Daf cars have a special quality: thanks to the Variomatic transmission, they can drive backwards as fast as they go forward. In this way, forty years ago, a new form of motorsport was born: reversing races. Many Dafje fell prey to it. Fortunately, that did not happen with this 66, who is looking for a new loving owner.
The Daf 66 was one of the last passenger cars of the Dutch manufacturer. It was available as a two-door sedan, coupe and three-door station wagon. It was also the last Daf with four-cylinder, after the production stop of the 66 in 1975, only the Daf 46 with its air-cooled two-cylinder boxer engine was in production until 1977. The 66 remained in production until the early 1980s, but under the Volvo brand name. . Under the hood of the Daf 66 there are two engines: a 1.1 or 1.3 four-cylinder, both from Renault. In the case of this Daf 66, the first power source is under the hood, which produces 53 hp. That power is transferred to the rear wheels via the Variomatic transmission.
In the 1970s, Daf offered the 66 customer a choice of different versions: ‘De Luxe’, ‘Super Luxe’ and ‘Marathon’. The latter was the sportier version, the ‘De Luxe’ that we are dealing with here is the basic version, although the name may not suggest that. There was not much luxury on the entry-66. The wood on the dashboard and the center tunnel still offers some form of fringe, but otherwise there is very little on the 66. In the middle is the characteristic automatic lever for the Variomatic transmission.
According to the seller, the interior has received the necessary attention: it was completely refurbished in 2016, including new carpeting. The seats are not original but appear to come from a Volvo 66 and are fitted with vinyl seat covers, with a fabric cover visible below. The ocher yellow paint still looks very tight, the exterior was already taken care of at an earlier stage. Looks like the rust devil has not gotten a grip on this copy. Also the pictures of the chassis that the seller has attached look good. The appearance has been upgraded with the grille of the Marathon version – with additional spotlights – and the 13-inch wheels also come from such a Marathon. The registration history shows a lot of private owners, although it is quite possible that one owner has had the car under management for a longer period of time. From 2009 to 2019 is the longest period shown by the data from the RDW. From 1975 to 2006 the owners are unknown.
This Daf 66 is currently the only one that is on the AutoWeek Occasion Finder. According to the seller, he has 94,958 kilometers behind his back. Given the condition of the car, that mileage may well be correct, even if the Daf’s counter does not count more than five digits. There are currently about 350 copies of the Daf 66 sedan driving around in the Netherlands. That makes the car a nice rarity. Will you give this piece of Dutch automotive history a home?
Would you rather look for an enthusiast car or youngtimer yourself? Then take a look at the classic pages of the AutoWeek used car finder!
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl