Corsa Spyder...

I'm putting this thread onto the "Other British Cars" as it is a kit car made in England, originally based on Triumph Spitfire mechanicals.

Fairly rare car on this side of the pond, it was brought to Northern Colorado by a recent immigrant from England.

It is pictured here next to my TR6.




More information can be found on the kit, and other versions of it here at Fiorano Type 48.

This particular automobile has a very strange build combination. It has a custom chassis that Triumph Herald front suspension has been added to (custom A-arms but has Herald front drum brakes with Alfin drums). The rear suspension is from an Alfa Alphetta and sports in board disc brakes. You read that right, drums up front with discs in the rear. The engine is a Triumph 2.0 litre I6 from a 2000 Saloon and the transmission is from a GT6 with a D-type overdrive.

It is pictured with my TR6 because the two cars will soon be spiritually linked. The 2.0 litre in the Corsa Spyder is completely knackered and the owner wants to up-size the engine from 2.0 litres to 2.5 litres. When I built the "performance" engine for my TR6 I used a different core engine than the original engine. So now, the original engine from my TR6 is being rebuilt in order to power this kit.

When its done it should be completely bonkers to drive. I'm already thinking of getting a set of period correct goggles to go for my obligatory rides and turns behind the wheel. :wink:

Neat looking car, so is this a quality kit car? I'll bet it would be lots of fun to get around in...

I think, like any kit car, the end quality depends upon the builder. The kit itself is fairly inexpensive, but doesn't come with much except the body parts. This particular car does not have the best fit and finish. Some on that site I linked appear to have an excellent fit and finish. This one is one of the very early kits having been originally built in the early nineteen eighties.

Sounds like a hoot, Shawn!

From the front that one looks like a cross between an Allard and a Ferrari...

"Allardi"? "Ferrlard"?

No matter. GET TH' GOGGLES!!! :laugh:

Neat looking little car...he's got Ferrari emblems all over it but I'm with Doc...looks more like an Allard to me.

Its based on the first Ferrari Gran Prix car. The 125 F1.

But the resemblance to the Allard J2 is striking:

The resemblence to the J2 is there, especially on this car which seems to have an altered grill opening from the other Corsa Spyders.

Made a mistake though. It wasn't based on the 125 F1, it was the Tipo 166.

Well, they're all good looking cars & I wouldn't refuse any of them.

Fantastic little car. I'd take off the Ferrari badges myself - stands nicely on its own.

I built one of these 2yrs ago on the standard spitfire chassis with the 1396cc mk4 engine.It is brilliant fun to drive and has enough performance to keep up with modern traffic.Brakes are also good,but I fitted a servo from a vauxhall corsa with split system for a bit more safety.The body is still available,as far as I know,from Fiorano in England for £2,000 and makes a cheap alternative to rebuilding a spitfire.Only downside is that it has no weather protection,and after the summer we have had it did not get the use that it deserved.The paint was applied by my wife-with a mini roller!12 coats of it! It is proper coach enamel,made for railway engines and canal boats.pics are on flickr,it has race number on car, no27.Just look under corsa spyder. thanks,stan.

That really is a neat looking little kit. Maybe someday...

abco said:

I built one of these 2yrs ago on the standard spitfire chassis with the 1396cc mk4 engine.It is brilliant fun to drive and has enough performance to keep up with modern traffic.Brakes are also good,but I fitted a servo from a vauxhall corsa with split system for a bit more safety.The body is still available,as far as I know,from Fiorano in England for £2,000 and makes a cheap alternative to rebuilding a spitfire.Only downside is that it has no weather protection,and after the summer we have had it did not get the use that it deserved.The paint was applied by my wife-with a mini roller!12 coats of it! It is proper coach enamel,made for railway engines and canal boats.pics are on flickr,it has race number on car, no27.Just look under corsa spyder. thanks,stan.

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Are you Exfordy from Flickr? I've seen your stuff via my friend Dave here in Alberta (78Z, Dave_7)

So it sounds like it's not an ideal car for a wet climate, it might do fine here in Alberta where we have a fairly dry climate in the summer...

Hi Sherlock,no I am not Exfordy,my photos were put on by Victor Craig from Glasgow and were taken at the Moffat Classic car rally at Moffat in the Scots border hills.There is a fantastic photo on flickr of a Midas kit car at this event taken by my pal Alan Donohoe with one of the lochs in the background.it under listing 'moffat car rally schotland' and his stream is under 'midasracer'. [he's dutch].There are about 900+ cars at this event in july.As for my car,yes it is great in warm weather.Rain does go over your head at 40mph plus,but if you got caught in something like a thunderstorm,then it's baling out time!I will try to put some pics on here when i figure out how!thanks,Stan Armstrong.

abco said:

Hi Sherlock,no I am not Exfordy,my photos were put on by Victor Craig from Glasgow and were taken at the Moffat Classic car rally at Moffat in the Scots border hills.There is a fantastic photo on flickr of a Midas kit car at this event taken by my pal Alan Donohoe with one of the lochs in the background.it under listing 'moffat car rally schotland' and his stream is under 'midasracer'. [he's dutch].There are about 900+ cars at this event in july.As for my car,yes it is great in warm weather.Rain does go over your head at 40mph plus,but if you got caught in something like a thunderstorm,then it's baling out time!I will try to put some pics on here when i figure out how!thanks,Stan Armstrong.

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Stan, it's great to have another Brit on this website. Thanks for posting and please keep us informed about LBC goings-on on your side of the pond.

Cheers and season's greetings to you.

I see the resemblance to the Allard and the Ferrari, but my first impression was of a Healey Silverstone! If one moved the headlights into the grill it would even be more so. Pretty neat vehicle, but why would one ever want drums up front and discs at the rear??

Hi mike and anyone else reading this,the car in these pics is nothing like the Fiorano version-the grille is a different shape.It is a matter of personal taste what you put in there.I have seen vertical slats and horizontal.I prefer the latter.Brake wise,it depends which car you use as a platform,the more modern versions of the spitfire do have disc front and drum rear.Some are built using Fiat twin cam mechanicals or Alfa.I have even seen pics of someone building an Alfa 2L v6,which will be one heck of a performer!I would not want to drive that with drum front! for info look at www.corsaspyder.com the owner is Mick Michaeliades. You will also find photos on madaboutkitcars.[site]thanks,Stan.

Stan is right about the grill differences. This particular car is of a very early kit, but many grill options are out there, especially since it is all fiberglass. It has a custom built chassis, but uses Herald front suspension and brakes (which is why they are drum), the engine that was replaced was from a Triumph 2000 Saloon (new engine is a TR6 engine), the transmission is also from the 2000 Saloon. The rear suspension and brakes are from an Alfa Alphetta. From what I understand, the owner is planning on converting the front brakes to disc (very easy to convert to Spitfire or GT6 units). The old engine was so knackered that he never really drove it much. Now that he can, he will be upgrading the brakes. The current owner did not build the car. He bought it in the UK though.

my spyder at newark kitcar show.eventually found out how to add pics!mine are all too big,will have to get one of the kids to show me how to compress them. stan.

Looks great! :thumbsup: