Question of the Week: What Car Would You Choose for a Jolly-Style Conversion?—WINNER’S UPDATE — Explained
WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:
We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our winner will rest on their laurels and accept a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store.
This week, we asked: What car would you choose for a Jolly-style conversion?
Thanks to everyone who chimed in! Since the Italian translation for Jolly is “Joker,” it was serendipitous that thiss question landed a day before April Fools’ Day, but your answers were anything but a joke. BaT member @IsAlwaystheAnswer left the most-liked comment this week for the Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet. But seeing as he’s a three-time QotW champ, we went with another one of our favorite nominations, which came from @shakingthrough for the Citröen 2CV:
Unless you high-tail it to a generative AI machine, it’s much harder to envision what one could look like. To help illustrate the point, we’ve got another People’s Car from France—the Renault 4CV. Ghia built a batch of 50 or so 4CVs as a larger alternative to the Fiat conversion, and we can definitely see the 2CV being used as the minimalist utilitarian runabout version.
Congratulations, @shakingthrough! Be sure to check your email to claim the prize. Now, let’s take a look at some other popular nominations from this week’s discussion thread, starting with one of our other favorite nominations submitted by two-time QoTW winner, @Ben:
“What a question–oh wait, tomorrow is, uh… never mind.
A Honda Acty or some other kei van would make a dandy Jolly and stay true to the original concept.”
We absolutely loved this answer.
@IsAlwaystheAnswer writes:
Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet – the special six-door version.
The Fiat 600 Jolly is what you take to the beach.
The Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Jolly is what you take to the beach, after you’ve purchased it and renamed it after yourself.
Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Jolly transformed from the iconic state limousine into an open-air coastal pavilion of effortless grandeur for those who discovered money has no meaning. Has door delete. All six doors are removed, revealing long, uninterrupted side openings sculpted into smooth, yacht-inspired curves. Each entry is framed in polished chrome and fitted with elegant velvet ropes, creating a ceremonial, theatrical sense that keeps the rest of us behind. The cabin floor is lined front to back in yacht-grade teak flooring with holly inlay, creating a rolling seaside deck with chrome tie downs for picnic baskets and champagne coolers. Dual-Zone Cabana Canopy, up front, a narrow, functional canopy with pinstripes for help. The rear, a sweeping VIP canopy with wide bold stripes that flows like a seaside tent, with scalloped edges. All Wicker seats are hand-woven with Mercedes-grade MB-Tex cushioning. Rear VIP seats get higher backs and armrests shaped like yacht rails. Keep the color-coded wheel covers and add the widest whites.
The result is a fusion of power and play.
“Early ’60’s Hillman Minx, with vintage rattan beach chairs- the ones with storage in the seats – exterior paint in blues like the pool in the French La Piscene Museum, Roubaix – here’s the seats https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/seating/chairs/vintage-folding-beach-chair-woven-wicker-leather-sculpted-portable-travel/id-f_17398272/#zoomModalOpen“
“AMC Pacer…that would definitely be a “smiles per mile” beach buggy.”
A beachside fish bowl!
“A Yellowbird school bus. If you’re going to have fun, have it with ALL of your friends.”
Retired school buses have been transformed into nearly everything—from dragsters to campers. So why not?
That’s it for this week’s Question of the Week! Thanks to everyone who participated, and congratulations once again to our winner, shakingthrough. We’ll be back with a new question soon.
ORIGINAL POST:
Welcome to the BaT Question of the Week! For those unfamiliar, here are the rules: we ask an automotive-themed question, and the author of our favorite answer from the comments is awarded a $25 credit to the BaT Gear Store.
With spring in full swing for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, we wanted to float a seasonally-appropriate thought experiment, so this week we’re we’re asking:
What car would you choose for a Jolly-style conversion?
The little seaside runabout, originally based on a Fiat 500 or 600, was commissioned in the late 1950s for Fiat chairman Gianni Agnelli to serve as an on-shore companion to his yacht, with Italian coachbuilder Ghia handling the manufacturing. His whimsical creation was dubbed the Jolly (Joker), and featured an open-air driving experience with its own beach umbrella built right in.
The Jolly pioneered the “beach car” concept, and Agnelli wasn’t the only one to purchase one. Many more have built their own conversions over the years, and the formula—doorless bodywork, a striped fabric canopy, and breathable wicker seats—has been adapted to other marques as well, like this VW Type 2 that appeared here back in 2024.
You get the picture. This week, we’re asking you to get creative, and tell us:
What car would you choose for a Jolly-style conversion?
Give us your answer it in the comments, and leave a thumbs-up to any nominations that grab your attention. We’ll announce the winner on Monday.
“How about a Jolly Citroen 2CV – France’s version of the People’s Car. It was designed to carry a basket of eggs through a freshly ploughed field without breaking any. Instead put a cooler and picnic basket in the back, and you could certainly traverse a rocky beach in style.”
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shakingthrough commented on Question of the Week: What Car Would You Choose for a Jolly-Style Conversion?—WINNER’S UPDATE