A selection of manufacturers from across the South West attended including Marlin Cars, from Crediton, Adrenaline Motorsport, from Newquay in Cornwall, Nostalgia Cars of Taunton, Chesil Motor Company, from Bridport in Dorset, and Tifosi Sportscars, from Chumleigh.

Visitors were treated to a UK exclusive of a concept car called a Batmobile from Nottingham-based MEV Ltd; however unlike the car from the Batman films, this is an electric kit car with a range of up to 100 miles.

Sureterm Direct are a specialist insurance intermediary. Contact us today and find out if we can insure your kit or replica car.

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Overview

A kit car is a collection of mechanical components and body parts that are assembled to form a road worthy vehicle. They can come in many variations, from basic to complete, which include every last nut and bolt.

A basic kit generally consists of the body and chassis components of the car with a few odds and ends thrown in for good measure to get you started.

If you purchase a basic kit from a manufacturer, you are then left to source the majority of the mechanical components yourself. This generally takes the form of purchasing a donor car (explained below).

The Body

In general the body will be constructed from GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic), also known as fibre glass which is then normally finished with a gel coat that sets hard and gives the smooth finish one would expect from a car body. Depending on what the manufacturer is offering, this gel coat can be available in many different colours which form the finished surface. If you opt to spray the body then the gel coat will normally be grey.

The Chassis

The chassis is generally fabricated out of various types of metal of differing gauges. Some form sheet metal to create the chassis and some use a combination of both.

The Donor car

The donor car required will be specified by the manufacturer. Popular choices are mainly mass produced cars such as the Ford Sierra and Ford Fiesta. These cars normally donate a large proportion of their mechanical components such as the gearbox, engine, suspension etc to be cleaned up and fitted into the newly purchased kit.

The Manufacturers

Manufactures of kit cars are normally small privately owned businesses run by people that are very enthusiastic about what they produce.

A typical manufacturer would have designed and developed the car they are selling themselves. The fabrication of the kit (the body, chassis and other specialist components) is normally either done in-house or subcontracted out to specialist firms. Some kit manufacturers for instance make the GRP bodies for other kit manufactures.

Besides the Body and Chassis of the kit, manufacturers often supply a large proportion of the remaining items that are needed to complete the build. Some of the components are specific to that particular kit, so you generally have to purchase these items from the manufacturer. Other items are more general and you can pick and choose where to buy them from.

Most manufacturers offer complete kits which just leaves you to find the components supplied by the donor car. A lot of manufacturers can also supply reconditioned donor parts. It’s really up to you as to how involved you want to get in the build of the car.

The Building

Various choices exist regarding the actual build of a kit car. One of the many reasons for wanting a kit car is the actual build itself. Many people find that this is the best part of the whole kit car ownership cycle – others would rather someone else did it.

It’s entirely down to you how you want to play it. You can build it completely yourself or get someone else to build it such as a keen friend or a specialist company.

If you are going to attempt the build yourself then a good starting point for your new build is a clean and dry garage with a workbench and mains electrics plus all the tools that every self respecting garage should contain.

Most people keep a record of the time it takes and the cost of the overall build. It’s important that you keep all receipts of the build, right down to the last tin of paint, as the vehicle licensing office will want to see them when the time comes to register your new car.

Registering our New Car

All kit cars with four wheels or over have to pass a Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) test. This test involves a thorough examination of your completed vehicle at an authorised testing centre to check that it complies with the latest regulations.

The Vehicle Inspectorate website goes into more detail as to what is expected of a vehicle to get approval.

Do make sure before purchasing a kit that the manufacturer can provide proof that his car, if built properly will pass the SVA test. Avoid manufactures that employ tactics that enable the car ‘to get round the SVA test’. This generally means that certain components are either missing from the car or are only on the car temporarily for the expressed purpose of passing the SVA test. These items are then removed afterwards.

Insuring your Kit Car

If you need a kit car insurance quote, give the team at Sureterm Direct a call on 0800 999 2030. They won’t charge you for the phone calls, but they will save you money on your kit car insurance policy.

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There is FREE ENTRY for all Kit, Classic American and Custom Car drivers at the exhibitors date. For non drivers, day admission is £10 for adults Children £3 and toddlers are free. Parking is also FREE.

You can expect to see an exhibition hall full of affordable kit cars, sports cars and classic replicas, as well as trade stands, an Autojumble, a craft fair and children’s rides.

Opening times Saturday 10am – 5pm, Sunday 9.30am to 4.30pm.

