Paykan

The Paykan (pronounced "pie-can") is a type of automobile produced by the Iranian company Iran Khodro. The car is a ubiquitous sight on the roads of Iran, and has been 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.

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 stewardship 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 has been in full-scale manufacture under Peugeot licence ever since. Although the car still looks very similar to the 1966 original, there have been some changes, notably the subsititution of the original 1725cc Rootes engine with a Peugeot 504-derived unit. Although it is the butt of many jokes over its high gasoline consumption and outdatedness, the Paykan remains a highly sought after vehicle in Iran, and the order backlog has been nearly 2 years long!!!

Despite this however, the end is finally in sight, and by the end of 2004, the venerable Paykan will be phased out in favour of a Renault-based design.