A 1960 Berkeley T60 (My thanks to Roger Grainger for this photograph of his vehicle)

A 1960 Berkeley T60 (My thanks to Roger Grainger for this photograph of his vehicle)

Berkeley

Description

Berkeley were Caravan makers in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire (UK) and in 1956 they introduced their first 4-wheeled sports car that was designed by Laurie Bond.  In 1959 a 3-wheeled version was announced as the Berkeley T60.  The T60 was powered by an Excelsior Talisman 328cc twin-cylinder engine and had a streamlined fibreglass body that also incorporated an aluminium-alloy chassis that was bonded into the body.  The primary drive of the car was through a multi-plate wet clutch where as the secondary drive was by chain to a differential and then through Hardy Spicer universal joints and half shafts to the front wheels.



The Berkeley was a very popular British sports car. Its constructor, Laurie Bond was one of the more successful designers of mini cars in England. In the 40's, Bond raced successfully in a mountain race and decided to create a light 2-seat roadster with a fiberglass body, a 2-stroke motor and front-wheel drive. In 1956 he joined with Charles Panter, owner of Europe's largest manufacturer of caravans, who wanted to offset seasonal sales variations by producing a car.

Production began with 3 prototypes, the bodies of which were made of two plastic parts, with a box-shaped substructure and suspension and engine compartment reinforced with aluminum, forming a fiberglass monocoque structure. The headlights were under plexiglass covers. The first Berkeleys, the B60s, were 4-wheelers and had 322cc Anzani 2-stroke, 2-cylinder motors with 15 horsepower and chain drive to the front wheels. These in turn were hung on A-arms, suspended by Girling coil-and-damper units. At the rear there were swing axles, with struts. It was named B60 for its top speed, and the B65, with 328cc Excelsior motor, soon followed. A 492cc version was created by the addition of a third cylinder. Production was stopped by the arrival of the Austin Healey Sprite.

When production resumed, the B65 had become the T60, a 3-wheeler, able to be driven on a motorcycle license. The slightly longer body had a bit of room behind the front seats and very rare T60/4 (only 40 made) had actual child seats over the rear wheel. The 3-wheelers were a great success, and were produced in the largest numbers.

Manufacturer: Berkeley Ltd. Biggleswade England




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Detailed Information
Detailed Description

Berkeley were Caravan makers in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire (UK) and in 1956 they introduced their first 4-wheeled sports car that was designed by Laurie Bond.  In 1959 a 3-wheeled version was announced as the Berkeley T60.  The T60 was powered by an Excelsior Talisman 328cc twin-cylinder engine and had a streamlined fibreglass body that also incorporated an aluminium-alloy chassis that was bonded into the body.  The primary drive of the car was through a multi-plate wet clutch where as the secondary drive was by chain to a differential and then through Hardy Spicer universal joints and half shafts to the front wheels.

The T60 came in two forms as a Hard top or a Soft top and as a standard or Deluxe model, the Deluxe featuring extra dashboard instruments and a spare wheel.  The vehicle had a bench type seat at the front of the vehicle for both front occupants and an occasional seat for two children in the rear. A T60/4 version was also introduced in September 1960 that had four separate seats. Due to financial problems Berkeley’s were only manufactured until December 12th 1960 when the company then ceased trading.

Additional Information

Additional Information

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