Peykan

Paykan
Overview
Manufacturer	Iran Khodro
Production	1967-2005
Body and chassis
Body style	Sedan or Pickup
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout، Rear wheel drive
Powertrain
Engine	1.8 L
Transmission	Manual transmission

The Paykan (Persian: پيکان‎‎ Arrow) was an automobile produced by the Iranian company Iran Khodro (formerly called "Iran National") Industrial Group. The car was very popular in Iran from the late 1960s to the late '90s. It is often referred as the Iranian "chariot".

The Paykan was a Rootes Arrow built under license, but had some unique body work and locally-developed variants (most notably, the pickup, which used a different body shell than the one sold elsewhere).

The design was introduced to Iran by Mahmoud Khayami, co-founder and, by then, owner of the Iran Khodro (formerly called "Iran National") company and factory, who accurately predicted that Iran was in need of a simple "no-frills" automobile within the price range of ordinary people.

In 1967, Rootes began exporting Hillman Hunters to Iran Khodro in "complete knock down" (CKD) kit form, for assembly in Iran. By the mid-1970s, full-scale manufacture of the car, less the engine, had started in Iran.

In 1977 Roy Axe designed a new Paykan facelift model using many interior and exterior parts from the Chrysler Alpine.

In 1978, Peugeot took over the Rootes company after it collapsed under the ownership of Chrysler Europe; a year later Peugeot ended Hunter production in Ireland. Thereafter, the Paykan's engine production tooling was moved to Iran and was in full-scale manufacture under Peugeot license until 2005 when the last Paykan saloon rolled down the assembly line.

...
Wikipedia