Component Cars

Britain built more kit and component cars than any country in the world, mostly because of a tax loophole. A guide to the British kit-car makers worth knowing, from Gilbern and Ginetta to Dutton and Robin Hood, how the cars are registered today, and why a good one is now a genuine and affordable classic.

Gilbern was the only series-production car ever wholly built in Wales, a glass-fibre grand tourer that grew from a Pontypridd butcher's loft into a proper V6 GT. A guide to the GT, Genie and Invader, the butcher-and-engineer story, the royal owner, what to look for when buying, and what they are worth.