Dutton Cars, based in
Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...
, Sussex, England, was a maker of
kit car
A kit car is an automobile available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then assembles into a functioning car. Usually, many of the major mechanical systems such as the engine and transmission are sourced from donor ve ...
s between 1970 and 1989. In terms of number of kits produced, it was the largest kit-car manufacturer in the world.
The company was founded by Tim Dutton-Woolley and run from a small workshop in which a series of cars named P1 was built. In October 1971, the B-Type appeared with a more or less standard specification and based on
Triumph Herald
The Triumph Herald is a small two-door car introduced by Standard-Triumph of Coventry in 1959 and made through to 1971. The body design was by the Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti, and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, ...
components. A move was also made to a larger factory in
Tangmere
Tangmere is a village, civil parish, and electoral ward in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Located three miles (5 km) north east of Chichester, it is twinned with Hermanville-sur-Mer in Lower Normandy, France.
The parish h ...
, Chichester.
Products
Most Duttons depended on a ladder-frame chassis built from steel profiles, which held the various parts taken from the donor car.
After originally using Triumph Herald parts, most Duttons built used
Ford Escort Mk 1 or Mk 2 components.
The B-Type eventually evolved into the Dutton Phaeton. Later versions of the Phaeton were based on
Ford Escort components and were produced until 1989. These were also available as fully built-up cars, in which case they received a 1.6-litre
Ford Crossflow engine with .
In 1979, Dutton launched the Dutton Sierra, an Escort-based estate car with off-road looks. Three years later, the
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
decided to use the Sierra name on their Cortina/Taunus replacement, and served Dutton with a legal writ demanding that they stop using the name. At a case in the High Court in London, though, Dutton won the right to continue with the name on kit cars, as the judge ruled that they were a separate category from assembled cars.
The case was popularly portrayed as a "gritty David and Goliath battle", and provided Dutton with some welcome publicity.
The Sierra was Dutton's best seller for many years, production reaching a peak of 22 cars a week. The model was withdrawn in 1989.
A further move to larger premises back in Worthing was made in 1982 with glass-fibre body making at a separate works in
Lancing.
On the usual rear-wheel-drive Escort underpinnings, Dutton placed the body of the new Rico. It made its debut in October 1984, at the
Birmingham Motor Show
The British International Motor Show is an annual motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders between 1903 and 2008 in England, and as The British Motor Show since 2021 by Automotion Events.
Initially held in London at Th ...
. It used the mechanical parts and doors from a two-door Escort but had a Dutton-developed glass-fibre body over a steel tubular frame. The Rico was a compact and aerodynamic two-door saloon, long and much lighter than the donor car.
[ ''Tutte le Auto del Mondo 1985'', p. 264]
![Hacker Maroc S2 - image 1 of 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Hacker_Maroc_S2_-_image_1_of_2.jpg)
By 1984, 80 people were employed spread over four factories and a large showroom in Worthing – production topped 1,000 a year. By 1989, Tim Dutton had become bored with the kit-car scene and all the designs were sold. A new model had been developed called the Maroc, a heavily modified Ford Fiesta with a convertible body. Initially, it was available as a factory-finished car, but prices became too high, and from 1993, kit versions were made available. The design has been sold on to Novus of
Bolney
Bolney is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex district of West Sussex, England. It lies south of London, north of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester, near the junction of the A23 road with the A272 road. Th ...
, Sussex; availability continued until at least 2006.
After leaving the kit-car business, Tim Dutton operated as a consultant, but returned to the automobile-making business in 1995 with the Dutton Mariner and Dutton Commander, amphibious cars based on the
Ford Fiesta
The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car marketed by Ford since 1976 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and has been positioned below the Escort (later the ...
and
Suzuki Samurai
is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal com ...
. The Dutton Surf, based on the current
Suzuki Jimny
The is a series of four-wheel drive off-road mini SUVs, manufactured and marketed by Japanese automaker Suzuki since 1970.
Originally belonging to the kei class, Japan's light automobile tax/legal class, the company continues to market a kei- ...
, was introduced in 2005. Tim Dutton is now a record holder as the only person to have crossed the English Channel twice in an amphibious car.
![Dutton Surf](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Dutton_Surf.jpg)
Early Dutton kits are now hard to obtain. Most Duttons have already been assembled and are only available to purchase as second-hand cars, usually in need of some restoration. When a Dutton is purchased in kit form, the person building needs a donor car, to provide the engine, gearbox, and many other essential components. Fords are the most common donor cars, especially for Duttons. Most people use donor cars that would no longer be roadworthy and use the spares to create a new kit car.
Models
References
External links
Dutton Owners' clubDutton AmphibianTim Dutton
{{coord missing, West Sussex
Worthing
Kit car manufacturers
Companies based in West Sussex
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom