Heron Cars were racing cars, sports and kit cars built in New Zealand between 1962 and 1999 by Ross Baker. They also included a one-off electric car. [1]
The MJ 1 was a two-seater mid-engined coupe designed in 1980 and with prototypes displayed at the 1981 Auckland motor show. Thirty-three orders were confirmed, and the first production version was built in 1984 with engine options ranging from a Fiat 125 4-cylinder engine to V8. Summit Engineering became involved in the Company to provide the necessary finance in return for a two-thirds share. [2] The original concept was a very simple car using reconditioned parts supplied by the customer, with Heron assembling them into a complete roadworthy car. Summit wanted the cars built completely by Summit using mainly new parts. Problems then began to occur with production, causing rising costs, and the MJ1's final demise was caused in 1985 by imported Japanese motor vehicles such as the Mazda RX7 costing less. Finally in a fairly acrimonious mood, Baker brought back the two-thirds share from Summit.
There are known to be 6 prototypes and 19 production models of the MJ1.
The MJ 2+2 was designed in 1985, but none made until 1998 when Roy Hoare approached Baker about building one. There were no moulds, so Hoare agreed to pay to have the moulds made if he could have a body shell. Baker made the moulds and a body. Baker also made an extra body, which was fitted with a Rover V8, motor and five-speed Subaru gearbox. Only two were made.
Designed in 1985 and completed in 1990, it was basically a roofless MJ1 with a 3.5-litre Rover V8 engine. It had a very light aluminium monocoque chassis, Triumph Vitesse front suspension, a five-speed Heron/Škoda gearbox, and unequal length wishbones on the rear.
A replica of the Lotus 23B sports car. [3] Designed in 1962 and built in 1963 with Bob Gee, an experienced boat racer, assisting Baker. It used a Ford Cortina 1500cc engine with twin 45 mm Weber carbs and a Volkswagen 4-speed transaxle. The overall weight of the car was 450 kg. Only one was built.
Ken Richardson, Bob Gee, and Baker built the Mark 2/3 in 1965 and also based on the Lotus 23B but originally intended to use a Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 engine and gearbox from a Chevrolet Corvair. The Corvair engine was unavailable so a Daimler Dart 2558cc V8 connected to a Citroën DS 19 gearbox was installed instead. Three were made, one each for Richardson, Gee, and Baker - this also explains the 3 in the name.
Building commenced in 1967 and finally finished in 1988. It was a replica of the Ford GT Mk4. Powered by a Chevrolet Corvette 327 cu in V8 and running a gearbox designed by Heron.
This car was built for Powerco/ECNZ, the electric supply company in 1995.
Heron also specialised in modifying vehicles for use by the disabled, made small electric trucks, and spray units for orchards.
Lotus Group is a British multinational automotive manufacturer of luxury sports cars and electric lifestyle vehicles.
The Chevrolet Corvair is a compact car manufactured by Chevrolet for model years 1960–1969 in two generations. A response to the Volkswagen Beetle, it remains the only American-designed, mass-produced passenger car with a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. The Corvair was manufactured and marketed in 4-door sedan, 2-door coupe, convertible, 4-door station wagon, passenger van, commercial van, and pickup truck body styles in its first generation (1960–1964) and as a 2-door coupe, convertible or 4-door hardtop in its second (1965–1969) – with a total production of approximately 1.8 million from 1960 until 1969.
The Lotus Europa name is used on two distinct mid-engine GT cars built by British automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars. The original Europa and its variants comprise the Lotus Types 46, 47, 54, 65 and 74, and were produced between 1966 and 1975.
The Lotus Esprit is a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car built by Lotus Cars at their Hethel, England factory, from 1976 to 2004. Together with the Lotus Elise / Exige, it is one of Lotus' most long-lived models.
The Opel Omega is an executive car engineered and manufactured by German automaker Opel between 1986 and 2004. The first generation, the Omega A (1986–1994), superseded the Opel Rekord. It was voted European Car of the Year for 1987, and was available as a saloon or estate. The second generation, the Omega B, was manufactured from 1994 to 2004.
Pony car is an American car classification for affordable, compact, highly styled coupés or convertibles with a "sporty" or performance-oriented image. Common characteristics include rear-wheel drive, a long hood, a short decklid, a wide range of options to individualize each car and use of mass-produced parts shared with other models.
