Dutton Cars

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The Dutton Melos

Dutton Cars, based in Worthing, Sussex, England, was a maker of kit cars between 1970 and 1989. In terms of numbers of kits produced, it was the largest kit car manufacturer in the world.

The company was founded by Tim Dutton Woolley and run from a small workshop where a series of cars named P1 were built. In October 1971 the B-Type appeared with a more or less standard specification and based on Triumph Herald components. A move was also made to a larger factory in Tangmere, Chichester.

Products

The B-Type eventually evolved into the Dutton Phaeton. Later versions of the Phaeton were based on Ford Escort components and were produced until 1989. These were also available as fully built-up cars, in which case they received a 1.6 liter Ford Crossflow engine with 84 hp (63 kW).^[1]

In 1979 Dutton announced the Dutton Sierra, an Escort-based estate car with off-road looks. In 1982, the Ford Motor Company decided to use the Sierra name on their Cortina/Taunus replacement and gave him 3 months to stop using the name, and claimed sole rights. A 5-day case resulted at the High Court in London, Ford lost, and Dutton won the right to continue with the name on kit cars as the judge ruled that these were a separate category from assembled cars. Dutton was awarded costs against Ford and gained immense publicity. The Sierra is claimed to be the biggest selling kit car ever and Dutton continued to use the name Sierra until its production ceased in 1989. A further move to larger premises back in Worthing was made in 1982 with glass fibre body making at a separate works in Lancing.

On the usual rear-wheel drive Ford Escort underpinnings Dutton placed the body of the new Rico. It made its debut in October 1984, at the Birmingham Motor Show. It used the mechanical parts and doors from a two-door Escort but had a Dutton-developed glassfibre body over a steel tubular frame. The Rico was a compact and aerodynamic two-door saloon, 3,911 mm (154.0 in) long and much lighter than the donor car.^[2]

Hacker Maroc S2

By 1984, 80 people were employed spread over 4 factories and a large showroon in Worthing - production topped 1,000 a year. By 1989 Tim DSutton had got bored with the kit car scene and all the designs sold off. A new model had been developed called the Maroc, a heavily modified Ford Fiesta with convertible body. Initially it was available as a factory finished car but prices became too high and from 1993 kit versions were made available. The design has been sold on to Novus of Bolney, Sussex; availability continued until at least 2006.

After leaving the kit car business Tim Dutton operated as a consultant but returned to the automobile making business in 1995 with the Dutton Mariner and Dutton Commander, amphibious cars based on the Ford Fiesta and Suzuki Samurai. 2005 saw the introduction of the Dutton Surf based on the current Suzuki Jimny. Tim Dutton is now a record holder as the only person to have crossed the English Channel twice in an amphibious car.

Early Dutton kits are now hard to come by. Most Duttons have already been assembled and are only available to purchase as second hand cars, usually in need of some restoration. When a Dutton is purchased in 'kit form' the person building it will require a donor car. The donor car is used to provide the engine, gearbox and many other essential components for the car. Fords usually make perfect donor cars. Most people use donor cars that would no longer be road worthy and use the spares to create a new kit–car.

Tim Dutton

In 1969 Tim Dutton-Woolley completed a 5 year indentured tool making apprenticeship with Pressed Steel Ltd. in Swindon UK. At that time they were making body shells for the Mk X Jaguar and BMC 1100. As soon as the 5 years training was over he built his first car (1969). Deciding that naming a car a 'Woolley' was not a particularly clever idea, he settled on Dutton instead.

Dutton has been involved with over 14 companies including:-

• Dutton Sports Ltd, a 1969 - 1973 manufacturer of experimental cars and boats, sold on to Dutton Cars
• Dutton Cars Ltd, from 1973 - 1989 Dutton Cars rose to become the largest kit car company in the world producing over 8000 vehicles. At its height over 80 staff were employed and production hit 22 cars/week spread over 4 factory sites in Worthing, West Sussex. By 1989 Dutton had lost faith in the kit car industry with many companies producing close copies of other companies' designs. In 1989 Dutton had 11 different vehicles in production and it soon became apparent that no one company wanted to purchase the whole of Dutton Cars so it was split into 3 and sold off.
• Dutton/Polski Fiat (FSO), in 1979 Dutton was approached by an intermediary to design an open 2 seater sports car for the FSO factory in Poland based on the Polski Fiat 125p. Prototypes were made and delivered to Warsaw by Dutton. 1979 was at the start of the troubles at Gdansk and various directors "disappeared" so the project was dropped.

