Speedex Castings and Accessories Ltd. was a company manufacturing sports car bodies between 1958 and 1962 in
Luton
Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census.
Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...
, Bedfordshire.
It was set up by
Jem Marsh who left Firestone Tyres in 1958 to manage the Luton-based ''Sporting Motorists Agency'' which sold Dante tuning parts for
Austin 7
The Austin 7 is an economy car that was produced from 1922 until 1939 in the United Kingdom by Austin. It was nicknamed the "Baby Austin" and was at that time one of the most popular cars produced for the British market and sold well abroad. ...
-based cars. He left in April 1958 to set up a similar company, SPEEDEX Castings and Accessories Ltd, in a former hat factory at 33 Jubilee Street.
The company moved on to larger premises in Windsor Street and produced the aluminium Speedex 750 body, followed by the glassfibre Silverstone and Sirocco GT Coupe.
Marsh went on to set up the
Marcos
Marcos may refer to:
People with the given name ''Marcos''
*Marcos (given name)
* Marcos family
Sports
;Surnamed
* Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century)
* Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer
* Né ...
Car Company with
Frank Costin
Francis Albert Costin (8 June 1920 – 5 February 1995) was a British automotive engineer who advanced monocoque chassis design and was instrumental in adapting aircraft aerodynamic knowledge for automobile use.
Career
Costin was an engineer ...
in 1962. The remaining Speedex bodies were purchased by
Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
-based Cambridge Engineering who marketed the cars during 1962–3.
References
{{Commons category, Speedex Castings & Accessories
Further reading
historical information on SpeedexBiography of Jem Marsh and photo of the Speedex 750
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Sports car manufacturers
Kit car manufacturers
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1958
Companies based in Luton
1958 establishments in England