DAF 66
Encyclopedia
The DAF 66 is a small family car produced by the Dutch company DAF
from September 1972 to 1976. It was the successor of the DAF 55
and was itself superseded by the reworked Volvo 66
. The DAF 66 was the last four cylinder car to feature the DAF name.
All 66 featured the unique Variomatic
belt-driven continuously variable transmission
.
The 66 was available as a 2-door saloon, a 2-door coupé, and a 3-door estate.
In total 146.297 DAF 66s have been built.
The 66 was developed to be an evolution of the 1967 DAF 55
. The redesign was mainly cosmetic, and featured the following major changes:
In 1973 the '1300 Marathon' replaced the original Marathon. It featured a 1289cc 57 bhp version of the Renault
C-series
inline 4 engine used in all 66s. The 1300 Marathon was distinguishable from its lesser brethren by the foglights mounted in the grille. The interior featured a centre console with room for fitting extra gauges and high backed cloth sports seats. The less torquey but more powerful 1108cc Marathon engine remained available as an option on all models.
In 1974 the Dutch Armed Forces commissioned DAF to build a small personnel carrier. This car, the YA 66 was an adaptation of the normal 1108cc 66 sedan, with the most apparent change being a roofless, Jeep like body. Technically it was very similar, and as such had little to no terrain capacity. 1201 DAF YA 66s were built. They were all decommissioned in the early 90's and sold to the public.
detective series Van der Valk
which was filmed on location in Amsterdam. Van der Valk is seen as a passenger in this sequence and the car is subsequently seen in a number of episodes.
DAF Trucks
DAF Trucks NV is a Dutch truck manufacturing company and a division of PACCAR. Its headquarters and main plant are in Eindhoven. Cabs and axle assemblies are produced at its Westerlo plant in Belgium...
from September 1972 to 1976. It was the successor of the DAF 55
DAF 55
The DAF 55 is a small family car produced by the Dutch company DAF from December 1967 to September 1972. At that time it was replaced with the DAF 66....
and was itself superseded by the reworked Volvo 66
Volvo 66
The Volvo 66 was a Swedish automobile. It sprang directly from the DAF 66, which was originally styled by Michelotti. The compact car was introduced in August 1975, almost exactly a year after Volvo Cars bought DAF, and before production of the Volvo 300 series began.The Volvo 66 was known for its...
. The DAF 66 was the last four cylinder car to feature the DAF name.
All 66 featured the unique Variomatic
Variomatic
Variomatic is the stepless, fully automatic transmission of the Dutch car manufacturer DAF, originally developed by Hub van Doorne: this consists of a "V" shaped drive belt and two pulleys, each of two cones, whose effective diameter can be changed so that the "V" belt runs nearer the spindle or...
belt-driven continuously variable transmission
Continuously variable transmission
A continuously variable transmission is a transmission that can change steplessly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios between maximum and minimum values. This contrasts with other mechanical transmissions that offer a fixed number of gear ratios...
.
The 66 was available as a 2-door saloon, a 2-door coupé, and a 3-door estate.
In total 146.297 DAF 66s have been built.
Origins
DAF 55
The DAF 55 is a small family car produced by the Dutch company DAF from December 1967 to September 1972. At that time it was replaced with the DAF 66....
. The redesign was mainly cosmetic, and featured the following major changes:
- Powertrain
- The 1108cc engines were reworked to have lower emissions, changing power to 53 bhp for the normal models, and 60 bhp for the 1100 Marathon.
- Suspension
- The rear suspension and Variomatic was completely redesigned, learning from DAF's experience in Formula ThreeFormula ThreeFormula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
racing. The Variomatic was much more robust and now incorporated a differential for smoother low speed maneuvering. The unpredictable swing axle rear suspension of the 44 and 55 was changed to a leaf sprung De Dion tubeDe Dion tubeA de Dion tube is an automobile suspension technology. It is a sophisticated form of non-independent suspension and is a considerable improvement over the alternative swing axle and Hotchkiss drive types. A de Dion suspension uses universal joints at both the wheel hubs and differential, and uses a...
axle, which greatly improved handling and comfort..
- The rear suspension and Variomatic was completely redesigned, learning from DAF's experience in Formula Three
- Braking
- Cheaper models now featured drum brakes all around, whilst higher spec models retained the 55's front disk brake setup.
- Bodywork
- The complete front clip was restyled, giving a more uniform and boxy appearance. The rear featured narrower rear lights.
Model Chronology
The 66 was launched as a wide model range, incorporating a 2-door saloon, a 3-door estate and a 2-door 2+2 coupe. At introduction the customer could chose from 'De Luxe' (drum brakes and vinyl seats), 'Super Luxe' (Front disks and reclining cloth seats) and 'Marathon' (Extra power and wider wheels) trim levels.In 1973 the '1300 Marathon' replaced the original Marathon. It featured a 1289cc 57 bhp version of the Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
C-series
Renault Cléon engine
The Cléon engine was a 5-bearing straight-4 automobile engine from Renault. Introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 1962 with the Renault Floride S, the engine was a development of the 3-bearing Ventoux engine from the 1950s. It is an overhead valve design and in Renault tradition, features "wet"...
inline 4 engine used in all 66s. The 1300 Marathon was distinguishable from its lesser brethren by the foglights mounted in the grille. The interior featured a centre console with room for fitting extra gauges and high backed cloth sports seats. The less torquey but more powerful 1108cc Marathon engine remained available as an option on all models.
In 1974 the Dutch Armed Forces commissioned DAF to build a small personnel carrier. This car, the YA 66 was an adaptation of the normal 1108cc 66 sedan, with the most apparent change being a roofless, Jeep like body. Technically it was very similar, and as such had little to no terrain capacity. 1201 DAF YA 66s were built. They were all decommissioned in the early 90's and sold to the public.
DAF's in the media
A white saloon version of the DAF 66 features in the opening credit sequence of series 2 of the British made ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
detective series Van der Valk
Van der Valk
Van der Valk is a British television series that was produced by Thames Television for the ITV network. It starred Barry Foster in the title role as Dutch detective Commissaris "Piet" van der Valk...
which was filmed on location in Amsterdam. Van der Valk is seen as a passenger in this sequence and the car is subsequently seen in a number of episodes.
External links
- DAF 55/DAF 66 Family Tree
- The DAF museum, Eindhoven (site in Dutch) — complete with "DAFeteria" for refreshments
- Classic DAF
- DAF/Volvo 66
- DAF section of "RitzSite"
- Technical details from Motorbase