Unbelievably, the Metro Cooper was not offered as a ‘factory-backed’ conversion, even though it came with a blue chip pedigree. But there was a good reason why John Cooper Garages […]
Frazer established itself as a new car company in 1981, offering this fabulous-looking Tickford Metro, which was first shown at that year’s London Motorfair. The Tickford name was owned by […]
Ladbroke Avon put together an interesting upmarket version of the Acclaim. It was initially only made available through the Henlys franchise, before being offered to a wider audience after the […]
The Towns Hustler: not so much a car, more a way of life… There’s so much more to this amazing kit car than its extraordinary looks – Keith Adams tells […]
The Railton marque, first seen in Britain in the 1930s, was revived in 1989 with a pair of Towns-designed tourers based on the XJ-S convertible. However, it failed on the […]
It seems that few – if any – of these Crayford convertibles actually reached customers before the company decided to concentrate on its Fiesta conversions. And it had a Dr […]
While several companies were quick to start tuning the Metro, Rapport was the first offer a soft-top version. Rapport took a novel approach to maintaining structural rigidity, by leaving half […]
This subtly stretched 800 Sterling revived a name which was abandoned by the Rover Group in 2005. The styling looked rather similar to a factory-developed version of the 800, too… […]
Another name from the Mini’s heyday returned to the mainstream in 1980, turning its attention to the Austin Metro. They were extraordinary vehicles, the Wood & Pickett Laser Metro and […]
You’d be hard-pressed to tell that the stunning Rapport Forte was based on the Jaguar XJ… And now it’s been rediscovered, and is about to be restored to sit alongside […]
And here is the car that the Princess should always have been: Crayford produced its own hatchback versions of the 18-22 Series/Princess, but at a time when the five-door saloon […]
The Torcars Princess Estate was sold through the franchised BL dealer network, and was covered by the BL’s Supercover warranty. The text and pictures at the bottom have been taken […]
The origins of Panther date back to 1971, when Robert Jankel decided that he wanted leave the fashion industry and follow his dream of becoming a creator of exclusive cars. […]
The Owen Sedanca was an amazing coupe, based on the 1970s Jaguar XJ6 and built by Panther Westwinds. Only three were made, but they now have a cult following… […]
Crayford Engineering sought to produce an interesting variation on the TR7 theme, and ended up hatching out this little beauty. The Crayford TR7 Tracer looked awkward, and only one survives, […]
The handsome Lynx Eventer filled a gap in the market for a top-notch sporting estate, and examples could often be seen at the smarter sporting events. Step forward Lynx Engineering‘s […]
Crayford Engineering was founded by David McMullan and Jeffrey Smith in the 1962, their first product being a £100 soft-top conversion for the car of the moment, the Mini. Operating […]
The BMC 1100/1300 was the only BMC/BL model to be offered as both an estate and convertible by Crayford Engineering (although these models were not marketed concurrently). You can also […]
Although it’s not based on an Austin Rover product, we love the Rapport Ritz, and think it makes a fascinating comparison with the equally desirable (and Honda-derived) Avon Triumph Acclaim. […]
When the Series III Jaguar XJ6 was launched in 1979, Mercedes-Benz had the the up-market estate scene pretty much to themselves, with Citroën and Volvo bringing up the rear. However, […]
William Towns is probably most closely associated with Aston Martin, having been responsible for the design of such cars as the svelte DBS and the futuristic Lagonda. However, as early […]
At the 1973 Earls Court Motor Show, BLMC expected the new Allegro to be the centre of attention on the Austin-Morris stand. Instead, it was another car which stole the limelight… […]
Wood & Pickett’s riposte to Radford’s upmarket de Ville… Having seen how Radford’s Mini de Ville conversions were catching on, Wood & Pickett decided that they too could take a […]
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