Some of the most traveled vehicles to ever hit the road are pickup trucks, and for good reason. Many people use them for work, which involves driving the highways day in and day out, fulfilling delivery orders and traveling thousands of miles in the process. One of the few things necessary to slow such people down is occasional stops for fuel, but the fitting of dual tanks allowed the driver to easily switch from one tank to the other, negating the need to stop so often. The extra range was not the only advantage of the twin tanks; they also helped with weight distribution, and if a fuel pump failed you could simply switch to the other tank and continue driving.
This feature has become all but redundant in modern trucks, largely thanks to the implementation of much more efficient powertrains, meaning one tank can probably get you as far on a new truck as two tanks in an old V8-powered something or other.
However, old trucks weren’t the only vehicles on the road with twin tanks. For similar reasons, some classic cars also have more than one gas tank – and we’re not just talking about a small extra tank. On the contrary, older cars designed for grand touring adventures also benefited from longer range, as did a certain old-fashioned rally car, and a puny little commuter too.
These classics were all equipped with double tanks from the factory
Starting with those classic GTs we find a selection of tasteful European offerings, including the Lamborghini Countach and the angular Lamborghini Espada. Like those old-school pickups, these thoroughbreds were designed to travel hundreds of miles with ease, and the twin tanks allowed them to do so without hindrance. The Espada and Countach both got their motivation from naturally aspirated V12 engines, so you can imagine how quickly that gas would disappear on open European highways.
Although not as exotic, other sports and luxury cars of the era also featured twin tanks, such as the Sunbeam Alpine Series III and early versions of the Jaguar XJ range. Not to say that old pickups are boring to drive, as they certainly have a unique charm of their own, but we bet it’s a lot more fun to get behind the wheel of one of these dual-tank sports, luxury, GT or supercars.
There were other nice cars with twin tanks, albeit from the opposite end of the automotive spectrum. Take the original Mini Cooper S for example. The twin tanks not only allowed you to travel longer distances without stopping, but they also helped the scrappy underdog achieve rally success by increasing range and providing better weight distribution.
On the even smaller side, the small BMW Isetta was also sold with two tanks: the 3-gallon primary tank and a smaller ¾-gallon reserve tank. When the larger tank is running low, simply switch to the reserve tank and find a gas station. Of course, no one drives long distances in an Isetta, but the extra tank could at least save you from getting stranded while grocery shopping.
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