Berkeley - not a kit car, built by the Berkeley factory in England - the first ones had a 2 cyl air cooled 2 stroke in the front driving the front wheels, later cars had a 3 cylinder (that's what this one has)
The Berkeley automobile was a collaboration between designer Lawrence "Lawrie" Bond and the Berkeley Coachworks factory owned by Charles Panter, which at the time was one of the largest manufacturers of caravans in Europe. It was an ideal project for Berkeley, who had developed considerable skills in the use of Glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), and were looking for something to fill the gaps in the very seasonal caravan market. What Panter and Bond wanted to achieve was "something good enough to win World 750cc races... but cheap, safe, easily repairable and pretty."
The early cars were an immediate success on the home market, and several derivative models were spawned over the four years of car production. Export markets, most notably the United States, were exploited and the cars earned a reputation for fun, if fragile, sports motoring on a budget. Recognising the threat posed by the newly introduced Mini and Austin-Healey Sprite in the late fifties, the company started to develop are a more conventional model with the support of Ford.
The caravan market collapsed towards the end of 1960, and Berkeley's poor cash flow forced the company into liquidation on 12 December 1960, taking its car manufacturing activities with it. After having produced about 4100 cars of various types, the workforce was laid off shortly before Christmas that year. An attempted sale of the company to Sharp's Commercials Ltd (manufacturer of the Bond Minicar) came to nothing, and the company's assets were liquidated in 1961
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:cornut: What make of car is the red convertible roadster?
Jason -
:cornut: Thank you.
Jason -
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