From the 600 to the Volvo 340
Every DAF car had the Variomatic, and Volvo kept a belt drive going until 1991. Here are the models, in order.
| DAF 600 | The DAF Club counts 30,150 DAF 600s built from 1959 to 1963. DAF Club: 600 |
|---|---|
| DAF 750 | DAF 750 saloon: built 1961 to 1963, 23,045 made. DAF Club: 750 |
| DAF 33 | DAF 33 saloon: 1967 to 1974, 106,534 made. DAF Club: 33 |
| DAF 44 | DAF 44 saloon: 1966 to 1974, 152,635 made. DAF Club: 44 |
| DAF 55 | DAF 55 saloon: 1967 to 1972, 111,906 made. DAF Club: 55 |
| DAF 66 | DAF 66 saloon: 1972 to 1975, 75,766 made. DAF Club: 66 |
| DAF 46 | DAF 46 saloon: 1974 to 1976, 28,344 made. DAF Club: 46 |
| Volvo 343 | Volvo 343: 1976 to 1982. DAF Club: Volvo 343 The DAF Club counts 373,824 Volvo 343s, about 235,000 of them with CVT. DAF Club: Volvo 343 |
| Volvo 340 and 360 | Volvo 340 and 360: 1982 to 1991, 536,558 made between them. DAF Club: Volvo 340 |
In the 340 and 360 the CVT played a smaller part as manual versions arrived: the 1985 diesel and the 1.7 litre engine came only with a manual gearbox, and the 2 litre 360 was manual only. DAF Club: Volvo 340
DAF 600, 1959
Production began in 1959, and the 600 was sold until 1963. DAF Club: 600 The DAF Club counts 30,150 DAF 600s built from 1959 to 1963. DAF Club: 600
Lak gives the 600 22 hp, a top speed of 90 km/h, a weight of only 575 kg and 17 km to the litre. Martijn Lak
About 62 DAF 600s were still registered in the Netherlands in 2023. DAF Club: 600
DAF 750 and Daffodil, 1961
The 750 of September 1961 had a 746 cc fan-cooled twin of 30 hp, 8 more than the early 600s, and a top speed of 105 km/h. DAF Club: 750
Alongside it came a better-equipped Daffodil. Updated versions became the 31 and 32, and the Daffodil name was dropped with the 33 in 1967. DAF Club: history
DAF 33, 1967
The 33 was the last car on the original small body. When it ended in January 1974, the DAF Club says, the ‘one and only DAFje’ was gone. DAF Club: 33
DAF 44, 1966
The 44 of 1966 was the first of the larger B-body DAFs and the first complete design by Giovanni Michelotti, with the twin now 844 cc and 40 hp. DAF Club: 44
1966 or 1967? Sources differ
- The 44 of 1966 was the first of the larger B-body DAFs and the first complete design by Giovanni Michelotti, with the twin now 844 cc and 40 hp. DAF Club: 44
- Hagerty UK calls it the 1967 DAF 44. Hagerty UK
The DAF Club gives 1966 for the saloon’s release, so we use that.
Racing driver Gijs van Lennep and his brother David drove a DAF 44 in the Monte Carlo Rally. Youngtimer
DAF 55, 1967
The 55 of 1967 swapped the twin for a water-cooled 1,100 cc four bought from Renault, and a rear-window sticker spelled out ‘DAF 55 1100cc automatic/variomatic’. DAF Club: 55
Driven to Write says the extra power could make the 55 unpredictable at the limit. Driven to Write
Rallies and racing
DAF entered two 55s in the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon, and both finished. Hagerty UK Rob Slotemaker and Rob Janssen came 17th overall. Driven to Write
DAF then sold a Marathon tuning set, and from 1971 a Marathon package came fitted at the factory. DAF Club: 55
Driven to Write likens it to a limited-slip differential. Driven to Write
DAF also went Formula 3 racing with Brabham and Cosworth, with a handful of wins and podiums, mostly in the wet. Hagerty UK
By 1966 a Variomatic had been put in a Formula 3 car of over 90 bhp. Commercial Motor, 1966
It found odd jobs too: a mail van for the Swedish post office, a light truck for an American gas company, and motor sleighs for Norway, France and Italy. Commercial Motor, 1966
DAF 66, 1972
The 66 of 1972 brought the final layout: a Variomatic with a differential, driving a De Dion rear axle. DAF Club: 66
That layout carried on in the 46 and the Volvo 66, 343 and 340 until 1991, more than 25 years. DAF Club: 66
The catch was some rear tyre scrub on full lock; the 66 added a differential to smooth low-speed turns. Driven to Write
DAF 46, 1974
The 46 of 1974, which turned out to be the last real DAF, used a single Variomatic with only one belt. DAF Club: 46
Volvo 66, 1975
The Volvo 66 of 1975 was made in the Netherlands and developed from the DAF 66. Volvo Cars
It had rear-wheel drive and the belt automatic, now called CVT. The Volvo Owners Club gives 106,137 built from 1975 to 1980. Volvo Owners Club
How many Volvo 66s? Sources differ
- It had rear-wheel drive and the belt automatic, now called CVT. The Volvo Owners Club gives 106,137 built from 1975 to 1980. Volvo Owners Club
- Driven to Write gives 113,431. Driven to Write
Volvo 343 and 340, 1976 to 1991
The Volvo 343 was the car that should have been the DAF 77, developed by DAF as project P900. DAF Club: Volvo 343
At first the 343 came only with a 1.4 litre engine and the CVT, which sat at the back next to the differential. Volvo Owners Club
It had teething troubles, and things improved with the arrival of a manual gearbox in 1979, says the DAF Club. DAF Club: Volvo 343
When did the manual gearbox arrive? Sources differ
- It had teething troubles, and things improved with the arrival of a manual gearbox in 1979, says the DAF Club. DAF Club: Volvo 343
- Driven to Write dates the manual option to 1978. Driven to Write
The DAF Club counts 373,824 Volvo 343s, about 235,000 of them with CVT. DAF Club: Volvo 343
Hagerty UK says Volvo sold more than 1.1 million 343s, 340s and 360s by 1991. Hagerty UK
Volvo kept building belt-driven cars until 1991, and the very last car of the 340 range was fitted with the CVT as a nod to its DAF roots. DAF Club: Volvo 340
How many in all?
How many DAF cars? Sources differ
- Historian Martijn Lak puts the total at about 820,000 DAF cars before the name was dropped after 1975. Martijn Lak
- Figures from the DAF Owners Club, quoted by Driven to Write, give 815,646 DAF-badged cars built from 1959 to 1976. Driven to Write
- The DAF Museum says more than 800,000 DAFs with the Variomatic took to the road. DAF Museum
The three figures are close. They may count slightly different things (DAF-badged cars only, or every car with a Variomatic), so we give all three.