The House Reveals Their Hand...
Presenting the @VicVictory conceived and engineered, @HighOctaneLove styled Automationverse company;
Keystone
Founded in 1901, Keystone started life building lorries, busses and vans for the English crown, having won exclusive contracts at the expense of local rivals. After the Great War, Keystone survived the lean years by exporting their business to the colonies; Canada, South Africa and Australia. By World War Two, Keystone supplied the Imperial forces with over 70% of their rolling stock. Keystone was a household name in the Empire and 4 out of 5 families who could afford a car had a Keystone in their driveway.
Keystone was now so large that they had a joint board of directors where each branch had a say in the development of new products; but the UK branch held the executive veto. So, after World War Two, Keystone found themselves floundering in a new world order dominated by the USA and the dissolution of the British Empire. Funds were scarce and R&D funds were even more so. Thankfully the multi-country structure meant that each subsiduary could be tapped for ideas and sales volumes, which kept Keystone above water throughout the late 40’s and 50’s
The 1960’s though required investment in larger cars and exports beyond the newly formed Commonwealth; this resulted in the D Series large sedan. The D series was a hybrid of ground breaking technology and obselete parts; an ugly duckling that was neither fair or foul that relied on patriotism and jingoism to paper over the flaws in it’s design compared to it’s competition.
The D2200 Super
The Canadian Market D2200 had a Keystone Canada designed inline six, double wishbone suspension and a three speed manual, all as standard!
Introduced for the 1963 model year and running up till the retirement of the model in 1971, the D2200 Super was part of the D series range. The range consisted of the D2200 Super (USA, Canada), powered by the “Ontario” inline six, the D1700 Super (UK, Sth Africa, Australia) Deluxe (Canada) and Special (UK, Sth Africa, Australia), powered by the 1.7L “Surrey” inline four and the D1400 Deluxe (UK, Sth Africa, Australia) and Standard (UK, Sth Africa, Australia), powered by the 1.4L “Surrey” inline four.
Most models sold throughout the D series model run with the exception of the D1700 standard, of which a limited number of “Standard” models were sold in Canada from 1963-1965. Other than the smaller engine, the D1700 Standard lacked reclining seats, front package shelf, and glove compartment.
The Keystone styling was distinctly British; derivative, uninspiring and vaugely old fashioned! But this didn’t stop the model from attracting a loyal fanbase who loved it’s decent price, good handling and honest performance.
The only version of the D series to be officially exported to the US, the D2200 Super was the best outfitted version of the range, boasting a higher-quality, more powerful AM radio, and power steering over lesser models. The “Ontario” six had decent power, 61Kw to be exact, and transmitted this power via a three speed manual gearbox. The D series has double wishbone suspension all 'round and reaches a tidy 162Km/h while achieving 100Km/h in 16.4s.
Want an Import from Europe without paying excessive amounts of money? Keystone has you covered!