Basil Green Motors (

VIN Vin or VIN may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Vîn TV, a Kurdish language satellite television channel founded in 2007 * ''Vos Iz Neias?'', an American Jewish online news site * Coastal radio station VIN Geraldton (callsign), a statio ...

: BG) is a former

car manufacturer This is a list of notable automobile manufacturers with articles on Wikipedia by country. It includes companies that are in business as well as defunct manufacturers. Only companies that have articles here are included. A Algeria * SNVI ...

and racing team which is located in

Edenvale, Gauteng Edenvale is a small city on the East Rand in Gauteng, South Africa. The greater Edenvale area has an estimated population of 70,000, including Greenstone, Harmelia, Highway Gardens, Buurendal and Croydon. Edenvale is part of the Ekurhuleni Metropol ...

near

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa. The company has specialised in

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

vehicles, in which the manufacturer's models are recognised by the brand name ''Perana'' added to the model name. The name Perana is a deliberate misspelling, as ''Piranha'' already had been protected. Currently the company is active as a dealer of Ford and

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

vehicles. Founded in 1967 by Basil Green the company dealt with

engine tuning Engine tuning is the adjustment or modification of the internal combustion engine or Engine Control Unit (ECU) to yield optimal performance and increase the engine's power output, economy, or durability. These goals may be mutually exclusive; a ...

of Ford vehicles and participated in a variety of races as racing team. After winning several races the Ford Motor Company became aware of the company and used the company for some of the South African models as a kind of in-house tuner.

Cortina Mk II

The first model of the manufacturer was the Ford Cortina Perana V6, which was launched in 1967 as a tuning model.

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

began one year later in the summer. ''Grosvenor Motors'', then the largest Ford dealer in South Africa, took over the sales. The price was 2950

Rand The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

. The standard version was based on the

Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in fi ...

Mk II GT. For the units ordered by the

Gunston Cigarette Company Gunston is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Bill Gunston (1927–2013), aviation and military author *Jack Gunston (born 1991), Australian rules footballer *Gunston baronets **Sir Derrick Gunston, 1st Baronet (1891–1985), Brit ...

, the Ford Cortina XL was used as basis. The Ford Essex engine with 2994 cc was used as engine. This was taken from the

Ford Zephyr The Ford Zephyr is an executive car manufactured by Ford of Britain from 1950 until 1972. The Zephyr and its luxury variants, the Ford Zodiac and Ford Executive, were the largest passenger cars in the British Ford range from 1950 until their r ...

as well as the powertrain. After the conversion and lowering the Cortina Perana V6 was 64 kg heavier than the Ford standard model. Recognition features of the Cortina Perana V6 are a black strip over the bonnet, a black front grille and black coloured rims.

Escort Mk I

The second model of the manufacturer was 1968 the sports car Ford Escort ''Perana''. Ford wanted to use the RS 1600, but the Cosworth BDA engine proved too complex for South Africa. So Basil Green made new plans and fitted the four cylinder engine of the

Ford Pinto The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1971 until 1980 model years. The Pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produced by Ford in North America. The Pinto was marketed ...

. The removed RS 1600 engines Basil Green sold for 695

as ideal for among others the Escort.

Capri Mk I

The next model, the ''

Ford Capri The Ford Capri is a fastback coupé built by Ford of Europe, designed by Philip T. Clark, who was also involved in the design of the Ford Mustang. It used the mechanical components from the Mk2 Ford Cortina and was intended as the Euro ...

Perana'' came out in 1969 as V6 version. About 20 units of this model were built; the top speed was 186 km/h. As Ford offered the Essex engine as standard from 1970 on, Basil Green had to take a more powerful engine. So he replaced the V6 with the

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area *Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wind ...

V8 of the

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...

. Technically the Capri Perana was a mix of the Australian

Ford Falcon (XW) The Ford Falcon (XW) is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1969 to 1970. It was the third iteration of the second generation of the Falcon and also included the Ford Futura (XW) and the Ford Fairmont (XW)—the luxury-orien ...

and the American Ford Mustang. It was sold with a 4 speed

Ford Toploader transmission A Toploader transmission is a manually shifted gearbox design built in three-speed and four-speed configurations, introduced in 1963 by the Ford Motor Company to replace the BorgWarner T-10. It was used in most Fords and Mercurys from 1964 until 1 ...

and the 3 speed C4

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving c ...

