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Fiber Dreams: The Legendary Lotus

World War II changed everything. Millions of young people were recruited and sent to the battlefields, where they had the opportunity to come into contact with the high technology of the moment. Those with luck returned home; some with dreams far beyond finding a job, getting married and starting a family. In love with speed, the time was ripe for them to make them come true.

In the heat of the needs imposed by the terrible conflict, faster airplanes, more robust tanks, innovative and versatile automobiles were designed… The uses of new materials and production techniques were revolutionary; and, therefore, it became necessary to train engineers, pilots and drivers en masse. As never before, since, until the outbreak of war, cars and racing, at least in Europe, were a matter for the rich.

One of those cutting edge materials was fiberglass. Invented in the United States in the mid-1949s, it was an interesting compound: robust, flexible and low in weight, ideal for the construction, first, of small aircraft components and, later, of light and especially fast boat hulls. . It would not be until 2 when the first car body was manufactured, destined for the Glaspar GXNUMX, a special craft assembled in the Land of the Free.

glasspar-g2_640_def

The reader may not know what a special. It is what we understand today by kit car: that is, a vehicle made with normally second-hand parts, according to the specifications of its future owner. Consequently, as they are artisan vehicles, no two specials can be alike.

And, it is curious how, currently, the term kit car means the same as special. When it emerged, it was referring to cars that, like the Lotus Elan, could be sold disassembled. Once at the home of its happy owner, he would assemble all the parts -completely new, not second-hand- of the kit, to finally submit the result to the factory in order to obtain the official guarantee.

In any case, it seems logical that the first mass-produced car with a fiber body was also North American. And so it was, when, in 1953, the brand new Chevrolet Corvette went on sale. The first Vette it is today and will always be of this compound ... Although it did not serve as an inspiration to his compatriots and, from then on, the focus of development of the new material shifted to the United Kingdom.

1953 Corvette: the first to be mass produced
1953 Corvette: the first to be mass produced

At the urging of its importer in the USA, who had run with Glasspars, the British brand Singer picked up the baton. Specifically, the purpose of its managers was to avoid bankruptcy by revitalizing the 4AD model, sold immediately before the war, although it must be said that the execution of the idea was quite improvable and that Singer had to be bought by the Rootes Group. . Still, what could be done with a little money and fiberglass was highlighted, and indeed the most interesting and dynamic phase of sports car manufacturing on the island was about to begin.

You will know many of the brands: Lotus, TVR, Marcos ... Others, such as Elva, Ginetta, Berkeley or Rochdale, will probably have gone unnoticed. Be that as it may, almost none of them survive to this day; even Lotus itself is on the brink, ripped apart by an overly ambitious board of directors.

We are going to dedicate the first part of this brief review of the history of fiberglass to Lotus, the queen of the category; leaving TVR and Marcos, the other two big brands, for the second. In the third we will talk about the small ones, often unknown outside the UK.

Frames with 3-liter Ford engine, the classic model
Frames with 3-liter Ford engine, the classic model

Regarding the cut-off date, we will place it in 1973, at which time the old purchase tax -which did not apply to vehicles made to order for their first owner- was replaced by VAT. Inevitably, this forced manufacturers to change their business model, charging on average 30% more for their vehicles.

Many failed to adapt. But ... why did they fail? We will try to answer the question at the end of this series of articles.

Nostagia Vs. History

When I got my license in England at the beginning of the seventies, race sports cars were the ones that specialized companies made, fiber kit cars. So it was more appropriate to hit the tracks with a Cortina GT than with an MGB convertible. Even better if you showed up with a Lotus, a Marcos or a TVR. Because the great machines of the day, like the Porsche 911 or the Alfa Romeo GTV, were comparatively too expensive, while other fabulous cars like the Datsun 240 Z were Japanese and therefore the target of prejudice.

Too expensive...
Too expensive…

At that time the Jaguar E were already old and, in addition, soft; the Austin-Healeys were true old men, but they never softened. Regarding the Triumphs, they were slow and excessively basic, although it must be said that the TR6 was competitive when it came out; and the MGBs were also slow and, furthermore, they had a bad time on the road - inexplicably, the MGC made these problems worse.

Nostalgia and History do not have to coincide: Currently, the former pretends that the sports car of the British Leyland consortium were the automotive icons of the liberation of the sixties. And yet the reality is that they had gone out of style by the end of the decade. It is true that Triumph and MG continued to sell well in the United States, a conservative market, but little by little they were losing ground in favor of a much more modern competition, with sports such as the previously mentioned 240 Z or the Fiat Spider and Alfa Romeo Duetto.

The United Kingdom was a hornet's nest for R&D in sports and competition vehicles during the XNUMXs, thanks to the inheritance received from the development of aircraft for World War II. Specifically, the innovation hub was located in a small area to the southwest of London, very close to the old and inactive Brooklands circuit, (the first in the world!), Where several of the pre-war car brands were grouped and also others. new.

MG B, it wasn't the fastest in its class
MG B, it wasn't the fastest in its class

Dynasties were created: Charlie Cooper worked before the conflict for Thomson and Taylor, a car-building company of record for the venerable Brooklands. And his son, John Cooper, changed the rules of F1 with his mid-engined cars, scoring the first ever FXNUMX win for an English brand at the end of the decade. Dumbfounded, Ferrari had to follow in his footsteps.

New figures also emerged: Colin Chapman (Lotus), Eric Broadley (Lola) and independent designers such as Len Terry (Eagle), Tony Southgate (Shadow) or Adrian Newey (Red Bull), without any doubt helped the development of an industry. toecap. The Cart de Cosworth and de Marcos refers to the Costin brothers, Mike (engineer) and Frank (aerodynamic technician, former), both collaborators of Chapman in the early days. If the engines were made by Coventry-Climax and modified by Cosworth, the gearboxes were supplied by guru Mike Hewland.

And the story has moved on: Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren won the 1959 world championship for Cooper, then went off to found their own brands. Brabham then employed a young mechanic named Ron Dennís, who would make McLaren an emporium based in Woking, just six miles from the original Brooklands circuit.

Brooklands Circuit, in southwest London, the birthplace of English competition
Brooklands Circuit, in southwest London, the birthplace of English competition

Continue in the Page 2…

 

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Written by martin horrocks

My name is Martin Horrocks. Since I came to live in Madrid in 2006, enjoying my passion with the rest of the fans is what has best helped me to integrate into Spanish society. Day by day I drive a Fiat Panda 100hp, an exciting and fun car, although I also have a ... Read more

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