More information can be seen at www.kitcarshow.co.uk

For a great kit car insurance quote, then give the team at Sureterm a call on 0800 999 2030. They won’t charge you for the calls but they will save you money on your kit car insurance policy.

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In 20th place – Ferrari 288 GTO
Homologation special built to comply with regulations for a race series that was abandoned almost before it started.

In 19th place – Bugatti Type 57 Atlantique
So expensive by the standards of the mid 1930’s that only three were sold.

In 18th place – Ferrari 250 GT SWB
Shortened wheelbase sweetened the handling and spawned a racetrack colossus.

In 17th place – Austin Healey 3000
Further proof of the style and substance with which the British car industry was once infused.

In 16th place – AC Cobra
Its purposefully muscular features have been replicated by countless kit-car manufacturers. There is a good reason for this.

In 15th place – Chevrolet Corvette
This 1960’s version is the one voters cited for its aesthetic allure.

In 14th place – Alfa Romeo P3 8C
Think Tazio Nuvolari. Think Targa Florio. Think back-to-back victories in 1931-32.

In 13th place – Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing
Door design makes it slightly easier to get in… but impossible to escape if you are upside down. Nice-looking car, though.

In 12th place – Jaguar Mk2
Favoured by crims when up against the late John Thaw as The Sweeney’s Jack Regan. Favoured by Thaw when he morphed into Morse. Unmistakably lovely.

In 11th place – Jaguar D-type/XK-SS
Three-times a Le Mans winner in the 1950’s. Jaguar had built only 16 examples of the road-going XK-SS version when the moulds were destroyed in a factory fire.

In 10th place – Ferrari 250 GTO
A paragon of balance, on road or track. The downside? Ferrari built just 36 of them.

In 9th place – Lotus Esprit
Forget the patchwork switchgear, poached from Triumph, Hillman and elsewhere. Savour the shape and the chassis… then keep your fingers crossed that nothing breaks.

In 8th place – Aston Martin DB9
Many cars at the top of this list look contemporary. Uniquely, this one actually is.

In 7th place – Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato
A lighter, curvier version of its progenitor, with a (claimed) extra 74bhp. You might pick up a nice DB4 for £80,000 today. In the 1990’s, one Zagato went for £1.54m.

In 6th place – Aston Martin DB4/5/6
Could have become a cult car without Bond, but the ejector seat, machine guns, tyre shredders, rotating number plates and so on probably helped.

In 5th place – Lamborghini Miura
As befitting a car with eyelashes around the headlamps, it was astonishingly seductive when new in 1966. The same holds true 42 years later.

In 4th place – Ferrari Dino 206/246 GT
Pretty Pininfarina-styled sports car named after Enzo Farrari’s son. Launched in 1967, it was never actually marketed as a Ferrari but became the company’s first significant seller when engine was uprated to 2.4 litres two years later.

In 3rd place – Jaguar XK120/140/150
Lumped together because they look the same – and this list is all about aesthetics, not power output or fractional adjustments to front and rear track. Optimism made metal in immediate postwar Britain.

In 2nd place – Citroën DS
Timeless poise and style, as favoured by getaway drivers in all black-and-white French gangster movies. Did we expect to find a family saloon breaking the sports car stranglehold at the top of the list? None bar this.

And the winner is………. Jaguar E-type
This car received almost four times as many votes as any other car. Also name-checked by quite a few who didn’t choose it, as in: “I would have picked the E-type but the narrow track ruins its proportions.” A minority view, it seems!

Just count how many of these Top 20 are timeless classic cars!  For modern, competitive classic car insurance then give the team at Sureterm Direct a call on 0800 999 2030.  We won’t charge you for the phone call (it’s FREE) but we will save you money on your classic car insurance policy.

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Any classic vehicle with a Ford connection is invited to attend, from Zephyr to Scimitar GTE or Ford-powered Cobra replica. Once you’ve finished browsing the classic cars on display outside, head in to the Centre’s recently revamped museum.

Clubs are entitled to 12 free admission tickets (Email clubs@heritage-motor-centre.co.uk), but all Ford club members, Ford drivers and their passengers get a reduced fee on the day (£6, normally £9).

For further details call 01926 645120, or see www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk

For the very best in classic car or kit car insurance, then give our team at Sureterm a call for FREE on      0800 999 2030.  We don’t charge you for the calls but we will save you money on classic car insurance and kit car insurance. We also offer a 15% discount to members of classic car clubs or kit car clubs.

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Caterham has created the ultimate kit car – a high spec, limited-edition interpretation of the famed Caterham Seven- the CDX.

