[boxwellm]

Well, nows your chance:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/356-Sports-Banham-New-Speedster-Manufacturing-Project_W0QQitemZ4636769748QQcategoryZ29750QQtcZphotoQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

a Metro based conversion to build your very own Porsche 356 convertable.

​

Looks Good! Any takers?

 

[Richard Moss]

Nice - who designed it?

 

[V8King]

Ferry Porsche of course! (Actually it was a chap called Erwin Komenda iirc.)

Must admit retro stuff isn't always my bag but it looks pretty from the pics, and with a Metro lump under it too. Ingenious as ever the kit car brigade.

 

[stamford]

Looks very close to the Chesil Roadsters

 

[geeza76]

MGTF Wheels?

 

[boxwellm]

I'm pretty certain that design was originally created by Paul Banham. They were designed at the cheap and cheerful end of the market, where they cut the outer skin off the donor and then stick the new body panels in place.

Nothing wrong with that of course, but apparently it does mean a lot more work for the builder in order to get a good quality result. Not for the faint of heart, so I'm told.

 

[Mega]

Bloody Hell I thought you were talking about TVR! I bet they will try to flog it off on E-Bay!
Mega

 

[Richard Moss]

Engine cooling would concern me slightly - those little vents at the3 front must shurely be inadequate.

 

[Bob S]

If someone wants to break into the sports car biz in a big (relatively) way, has about 2 million sitting around, and doesn't mind doing a lift-and-shift, Avanti has been for sale for about 3 years now. Owner wants to retire, but there hasn't been any serious takers.

 

[xerif]

If someone wants to break into the sports car biz in a big (relatively) way, has about 2 million sitting around, and doesn't mind doing a lift-and-shift, Avanti has been for sale for about 3 years now. Owner wants to retire, but there hasn't been any serious takers.

Well I've been waiting for the lottery win to buy it! At least there is a name and product although they can keep the absurd Studebaker Hummer thing.

 

[xerif]

A picture from the Avanti's launch. Classic Raymond Loewy and copied by everyone else for the next 30 years especially Renault!

 

[streetrover]

Very sad when Banham went under. Had a long conversation with him a few years ago and it was clear all the red tape and problems with advertising etc were making it very difficult to continue.

Banham was a kit car company but big by those strandards, and they were ambiotious, investing what little resources they had in a number of projects.

I joked with him about getting what he could of the old Metro/Maestro operations, and he was actually seriously interested in them in the 90's, but Rover didn't want their cast-offs anywhere this side of Bulgaria (or Iran or China).

I loved the T99 models.