Solved - NEH 4665: GD XM convertible (AKA Griffin later) - 1975

[Carnut]

What's this, by whom, from when - for 1 point?:

Remember - solving puzzles using 'Google Search by Image' is BANNED on AutoPuzzles!

[Carnut]

Experts?

[kwgibbs]

was it a concept car called .cheetah?

[dzima1985]

 Griffin GD-XM by Group Design / Griffin Design, 1983, kitcar from UK.

[Carnut]

Of course, yes.
I believe this was built before the name Griffin was attached to it, so it's a GD XM, though I wouldn't stake my life on that..!
The Griffin coupé has been puzzled before but not the convertible.
Well done.

[Wendax]

The Griffin coupé has been puzzled before but not the convertible.

Those are not two different cars, the coupe can be transformed into the convertible by detaching the hardtop.

[Carnut]

Yes, you appear to be right.
I wonder if it is in fact exactly the same car with different wheels or if it is (as I understood) the very earliest prototype, before they got around to making the top..
Perhaps they will have to merged in any case.

[Djetset]

As a correction for accuracy, the original GD XM dates from 1975, not 1983.  By 1983 production of the subsequent Griffin had ground to a halt.

[Carnut]

As a correction for accuracy, the original GD XM dates from 1975, not 1983.  By 1983 production of the subsequent Griffin had ground to a halt.

Thanks for that and I've amended the heading.
Should it be merged then?
I understood it was originally sold as a GD XM before it was taken over and marketed as a Griffin and that my picture shows one of the original cars.  But now I can't find where I got that from any more...  Is it right? 

[Djetset]

Yes, the car was originally sold in kit form in the mid-1970s as the GD XM, before disappearing for a while (as is often the case with kit cars), only to re-appear as the Griffin in the late 1970s.  I hope this helps.