The CDX kit cars imitate the real track-day cars in both the looks and movement department, with the 135bhp 1.6-litre K-Series power plant emerging from its box complete with a five-speed manual transmission, limited-slip differential and track day roll-over bar.

And of course, you can use the CDX on public highways and byways, leaving the racing circuit a long way behind.

Finished in the one colour of Gloss Black, CDX stickers mark this Caterham Seven out from the pack. A push button engine start, Momo leather steering wheel, full weather equipment and tarmac-absorbing Avon treads clinging on to 13” Superlight alloys will unwrap themselves before your eyes.

With speed being the name of the Caterham game, it’s upped the stakes by offering the first 20 buyers £2,000 worth of performance freebies, including a super-duper tweaked version of the 1.6-litre under-bonnet furnace.

Caterham Driving Experience days start from £99 and have been enjoyed by thousands of drivers of varying talents, ages and denominations for 15 years, and played out at various racing circuits across the UK and Europe. Licensed drivers can jump into a Caterham CDX Seven and take on Slalom, Drift or Circuit courses to their hearts content.

Caterham is also offering its own finance package that runs at 9.5% APR, that requires a £4,600 deposit and 36 monthly payments thereafter of £199 with the one final balloon settlement at the end of the period.

For all those kit car fans out there, give Sureterm Direct a call on 0800 999 2030 for the best kit car insurance quotes on the market.  We won’t charge you for the calls, but we will save you money on your kit car insurance.

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The Superlight R500 has been stripped to the bare essentials, with all unnecessary comforts removed to save weight and reduce mass. And with a 2.0litre, 263bhp Ford engine in a car weighing just 506kg, it pulls a truly amazing 520bhp per tonne. As a result, the kit car does 0-60mph in a mind blowing 2.9 seconds and hits a top speed of 155mph.

The R500 represents the ultimate expression of Colin Chapman’s fundamentals and while oodles of power is one definite aim, lightweight performance on the road or track is another. The ultra-low weight is achieved through the use of more carbon and Kevlar and thinner aluminium body panels.

Standard equipment includes keyless ignition and a quick-release Momo steering wheel, while optional track day upgrades include Eibach springs and dampers, launch control and sequential transmission.
Mega. If you get one, hold on tight. It’s a £36k rocket!

For stunning kit car insurance, give the team a call.  We’ll stop drooling long enough to give you a great quote if you call us (FREE) on 0800 999 2030.

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Throughout history, programmes and features have appeared which completely rekindle interest in famous old marques – from James Bond’s supercool Aston Martin DB5 to Michael Knight’s Pontiac TransAm.

Sureterm Direct is the UK’s largest classic car insurer and we know instantly when a car has appeared in a popular TV or film as enquiries for classic car insurance for that particular model shoot through the roof.

So here’s the first installment of our guide to the most famous TV and film cars on the planet. We’ve even included a van – see if you can guess which programme that’s from!

TV Programme: Ashes to Ashes – Car: Audi UR quattro:

While the star of the show is Gene Hunt, a fictional police detective in a TV series set in 1980’s Britain, his bright red Audi UR quattro plays more than just a supporting role.

The car sprang into real life in 1980 and with 4WD and a whole raft of amazing other German car-making wizardry packed into it, the car became an instant cult classic.

Brilliant on the road, brilliant on the rally scene. And now in much demand thanks to Gene Hunt. If you can lay your hands on one – do it. Easy and cost-effective to insure.

Our star rating: 4 stars

TV Programme: Kingdom – Car: Alvis TE21

Fruity old thespian Stephen Fry plays an East of England lawyer in this gentle comedy drama and he scoots around Norfolk in a fabulous Alvis TE21 drophead – sparking an interest in classic cars from a whole new generation.

Alvis is a weird marque. In the best part of 50 years from 1920 onwards, the Coventry-based firm produced cars that were noted for top quality, great handling and a nifty, sporty character. The TE21 model arrived at the end of 1963 – and with a stiff suspension it could shift a bit.

The TE21 was pretty heavy yet managed a very respectable top speed of over 120mph and was available with automatic transmission or a five-speed manual gearbox. It’s a very, very stylish classic – and a restored version could easily set you back £100,000.

Our star rating: 2 stars

TV Programme: The Sweeney – Car: Mk1 Ford Consul GT

When ITV in the UK screened The Sweeney for the first time, the programme marked a whole new concept in cop shows. Previously fed a diet of boring old ‘bobbies’ like Z-cars and Dixon of Dock Green, The Sweeney had fast cars, swearing, sex scenes, drinking and extreme violence.

