RW Karma, a Ferrari Dino 246 GT replica | |
Private | |
Industry | Motoring |
Founded | 1983 |
Founder | Roger Woolley |
Defunct | 2000 |
Headquarters | Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire , England |
Products | Motor cars |
RW Kit Cars Ltd. was an English manufacturer of kit cars, founded in 1983 by Roger Woolley.
A kit car is an automobile that is 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.
In 1984 RW Kit Cars took over Perry Automotive Development's Karma project. Perry had been manufacturing the Karma, which was designed by Custom Classics of California, since 1982. It is a fibreglass copy of the Ferrari Dino 246 GT, built around the floor pan of a Volkswagen Beetle, a popular choice of donor vehicle at the time. RW continued to sell the VW-based car, but also added a new backbone chassis that allowed the engine to be mid-mounted and Ford components to be used as an alternative to the VW option. [1]
Fiberglass (US) or fibreglass (UK) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet, or woven into a fabric. The plastic matrix may be a thermoset polymer matrix—most often based on thermosetting polymers such as epoxy, polyester resin, or vinylester—or a thermoplastic.
The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German the Käfer, in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, intended for five occupants, that was manufactured and marketed by German automaker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003.
Backbone tube chassis is a type of automobile construction chassis that is similar to the body-on-frame design. Instead of a two-dimensional ladder-type structure, it consists of a strong tubular backbone that connects the front and rear suspension attachment areas. A body is then placed on this structure. It was first used in the English Rover 8hp of 1904 and then the French Simplicia automobile in 1909.
The Chopper is a tricycle powered by a VW Beetle engine. It was produced from 1983 until 1984, during which time about five were made. [2]
A tricycle, often abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered three-wheeled vehicle.
The Taurus is a Lamborghini Countach replica based on the VW Beetle. It was manufactured from 1984 until 1985, during which time about 32 were produced, most of them exported to Germany. [3]
The Lamborghini
The 427 is a replica of the AC Cobra, manufactured from 1988 until 1990. About 28 were built, 18 of them with a front engine and rear-wheel drive configuration, and 10 for export to France based on the VW floor pan. [3]
The AC Cobra, sold as the Shelby Cobra in the United States, is an Anglo-American sports car with a Ford V8 engine, produced intermittently in both the UK and the US since 1962.
The Meyers Manx dune buggy is a small recreationally-oriented automobile, designed initially for desert racing by Californian engineer, artist, boat builder and surfer Bruce F. Meyers. It was produced by his Fountain Valley, California company, B. F. Meyers & Co. from 1964 to 1971, in the form of car kits applied to shortened chassis of Volkswagen Beetles. The car line dominated dune racing in its time, breaking records immediately, and was eventually also released in street-oriented models, until the company's demise due to tax problems after Meyers's departure. New vehicles inspired by the original Manx buggy have been produced by Meyers's re-founded operation, Meyers Manx, Inc., since 2000. The name and cat logo of the brand derives from the Manx cat, by virtue of the tailless breed's and the shortened vehicle's truncated "stubbiness".
The Volkswagen Type 181 is a two-wheel drive, four-door, convertible, manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen from 1968 to 1983. Originally developed for the West German Army, the Type 181 was also sold to the public, as the Kurierwagen in West Germany, the Trekker in the United Kingdom, the Thing in the United States (1973–74), the Safari in Mexico and South America, and Pescaccia in Italy. Civilian sales ended after model year 1980.
The Volkswagen Brasília is a rear-engined compact car, manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen in Brazil between 1973 and 1982; in Mexico from 1974-1982; and as knock down kits in Nigeria where it was marketed as the Igala from 1976-1980.
The Volkswagen Country Buggy is a small utility vehicle designed and built by Volkswagen in Australia and the Philippines. It used parts from the existing Type 1 and Type 2. Production ran from 1967 to 1968. A derivative of the Country Buggy called the Sakbayan was built in the Philippines for several years until 1980.
The Avenger GT was a kit car designed in California and manufactured in the United States and Canada, primarily in the 1960s and early 1970s. The car was manufactured by Fiberfab, a company founded by Warren "Bud" Goodwin and was the successor to the Fiberfab Aztec. The car was styled to resemble the Ford GT of racing fame in the 1960s, often referred to as the GT40. These Fiberfab creations were the first kit-cars available that followed the lines and styling of the GT40; thus, popularizing and developing the kit-car industry to new heights and starting the whole tribute / replicar GT40 industry that follows today.
The Volkswagen air-cooled engine is an air-cooled boxer engine with four horizontally opposed cast-iron cylinders, cast aluminum alloy cylinder heads and pistons, magnesium-alloy crankcase, and forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods.
Fiberfab Velocidad Inc was an American kit car manufacturer founded by Warren "Bud" Goodwin in 1964.
Sterling Sports Cars was an American automobile company based in Wilmington, Delaware that designed and manufactured assembly kits for replicars and supercars.
Dax Cars is a British sports car manufacturer founded in 1968 and based in North Weald, Essex, England.
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.
Brockmore Classic Replicas Limited was a British automotive manufacturer.
Carcraft Engineering was a British manufacturer of automobiles.
The Stimson Scorcher is a three-wheeled vehicle designed by Barry Stimson and first produced in the UK in 1976. The Scorcher was available preassembled or as a kit, sold by Noovoh Developments of Brighton for £385.
The Stimson Sting is a three-wheeled motor vehicle designed by Barry Stimson. Available as a kit car, it was introduced into the UK in 2002 and continued in production until 2007, although only one was built in that time. The Sting has two wheels at the front and two seats, along with a conventional car steering wheel.
The Stimson Storm is a three-wheeled motor vehicle designed by Barry Stimson, and offered for sale as a kit car. It was introduced into the UK in 2002 and continued in production until 2007, although only one was built during that time.
The Midas Bronze is a Mini-based kit car designed by Richard Oakes and manufactured by D&H Fibreglass Techniques, set up by Harold Dermott and Maurice Holt in 1975. Their initial production facility was in Oldham, England, but when they outgrew that they moved to larger premises in Corby.
The DRK is a three-wheeled kit car produced by DRK Kits of Ellesmere Port, England, between 1987 and 1998. The car was introduced at the Cheshire Kit Car show in May 1986, where its positive reception prompted the formation of the company to build it.
Blackjack cars, founded by Richard Oakes in 1996, is a manufacturer of three-wheeled kit cars based in Helston, Cornwall, England. The company's first car, the Blackjack Avion, was produced from 1996 until 2004, replaced by the VW Beetle-engined Blackjack Zero. In 2008 a lighter variant of the Zero known as the Blackjack Guzzi was introduced, the name derived from the Moto Guzzi motorcycle engine that powers it.
The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.