Hispakart was a Spanish kart and racing car constructor based in Madrid, Spain. The company was founded in 1961 by Ramon Lopez Villalba.

History

Ramon Lopez achieved degrees in mechanics while doing military service at Aeródromo Militar de León in 1952. After working as an airplane mechanic at Iberia and

Aviaco Aviación y Comercio, S.A., doing business as Aviaco, was a Spanish airline headquartered in the ''Edificio Minister'' in Madrid."World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. 16 May 1981. p1411 "Maudes 51, Edificio Minister, Madrid 3, Spai ...

Lopez went to work in his fathers garage in Madrid. In 1958 Lopez met Demetrio del Val, a Spanish motorcyclist who went to the U.S. to race

karts Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...

. Lopez built his first kart with a Montesa engine and Vespa tyres. Lopez entered Portuguese driver Serafín Martins in a kart race at

Buen Retiro Park The Buen Retiro Park (Spanish: ''Parque del Buen Retiro'', literally "Good retirement park"), Retiro Park or simply El Retiro is one of the largest parks of the city of Madrid, Spain. The park belonged to the Spanish Monarchy until the late 19th ...

on November 1, 1960. Martins won the race in the Lopez built 'Plantilla'. Hispakart was founded in 1961. Demetrio del Val ordered seven karts. The following year a kart team was created: Los Diablos Rojos (The Red Devils). The team was composed of Lopez, Martins and American driver Robert Shelton. Shelton was based at Torrejón Air Base, near Madrid. The Hispakarts were powered by McCulloch engines. The team achieved countless victories. Lopez competed in the 100cc Karting World Championships racing against Ronnie Peterson, Toine Hezemans and many others. Hispakart started constructing racing cars in 1965. After seeing Tecno Formula 4 cars Lopez decided to start constructing cars for the Spanish championship.

Jorge de Bagration Jorge de Bagration y de Mukhrani or Giorgi Bagration-Mukhraneli or George Bagration of Mukhrani ( ka, გიორგი (ხორხე) ბაგრატიონ-მუხრანელი, tr; 22 February 1944 – 16 January 2008) was a S ...

imported a Tecno K250 and showed it to Lopez. Lopez copied the design and chassis without a licence to do so. Hispakart built 26 chassis. Prince Luitpold of Bavaria was one of the drivers. Hispakart had become one of the largest Formula 4 constructors in Spain. In 1968 Hispakart built the GT. Influenced by the Artes Campeador, built by Selex, the car was unveiled at the 1967

Barcelona Motor Show The Automobile Barcelona is an auto show held every second year at Fira de Barcelona's Montjuïc Exhibition Centre in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain). Established in 1919, the Automobile Barcelona is one of the biggest trade fairs held ...

. The car had a tubular steel chassis and a fiberglass bodywork. The bodywork was built but the car was never completed.

SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

launched the

Formula 1430 The Formula 1430 was founded in 1971 as the Formula Nacional. It was a junior formula racing series based in Spain. History Spanish car manufacturer SEAT launched the Formula Nacional in 1971. In the same era the Formula Ford (Great Britain), ...

in 1971. The class was effectively the successor of the Formula 4. Hispakarts first Formula 1430 car was built from unsold parts from the Formula 4 cars. Gregorio van Dulken started the first ever Formula 1430 race in a Hispakart from the second starting place. Van Dulken did not finish the race as he was involved in a multi car accident. Selex and

Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

dominated the Formula 1430. Argentine driver Carlos Alberto Jarque, managed by

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

, entered the Formula 1430 championship in 1974. But the season was disappointing and Jarque could not achieve any notable results. In 1972 a fire broke out in the Hispakart workshop located at the Calle de Padilla in Madrid. The workshop, and all the cars in it, were completely destroyed. Lopez opened a new workshop at Calle de Palermo. The company did not construct any more racing cars. Lopez started a Renault dealership. Hispakart continue to design and build new karts and trailers until the 1990s.

Cars

References

Hispakart History

External links

Official Hispakart website
{{Automotive industry in Spain Kart manufacturers Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Spain Manufacturing companies based in Madrid Racecar constructors Sports car manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1961 Spanish companies established in 1961