The Costin Sports Roadster is a lightweight mid-engined

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

that was intended for initial launch in the mid-1990s. A prototype test bed chassis was finished in 1991 at Costin Ltd in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The original Costin Cars were designed by the aerodynamicist

Frank Costin Francis Albert Costin (8 June 1920 – 5 February 1995) was a British automotive engineer who advanced monocoque chassis design and was instrumental in adapting aircraft aerodynamic knowledge for automobile use. Career Costin was an engineer ...

. Costin had previous associations with

Vanwall Vanwall was a motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall bearings ...

, Lotus, Maserati, and Dealer Team Vauxhall (DTV) for race car chassis designs. A modern design update of the original Costin Sports Roadster, was designed and hand sculpted full size in wood and plastic filler by William P. (Bill) Barranco in 1994 in London UK. In absit 1995, the first two (2) prototypes were built in the mid nineties with revised body styling but was not road registered until recently. In total 6 chassis were constructed and 2 bodies were produced from the FRP molds. The company Costin Ltd went into liquidation following unsuccessful attempts to find funding for the venture.

See also