Burlington Cars
Encyclopedia
Kit car
A kit car, also known as a "component car", is an automobile that is available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then either assembles into a car themselves, or retains a third party to do part or all of the work on their behalf...
company originally based in Southam
Southam
Southam is a small market town in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 6,509 in the town.The nearest sizeable town to Southam is Leamington Spa, located roughly 7 miles to the west...
, Warwickshire. They moved to Northampton in 1988 becoming the Burlington Motor Company reforming as the Burlington Design Group in 1989. Kit production seems to have stopped in around 1992. Founded by Haydn Davis the cars were at first of the "plan and pattern" car) type similar to the JC Midge
JC Midge
JC Midge is a kit car designed by John Cowperthwaite. Like the Locust the body is made of aluminum skinned plywood or MDF and using a grille from a Wolseley 1500 . The design is clearly inspired of British 1930s cars like the MG J2 Midget and similar to the Burlington in both design and construction...
. Like the Midge it uses a Triumph donor and constructs a body of plywood on top of it, i.e. a body-on-frame
Body-on-frame
Body-on-frame is an automobile construction method. Mounting a separate body to a rigid frame that supports the drivetrain was the original method of building automobiles, and its use continues to this day. The original frames were made of wood , but steel ladder frames became common in the 1930s...
design.
As of 2008, the plans have been made available again for home constructors.
Burlington car models
- Burlington SS, a MorganMorgan Motor CompanyThe Morgan Motor Company is a British motor car manufacturer. The company was founded in 1910 by Harry Frederick Stanley Morgan, generally known as "HFS" and was run by him until he died, aged 77, in 1959. Peter Morgan, son of H.F.S., ran the company until a few years before his death in 2003...
copy, later sold as Dorian SS. - Burlington Arrow, a two-seat, doorless roadsterRoadsterA roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
with cycle wings (based on the MG TC) inspired by the 1935 Triumph DolomiteTriumph Dolomite (pre-1940)The Triumph Dolomite was a car that first appeared in 1934 as a sports car and reused on a series of sporting saloons and open cars until at least 1939 when the Triumph Motor Company went into receivership. A number were still sold and registered in 1940, though it is uncertain whether the receiver...
Straight Eight. Built according to plans and using a modified chassis from a Triumph HeraldTriumph HeraldThe Triumph Herald was a small two-door car introduced in 1959 by the Standard-Triumph Company of Coventry. Body design was by the Italian stylist Michelotti and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, van, and estate models....
. Later chassis plans were made so it could be built using parts from Triumph SpitfireTriumph SpitfireThe Triumph Spitfire is a small English two-seat sports car, introduced at the London Motor Show in 1962. The vehicle was based on a design produced for Standard-Triumph in 1957 by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti...
, VitesseTriumph VitesseThe Triumph Vitesse was a compact six-cylinder car built by Standard-Triumph from 1962 to 1971. The car was styled by Michelotti, and was available in saloon and convertible variants....
, or GT6Triumph GT6The GT6 was a 6-cylinder sports coupé built by Standard-Triumph and based on their popular Triumph Spitfire convertible. Production ran from 1966 to 1973.- Development history :...
. Over 6000 copies of the plans were sold resulting in an estimated 500 cars built. Some using donors such as Lotus ElanLotus ElanLotus Elan is the name of two convertible cars and one fixed head coupé produced by Lotus Cars. The original Type 26, 26R Racing version , 36R Racing version , 36 Fixed Head Coupe, 45 Drop Head Coupe, and the "Type 50" +2 Coupe, circa 1962 to 1975, are commonly known as the '60s Elans...
, Triumph TR4Triumph TR4The Triumph TR4 was a sports car built in the United Kingdom by the Standard Triumph Motor Company and introduced in 1961. Code named "Zest" during development, the car was based on the chassis and drivetrain of the previous TR sports cars, but with a modern Michelotti styled body. 40,253 cars...
, Reliant ScimitarReliant ScimitarReliant's first Scimitar was a coupé based upon the styling of a Daimler SP250 prototype and the chassis of a Reliant Sabre. It was first displayed in 1964. It was powered by a 2.6 L Ford straight six from the Ford Zephyr / Ford Zodiac...
and even the Volkswagen BeetleVolkswagen BeetleThe Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
. Burlington also made the radiator surround (nose cone) and scuttle top, but about half of the builders made their own instead of buying them. - Burlington Berretta, same as the Arrow, but with fixed wings and running boards.
- Burlington Chieftain, WWII style Jeep also on Triumph Spitfire or GT6 chassis. The design did not require any alterations on the chassis except for cutting some parts off. The plans also allowed you to scale it down and make one for the kids.
- Burlington Centurion, a futuristic Triumph Spitfire based car designed by the American Quincy-Lynn company.http://www.rqriley.com/cent.html