Argyll was a Scottish motor car marque manufactured from 1899 to 1932, and again from 1976 to around 1990.
The Y platform, or Y body, designation has been used twice by the General Motors Corporation to describe a series of vehicles all built on the same basic body and sharing many parts and characteristics. The first was for a group of entry-level compacts including the conventional front-engine compacts built by GM divisions Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac from 1961 to 1963. The second, and current, incarnation is used for a high-end rear-wheel drive sports-car platform from the 1970s through the 2000s.
A transaxle is a single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission, axle, and differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual and automatic versions.
The Opel Monza is an executive fastback coupe produced by the German automaker Opel from 1977 to 1986. It was marketed in the United Kingdom as the Vauxhall Royale Coupé by Vauxhall.
The Powerglide is a two-speed automatic transmission designed by General Motors. It was available primarily on Chevrolet from January 1950 through 1973, although some Pontiac models also used this automatic transmission after the fire at the Hydra-Matic factory in 1953. Powerglides were used extensively on Pontiacs produced for the Canadian market with Chevrolet powertrains. They were also used with Nova engines in the DJ-5A Jeeps produced 1968-1970 by Kaiser-Jeep and widely used as delivery vehicles by the United States Post Office. When introduced on upper-level Chevrolet models in 1950, the Powerglide represented the first automatic transmission offered in a low-priced automobile; in contrast, Ford did not offer their automatic transmission until 1951, while Plymouth car buyers had to wait until 1954. The transmission was simple and very durable, which satisfied customers.
The Rover P6 series is a saloon car produced by Rover and subsequently British Leyland from 1963 to 1977 in Solihull, Warwickshire, England, UK.
Intermeccanica is an automobile manufacturer, founded in Torino, Italy, in 1959 by Frank Reisner. It subsequently moved first to the United States, then to Canada, and is currently headed by Frank's son, Henry Reisner.
The Morgan Plus 8 is a sports car built by British car maker Morgan from 1968 to 2004 and again in revised form between 2012 and 2018. Its instant and enduring popularity has been credited with saving the company and keeping the company famous during the 36 years of its manufacture. Among Morgan enthusiasts, it is deeply associated with Peter Morgan, the owner-chairman behind its design.
The Lotus Elise GT1 is a race car developed for grand tourer-style sports car racing starting in 1997.
Chevrolet Corvair Powerglide is a two-speed automatic transmission designed specially for the then all-new 1960 Chevrolet Corvair compact car that emerged in the fall of 1959 as Chevrolet's competitor in the then booming small car market. The Corvair was powered by a rear-mounted Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 engine that necessitated a specially designed transaxle. Corvair Powerglide took the principles of the standard Chevrolet Powerglide and modified them to suit the rear-mounted powertrain location of the new Corvair. The Corvair used the Powerglide for all 10 years it was produced; from 1961 to 1963, Pontiac used a modified version of Corvair Powerglide it called 'TempesTorque' for its front-engine, rear-transaxle Tempest, LeMans and Tempest LeMans cars.
The ChevroletCorvair Monza GT (XP-777) was a mid-engined experimental prototype automobile built in 1962 and based on the early model Chevrolet Corvair series. As it was essentially a concept car, the Monza GT did not enter production.
A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
Kelmark Engineering was an American automotive specialty shop established in 1969 and based in Okemos, Michigan. It focused on high-performance custom V8 drivetrain swaps, the modification and production of rear and mid-engined cars, and custom-built turn-key automobiles. Until 1986, Kelmark Engineering manufactured kits and complete, finished, turn-key vehicles which were either Volkswagen-based or built on tubular race car-type frames. The outfit gained its name from Russ Keller and Randy Markham, the two co-creators who started the operation. Up until at least 1989, the Kelmark GT was still available as a kit albeit the manufacturer was Kelmark Motors in Holt, Michigan. The cars are all "rare" models, but the Volkswagen-powered Kelmark GT was the most popular.
New Zealand had a long history of small garages and vehicle enthusiasts modifying and creating sports and sports racing cars. Out of these interests grew the New Zealand kit and replica car industry with the introduction of fibre-glass car bodies in the 1950s.
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