Lomax (auto)
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...
based on mechanical components of the Citroën 2CV
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...
. It has been in production since 1982 when it was introduced by the Lomax Motor Co of Willoughton
Willoughton
Willoughton is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 330. It is north of Lincoln just off the A15 and near to Kirton Lindsey....
, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...
. In the late 1980s the production was transferred to the Mumford Motor Co. of Gigg Mill, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, where it was produced until the early 1990s. By 2009 the car was being made by Cradley Motor Works of St Leonard's-on-Sea, East Sussex. It was designed by Nigel Whall. From the early 1990s the Lomax has also been sold in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The design is slightly reminiscent of the legendary Morgan Three Wheeler
Morgan Motor Company
The 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...
of the 1930s. The car consists of a fibreglass body mounted on an un-modified Citroën 2CV
Citroën 2CV
The Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...
or Dyane
Citroën Dyane
The Citroën Dyane is an economy car/supermini produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1967 to 1983. Based on the Citroën 2CV, 1,444,583 examples were manufactured...
floorpan. Later a steel tube chassis was introduced.
A Lomax is usually an open roadster
Roadster
A 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...
, which is driven completely without a roof.
The original 1982 prototype had a bespoke four-wheel chassis which was specially constructed, and of shorter wheelbase than the donor car, a Citroen Ami8. Early "3-wheel" variants were actually four wheeled, with two rear wheels closely paired as in some Heinkel
Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight.-History:...
bubble cars of the 1960s, but this arrangement was soon dropped to allow the 3-wheel road-tax rates which in the UK are lower than for 4-wheel vehicles. Later versions were genuine trikes, three wheels
Tricycle
A tricycle is a three-wheeled vehicle. While tricycles are often associated with the small three-wheeled vehicles used by pre-school-age children, they are also used by adults for a variety of purposes. In the United States and Canada, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily by older persons for...
with two wheels in front and one at the back. This was later followed by a four wheel variant using an unmodified 2CV chassis. The model designations are 223 (2 cylinders - 2 seats - 3 wheels) or 224 (2 cylinders - 2 seats - 4 wheels). A few examples used the engine from the contemporary Citroen GS or GSA. These were designated 424 (4 cylinders, 2 seats, 4 wheels).
The Lomax has usually 29 bhp, weighs approximately 450 kilograms (992.1 lb), has 2 seats and a top speed of 140 kilometres per hour (87 mph).
Petrol consumption is 4 L/100 km-6 L/100 km.