ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTION (UK) TO TKC MAG COSTS £40. CLICK HERE
TKC MAG – ONE YEAR (UK) SUBSCRIPTION – CLICK HERE
Verified unique readers per month for this website currently average 16,650 (covering December 2024, January and February 2025).
A WARM Welcome to totalkitcar online … LATEST ISSUE OF TKC MAG
TKC MAG – MARCH/APRIL 2023 issue of TKC MAG is in store NOW and available for mail order and on digital.
HAWK CARS HF – Front cover feature is the marvellous HAWK CARS HF Lancia Stratos forty years old in 2025 – our twelve page feature covers the past, present and future for this glorious replica.
INDUSTRY GREATS – FORMULA 27 – Although it’s not been around for many years the F27 Roadster grew from a humble ‘pattern and plans’ project into one of the finest Lotus Seven-inspired sportscars. We look at the history and also catch up with the man who really drove the project – Steve Porter
CATERHAM CARS – ‘X’ MARKS THE SPOT – we got our first chance to visit the vast new Caterham Cars factory, known as DARTFORD X, which is in, er, Dartford.
REMEMBERING THE CATERHAM 21 – Second feature of a Caterham-flavour this issue. We look back to the surely under-rated Caterham 21, wich deserved to do better. Arguably, although it went off sale in 1999, it looks better in 2025.
Alternatively, you can CLICK HERE order your MARCH/APRIL 2025 copy NOW.
A little plug (well, it’s my website and I have good things to make you aware of!) for the digital version of TKC MAG. If not having a hard, paper copy of the mag in your mitts doesn’t bother you then may I recommend the digi edition.
An EXACT replica of the paper version it currently costs just £23.99 for a TWELVE MONTHS DIGITAL subscription to TKC MAG ANYWHERE in the world. Visit Pocketmags.com and type in ‘TKC MAG’ and all will be revealed. Alternatively, you download our APP on your mobile and download single issues or a subscription on your phone or tablet.
We are getting a lot of new subscribers on the totalkitcar YouTube channel. If you like this website, you are sure to find something you like on the ‘totalkitcar YouTube channel’? In addition to our usual monthly video upload, we now have a weekly series called the ‘totalkitcar History Files Series. The latter isn’t rocket science. We verbally look at old kitcars with photos added, but we seem to be capturing peoples’ imaginations.
As the name suggests we look at some of the classic marques, great cars, not so great cars, plus the personalities, events and designers who have graced this wonderful industry over the last 75 years.
If you don’t already subscribe to our channel (just search ‘totalkitcar YouTube Channel’ on YouTube) please do, as it’s free and if you click ‘all’ you’ll be notified every time a new video drops. Finally, may I ask you to hit the thumbs up button please as that helps the channel greatly. THANK YOU, dear reader.
History File Series, in association with the Enwin Motors channel. Don’t miss out, subscribe for FREE now.
Search YouTube for the ‘totalkitcar YouTube Channel’ or follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/@tkcmag.
Our popular TRACKDAY CALENDAR is where you can find out where, when and how much by CLICKING HERE. Now updated to cover MARCH & APRIL 2025.
IF YOU LIKE CLASSIC KIT CARS & SPECIALS you are in luck. Clicking that button will take you back in time with features on old kitcars, personalities and generally interesting companies who worked within the specialist car and sixties motorsport movements. I really hope you are enjoying them. Not all of them are kitcar-related per se but they all celebrate the underdog and often feature the wonderful world of sixties motorsport.
A lot of classic clubman motorsport features highlight underdog artisans that we hope will appeal to you dear reader, the sort of companies that we’ve often all heard of but on whom detailed information is often hard to find. Shorrock, Wade Turbochargers, Jack Knight Developments, Cannon Cars, Tom Killeen, David Ogle the list goes on and on. The sort of companies and individuals that our specialist and kitcar forebears from the sixties would have been very familiar with. You’ll find these subjects contained in CLASSIC KIT CARS & SPECIALS.
