Inspirations
In Alan Parker's great film, "The Commitments", Jimmy Rabbitte asks each auditioner for the band "Who are your influences?". That's sort of the question I'm trying to answer on this page.
I've been sketching little (and not so little) mid-engined sports cars for a long time - well over thirty years. In 1982 I bought my first car, a 1965 Honda S600 Coupe - see http://www.HondaSportsRegistry.com/ for more on the S600. That 606cc, 700kg car taught me a lot about how much fun a small sports car can be.
Here are some pages with other sources of inspiration, both styling and design.
Bertone Runabout(External link)
The little styling exercise from 1969 that became the Fiat X1/9 by 1972. Although it has dated now, the pure wedge design and neat detailing still look good to me.
Nissan Saurus (Local link)
A show car from the 1988 Tokyo Motor Show. Described by many at the time as a modern day Lotus Seven due to it's un-compromised, wheel-at-each-corner, open-top design.
Maxton Rollerskate (Local link)
A limited production Lotus 7-like vehicle from the USA. Mazda rotary power must make for potent performance!
Bolwell Ikara (Local link)
The one that really inspired me many years ago. Australian made, mid-engine clubman from 1980.
All of these cars have the sort of shape I admire - a simple wedge draped over their running gear. The Design page tries to show where I've taken that idea.
Go on to the Design page or back Home
Still to come on this page - mechanical inspirations like the Status Minipower, Nota Fang, Deep Sanderson, Cox GTM, Unipower GT etc. Also the GTM Libra, Lotus Elise, Renault Spider and all of the other modern versions of this simple layout.