time....
What you get when you have a rear ended Jag and a front smashed Morris minor and too much time on your hands lol
... or what happens if you lock these two cars together and allow them to mate...
@@notroll1279 Jag got its back end smashed in 😳😂
@@samharvey6194 at least not the front 😉
Is that your beautiful Jag in the pub car park? I have bad news, some old biffer in a Morris Traveller has crashed into the back of it 😉
As a non-british person, I dont see this as sacriledge at all. So what if the workmanship isnt top notch either. I like it. I will always applaud those that go their own way.
Cool and different.
Even standard Morris Minor's were effectively widened using a strip down the middle, as Issigonis decided the car was too narrow, just before full production was to start.
That is why the strip goes down the bonnet of every Minor and early cars had an extra piece modded in to front and rear bumpers.
The bumpers had already been pressed, before the decision to widen was made.
The original Minor had the flat 4 Mosquito engine. That car didn't need the extra track width. With the change to the original A series and revisions to the torsion bar front suspension the track widened and the cheap fix for the bonnet was to add the raised strip down the centre. Also made the bonnet more rigid.
@@delukxy surely a flat four would be *wider* than the longitudinal inline 4 (which was of course, the Nuffield USHM side valve, rather than A series, at introduction)
@@emmajacobs5575 What you say is true. The Minor's birth was decidedly traumatic and in many ways a sign of how the various incarnations of the company would continue. Nitty gritty here.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Minor
@@delukxy It was done for aesthetic reasons rather than engineering
Who on Earth would do that to a Morris Minor Traveller?
Let's not forget that this was done only four years after the Traveller went out of production, so basically this was probably an old banger, although I'm a bit surprised because I'd assume the ash frame was usually the first thing that fell apart on these. Still might have been badly damaged in an accident or something, leaving the rear end mostly intact.
Oh dear, great video as always Matt. But.... that shape just does not work..😳
I am glad the foxbat exists , a truly unique and interesting car .
Totally! I wonder how he came up with "Foxbat"?
Bloody jaaaag reversing into my moggie
So you want to keep and enjoy your fine driving XK150 but you need the extra load area for whatever reason, perhaps even family transport to include one or two kids? Brilliant solution, and although the looks are a little unusual I'd certainly find it some drive space if I could afford it.
I quite like the XJS Lynx Eventer Estate or the one-off XJ40 estate
Yeah they are very likeable somehow
@@RichieRouge206 yeah, not very practical in terms of reliability and maintenance but they're just cool
It's the ultimate hearse for dwarves. I love it.
You are right. It is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.
Beauty is in the eye off the beholder. But it's functional and well done. I love it.
This bizarre vehicle reminds me of the story a ex policeman of my acquaintance once told me of how a farmer on the Isle of Wight had converted a old Rolls Royce into a pick-up truck. Apparently as soon as Rolls Royce heard about this abomination they immediately dispatched a 'hit team' to the island and had it crushed!
Lol! Did they pay the owner anything for destroying his vehicle, or was it a ‘crush and run’?
I believe a couple of ancient Rolls-Royces were actually converted into railway locomotives, one running on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in the 1930s
I hope he was compensated for it!
That was done by quite a few people, particularly during the war, when old Rollses weren't particularly valued all that much. I suspect Rolls-Royce would have been too busy, particularly during the war, to worry that much
@@AndreiTupolev : Yes, too busy churning out Rolls-Royce Merlin engines
Well, it's certainly almost as ugly as an SUV :)
Looks like something Cruella would drive.
Look better if you cut the he rear roof off and had a pick up.
What happened, Jaguar XK braked hard and Morris thousand traveller became in bedded in its back, job done
If you look really hard ,you can see the join. Brilliant.
Even Stevie Wonder could see that join.
The join is the same as on the Minor Traveller so a sensible way to do it.
Was it a homemade conversion or was it done by a coach builders / external company? Certainly unique. I do like it very much. Great find Matt.
The,XK 150 is my favorite Jaguar ever. The Morris minor Traveller is not.
Very interesting car Matt lovely review. it’s amazing how the Morris Minor back end fits onto the Jag. Would love to own this car myself.
Ugggggley !
Love these weird self built cars! Maybe not the most beautiful car ever, but pretty well executed and useful space in the back. Great video Matt, keep it up.
Sadly from 2030 on all the combustion cars including classics will be banned from public streets in EU :-( In Germany the Green party gave order to shorten fuel supply from 2025 on by reducing petrol stations to only one station per city. :-(
No need of a welder when repairing the back end, just a tenon saw and screws. Proper cut and shut engineering. Thank you for the look around a vehicle I never knew I needed to see and hear about.
But what about the tea shelf? Or should it be the G and T shelf?
Sorry - it doesn’t blend at all. 😂
Thank goodness it’s a one off🤢😂. Each to their own I suppose and I can kind of see the thinking. But there are no words.......
Still enjoyed the video though!
It has a beautiful face, BUT a God awful UGLY ass end it is HORRIBLE to look at, i think i would change it back to an XK150.
