1960 Peerless GT

Peerless (Coupe), 1957-1962

The Peerless was in production from 1957 until 1962. Styled in house, it is a front-engine, rear wheel drive GT range seating two adults and two children.

Peerless began when hotelier James Byrnes asked Bernie Rodger to build him a racing car. However, a chat with John Gordon highlighted that a four-seat grand tourer might have more profit potential than a small club racer, while remaining competitive on track. The Peerless - named after the premises in Slough chosen to build the car - used a spaceframe chassis underneath a GRP shell, though the initial prototype had been aluminium. Expensive to produce, the early cars also had fit and finish issues that made them less appealing than other cars of a similar price - in 1958, almost as much as a Rover 90 and considerably more than an Austin Healey 100-6. The Phase 2 introduced a single piece bodyshell, which removed many of the quality complaints at a stroke. Finishing 16th in the 1958 Le Mans 24 Hour race, the Peerless was a strong performer, but production would cease in 1960 after just 325 examples had been built.

However, Bernie Rodger, one of the original investors alongside Jim Gordon, restarted production later that year under a new company, with a new location and a new name. Production of the car, now named the Warwick as per the original aluminium prototype, moved from Slough to Buckinghamshire, and the car underwent numerous improvements before it went on sale. These included a one piece forward hinged bonnet, a stiffer spaceframe chassis and a new dashboard. Over two years, 40 examples were built. Meanwhile, Jim Gordon took the knowledge gained on the Peerless project, teaming up with Jim Keeble to create the Gordon-Keeble GK1.

Obvious alternatives to the Peerless and Warwick include the Triumph TR3 - but for enclosed bodywork we'd also recommend the rare Dove GTR4 and the Triumph Italia 2000 - both of which use similar underpinnings to the Peerless and Warwick. It's possible to consider the Gordon-Keeble GK1 as a development of Peerless thinking, and if you can afford the purchase cost it would make an admirable alternative. In terms of coachbuilt British sports cars - what about the Coune MGB Berlinette? Smaller and less powerful, but very pretty and very rare...