Jeff,
A friend of mine at DaimlerChrysler is an avid collector and
preservationist of the Berkeley sports car. I would be pleased to put you
and any other interested parties in touch with him. It was a small British
Sports Car similar to a GSM Delta and other specialty cars with glassfibre
molded bodies that were popular during the late 1950's. The berkeley was
manufacturd from 1956 (Sports Anzani), 1957 (Sports Excelsior & Sports), 1958
(Sports 4), 1959 (B95, Q95, and QB95), 1960 (B105) and 1961 (Bandit).
The original company was formed when a caravan company (RV trailer
manufacturer) decided to join the Britihs car cottage industry and apply its
molding experience to building a car body. The original 2 cylinder engines
were just 300 cc in displacement, which was upped to a whopping 492 cc in
1957. As you can guess, the cars were very small with a wheelbase of only 70
inches and were 10 ft 3 inches in lengthand took over 30 seconds to reach 50
mph.
The last model, the 1961 Bandit utilized a 997 cc 4 cylinder engine and
had respectable small sports car performance, similar to a Bugeye Sprite with
a wheelbase of 82 inches and an overall length of 12ft 1 inch.
The demise of the company came in 1961, when the owner needed capital and
attempted to merge with the Bond Motorcar Company. The merger fell through
and the company folded.
Let me know if you are interested in contacting the Berkeley
preservationists.
Best regards,
Gary L
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