c1959 Peerless GT Coupe

Description

The Peerless GT resulted from an English club racer called James Byrnes, who wanted to build a sports racer to his own specifications. He approached respected designer and engine tuner Bernie Rodger with the idea. The concept soon took on a more commercial flavour, with the idea being to produce a low-volume GT-coupe vehicle that could be used on the club circuit as well as on the road. Byrnes already had business associations with Triumph, so the choice was made to utilise TR-series mechanicals. The initial multi-tube chassis, possibly called the 'Warwick' at this time (Byrnes' initial naming preference), was clothed in an aluminium body, and the vehicle performed well with a 0-60mph time around 10 seconds. Byrnes presented it to a friend, John Gordon, who at the time was selling used Rolls Royces. He offered some market advice, namely that it would be more saleable with a 2+2 body. Rodger went back to the design drawings, widened the tracks and fitted a de Dion rear end which further aided road-holding. The second prototype was fitted with a fibreglass body for cost reasons. The production models took on the name 'Peerless' after the business took over the former Peerless Motors Jaguar dealership in Slough for production. After a great deal of interest at the Paris Motor Show, production commenced in 1957 and continued until 1960, when a board dispute resulted in John Gordon resigning (he went on to be a part of the Gordon Keeble project). Things continued to go downhill from this point, with the result that only 325 Peerless GTs were made. An updated version of the car was released in 1960, reverting back to the Warwick name, but the damage had already been done and initial demand dwindled before the marque quietly disappeared.