1964 Gordon-Keeble Coupé
Registration no. Not UK registered
Chassis no. O34/F1004/RD
Engine no. 34/F1004/RD

Produced between 1964 and 1966, the Gordon-Keeble was one of a select band of 1960s Grandes Routières that combined British chassis engineering with American horsepower and Italian style. Designed by John Gordon, lately of Peerless, and produced in collaboration with garage owner Jim Keeble, the car featured a spaceframe chassis with independent front suspension, De Dion rear axle and four-wheel disc brakes. Styled by the youthful Giorgetto Giugiaro, then at Carrozzeria Bertone, its elegant glassfibre bodywork was manufactured in England by Williams & Pritchard, one of the foremost firms specialising in this form of construction. A 327ci (5.4-litre) Chevrolet V8 engine provided effortless cruising and a top speed in the region of 140mph. Amazingly, the car went from drawing board to finished prototype in just four months.

The first Gordon GT was presented on Bertone's stand at the Geneva Motor Show in 1960 where it caused a sensation. Unusually for a prototype, the car was tested by The Autocar magazine, which declared it 'the most electrifying vehicle we ever tested'. With a 0-60mph time of six seconds and 'the ton' coming up just ten seconds later, the 140mph Gordon GT was one of the fastest road vehicles of its day. John Gordon took the prototype to Detroit where an agreement was reached with Chevrolet for the supply of engines to the British company. Actual production though, was still some way off and by the time the renamed Gordon-Keeble went on sale in 1964, its specification and performance were no longer so unusual.

Nevertheless, these ingredients should have been the recipe for guaranteed success but the company failed to get its pricing right and production ceased after little more than a year. A prolonged strike at Adwest, makers of the steering box, and resulting delays in component deliveries was another contributing factor in Gordon-Keeble's demise. A brief revival saw a few more cars assembled by the successor company but when finally the end came, only 99 cars, all right-hand drive, had been produced. (A 100th was assembled from spares some time later). It is estimated that all but a tiny handful survive. Today the stylish Gordon-Keeble remains a fascinating 'might-have-been' that can only become increasingly collectible.

This manual transmission example was originally exported to Canada in 1964 and in May 1967 was sold to the second owner with 5,500 miles on the odometer. The current vendor bought this Gordon-Keeble and imported it into the Netherlands in 2000, since when approximately €30,000 has been spent on bringing the car to its present excellent condition. British-car specialists Noble House in Almere, Holland carried out the restoration, since when only some 2,000 miles have been covered. Noteworthy features include an additional brake servo, a Kenlowe electric cooling fan and its original Radiomobile radio, and the car also comes with its original steering wheel, two spare headlight rims, a set of wheel spinners (illegal in Holland) and a copper mallet. The vendor has been told that the rear axle ratio of 3.07:1 was changed to 2.88:1 at 14,188 miles, and that the speedometer had been changed by 15,522 miles, making the total covered from new approximately 58,000 miles. Finished in Sage Green metallic with original black skai interior, this ultra-rare British GT is offered with Netherlands registration papers.