508 DAF

HiIs the Dinky DAF Variomatic Dinky Toys also named Dafodil or is the Dafodil an other type of DAF ?Thank you for your help.Jacques

i believe that it was called the Dafodil, at least in the early years, but not necessarily throughout the production run of the car. 'Variomatic' refers to the very simple but clever belt-driven infinitely-variable transmission system whereby the belts are moved by centrifugal force along opposing conical pulleys. I once rode in a 1975 Mk3 Ford Cortina taxi which had been fitted experimentally with such a transmission - the driver loved it, but apparently the fuel economy suffered badly.

Where was the Dinky Toy 508 DAF manufactured then? Certainly not at Binns Road.

The Dinky 508 was part of the French Dinky production, made in the factory at Bobigny, Paris.

The Dinky DAF appears to be a DAF 33. This is a successor to earlier DAF 30, 31, 32, and Dafodil models, though it was very similar mechanically and visually. Indeed changes to the DAF cars were always pretty evolutionary, right up to the DAF 66 which became the Volvo 66 after DAF was acquired by Volvo.Continuously variable transmissions are of course now used by a wide variety of manufacturers, most notably Nissan. However, I dont think that the latest designs are capable of 70 mph in reverse, as the DAFs were said to be.

What a pity ! I tried again to post a phto of my DAF ! Still impossible. Kind regards Richard