1960 Berkeley Berkeley T60

For sale by auction on Saturday 01 June 2013 with Historics at Brooklands. Brooklands Motor Racing Circuit. Weybridge. Surrey. Call 01753 639170
The Berkeley was a very popular British sports car; its
constructor. Laurie Bond. was one of the more successful designers
of mini cars in England. In the 1940's. Bond raced successfully in
a mountain race and decided to create a light 2-seat roadster with
a fibreglass body. a 2-stroke motor and front-wheel drive. In 1956
he joined forces with Charles Panter. owner of Europe's largest
manufacturer of caravans. who wanted to offset seasonal sales
variations by producing a car. Production began with 3 prototypes. br/>the bodies of which were made of two plastic parts. with a
box-shaped substructure and suspension and engine compartment
reinforced with aluminium. forming a fibreglass monocoque
structure. The headlights were under Plexiglas covers. The first
Berkeleys. the B60s. were 4-wheelers and had 322cc Anzani 2-stroke. br/>2-cylinder motors with 15 horsepower and chain drive to the front
wheels. These in turn were hung on A-arms. suspended by Girling
coil-and-damper units. At the rear there were swing axles. with
struts. It was named B60 for its top speed. and the B65. with 328cc
Excelsior motor. soon followed. A 492cc version was created by the
addition of a third cylinder. Production was stopped with the
arrival of the Austin Healey Sprite. When production resumed. the
B65 had become the T60. a 3-wheeler. able to be driven on a
motorcycle licence. The slightly longer body had a bit of room
behind the front seats and the very rare T60/4 (only 40 made) had
actual child seats over the rear wheel. The 3-wheelers were a great
success. and were produced in the largest numbers.

This 1960 Berkeley T60 was originally supplied new in blue with
the correct 500cc motorcycle engine. After a period spent in a
museum in Grantham. the car ended up in East Lothian and in the
early 1990's the car was carefully restored and upgraded including
strengthening the chassis. replacing the engine and transmission
with an Austin Mini engine. automatic gearbox and front brake
discs. Other modifications included a removable hard top and with
the modified chassis half depth doors. Purchased by the vendor in
2006. this car is finished in red with 'candy striped' interior. br/>and requires re-commissioning to put it back on the road. The
car is supplied with a V5C registration document and MoT test
certificates from 1997 to 2004.

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