. In the beginning the price for this car was 4,450 Rand. Top speed was 228 km/h, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h was possible in 6.7 seconds (automatic version 7.0 sec). Officially the Capri Perana was only sold in "Bright Yellow" and "Piri Piri Red", but some cars were painted in different colours, for example Basil Green's Perana naturally was green. The cars were manufactured by Ford of South Africa (a subsidiary of the

Ford Motor Company of Canada Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited ( French: ''Ford du Canada Limitée'') was founded on August 17, 1904, for the purpose of manufacturing and selling Ford automobiles in Canada and the British Empire. It was originally known as the Walkerville ...

). Production ended in 1973.

Racing

Based on the Capri Perana V8 racing cars were built for the

South African Saloon Car Championship South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

. The Z 181 was the only

Group 5 Group 5 may refer to: *Group 5 element, chemical element classification *Group 5 (racing) Group 5 was an FIA motor racing classification which was applied to four distinct categories during the years 1966 to 1982. Initially Group 5 regulations defi ...

car and won 13 of 14 races in the 1970 season and topped the lap records on every course. After a change of the rules to stop this dominance, Basil Green built 6 cars for the

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in a ...

. One of these cars won the championship in 1971, the A2 in 1972. Z 181 and A2 were sponsored by the Gunston Cigarette Company, while the others were driven by private drivers. Technical modifications were made especially to the engine. It got 4x48 down draft twin choke

Weber carburetor Weber Carburetors is an automotive manufacturing company founded in 1923, known for their carburetors. History Eduardo Weber began his automotive career working for Fiat, first at their Turin plant (in 1914) and later at a dealership in Bologna ...

s and had about 400 hp. Top speed was higher than 250 km/h. Brakes stayed the same as in V6 Capris, except that racing pads were built in. C-shaped single leaf springs were used at the rear axle to allow room for the 14.5" rims. Peter Lindenberg rebuilt Z 181 from scratch and still drives it in historic races. A2 was found in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

and rebuilt by a collector near

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. One of the other cars had an accident at the

Kyalami Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit (from ''Khaya lami'', ''My home'' in Zulu) is a motor racing circuit located in Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa, just north of Johannesburg. The circuit has been used for Grand Prix and Formula One races and has ho ...

Grand Prix Circuit with Basil Green at the wheel and were never rebuilt. What happened to the other cars is not known.

Cortina Mk III

When the Cortina Mk III came out Basil Green brought the second generation of the Cortina Perana V6 on the South-African market in 1972. These models, also known as ''Cortina Big Six'', got the same engines as their predecessors.

Granada Mk I

{{Infobox automobile , name = Granada V8 , image = Granada Perana.jpg , caption = Ford Granada V8 , manufacturer = Basil Green Motors , assembly = South Africa , production = 1973–1977 , designer = Introduced in 1973 the Ford Granada V8 has been the only model by Basil Green Motors not getting the name ''Perana''. The engine was the Windsor V8 with 302 cui (5 litres). Transmission has been automatic or manual. With a top speed of 207 km/h and an acceleration of 7.8 seconds from stand to 100 km/h the car became the favourite of Ford's chairman

Lee Iacocca Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive best known for the development of the Ford Mustang, Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, an ...

. Ford Cologne bought two of these cars to explore if they were suitable for the European market. The oil price shock ended these plans.

Escort XR3

After years without a change in the model range Basil Green Motors presented the Escort XR3 in 1980. For the first time in the corporate history the performance increase was not by a change of the engine but classic tuning like another carburettor. Maximum speed of the Perana XR3 was 183 km/h.

Sapphire

2 years later Basil Green Motors presented the ''Ford Sapphire Perana''. A few years later this car was produced by

Samcor The South African Motor Corporation, more commonly known as Samcor, was a South African car manufacturer created in 1985 through the merger of Ford Motor Company of Canada's South African subsidiary and Sigma Motor Corporation (previously known a ...

to satisfy the demand. The Sapphire was available as a 3.0 litre- (222 km/h) and a 3.4-litre- (236 km/h) version. The Sapphire 3.4 was produced by ''JT Development''.

Movies

''Ford Capri Perana V8''
at a 1/4-mile run on the

Santa Pod Raceway Santa Pod Raceway, located in Podington, Bedfordshire, England, is Europe's first permanent drag racing venue for 1/4 and 1/8 mile racing. It was built on a disused Second World War air base, (RAF Podington), once used by the USAAF's 92nd Bomb ...

External links

Official website of the ''Basil Green Motors''FordMazda

''Basil Green Perana'' enthusiasts' site

''Basil Green Motors'' on capri-v8.de

The ''Ford Capri Perana'' on carsablanca.de
South African auto racing teams Car manufacturers of South Africa 1967 establishments in South Africa Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1967 Sport in Gauteng Companies based in Germiston fr:Perana#La première époque