Hustler (car)
Encyclopedia
William Towns
William Towns was a British car designer.Towns began his training as a designer at Rootes in 1954, where he was mainly involved in the styling of seats and door handles. Later he was also involved with the styling of their Hillman Hunter. He moved to Rover in 1963 and worked there for David...
and later developed into a kit car
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...
by his Interstyl design studio.
The original version used upper and lower square-section steel frames, clad with glass fibre panels and large flat glass windows. On most models sliding side windows acted as doors. It used the front and rear sub frames and mechanical components from the British Leyland
British Leyland Motor Corporation
British Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...
Mini
Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
, Metro
Rover Metro
The Metro is a supermini car that was produced by the Austin Rover Group division of British Leyland and its successors. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin miniMetro. It was intended to complement the Mini, and was developed under the codename LC8....
or BMC1100/1300
BMC ADO16
ADO16 is the codename for the development of what became the Morris 1100, a small family car built by the British Motor Corporation and, later, British Leyland...
. The Hustler came in four and six wheel versions: the six wheel version used two Mini rear sub frame assemblies. The style was very much off-road/utility in the rectilinear idiom of the Lagonda and Bulldog.
At the 1981 Earl's Court Motor Show, a wooden version was introduced, using marine plywood and solid wood as both structure and body. Shortly afterwards, a sportier version was also introduced, using the same lower steel structure but with an upper structure with less height. An open topped version, the Sport, was introduced at about the same time. The vehicle kits
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...
were sold directly from William Towns' home at Stretton-on-Fosse, near Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh
Moreton-in-Marsh is a town and civil parish in northeastern Gloucestershire, England. The town is at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road and the A44. The parish and environs are relatively flat and low-lying compared with the surrounding Cotswold Hills...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, where his design studio was based.
About 500 were made.
Models
Hustler 4 : BL Mini-based original model.Hustler 6 : Used two Mini rear subframes to give four rear wheels.
Hustler Huntsman : Larger and more powerful BL 1100/1300 or Metro based model. 4 or 6 wheel versions.
Hustler Hellcat : Stripped down Mini-based jeep version. Usually 4 wheeled but 6 wheel version available.
Hustler Sport : Two seat Mini-based drophead.
Hustler Sprint : Two seat Mini-based coupe.
The Hustler in Wood : Designed to be built from plans in marine ply with a supplied alloy-framed glasshouse.
Hustler Holiday : One-box MPV version. 4 or 6 wheel versions.
Hustler Force : Conventional, full-depth doors instead of sliding glass. 4 or 6-wheel versions.
Hustler Highlander : One off imposing 6-wheeled Jaguar
Jaguar (car)
Jaguar Cars Ltd, known simply as Jaguar , is a British luxury car manufacturer, headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England. It is part of the Jaguar Land Rover business, a subsidiary of the Indian company Tata Motors....
V12
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
-powered luxury version.
Hustler Harrier : High roof version designed to take a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
in the back.