In CLASSIC KIT CARS & SPECIALS this week we take a look at a very quirky three-wheeler called the Gilcolt that was based on Reliant Regal. We have also unearthed some photos thought lost and definitely never published since they were taken in 1972. CLICK HERE to go there.
SNIPPETS 1 …….. The British Motor Museum has won silver in the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award category in the prestigious West Midlands Tourism Awards 2025. The awards were held recently at a special ceremony at Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham. The awards celebrate the success and accomplishments of tourism businesses across the West Midlands region, promoting the impressive strength of their services, venues, people, experiences and accommodation.
The museum is proud of its continuous work to incorporate accessibility and inclusivity into all its activities, from conception to execution. The recent addition of the ‘Austin and Morris’ Office’ displays, with holographic presentations, is a key example of this. Both historic offices are equipped with a tablet, which subtitles the speeches given in the offices, and the displays have induction loops to support people with hearing aids.
Additionally, the museum hosts accessible school and community visits and runs a Travel Support Fund to enable schools from low-income areas to visit the museum by helping them to save money on coach travel.
The museum also offers Touch and Access Tours and Object Handling workshops, allowing anyone to interact with the cars and objects on display. More recently, the community team has expanded its external relationships, notably visiting Warm Hubs for the first time, to give people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to see the museum the chance to engage with the collections.
A new permanent Changing Places toilet has also been installed which is designed to accommodate those with accessibility needs, with specialist equipment, such as a hoist and space for carers.
Stephen Laing, Head of Collections & Engagement at the British Motor Museum said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have won silver in the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award category. We’re so proud to be recognised for our efforts to make automotive history and culture accessible to everyone. A big congratulations to all who were nominated and a big thank you to all those who support the British Motor Museum!”
The West Midlands Tourism Awards are supported by the West Midlands Growth Company, the region’s official destination marketing agency. Pre-pandemic, the tourism sector contributed £13.1 billion to the West Midlands economy, attracting 134 million visitors, and supporting more than 137,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
For more information about the West Midlands Tourism Awards visit http://westmidlandstourismawards.com/ To find out more about the British Motor Museum please visit www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk.
left to right shows Jim Ellison, Emma Rawlinson and Stephen Laing from the British Motor Museum collecting their award.
SNIPPETS 2 ……. RM Sotheby’s is delighted to announce a new five-year partnership with the Royal Automobile Club. Building on five years of prior success, this agreement takes the support of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run all the way through to 2030.
RM Sotheby’s annual London sale is now firmly established to run alongside the exciting Royal Automobile Club Motor Week celebrations in early November, which culminate in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. The sale will return to The Peninsula London where last year over £17 million of fine motor cars were sold, making it the UK’s largest historic car sale of 2024.
RM Sotheby’s is also pleased to announce its support for the inaugural Woodcote Park Concours, which will be held by the Club at its Woodcote Park site on July 9.
Greg Anderson, Managing Director, RM Sotheby’s EMEA said: “We are truly delighted to renew our partnership with The Royal Automobile Club and to remain the title sponsor of the wonderful London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. We see the partnership as one of our most important relationships in the European market and we are committed to the future success of the Run and to support the Club across a variety of events activities on an annual basis.”
For more news from RM Sotheby’s: #RMSothebys
For more news on the 2025 RM Sotheby’s London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, please go to www.veterancarrun.com.
SNIPPETS 3 …….. SPECIAL OFFER: 12 months FREE Total Motor Assist for all totalkitcar.com readers!
Designed to plug the gaps in motor insurance, this multi-car package for you and your family sits alongside your insurance and gives you vital extra services, including:
UK-wide accident recovery
Approved accident repair
Like-for-like replacement car
Private treatment for injury
Specialist legal support
Saves you from paying any excess
Helps protect your no-claims
24/7 UK-based helpline
Trusted by thousands of members and over 150 organisations, we’re delighted to invite you to join free today at https://tkc.assistprotect.co.uk.
Now with free cycling support and property damage repair as well when you join!
So, that’s about it from me for this week, so I’ll bid you a great seven days, with plenty of enjoyable driving and I look forward to welcoming you once again next Friday – MARCH 28 – La vie et belle!
Best regards
Steve