 |  |  |  |  |
 |
1959 Peerless GT news, pictures, and information | ||
| Tweet | ||
James 'Jimmy' Byrnes was a hotelier and restaurateur in search of building a one-off car to be used in club racing. With the help of Bernie Rodgers, the two ended up forming a small car company. Using Mr. Byrnes connections with the Board of Directors of the Standard Triumph car company, the proposed race car would use Triumph parts.
Mr. Rodgers began building a multi-tube frame from rectangular steel tubing. The completed chassis was given Triumph TR3 drivetrain and clothed in an all-aluminum body. The completed prototype was initially dubbed 'Warwick.' The completed car was tested, and shown and demonstrated to friends and enthusiasts. The vehicle received great reviews and interest, percolating the idea of building a batch of production race cars.
One individual who provided a great suggestion was John Gordon, the owner of a used car dealership. His idea was to widen the body, providing more interior space for the occupant, plus improving the vehicles performance and stability. With the wider track, Bernie Rodgers was able to fit a de Dion suspension setup instead of the Triumph TR3's live axle.
A second Warwick prototype was built, incorporating the wider track plus the lessons learned from the creation of the first Warwick car. The completed vehicle was shown at the Paris Motor Show in 1957. Wearing its lightweight aluminum body, the car was met with great reviews. The enthusiasm for the car further promoted the idea of putting the car into production.
The two entrepreneurs were joined by Mr. Gordon. After acquiring a bankrupt car dealership whose property American-made Peerless military trucks had previously been serviced and stored, the name of the car was changed from Warwich to Peerless. The company envisioned the car to sell well in the United States, and since the Peerless Company of Cleveland Ohio was no longer building automobiles, they hoped to capitalize on the company's reputation and popularity.
Several changes were made to the Warwick prototype to better manage its build cost and make it more affordable to a wider audience of consumers. Perhaps the biggest change was the switch to a fiberglass body. Fiberglass was a bit of a gamble, as few automobile companies were using the technology. The Kaiser Darrin and Chevrolet Corvette were some of the early promoters of the product, but it still was relatively new, and there were fears that they might be unable to convince buyers that it was suitable replacement for the aluminums skin.
James Whitson Ltd., a local coachbuilding company, was hired to produce the fiberglass bodies.
The completed product was entered in the 1958 24 Hours of LeMans and piloted by Peter Joppe and Percy Crabb. The car was finished in British Racing Green and given the number '24.' It finished in 16th place overall and 4th place in the two liter Sports class. The car averaged 83.6 mph and completed 240 laps and a total distance of 2006 miles. This was a phenomenal finish, proving the cars durability, performance, and potential.
With the enthusiasm from the vehicle's showing at the Paris Motor Show and its performance at LeMans, sales were strong. Orders outpaced the company's potential to satisfy the requests. After around 250 cars had been produced, the Peerless Company decided to add improvements to the car. One of the changes was to switch suppliers; the bodies were now being built by the Wincanton Transport and Engineering Company. The bodies produced by The Wincanton Company were similar to the Whitson Company, but the process in which they were created was much different. The cars built by the Whitson Company used 57 different molded parts which were then bonded together to create the bodyshell. These were then bonded and pop-riveted to the tubular steel chassis. The Wincanton Company used a single part created in a large, multi-section mold. The resulting product had greater structural rigidity and strength. Upon completion, the bodyshells were bolted to the tubular steel chassis, making it possible to easily remove the bodies if needed.
In total, around 325 examples were built. Seventy examples were left-hand-drive cars which were exported to the United States. Though the company had been poised for greater success, things unraveled when John Gordon left. He had been the company's principle salesman and promoter.
Though the company was short lived, much was accomplished. They had created a competitive, lightweight, and nimble sports car that had competed at LeMans with stunning results. Introduced in 1957 as a 2-seat coupe with Triumph running gear, it proved to have more potential as a 2+2. The bodies features a prominent pair of finned rear fenders flanking a deep fastback rear deck, utilizing a TR3 front suspension, engine and gearbox. These cost-effective, limited production 2+2 GTs are among the most exclusive and unusual from the U.K.
By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2012
Mr. Rodgers began building a multi-tube frame from rectangular steel tubing. The completed chassis was given Triumph TR3 drivetrain and clothed in an all-aluminum body. The completed prototype was initially dubbed 'Warwick.' The completed car was tested, and shown and demonstrated to friends and enthusiasts. The vehicle received great reviews and interest, percolating the idea of building a batch of production race cars.
One individual who provided a great suggestion was John Gordon, the owner of a used car dealership. His idea was to widen the body, providing more interior space for the occupant, plus improving the vehicles performance and stability. With the wider track, Bernie Rodgers was able to fit a de Dion suspension setup instead of the Triumph TR3's live axle.
A second Warwick prototype was built, incorporating the wider track plus the lessons learned from the creation of the first Warwick car. The completed vehicle was shown at the Paris Motor Show in 1957. Wearing its lightweight aluminum body, the car was met with great reviews. The enthusiasm for the car further promoted the idea of putting the car into production.
The two entrepreneurs were joined by Mr. Gordon. After acquiring a bankrupt car dealership whose property American-made Peerless military trucks had previously been serviced and stored, the name of the car was changed from Warwich to Peerless. The company envisioned the car to sell well in the United States, and since the Peerless Company of Cleveland Ohio was no longer building automobiles, they hoped to capitalize on the company's reputation and popularity.
