Strathcarron Sports Cars plc was a British car manufacturer based in

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

, East Sussex, in business from 1998 until 2001.

Company overview

Strathcarron produced two models while in business between 1999 and 2002, the Strathcarron SC-5A, and the Strathcarron SC-6, which in essence was the same as the SC-5A, only with

ABS plastic Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) (chemical formula (C8H8)''x''·(C4H6)''y''·(C3H3N)''z'' is a common thermoplastic polymer. Its glass transition temperature is approximately . ABS is amorphous and therefore has no true melting point. AB ...

bodywork in place of the more expensive

kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s a ...

and

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

. The company's founder, Ian Macpherson, now Lord Strathcarron, is the son of David Macpherson who was a noted motorcyclist and automotive columnist.Strathcarron SC-5A - Car News
at Car and Driver The goal for the company was to build simple and lightweight cars powered by motorcycle engines. The cars were designed by

Reynard Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, as ...

and used

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

motorcycle engines and were minimalist in terms of options and amenities. Initially, the company planned to send 50 to 60 cars out of their factory once the firm was fully up and running during the year 2000. However, due to changes in the UK's

Single Vehicle Approval {{Use British English, date=March 2017 The single vehicle approval is a test introduced in 1998 by the British government to determine the road worthiness of a vehicle not otherwise type approved within the UK, on a one off basis. Typically used ...

laws during the time Strathcarron was beginning to sell the cars to customers, the company had to go back and reconsider using the engine out of an automobile in order to legally sell the car for public roadway use. An attempt was made to use the

Rover Rover may refer to: People * Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian * Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer * Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist Places * Rover, Arkansas, US * Rover, Missouri, US * ...

K-Series motor, but financial hardship forced the company to shut down before a working prototype could be completed and road tested.Strathcarron
at Pistonheads.com

SC-5A specifications

*Dimensions **Length: **Width: **Wheelbase: **Wheel Track (Front): **Wheel Track (Rear): **Weight: **Seating Capacity: 2 *Powertrain **Engine Type:

Inline 4 A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the e ...

**Displacement: **Sourced from: Triumph Trophy 1200

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

**Valves: 16 valves/4 per cylinder **Horsepower: **HP-to-Weight Ratio: per hp **Transmission: 6-speed manual (

Sequential In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called t ...

) **Drive Wheels: Rear **Engine Placement:

Mid-Engined In automotive engineering, a mid-engine layout describes the placement of an automobile engine in front of the rear-wheel axles, but behind the front axle. History The mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive format can be considered the original layout of ...

*Handling **Wheels: Front 16x6 - rear 16x7 **Tires: Front 205/55/16 - Rear 215/50/17 **Brakes:

Brembo Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy. History Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...

vented discs with AP

brake calipers A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hold ...

**Steering: Unassisted

rack-and-pinion A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear (the ''pinion'') engaging a linear gear (the ''rack''). Together, they convert rotational motion into linear motion. Rotating the pinion causes the rack to be driven i ...

*Performance **0-60 mph Time: 5.6 seconds 2000 Strathcarron SC-5A Information and History
at Concept Carz

References

External links

Single Vehicle Approval
- Official UK Department of Transport documentation Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1998 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2001 {{motorvehicle-company-stub

Company overview

SC-5A specifications

See also

References

External links