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Old mid-engine silhouette sedan manufacturer?
kb58 - 12/1/06 at 02:41 AM

Received this from a fellow. Anyone here heard of this manufacturer or this type of car?
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I have a rolling chassis acquired many years ago, it appears that it had been an all-out small sedan “silhouette” type race car. For example, it has a full-width steel monocoque chassis, running gear pirated from a GRD formula car, and was built for a small mid-longitudinal engine and Hewland transaxle. It has a chassis plate from some British fabricator I’ve never heard of (and can’t remember, except it has two letters, like PE Engineering). I think it is a fairly high number, as such things go; maybe 11 or 12. It appears very unlikely that it was a sports-racing or a rally car. Some have suggested to me that there were racing classes in England for cars that were sub-compacts, lowered, with wide tires and fender flares, and with pretty much no rules on mechanical stuff. I have never seen any mention in English sports car magazines of such a format for a race series; maybe it’s not a mainstream activity.


zilspeed - 12/1/06 at 09:28 AM

It sounds very much like what we used to call a GT car back in the 70s and 80s. These either used a proprietary racing chassis covered by a sillhouette body with wild wheelarches and wings or sometimes a home built chassis with the same sillhouette bodywork.
Some of them actually did start life as sports racing cars - some as single seaters. It's pretty much a club level thing these days where it still exists at all.
Much to my regret I have to say. I sort of like the idea of a Cosworth DFV powered Beetle with a sports car chassis, or an AC 3000ME which actually had an F3000 chassis and engine. All of these things existed.

Of course - I could be barking up the wrong tree entirely....


Volvorsport - 12/1/06 at 11:11 AM

could well be ab AC chassis , they use steel monocoques

there was also modpsorts , which davrians cleaned up in !! - The GT and Special Saloons were the next step up , pretty much as been said before they used special chassis with saloon bodywork .

If you can get a picture , that would help even more