"If you look really carefully you can just about see the join"??? It couldn't be more obviously. It looks like a poorly improvised hearse!
"Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." Dr. Ian Malcolm
Wonderful video. As good as classic coupés can be, classic sedans and especially estates/shooting brakes are even better in my eyes. And this is just bonkers-fantastic. Saw a BMW E34 Touring for sale last week, had a real struggle not to buy it, it was so cool.
I'm glad whoever built this built it when they did. No one would dare try something like that now! In '75 a Jag XK150 was just a thirsty old clunker. '73 fuel crisis didn't help either.
Can someone explain to me how you would find or even have a rusty jaguar especially seeing how they have aluminium bodies!
I dreamt that I was watching a jag and moggie combined as one car.... Oh hold on it was not a dream I woke early. Intresting car that combines the best of a sports car and a estate.
Imagine driving down a motorway, not really paying attention to your mirrors (like they'd be much use back then anyway), seeing a flash of white to your right then seeing the backend of a Morris Minor Traveller tearing away from you at 120 mph. :)
Not just a Morris Minor and a Jag were involved - those taillights are from a Mini estate/van.
At last one of your road tests I don't covet! Amazing what can be done with some imagination though.
Thank god it’s ‘ one of a kind’ what a hideous thing to do to such a beautiful cat! 🤬🤬🤬🤬
This is a very lovable oddball. Thanks for showing off this one!
Now thats ugly.Frankencar two crash damaged cars cobbled together
I would like to own this vehicle. I would get in it and drive, very slowly, through the centre of Bedford, wearing a black silk shirt, heavy jewellery and expensive shades, whilst smoking a cigar and drinking a can of Tenants Super, with 'For Doz That Slept' by Black Sheep blasting from a huge sub woofter in the boot. I would be the talk of the town.
It's a morris minor with a jag on the front. It kind of looks wrong.
The Morris Minor had a strip inserted to increase the width at the design stage.
Correct, as evidenced by the raised section on the centre line of the bonnet, and on early cars, the extra piece joining the two halves of the front bumper.
Great car a wonderful creation a bit odd but totally brilliant i am glad it survived
Interesting car that is in a beautifully weathered condition.
I’m all in on this - I think it looks splendid
As a car enthusiast I am appalled. As a dog owner I appreciate it.
Given enough time, money and access to a shed......;-)
Strange looking combination but travelator pop out indicators would have made all the difference , still ugly car though Matt 👌🏻
I must say it is interesting. And the front end reminds me of an S-Type. Well, it is very British!
Inspiration for the Skoda Roomster? I hate that car.
Not a particularly happy marriage Matt, but a fete that met many prestigeous and powerful cars back in the 50s and 60s that were worth very little but still with plenty of life left.Many pre-war Rolls -Royce cars with limousine bodies ( and hearses ) became shooting-brakes and even the body removed beyond the B pillar and a lifting crane fitted to become a garage breakdown truck !.
Very true..I think I should hunt out a few more if they survive
Should have called it the Marmite. Bizarre thing. So very English though.
And then in the early eighties there was the XJS Lynx Eventer shooting break, it is a good idea.
That Lynx was better
@@noelnicholls1894 yeah lovely cars, but same concept as this XK.
NOT A ONE OFF, two of these were made..one was registered as 558NOT then went to france and was reregistered on a french license plate as 12 CMK 38...the vehicles were made as motor sports support vehicles.
Surprising how the original Jag interior bits look just as home made as the home made bits do
I'd love to be kind to this thing - it's a great concept, as has been proven by many other shooting brake type conversions - but crikey, it's not much of a looker is it. And I'm not sure if I were a dog I'd appreciate the XK's extra performance over the standard Morris!
I disagree. I think it looks positively fantastic! Then again, my favorite car is the Studebaker Avanti.
😱 Bloody Horrible !! But interesting.
I love it!2 classic British cars for the price of 1....
Some of the home made coachwork cars of the 70s were hideous. This is pretty easy on the eye.
A very interesting review.
I quite like it, but then I own a Skoda Roomster so what do I know…
The most maladroit cut and shut of all time!
other than that roof seam, I love how this looks!
That's my new favourite car
Jag and moggie travellers love child
I'm happy this automotive portmanteau exists. Dog equivalent must be a lurcher, part greyhound, part labrador.
Love it or hate it, i'm full of admiration for the chap that made this just daring to be different.
An actual shooting brake, a with 3 doors. Not the modern version, which is clearly an estate. Is that now a dirty word?
I count 4 doors... 🥸
@@lotusgroup123 you got me there
Good review of an awful looking car
Truly unique.
Thank God.
The must be a second car somewhere, with a Morris minor front end and a Jag back end.
Now that would make for a very interesting two car garage.
Oh look! They've stretched a Morris Minor Traveller!
I mean wasnt there anything else they cud have made into a shooting brake
Beautiful in an odd way.
Scimitar prototype....
The actual Morris Minor itself had a 4” fillet strip in the bonnet to stretch the width.
AMAZING!!! Thankyou so much for doin this one