Now in Luton, Dennis and
Peter Adams set about rationalizing Costin's chassis design for production. The
chassis, subcontracted to Sawbridgeworth, the company which assembled Mosquitoes in
World War II, was made 6 inches wider, and a full width one piece windscreen was
introduced. The redesigned notably sleeker bodywork was fitted the existing wooden
chassis unit.
Introduced
in November 1961, the Gullwing had a price tag of £830 which included all parts
needed to build one. 13 cars in all were produced.
In 1962 a Gullwing driven by John Hine and Richard
Prior entered Le Mans, the car was timed at 129mph on the Mulsanne straight but
unfortunately retired in the eighth hour with a failed camshaft.
Together, Steve Miniprio, Grahame John and David
Rees won over 40 races and broke 7 lap records in the Autosport 1000cc GT
Championship between 1961 and 1962, prompting Autosport to describe the
Gullwing as " a formidable racing car "