Several changes were made to the Warwick prototype to better manage its build cost and make it more affordable to a wider audience of consumers. Perhaps the biggest change was the switch to a fiberglass body. Fiberglass was a bit of a gamble, as few automobile companies were using the technology. The Kaiser Darrin and Chevrolet Corvette were some of the early promoters of the product, but it still was relatively new, and there were fears that they might be unable to convince buyers that it was suitable replacement for the aluminums skin.
James Whitson Ltd., a local coachbuilding company, was hired to produce the fiberglass bodies.
The completed product was entered in the 1958 24 Hours of LeMans and piloted by Peter Joppe and Percy Crabb. The car was finished in British Racing Green and given the number '24.' It finished in 16th place overall and 4th place in the two liter Sports class. The car averaged 83.6 mph and completed 240 laps and a total distance of 2006 miles. This was a phenomenal finish, proving the cars durability, performance, and potential.
With the enthusiasm from the vehicle's showing at the Paris Motor Show and its performance at LeMans, sales were strong. Orders outpaced the company's potential to satisfy the requests. After around 250 cars had been produced, the Peerless Company decided to add improvements to the car. One of the changes was to switch suppliers; the bodies were now being built by the Wincanton Transport and Engineering Company. The bodies produced by The Wincanton Company were similar to the Whitson Company, but the process in which they were created was much different. The cars built by the Whitson Company used 57 different molded parts which were then bonded together to create the bodyshell. These were then bonded and pop-riveted to the tubular steel chassis. The Wincanton Company used a single part created in a large, multi-section mold. The resulting product had greater structural rigidity and strength. Upon completion, the bodyshells were bolted to the tubular steel chassis, making it possible to easily remove the bodies if needed.
In total, around 325 examples were built. Seventy examples were left-hand-drive cars which were exported to the United States. Though the company had been poised for greater success, things unraveled when John Gordon left. He had been the company's principle salesman and promoter.
Though the company was short lived, much was accomplished. They had created a competitive, lightweight, and nimble sports car that had competed at LeMans with stunning results. Introduced in 1957 as a 2-seat coupe with Triumph running gear, it proved to have more potential as a 2+2. The bodies features a prominent pair of finned rear fenders flanking a deep fastback rear deck, utilizing a TR3 front suspension, engine and gearbox. These cost-effective, limited production 2+2 GTs are among the most exclusive and unusual from the U.K.
By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2012
| ACURA NSX PRODUCTION SITE SELECTED IN OHIO | |
 | 05/14/2013 - MARYSVILLE, Ohio Acura today announced that the all-new NSX supercar will be produced at a new Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio, a $70 million advanced production facility encompassing 184,000 square feet to be housed inside Honda's former North American Logistics facility and located in the midst of Honda's existing R&D and production engineering operations. The site for the new production facility, which will be Honda's third auto plant in Ohio, is only a few mi...[Read more...] |
| Corvette Shines in the Big Apple | |
 | All-new Corvette Stingray comes to New York City 60 years to the day after Motorama debut 2013-01-16 Sixty years ago tomorrow, spectators lined New York City's posh Park Avenue, waiting to get a glimpse of the ground-breaking Chevrolet Corvette on display at the General Motors' Motorama show. On Thursday, the Corvette will be back in The Big Apple, marking the historic milestone with the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. The all-new Corvette Stingray debuted earlier...[Read more...] |
| Jaguar Land Rover Debuts Three All-New British Vehicles At 2012 Los Angeles International Automobile Show | |
 | Jaguar Land Rover introducing three new vehicles with special focus on the U.S. Market •High-performance 2014 Jaguar XFR-S makes its world debut •All-new two-seat sports car, the Jaguar F-TYPE, makes its U.S. Auto Show Debut •The world's first all-aluminum SUV, the 2013 Range Rover makes its U.S. Auto Show Debut •The U.S. will be the world's largest market for the three vehicles Jaguar Land Rover is debuting at the 2012 Los Angeles International Auto Show (MAHWAH, N.J.) – November...[Read more...] |
| 1967 Can-Am Road America: The Beginning of the 'Bruce and Denny Show' | |
 | While Formula One will be forever considered the pinnacle of motorsport, from a period between 1966 and 1986 there existed a series that would likely be the closest to 'anything goes' as any motor racing series could truly get. Based upon the FIA Group 7 cars but allowed to showcase unlimited engine sizes and unfettered aerodynamics, the Can-Am cars would have to be considered the pinnacle of motorsport technology and power of their era. And for more than a couple of years there would be one tea...[Read more...] |
| Carroll Shelby, Ford Family for More Than Half a Century | |
 | Carroll Shelby was a member of the Ford family for the better part of 60 years, producing stunning performance vehicles from concepts to production models. He once said his energy and passion for performance products were always strongest when he was working with Ford. Shelby most recently collaborated with the company on the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang, the most powerful production V8 in the world. Working with SVT engineers at Sebring and the Arizona Proving Grounds, at times he drov...[Read more...] |
| Similarly Sized Vehicles from 1959 |
| Alfa Romeo Giulietta |
| Alfa Romeo Sprint Zagato |
| Devin A5M Special |
| Devin D |
| Devin DeMar MKII Special |
| Elva Courier MKII |
| Elva Mark IV |
| Elva MKV |
| Saab 93B |
| Tornado Thunderbolt |
| Peerless: 1951-1960 |
| Similar Automakers |
| Other models by Peerless |
| Related Articles and Event Coverage |
| Russo and Steele - Scottsdale |
| 2011 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion |
