Scrapyard Gem: 2006 Ford StreetKa

YORK, England — What the world needs is more Pininfarina-styled two-seat convertibles, right? On the other side of the Atlantic, Ford believed this to be the case and created a very small yet very cool Pininfarina-designed convertible based on the Ford Ka, itself based on the Ford Fiesta Mk3. During my recent trip to the scrapyards of Northern England, I found this 2006 StreetKa in a Yorkshire self-service knacker's yard.

The StreetKa was available from the 2003 through 2006 model years, with just over 37,000 produced during that time.

Australian pop star Kylie Minogue was hired to pitch the StreetKa, and she did a good job.

The engine in the StreetKa car delivered just 94 horsepower, but the car scaled in at a mere 2,339 pounds. It sold for a lot less than a new MX-5 Miata, too.

This one had a mere 42,375 miles on the odometer when it was forcibly retired by what appears to have been a pretty minor fender-bender.

Though I think I'd rather bring over a Peugeot 307 CC to our side of the ocean, neither car will be legal to import to the United States until 2028.