What is “KIT CAR”

A kit car, also known as a “component car“, is an automobile that is available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer himself then assembles into a functioning car. Usually, many of the major mechanical systems such as the engine and transmission are sourced from donor vehicles or purchased new from other vendors. Kits vary in completeness, including as little as a book of plans, or as much as a complete set with all components included.

There is a sub-set of the kit car, commonly referred to as a “re-body”, in which a commercially manufactured vehicle has a new (often fiberglass) body put on the running chassis. Most times, the existing drive gear and interior are retained. These kits require less technical knowledge from the builder, and because the chassis and mechanical systems were designed, built, and tested by a major automotive manufacturer, a re-body can also lead to a much higher degree of safety and reliability.

The definition of a kit car usually indicates that a manufacturer constructs multiple kits of the same vehicle, each of which it then sells to a third party to build.

During the 1970s many kits had bodies styled as sports cars that were designed to bolt directly to VW Beetle chassis. This was popular as the old body could be easily separated from the chassis leaving virtually all mechanical components attached to the chassis and a GRP-body from the kit supplier shop fitted. This made the Beetle one of the most popular “donor” vehicles of all time.

Examples of this conversion include the Bradley GT, Sterling, and Sebring which were made by the thousands and many are still around today. Volkswagen based buggies also appeared in relatively large numbers in the 1960s and 1970s based usually on a beetle floor pan.

Credit : Wikipedia