I'm a big Berkeley fan (as well as Spridgets).
Berkeleys were the most sporting of the British microcars in the 50's
and had considerable success in racing at Verona, Monza, LeMans, and the
Mille Miglia (mostly in 492 form) in the 500cc class populated by FIAT
and Abarth. It was also (I think) the earliest mass-produced British
front-wheel-drive car. It may have been modestly powered, but keep in
mind the car has no frame (all glass) and weighs in at about 700 pounds.
For more info: http://www.cjnetworks.com/~msabat/berks/index.html
Most Berk fans know that the Sprite killed the marque. When the Bugeye
came out, it offered a more substantial car for the same money. Sales of
the Berk died overnight. To stay alive, Berkeley quickly re-engineered
the car into a 328cc 3 wheeler for the UK market (being taxed and
licensed as a motorcycle.) I have one of the handful in the US:
http://www.concentric.net/~Wcelliot/Berkeley/ Having all of 18hp, it
will easily run 65mph and will cruise at 50 all day (getting 45 mpg).
I also have a 2300 mile '58 328 which I'm planning to repower with a
Suzuki GT550. Since the later 4-stroke Berks with 40hp would do over
100, I can't wait to see what 50+hp will do.
The more conventional Bandit (seperate chassis, automotive engine, etc)
never really got off the drawing board and the company soon
folded...like most of the other "microcar only" companies.
All Berkeleys are a good buy. They are (IMHO) a better car than the
Isetta and the Messerschmitt and are a fraction of the cost. (I do
accept that the Berkeley construction quality is considerably below the
Germans' though.) Parts are moderately available and the cars get a
great deal of attention on the street and at shows.
If anyone would like more info, please drop me a line.
Bill Elliott
Lake Barrington, IL
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