And it made household names of main characters Reagan and Carter. In series 1 and 2 the mainstay of the CID crew was a copper brown Mk1 Ford Consul GT, reg NHK 295M – although in later series, Ford Granadas were the norm.

The Consul had front bucket seats as standard, a central floor-mounted remote control gear shift and the speedometer, fuel and temperature gauges all had black non- reflecting dials.

The Consul ‘L pack offered special seats, loop pile carpet colour keyed to the interior, vanity mirror, heated rear screen, clock and trip mileage recorder (not that the Sweeney ever bothered with anything within the law!). No surprises then, that they went for the GT pack option, which included the larger 3.0 V6 engine – capable of 0-60mph in 9 seconds.

Our star rating: 2 stars

TV Programme: Inspector Morse – Car: 1960 Mk II Jaguar

In Colin Dexter’s novels, grouchy copper Inspector Morse’s car was a classic Lancia, but ITV used a Jaguar MK II 2.4 from the start of the television series. In fact, the Carmen red Jag became so iconic that new editions of the earlier novels have been changed so that Morse’s car is a Jaguar!

The Jaguar Mark II ‘a compact four-door saloon’ was introduced in October 1959, at a price of just £1,534.00 and was made until 1967. Morse’s Jaguar is a 2.4 litre model with a twin overhead-cam 6-cylinder 2,483-cc engine giving 120 bhp.
It’s a bit slow for TV coppers, only capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph in 17.3 seconds, with a maximum speed of 96.3 mph, but Morse didn’t exactly need to burn around the university city of Oxford. Jaguar made almost 84,000 Mk11s, 25,070 of Morse’s 2.4 variation.

Our star rating: 3 stars

Film: James Bond – Car: Aston Martin DB5

Spy 007’s love of fast cars is evident all the way through the original Ian Fleming novels and when they eventually made the silver screen, car lovers everywhere drooled over his gorgeous DB5.

The 1963 DB5 is famous for being the first and most recognised Bond car, featuring notably in: Goldfinger, Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, and Casino Royale, while it also made background appearances in The World Is Not Enough and Diamonds Are Forever.

The DB5’s engine had been enlarged from the previous DB4’s 3.7L to 4.0L, while the addition of a five-speed transmission and three SU carburetors enabled the car to pull 282hp and propel it to 141 mph (238 km/h). Standard equipment on the DB5 included reclining seats, pile carpets, electric windows and a fire extinguisher. All models had 4 seats and 2 doors. The UK recommended list price of the sports saloon (coupe) in December 1963 was £4,248 including Purchase Tax, the convertible was £4,562.

Our star rating: 5 stars

TV Programme: Dukes of Hazzard – Car: 1969 Dodge Charger

Testosterone-filled teenage boys remember a couple things about the Dukes of Hazzard – Catherine Bach’s never-ending legs (and pert bum in spray-on denim shorts) and the General Lee car.

The General Lee was a 1969 Dodge Charger with a 426 Hemi in every season of the hit programme (except season two, where it had a 440 Magnum engine). It was also said to be the Road/Track model.

Bright orange with a Confederate battle flag painted on the roof, and the words ‘General Lee’ and number ‘01’ on each door, the car’s name refers to the American Civil War Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The show also used 1968 Chargers since the start (which shared mostly the same sheet metal) by changing the grill and tail lights to the 1969 model year style, and smoothing over the round ‘68 side marker lights, which were rectangular on the ‘69 model year.

Our star rating: 3 stars

TV Programme: Starsky and Hutch – Car: Ford Torino

We loved the 1970’s. Big hair, disco music, chunky sweaters – and all of this in just one TV series. Los Angeles cops Starsky and Hutch fought villains in a two-door Ford Torino, which was red with a large white vector stripe.

It was nicknamed the Striped Tomato by Hutch but the term didn’t come from the series’ writers – it came from a real-life comment that actor Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky) made. The standard Torino was pretty dull, so producers jazzed it up with a large white vector stripe, 5-slot alloys and larger rear tires. Air shocks were added to give the car an aggressive rake and it worked – especially for Ford, who built 1,000 replicas of the “Starsky and Hutch” car in the spring of 1976.

The ‘Starsky and Hutch’ replica was available with all Torino engines, and the limited production package was essentially a special paint option with the deluxe bumper group and dual colour-keyed sport mirrors as mandatory options. Seat colours were restricted to white or black and were available with all cloths and seating options.

Our star rating: 2 stars

TV Programme: Knight Rider – Car: 1982 Pontiac Trans Am

Forget Baywatch – bubble haired David ‘The Hof’ Hasselhoff first shot to fame in Knight Rider – a bonkers TV series that ran from 1982 to 1986 which featured KITT, a talking car equipped with mind-blowing gadgetry.

