National Kit Car Show
Report from the 2017 event.
Iwas a 14-year-old in 1984 when I discovered the world of kit cars, after picking up a component car guide in a newsagents. Flicking through the pages, I was bowled over by the cars I could build for the price a brand-new Ford Escort: a Porsche Speedster (VW Beetle-based, but similar in performance to the original), a Lotus Seven-styled pocket rocket or an open-top Jago Jeep or Eagle RV. That amazement continued when I went to my first kit car show and saw those cars in the flesh.
Looking at the faces of people attending this year’s National Kit Car Motor Show, held on the first May Bank Holiday, they seemed equally amazed at the exotica available. And given the high prices of supercars and classic cars, the kit car market is where you can still find a bargain.
Take the MG Metro 6R4. A genuine one will cost around a quarter-of-amillion pounds – if you can find one – but a replica with Subaru and Audi donor components will cost around a tenth of the price to build and was on display at Stoneleigh for the first time. Similarly, a Ferrari 250 California (soft-top or coupé) is merely a distant dream for most of us, but if you’re willing to have a lookalike or replica, there were two options at the show.
The kit cars at Stoneleigh weren’t solely concerned with replicas and lookalikes, however. Lee Noble, the designer behind the Ultima (the kit car industry’s supercar success story for more than 30 years) and the Noble M-series sports cars, has returned to his roots with a futuristic Ford Mondeo-based beach buggy that was unveiled at the show. It looks rugged and ready for action, but is probably best suited to warmer climates.
Some new releases were works-inprogress, such as Tomasz Ferdek’s modern-looking mid-engined coupé from Poland built from Fiat Seicento and Brava donor components. The supercarstyled Tritium had come all the way from Finland and boasted carbon fibre bodywork with a variety of potential engine options, including electric.
Several old flames returned this year, including the Mini-based mid-engine Cox GTM, which first appeared in 1967. Hambly Sportscars of Kent are now supplying spares ranging from door hinges to a complete steel chassis.
FF Buggies were also back on the scene with several Beetle-based beach buggies. This was good timing as 2017 marks 50 years since beach buggy production started in the UK.
The kit car scene can also be relied upon to help update donor cars. On the Pilgrim stand there was a rolling Beetle floorpan that included a modern front suspension subframe with double upper and lower wishbones, outboard coilovers and rack-and-pinion steering (the Beetle originally used a steering box). This can be bolted onto the front of most Beetles and Transporters, and it’s manufactured in the UK by Red 9 Design of South Yorkshire.
Rocketeer were displaying their Jaguar V6 transplant kit that can be fitted to a Mazda MX-5 Mk1 or Mk2, so they were sharing some stand space with MEV, who make a range of Mx-5-based exo-skeletal kit cars.
The club fields provided a much wider range of kit cars past and present. It was reassuring to see more than 200 Westfields in the Westfield Sports Car Club area, with a couple of them doing fast-action slalom-style rides for £10. Meanwhile, owners of Beetle-based Novas held their annual general meeting. These cars are hopefully being rejuvenated thanks to Yorkshire-based Pie Valley Buggies who have developed a chassis for Beetle-based kits that can use donor components from the MGF and TF, along with the inline V6 engine from Audi and its transaxle. A couple of Nova owners are already working on this conversion.