A kit car is an automobile available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then assembles into a functioning car. Usually, many of the major mechanical systems such as the engine and transmission are sourced from donor vehicles or purchased new from other vendors. Kits vary in completeness, consisting of as little as a book of plans, or as much as a complete set with all components to assemble into a fully operational vehicle such as those from Caterham.
A steam car is a car (automobile) propelled by a steam engine. A steam engine is an external combustion engine (ECE), whereas the gasoline and diesel engines that eventually became standard are internal combustion engines (ICE). ECEs have a lower thermal efficiency, but carbon monoxide production is more readily regulated.
The Alfa Romeo Alfasud is a small family car manufactured and marketed from 1971 to 1989 by Alfa Romeo as a front-engine, four-door, five-passenger entry-level model over a single generation — with facelifts in 1977 and 1980. There was also a two-door sedan, only available in "ti" trim. Alfa Romeo subsequently introduced a three-door wagon variant, the Giardinetta (1975); two-door coupé, the Alfasud Sprint (1976); three-door hatchback (1981) and finally the five-door hatchback (1982).
The Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint is a boxer-engined coupé produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1976 to 1989, and based on the Alfa Romeo Alfasud. 116,552 units of the Alfasud Sprint and Sprint were built in total. The Sprint was sold in Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
The Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is a mid-engined sports car built by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It is one of the world's first supercars; it was the fastest commercially available car for the standing kilometer when introduced. 18 examples were produced between 1967 and 1969. "Stradale" is a term often used by Italian car manufacturers to indicate a street-legal version of a racing car; indeed the 33 Stradale was derived from the Tipo 33 sports prototype.
The Delfino Feroce is an unproduced British sports car manufactured by Delfino. The prototype was built using the Subaru Impreza power unit and mechanical parts with a Delfino monocoque chassis designed by Andy Borrowman and Sean Prendergast. The prototype along with the moulds was purchased by Allard Marx who then founded Delfino cars. It was powered by a turbocharged flat-4 Subaru engine. It is capable of a 0-60 mph time of under four seconds.
Peter Pellandine was an influential car designer and manufacturer in the field of specials/kit cars and steam-powered vehicles in both the UK and Australia.
Pellandini Cars was a manufacturer of kit cars during the early 1970s that was located in South Australia.
The GTM Coupé is a Mini based kit car dating back to 1967. GTM is an initialism for "Grand Touring Mini". The car was first shown at the 1967 Racing Car Show and soon afterwards went into production by the Cox brothers from their garage in Hazel Grove, Stockport as the Cox GTM. In 1969 the rights to the design and manufacturing were bought by Howard Heerey and the Cox part of the name was dropped. His father's company Midland Garage took over manufacture of the GTM. In April 1980 ownership changed again to GTM Engineering, who upgraded and continued to manufacture the Coupé until 1995.
The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is a sports car produced by Italian marque Alfa Romeo between 2007 and 2010. It was first presented as a concept car at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show. The name refers to the eight-cylinder engine (8C) and Alfa Romeo's racing pedigree. The company received over 1,400 orders for the 8C after the official announcement that the car would enter production. However, only 500 customers ended up with the 8C Competizione and another 329 with the 8C Spider, bringing the production total to 829 cars.
Fiberfab was an American automotive manufacturer established in 1964. Starting with accessories and body parts, they progressed to making kit cars and fully assembled automobiles. They became one of the longest lasting kit car manufacturers.
Quantum Sports Cars was founded by Mark and Harvey Wooldridge in 1987.
Eagle Cars Limited was an English company, based in Lancing, West Sussex, originally operated by Allen Breeze, although it has undergone a number of ownership changes since. Originally making a Jeep lookalike called the RV, between 1981 and 1998 they built several iterations of a gull-winged car called the Eagle SS. The SS was based on an American kit car called the Cimbria, and was brought to the UK by Tim Dutton. In 1988 Eagle Cars moved inland, to nearby Storrington.
Mills Extreme Vehicles (MEV) is a kit car design and manufacturing company based in Gloucestershire, England, founded in 2003.
The Alfa Romeo Caimano is a concept car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign and presented at the Turin Motor Show in 1971. The car is exhibited at the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo.
The Mildren name was used on a series of racing vehicles constructed for, or acquired by, Australian racing team owner Alec Mildren during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Minari Engineering Ltd. was a Limited company based in Staffordshire, UK. They manufactured two vehicles, the Minari Club Sport, and the Minari Road Sport. They specialised in producing the components required to build cars based upon the Alfa Romeo Alfasud and 33 running gear, with bodies mainly constructed from GRP. These could either be purchased in Kit form or through a build agent, Chameleon Cars. Around 130 Mk2 kits were sold before production finally stopped in 2000.
The Alfa Romeo Tipo 103 is a sub-compact front-wheel drive automobile developed by Alfa Romeo in the late 1950s. A prototype powered by a 0.9 L double overhead cam inline-four engine was completed in 1960. Alfa did not put the Tipo 103 into production.
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.
The BS Nymph was a fibreglass monocoque British buggy based on running gear from the Hillman Imp, including its rear-mounted 875 cc engine. While meant by Chrysler UK to enter series production to the tune of 4000 cars per annum, the Chrysler corporation discontinued the Imp before the Nymph was released. Rather than competing globally with the Mini Moke as intended, the Nymph entered small-scale production as a kit car and only 42 cars were finished. The designers, Peter Bohanna and Robin Stables, are perhaps best known for having designed the "Diablo GT", which later was developed into the AC 3000ME.