Unsurprisingly, given its low-budget cast, KITT became the star of the show, but then it was a gleaming black 1982 Pontiac Trans Am. The car oozed sex appeal and sparked a massive interest in American Classics, which exists still to this day.

By the way, KITT stands for ‘Knight Industries Two Thousand’ an eponymous doff of the cap to its weird technology-cum-crime fighting creators.

Our star rating: 3 stars

TV programme: The A-team – Car: The GMC van

Da-da-da, dada, da. Da, dada, da, da, dadada, da. It’s hard to believe any TV programmes, especially from Hollywood, could make vans sexy – but the A-team did it in bucket loads.

The black and metallic grey GMC van used by the A-Team – a crackpot collection of crime-fighting misfits – had a characteristic red stripe, black and red wheels, rooftop spoiler, and became an instant icon.

The van is a 1983 G-series which was heavily customised by the Universal Studios prop department. The engine is a 350 cid with minor modifications (mainly the carb and exhaust system), while the wheels are turbine style 15″ painted black with red accents.

Other modifications included – quad headlight conversion, full front brushbar, fog/driving lights, exterior sun visor, quad square exhaust tips (each side in front of rear wheels), and custom made rear wing. Interior was custom-white bucket seats, shag carpet, and custom gun case in the back.

It also had beefy air shocks in the rear to improve handling, which was poor and underpowered. In fact, scenes where it burns out were done by spraying bleach in front of and onto the rear tyres which creates billowing grey smoke.

Our star rating: 2 stars.

Film: Back To The Future – Car: De Lorean DMC-12

Look, make no bones about it, apart from James Bond’s DB5 this is THE iconic TV and film car. It grabbed attention in real life and it grabbed attention on-screen.

The De Lorean DMC-12 became a time machine for Back To The Future, but was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and manufactured for real in 1981 by the De Lorean Motor Company, in Northern Ireland. The 2-door coupe had a 2.8 L (2849 cc), V6 engine and was available in 5-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmissions.

It was the only model ever produced by the company and featured gull-wing doors with a fiberglass ‘underbody’, to which non-structural brushed stainless steel panels are fixed.

The first prototype appeared in March 1976, and production officially began in 1981 (with the first DMC-12 rolling off the production line on January 21st) at the DMC factory in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. During its production, several aspects of the car were changed, such as the bonnet style, wheels and interior.

About nine thousand DMC-12s were made before production stopped in late 1982.

Our star rating: 5 stars

Film: Herbie ‘The Love Bug’ – Car: 1963 Volkswagen Beetle ragtop sedan.

Peace and love, man. With the amount of ‘acid’ dropped in the hippified atmosphere of the late 60s, we weren’t all that surprised when a film starring a humanised VW beetle appeared.

Herbie The Love Bug was a 1963 Volkswagen Beetle deluxe ragtop sedan painted in Volkswagen L87 pearl white. The interior would normally be a matching white but Herbie’s interior was painted a special non-reflective grey, so the camera and studio lights would not reflect.

In this original 1968 film, Herbie’s stripes differ from those in later movies – the stripes do not cover the valances or louvers of the car and the blue is a lighter shade. Also, Herbie features color-keyed running boards, while in later films the running boards are standard black.

Our star rating: 2 stars

Not only do we know our film and TV motors, we know our amercian classic car insurance and our classic car insurance too. So give the team at Sureterm a call on our FREEPHONE number 0800 999 2030 and let us save you some money.

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This event will offer kit and performance car drivers their own mile-long section of track while manufacturers will give demonstration rides on a separate part of the track. The weekend will be brimming with action, with a 4×4 off-road driving course, go-kart area, driving demonstrations, evening entertainment and more.

This open air event will cater for manufacturers, traders, enthusiasts and clubs, with lots of entertainment and loads of track action over two days.

Don’t Forget – The National Kit and Performance Track Day on Saturday, 13th September at Donington Park.

For tickets to this event call Sally Mitchell on 01306 888813

And don’t forget Sureterm Direct for the best kit car insurance – call for FREE on 0800 999 2030

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A decade later and a faithful replica is now available. Kit car specialist Paul Banham has spent years creating an accurate XK180.

Unlike the XKR-based concept, the replica is powered by an XJS engine, with a body conversion based on the XJS, XK8 and XKR.

The price is substantially more real world, as the replica is available for just £10,000.

If you would like an even more real world kit car insurance quote then contact Sureterm Direct on 0800 999 2030

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