Peerless (UK car)

For the unrelated United States car company, see Peerless.

The Peerless was a British car made by Peerless Cars Ltd. of Slough, Berkshire, between 1957 and 1960, when the company failed. The company was resurrected by one of the original founders, Bernie Rodger as Bernard Roger Developments Ltd and marketed as the Warwick from a base in Colnbrook, Buckinghamshire, between 1960 and 1962.

1958 Peerless

Peerless

The prototype of this British-built sports saloon which was alloy bodied and initially named Warwick, was designed by Bernie Rodger for company founders John Gordon and James Byrnes.[1]

The car had been renamed the Peerless GT by the time series production started in 1957. It featured Triumph TR3 running gear in a tubular space frame with de Dion tube rear suspension clothed in attractive fibreglass 4-seater bodywork. While the car had good performance it was expensive to produce and the overall fit and finish was not as good as that of similarly priced models from mainstream manufacturers. The Phase II version had an improved body largely moulded in one piece.

About 325 were made.[2]

A works car was entered in the 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans finishing 16th.

Production ceased in 1960 after about 325 examples had been produced.

Warwick

Warwick GT
Overview
Production 1960–1962
Layout FR layout
Powertrain
Engine 1991 cc
Dimensions
Wheelbase 94 in (2,388 mm)[3]
Length 175 in (4,445 mm)[3]
Width 64 in (1,626 mm)[3]
Height 51 in (1,295 mm)[3]

Bernie Rodger restarted production of the car as the Warwick with minor changes to the appearance, a one-piece forward hingeing front end, a stiffer space-frame chassis and a revised dashboard. Although listed from 1960–62, only about 40 are thought to have been produced.[4]

A car was tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1961 and had a top speed of 105.3 mph (169.5 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 12.6 seconds. A fuel consumption of 32 miles per imperial gallon (8.8 L/100 km; 27 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £16666 including taxes.[3]

Two prototypes of a successor car, the 3.5 Litre or 305GT, were made in 1961 and featured the light alloy Buick V8 engine that was later taken up by Rover.[2]

John Gordon, together with Jim Keeble (who had previously inserted a Buick V-8 engine into a Peerless), subsequently used the Peerless space-frame as the basis for a Chevrolet-powered car with Giugiaro-designed, Bertone-built bodywork, initially shown in 1960 as the Gordon GT, and which eventually reached production in 1964 as the Gordon-Keeble.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Georgano, N. (2000). Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. London: HMSO. ISBN 1-57958-293-1.
  2. 1 2 Robson, Graham (2006). A–Z British Cars 1945–1980. Devon, UK: Herridge & Sons. ISBN 0-9541063-9-3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Warwick GT Saloon". The Motor. April 26, 1961.
  4. ↑ Sedgwick, M.; Gillies.M (1986). A-Z of Cars 1945-1970. Devon, UK: Bay View Books. ISBN 1-870979-39-7.
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