Lot 406: Gilbern GT

The first Gilbern GT was started in 1959. Giles Smith a local butcher decided that he wanted to make his own car, a luxurious grand tourer. Through a chance meeting with Bernard Friese he discussed the possibility of building a one-off car. Bernard, an ex German POW had been working for a glass fibre company.They decided to build a car from scratch.As the car was nearing completion the well known local amateur racing driver Peter Cottrell was asked to come and view the car and inspect it. It was with his help they realised that the car was too good to be simply a one off and it was decided that there was a potential market for the new Gilbern GT.The original cars were based around Austin A35 mechanical components and had steel wheels. In 1961 a site at Llantwit Fardre was purchased with a loan of £700 from Giless father, it had formerly been the location of the Red Ash Colliery but had not operated since 1921. During 1961-62 cars were built at the rate of about 1 a month with about 5 people in total working at the factory, both Giles and Bernard being heavily involved in the actual building of the cars. Approx 1,005 Gilberns were made, of which over 500 are still on the road. The car on sale here was manufactured in 1966, and registered in 1969. It is said to have extensive service history which back up the claimed 68,000 miles on the clock.The subject of a recent re-commission after being laid up since 1981the car is said to have a had an extensive re-trim in red leather and a full body re-spray. Other works include a new head lining and carpets, all in all a very good example of this classic and a useable vehicle.