Fairthorpe Cars
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Fairthorpe cars were made in
Chalfont St Peter Chalfont St Peter is a large village and civil parish in southeastern Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe a ...
,
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
, England between 1954 and 1961, from 1961 to 1973 in Denham, Buckinghamshire. Fairthorpe Ltd was founded by
Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...
Donald Bennett. Fairthorpe Ltd remains listed (as does Technical Exponents Ltd) at Denham Green Lane (as at 2007), but Fairthorpe does not trade.


Atom and Atomota

The first cars were lightweight two-seat models powered by motorcycle engines and with glassfibre bodies. The 1954 Atom was powered by a rear-mounted, two-stroke, air-cooled motor cycle engine driving the rear wheels through a three-speed Albion motor cycle gearbox and chain to the back axle. A choice of 250 cc or 350 cc BSA single cylinder and 322 cc Anzani twin-cylinder engines was offered. The body was mounted on a backbone chassis and had all independent suspension by coil springs and hydraulic brakes. 44 were made. The Atomota replaced the Atom in 1957 and was a complete re-design with front-mounted engine and new chassis. The engine was a twin cylinder, 646 cc BSA overhead-valve unit from the
BSA Golden Flash The BSA Golden Flash, commonly referred to as the ''Gold Flash'', was a air-cooled parallel twin motorcycle designed by Bert Hopwood and produced by Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) at Small Heath, Birmingham. The Golden Flash was the first m ...
model. It was coupled to a
Standard 10 The Standard Ten was a model name given to several small cars produced by the British Standard Motor Company between 1906 and 1961. The name was a reference to the car's fiscal horsepower or tax horsepower, a function of the surface area of the ...
gearbox and drove the rear wheels via a propeller shaft and hypoid bevel gear. The suspension used coil springs all round with trailing wishbones at the rear. The number made is uncertain and the last car seems to have been made in 1960.


Electron

In 1956 a new larger car, the open 2-seat Electron appeared using a 1098 cc overhead-cam
Coventry Climax Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocat ...
engine. The front suspension was independent using coil springs and drum brakes were used all round. The engine was expensive for the company to buy resulting in a high price of £1050 (complete) or £734 (kit); only around 20-30 are thought to have been made. A reduced price version the Electron Minor followed in 1957 using the
Standard SC engine The Standard SC engine is a cast-iron overhead valve straight-four engine designed and initially produced by Standard Triumph. Over its production life displacement grew from an initial size of just over 800 cc to nearly 1500 cc. Intr ...
, transmission and rear axle from the
Standard Ten The Standard Ten was a model name given to several small cars produced by the British Standard Motor Company between 1906 and 1961. The name was a reference to the car's fiscal horsepower or tax horsepower, a function of the surface area of the ...
. In 1963 the car received a larger version of the SC engine from the
Triumph Spitfire The Triumph Spitfire is a British sports car and manufactured over five production iterations between 1962-1980. Styled for Standard-Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti, the Spitfire was introduced at the London Motor Show in ...
and front disc brakes came from the same source in 1966. A
hardtop A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed (i.e. not removable), Convertible#Detachable hardtop, detachable for separate storing or retractable ha ...
was available as an option. With various specification changes the cars went from a Mark I to a Mark VI which had a
Triumph GT6 The Triumph GT6 is a 6-cylinder sports coupé built by Standard-Triumph, based on their popular Triumph Spitfire convertible. Production ran from 1966 to 1973. Development history In early 1963 Giovanni Michelotti was commissioned by Standard ...
chassis. It was the mainstay of production until 1973 with about 700 being built. There was also a closed 2+2 version with
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, ...
mechanicals called the Electrina but only about 20 were produced. The cars were available fully assembled or in kit form. Production peaked at about 20 cars a month.


Zeta

The Zeta was introduced in 1959, powered by a modified six-cylinder
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 ...
engine of 2553 cc. It was offered in a choice of three stages of tune, with up to six carburettors and a
BRM British Racing Motors (BRM) was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945 and based in the market town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, it participated from 1951 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning seventeen. BRM wo ...
cylinder head, priced at £1,198, £1,281 and £1,407 respectively; the basic kit was available for £740. Very few, probably five, were made.


Rockette

A new version of the Zeta, the Rockette, was introduced in 1962. Sporting a slightly modified glass-fibre body shell and using a
Triumph Vitesse The Triumph Vitesse is a compact six-cylinder car built by Standard-Triumph from May 1962 - July 1971. The car was styled by Giovanni Michelotti, and was available in saloon and convertible variants. The Vitesse name was first used by Austin ...
1600 cc engine and Triumph independent front suspension. It was priced at £997, or £625 in kit form. Approximately 25 were made up to 1967.


TX

In 1967 Donald Bennett's son Torix joined the company and a new car the TX-GT coupé based on a
Triumph GT6 The Triumph GT6 is a 6-cylinder sports coupé built by Standard-Triumph, based on their popular Triumph Spitfire convertible. Production ran from 1966 to 1973. Development history In early 1963 Giovanni Michelotti was commissioned by Standard ...
chassis but with transverse rod independent rear suspension was announced. The engine was the 1998 cc unit also from the GT6. By this time the market for hand-built small production cars was declining and the last model, the TX-S was a modified TX-GT with a variety of engines and the choice of the standard GT6 rear suspension. It could also be had as the TX-SS with Triumph fuel-injected engines. Only about 30 of the TX cars were made. Another car, the TX Tripper, was produced by Torix's company, Technical Exponents, which shared premises with Fairthorpe. Looking like a psychedelic cross between a beach buggy and a sports car it was marketed as a TX and offered with either the Triumph chassis or a TX designed chassis. Triumph engines powered its various models: 1300, 2000, and 2500. About 20 were made.


Cars

* Fairthorpe Atom (1954–57): 250 cc to 650 cc, chain drive * Fairthorpe Atomota (1958–60): 650 cc, live rear axle * Fairthorpe Electron (1956–65): Coventry Climax engine. Front disc from 1957. Final version with Triumph Spitfire engine. Body
Microplas Microplas Limited was formed in 1954 in Uxbridge by group of 750 Motor Club members. They were Mike Eyre, Roger Everett, Bill Ashton, Sandy Wemyss, Tony Wemyss, and one other who was associated with the Hunting family. The Huntings were among the ...
Mistral. * Fairthorpe Electron Minor (1957–73): Standard 10/Triumph Herald engine. Final version on Triumph GT6 chassis with Spitfire engine (1968). * Fairthorpe Electrina (1961–63): closed 4-seat version of the Electron * Fairthorpe Zeta (1959–65): racing version * Fairthorpe Rockette (1963–67): as Zeta but with Triumph Vitesse engine * Fairthorpe TX-GT (1967–76): 2-seat coupe with Triumph 2-litre 6-cylinder engine * Fairthorpe TX-S and TX-SS: (1969–76): similar to the TX-GT but with a wider variety of engine and transmission packages, all Triumph.


See also

*
List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom :''This list is incomplete. You can help by adding correctly sourced information about other manufacturers.'' As of 2018 there are approximately 35 active British car manufacturers and over 500 defunct British car manufacturers. This page lists ...


References

Citations Bibliography * {{refend


External links


Fairthorpe Sports Car Club website
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Kit car manufacturers Companies based in Buckinghamshire