The following companies were formed in the 1970s and 80s with Dutton being either a director, shareholder or both:

• Starbright Ltd, formed to sell 4X4 Chevrolet K5 Blazers imported from the US. With fuel economy of 10 mpg these ceased to be sellable in the UK when petrol reached £1/gallon.
• Eagle Cars Ltd, formed to sell the US version of the defunct Nova, this became the second largest kit car company in the UK and was taking up too much of Dutton's time so he resigned his directorship and disposed of his shares - the company traded for many years after that with his cousin at the helm.
• Carmona Engineering (Italy), formed to manufacture aluminium road wheels near Turin. This coincided with most vehicle manufacturers offering aluminium wheels as standard equipment so sales were very slow.
• Dutton/Moke Dutton was approached by Austin Rover in the late 1980s to become the sole UK importer of the Portuguese built Mini Moke. Dozens were sold through the Dutton showroom in Worthing. Austin Rover Group then decided to close their manufacturing plant in Lisbon.
• Goodwood Repair Panels, formed to repair space frame chassis and composite body parts.
• Timekite Ltd, a motor magazine publishing company.
• Partex Discount Ltd, formed to sell new parts to kit car builders which ceased trading when the kit car market crashed in the early 1990s.
• Langley Sports Ltd, formed to manufacture electric golf buggies and personnel carriers. The company closed as a result of increased volumes of cut-price product arriving from Japan.
• Hacker Engineering Ltd, originally formed to sell a fully built Type Approved sports car - the Hacker Maroc - based on the Ford Fiesta floor pan. Owing to the pressures of work the project was sold off. The company turned to consultancy and designed and built vehicles for companies in the UK, India, Iran, Guadeloupe, Russia and Nigeria.
• Amphibious Cars, in 1994 a factory at Littlehampton Marina was found and the first production Dutton amphibious car started; it now trades as Tim Dutton Amphibious Cars with the same factory, staff, equipment, tooling and the same phone number.^[3]

In 2005 Dutton sold a Commander to a limited company in Cumbria that was specifically set up to give fare paying passengers pleasure cruises around Lake Windermere with the unique selling point being that the Dutton would go out on the water then drive up the lake bank giving the passengers a unique experience. However, no one is allowed to drive onto the land beside the lake, half the land being private and the remainder being a conservation area so the business plan was flawed by this, as it would require customers being willing to pay extra to simply go out in an amphibious car if all it was allowed to do was stay in the water as with other boat cruises already available on the lake.

The sale of the Dutton was conditional that the car would be delivered to Lake Windermere at Duttons' expense, the Lake Warden would examine the car, make his observations - for example more fire extinguishers, signs, handles etcetera - then the Dutton would be taken back to the factory where the necessary additions would be made so it could then be licensed to take fare paying passengers and be “fit for purpose”. It would then be delivered back to Lake Windermere, again at the manufacturer's expense.

When the company realised their business plan was flawed they attempted to reject the car, having refused to let Dutton collect the car after the Lake Warden's inspection. Dutton was then reported to Cumbria Trading Standards.^[4] In August 2008, Tim Dutton-Woolley was convicted of selling an amphibious vehicle unfit for carrying fare-paying passengers, contrary to the Trade Descriptions Act 1968.^[5]

After the court hearing, an immediate appeal was lodged and was heard 6 months later in the High Court in London by 3 judges - Lord Justice Moses, Mr Justice Hedley and The Recorder of Preston. The Carlisle Crown Court in Cumbria was presided over by Judge Paul Batty, QC, who was criticised for his handling of the case by the appeal judges, stating that Tim Dutton was unfairly treated by the judge. The 6 month suspended prison sentence was thrown out and the unpaid work order reduced. Lord Moses stated that the offence "did not cross the custody threshold. It was both wrong in principle and manifestly excessive to order this man to go to prison, suspended or not. In those circumstances, we shall quash the sentence of suspended imprisonment”.^[6]

Models

References

1. ↑ Mastrostefano, Raffaele, ed. (1985). Quattroruote: Tutte le Auto del Mondo 1985 (in Italian). Milano: Editoriale Domus S.p.A. p. 263. ISBN 88-7212-012-8. 
2. ↑ Tutte le Auto del Mondo 1985, p. 264
3. ↑ (Information provided directly from http://www.timdutton.com)
4. ↑ Neutral Citation Number: (2009) EWCA Crim 811
5. ↑ BBC NEWS | UK | England | Amphibious car maker escapes jail
6. ↑ "Man Who Made Lake District 'Floating Coffin' Has Sentence Overturned". News And Star. 4 February 2009. Retrieved 22 November 2014. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dutton vehicles.

• Dutton Owners' club
• Dutton Amphibian
• Tim Dutton