Peerless GT

22Jul12

Die Peerless Cars Ltd. war ein britischer Automobilhersteller, der 1957 bis zur Pleite 1960 in Slough (Berkshire) den Peerless herstellte.

Der Prototyp dieser sportlichen Limousine hieß anfangs Warwick und wurde von Bernie Rodger für die Firmengründer John Gordon und James Byrnes entworfen.

Zu Produktionsbeginn 1957 benannte man den Wagen in Peerless um. Er hatte die Mechanik des Triumph TR3, eingebaut in einen Rohrrahmen mit De-Dion-Hinterachse. Die Karosserie des attraktiven 4-Sitzers bestand aus GFK. Der Wagen zeigte ein gutes Leistungsvermögen, war aber teuer in der Herstellung und die Fertigungsqualität entsprach nicht den gleich teuren Modellen großer Hersteller. Nach rund 325 Exemplaren wurde die Fertigung 1960 eingestellt.

Bernie Rodger zog noch einmal eine Produktion des äußerlich wenig veränderten Fahrzeugs mit großer, vorne angeschlagener Fronthaube, einem steiferen „Space-Frame“-Chassis und einem überarbeiteten Armaturenbrett als Warwick auf.

John Gordon und Jim Keeble nutzten den Peerless-Space-Frame als Basis für den 1960 vorgestellten Gordon GT mit Chevrolet-Motor und einer Karosserie, die von Giugiaro entworfen und von Bertone gebaut wurde. Ab 1964 wurde daraus der Gordon-Keeble.

Quelle:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peerless_Cars

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Further information here:

http://www.peerless-gt.co.uk/

http://www.gordonkeeble.org.uk/~peerless-warwick

Bernie Rodger – racing car designer – and John Gordon teamed up in 1957 to design and manufacture a new sports saloon car to fill a market gap that they perceived, cheaper than the Aston Martin but comparable in performance. Based on current racing car design but using readily available components, they reasoned that a 4 seater GT specification could be marketed at little more cost than the current range of 2 seater sports cars.

The chassis was assembled from 1 inch sq. tubular steel. The engine and gearbox with optional overdrive was standard TR3 giving 100bhp at 5000rpm. The front suspension was also standard TR3 but the rear suspension was a De Dion tube located on standard TR rear springs and telescopic drive shafts from the Salisbury differential unit. The petrol tanks (6 gals. each) were mounted beneath the doors giving wide sills. The body shell was of glass-reinforced plastic, 2-door and built locally in Slough. Performance was good by current standards and the car was capable of 120mph on the new UK motorway system (before the Castle era).

There were about 250 Phase 1 cars built between 1958-9 and a further 46 Phase 2 (minor bodywork changes) cars were built before financial difficulties, a boardroom crisis and sluggish sales closed the business. John Gordon left to join Jim Keeble at this stage whereas Bernie Rodger restarted the company under the name of Warwick. More significant bodywork changes were introduced – namely a front hinged body opening (like the E-type Jaguar) , altered roof guttering and rear end styling but retaining the TR engine & gearbox. Alas, only a further 40 cars were produced before production finally ceased.

The original Peerless with Triumph-prepared mechanics ran at Le Mans in 1958. Only one car started and it finished 16th overall. Of the 350 or so Peerless/Warwicks built, some 70 were exported to the USA where some are being restored and others raced at historic meetings.

Some photos from these sites:

http://www.britishracecar.com/MarkRosenberg-Peerless-GT.htm

http://www.brightonmotorsports.com/node/1164

http://bringatrailer.com/~1958-peerless-gt-coupe

http://bringatrailer.com/~1959-peerless-gt

http://www.autoweek.com/~article-110919908

http://www.conceptcarz.com/~Peerless-GT

http://www.forgottenfiberglass.com/?p=22481