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A-Z of UK Kitcar Manufacturers – SEPTEMBER 2024. A-Z of UK Kitcar Manufacturers – We endeavour to keep this list updated – we believe it to be THE most accurate and up-to-date listing of the UK’s current kit and specialist car makers. A list featuring ‘fully built only’ makes is under preparation. PLEASE MENTION TOTALKITCAR WHEN ...
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- Microplas Mistral
- Mini Marcos
- Midas
- Kougar Sports
- Cox Gtm/Gtm
- Nova
- Hustler
- GP Buggy
- Status Minipower
- Dutton Phaeton
The ‘specials era’ of the 1950s saw a wide variety of bodyshells reach the marketplace, some being conspicuously better-looking than others. The Microplas Mistral ’shell was among the prettiest of them all, if not necessarily the best made. Variations on the theme would over time be mated to everything from Austin Seven and Ford ‘Pop’ chassis frame...
Endearingly ugly, and huge fun to drive, the Mini Marcos is a kit car that refuses to play dead. Introduced at the 1966 Racing Car Show at Olympia, it remains available still via Marcos Heritage (if you ask nicely). Like its Mini Jem half-sister, it was derived from the DART (Dizzy Addicott Racing Team) ‘special’, and similarly comprised a glassfib...
One of few kit cars ever to receive mainstream acceptance, the Midas (later Midas Bronze) was the brainchild of ex-Jaguar man, Harold Dermott. He acquired the rights to the Mini Marcos in July 1975 and engaged designer Richard Oakes to give it a facelift. That proved impossible, not least because the bodyshell wasn’t even symmetrical, so the scheme...
The Kougar Sports remains something of an anomaly among kit cars of yesteryear in that it was created by individuals steeped in the restoration of historic racing cars. As such, it attracted the sort of customer who wouldn’t cross the road to look at a VW Beetle-based ‘exotic’. It continues to be one of the few kit cars that appeals to the wider cl...
Another hardy perennial, the Grand Touring Mini was conceived by Bob Cox and Jack Hosker in 1966. Like the Mini Marcos, it’s another design that often appeared destined for the embalming table, only to be reanimated. Produced by sometime F3 driver Howard Heerey from 1968, around 170 were made until 1971, before manufacturing rights were acquired by...
Perhaps the most easily recognisible kit car ever to hit the market – with a design that launched a thousand knock-offs – the Nova was another Richard Oakes production. Together with Phil Sayer, he created a Volkswagen Beetle–based ‘exotic’ that slackened jaws when pictures of the car first emerged in late-1971. Its signature feature was a one-piec...
Design legend William Townsconceived what in time became known as the Hustler in July 1978 for JSP Engineering (formerly Jensen Special Projects), the intention being to create a car for developing nations. The Midlander claimed the idea came to him in the bath. He envisaged a machine that could be assembled by seasoned mechanics with access only t...
GP was once a force to be reckoned with in the British kit car industry, producing beach buggies in vast numbers. It was also adept at selling manufacturing rights to its many and varied designs to overseas’ concerns. GP products were made under license as far afield as Belgium and Australia, the USA and Malaysia. It’s fair to say that it cast a lo...
Ex-Lotus man Brian Luff became a manufacturer under the Status banner, his maiden offering representing his idea of how the Lotus Seven S4should have appeared: the Status Symbol – later renamed Minipower – was diametrically opposed to the front-engined product from Hethel with its pressed steel chassis. Luff’s design comprised a tubular spaceframe,...
Tim Dutton-Woolley has been making specialist cars since 1969, and at one point he was by far and away the UK’s most successful manufacturer in terms of sales. Operating at the cheap ’n’ cheerful end of the market, he was quick to spot a niche and fill it, the Phaeton being a case in point. It was one of the few alternatives to the infinitely more ...
- Falcon Competition. This shapely bodyshell was a staple of the 1950s ‘specials’ movement and appeared in various guises and under different names. Elva was an early adopter, while one such ’shell graced a works Austin-Healey Sprite at Le Mans in 1959, as pictured here.
- Mini Marcos. Derived from the one-off Mini DART that also spawned the Mini Jem, this hugely capable little sports car has been in and out of production since 1965.
- GTM Coupé. The mid-engined Grand Touring Mini was launched as the Cox GTM in 1966 and underwent changes of ownership prior to a relaunch under Patrick Fitch and Peter Beck in 1980.
- Opus HRF. Devised by Neville Trickett and Geoff Thomas, this distinctive device marked the jumping-off point for hot-rodding in the UK. Launched in 1967, it wasn’t exactly accurate in terms of looks, but hundreds were made with engines ranging from small Ford four-bangers to American V8s.
Sep 23, 2024 · Launched in 1957 as a kit car, it proved huge fun to drive and offered amazing performance from a humble Ford saloon car engine. In 1973, Lotus wanted to move upmarket and produce fully built cars.
- MEV Exocet. An extremely agile and lightweight, custom space-framed, Miata-based exocar that can be built for under $10,000. Best Value Kit: Like the Eco-Exo, the MEV Exocet is a thoroughly spartan driving machine that was designed to be the most affordable and easiest-to-assemble kit on the market, while still offering sufficient performance.
- DF Kit Car Goblin A/T. An American-made all-terrain mid-engine exocar with a 0-60mph time that rivals that of supercars while costing a fraction of the price.
- Factory Five 818C. An extremely affordable, exotic, mid-engined 2-seater that can be daily driven. Best Overall Kit: Perfectly encapsulating the notion of affordable exclusivity, Factory Five’s 818C is an exotic-looking mid-engined vehicle that can legitimately go toe-to-toe with supercars ten times its price.
- Factory Five 33 Hot Rod. An authentic-looking Depression Era hot rod w/ a variety of American crate engine options. Best Hot Rod Kit: Building a bonafide hot rod requires an enormous amount of work, having to source countless parts and components — many of which are extremely expensive and require permanent modifications.
May 10, 2024 · Smyth’s bestselling kit converts a 1999.5-2010 VW Jetta or Golf into the perfect little pickup. What flair you add from there is up to you. Pricing for the kit starts at $3,590. Smyth claims ...
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The granddaddy of kit cars, the Seven has been in production since 1957 when Colin Chapman’s stripped-back Lotus 7 was made available as a kit to avoid new car tax. Caterham took on the licence in 1973 and still produces cars based on the original series 3 model, either in kit or factory built form.
