The Gentry is a British

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 ...

styled to resemble a MG TF. It was offered for sale to the public by RMB Motors of Barwell, Leicestershire from 1974, the original prototype having been completed at the end of 1973. 15 kits were supplied in this first year, rising to over 80 per year produced in 1979. The company was formed by Roger Blockley who had worked for the Triumph Car Company. The car was built on the chassis of a

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, ...

using an angle iron framework which supported aluminum over marine ply body tub panels, aluminum bonnet, engine bay sides and 'fuel tank', with fibreglass wings and doors. The radiator grille was frequently sourced from an MG Magnette ZA/ZB. From 1975 a version was made to fit 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 ...

chassis and running gear, but only 2 of this variant were ever produced. The rights to the car were sold in 1989 to S.P. Motors founded by Gentry owners, Mick Sinclair and Terry Phillips and they developed a Ford-based version of the car. Mick Sinclair left the company in 1997 and the name changed to TP Motors who modified the design to take parts from the Ford Sierra. In 2001 the factory unit was sold and the company closed selling the design in 2002 to the Vintage Motor Car Company based in Doncaster, Yorkshire but few if any cars were made. In 2008 the design moved to new owners Geoff and Ellen Beston who formed the Gentry Car Company based in Nuneaton and restarted production. The company and all rights were sold on again in early 2019 and The Gentry Motor Car Company Ltd was reformed. The Gentry is back in production and the new owners, based in Coventry, are actively looking at additional engine options to complement the original whilst maintaining the MG / Triumph heritage. 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the car. RMB also made an

Austin-Healey 100 The Austin-Healey 100 is a sports car that was built by Austin-Healey from 1953 until 1956. Based on Austin A90 Atlantic mechanicals, it was developed by Donald Healey to be produced in-house by his small Healey car company in Warwick. Heal ...

replica in the 1980s based on MG MGB parts.

External links

Gentry owners web resource

Gentry Register

Gentry Car Company

Gentry Register Forum

References

{{reflist Kit car manufacturers Cars of England