Fairthorpe cars were made in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, England between 1954 and 1976. The Chalfonts are a group of three villages in south east Buckinghamshire, England. ... Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a county in South East England. ...

Fairthorpe Ltd was founded by Air Vice Marshall Donald Bennett. The first cars were lightweight models powered by motor cycle engines and with glass fibre bodies called the Atom and Atomata. In 1956 a new larger car, the open 2 seat Electron appeared using a Coventry Climax engine. A reduced price version using a Triumph engine followed in 1957 and was the mainstay of production until 1973 with about 700 being built. There was also a closed version called the Electrina but only about 20 were produced. The cars were available fully assemble or in kit form. Production peaked at about 20 cars a month. Air Vice-Marshal Donald Bennett (September 14, 1910–September 15, 1986) was an Australian aviation pioneer and bomber pilot who rose to be the youngest Air Vice-Marshal in the history of the Royal Air Force and led the Pathfinder Force (No. ... Coventry Climax was a British specialty engine manufacturer. ... Triumph is a British car brand (see Triumph Motor Company), as well as a motorcycle brand (see Triumph Motorcycles). ...

A high powered car, the Zeta, was introduced in 1960 using a modified Ford Zephyr engine with up to six carburettors and a BRM cylinder head. Another version, the Rockette used a Triumph Vitesse 1600 cc engine, few were made of either of these models. In 1961 the company moved to Gerrards Cross and in 1964 to Denham, both in Buckinghamshire. The Ford Zephyr was a car manufactured by Ford Motor Company in the United Kingdom. ... British Racing Motors (generally known as BRM) was a British Formula 1 motor racing team. ... The Triumph Vitesse was a compact 6-cylinder car built by Standard-Triumph from 1962–1971. ... Map sources for Gerrards Cross at grid reference SU999880 Gerrards Cross is a large village in Buckinghamshire, England. ... Denham is the name of more than one place. ...

In 1967 Donald Bennett's son Torix joined the company and a new car the TX-GT based on a Triumph GT6 chassis but with transverse rod independant rear suspension was announced. By this time the market for hand built small production cars was declining and the last model, the TX-S was a modified TX-GT with a variety of engines and the choice of the standard GT6 rear suspension. Only about 30 of the TX cars were made. The GT6 was a 6-cylinder sports coupé built by Standard-Triumph and based on their popular Triumph Spitfire convertible. ...

Another car, the TX-Tripper, was produced by a separate company, Technical Exponents.

Cars

• Fairthorpe Atom - 1954 to 1957 - 250 cc to 650 cc, chain drive
• Fairthorpe Atomata - 1958 to 1960 - 650 cc, live rear axle
• Fairthorpe Electron - 1956 to 1965 - Coventry Climax engine. front disc from 1957. Final version with Triumph Spitfire engine.
• Fairthorpe Electron Minor - 1957 to 1973 - Standard 10/Triumph Herald engine. Final version on Triumph GT6 chassis with Spitfire engine (1968).
• Fairthorpe Electrina - 1961 to 1963 - Closed 4 seat version of the Electron
• Fairthorpe Zeta - 1960 to 1965 - Racing version. Very few made.
• Fairthorpe Rockette - 1963 to 1967 - As Zeta but with Triumph Vitesse engine. Very few made.
• Fairthorpe TX-GT - 1967 to 1976 - 2 seat coupe with Triumph 2 litre 6 cylinder engine.
• Fairthorpe TX-S and TX-SS - Similar to the TX-GT but with a wider variety of engine and transmission packages, all Triumph.

External links

• Fairthorpe Sports Car Club website