The Type 48 Corsa Spyder was the brainchild of designer Alan Hooper. His dream was to create a one-off sports car with all the nostalgia of a 1940’s racer, at only a fraction of the cost. His creation was this, a Triumph Spitfire derived, GRP bodied 40’s road-racer.

After receiving an overwhelming interest in his own car, Hooper started supplying a self-build kit, under the banner of H.D.S, in the mid 1990’s. After a short time, demand got too great and the car began production under Reed Engineering, until the early 2000’s.

In 2005 Fiorano brought the Type 48 Corsa Spyder back into production, to the delight of many. In the last seven years we have been dedicated to giving this superb design the respect it deserves.

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We also embrace the extraordinary with the Type 48 Corsa Spyder, as demonstrated by a recent addition of a Jowett Jupiter based car undertaken by one of our customers.

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'The Jowett Jupiter Corsa Spyder' by Geoff McAuley

Which choice takes preference for the typical kit car builder – body style or

donor vehicle?

Well, in my case at least, the acquisition many years ago of a derelict Jowett

Jupiter rescued from the nettles of a Scottish sheep farmer’s field, left me just

with the not so simple task of finding a suitable body.

The Jupiter’s moly-chrome tubular steel chassis was originally designed and built

by English Racing Automobiles (ERA) Ltd of Dunstable in the late ‘forties and

was based on the mechanical components of the highly regarded Jowett Javelin

saloon. It was anticipated that the client base would come from the specialist

coach builder fraternity, but the Jowett company was soon to take over the

project and fit their in-house designed aluminium body. This car was christened

‘Jupiter’. However, the chassis continued to appeal to independent

coachbuilders, and of the 1,000 or so constructed, more than 70 ‘Specials’ were

subsequently constructed over the years, some by famous coachbuilders such

as Stabilimenti Farina, and many others by lesser luminaries closer to home like

Mead and Rochdale. READ FULL STORY ON ARTICLES PAGE

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'A Spit in the past', by Brian Marshall

My brief courtship with idol worship came to a depressing end the day that Mike

Hawthorn died in a stupid 'race you there' car crash on a wet public road in the

late 1950's. What a savage waste. But then the list is endless in the years of motor

racings inception even up until recently with Senna's death. Those far off years

seemed to have magic, panache. Even a picture of those cars - Connaught - BRM

- Mercedes - Maserati - Ferrari -Talbot - Jaguar, evoke the senses. One can

almost smell the exhaust, the hot oil, that peculiar smell of fresh paint work

enduring under heat. And the men - Straight out of the 'Boys own' magazine, with

their leather helmets, goggles and, later, visors, ordinary white overalls for the

most part, hands covered in blisters on the occasions when they had battled with

brutish weight and steering. Drivers blackened face with fumes, dust and oil leaks.

It seems romantic, but with hindsight must have been its own kind of madness at

the time.

However, as Bob Hope would say, 'thanks for the memories' - Cambell - Parry

Thomas - Nuvolari - Cortese - Ascari - Prince Bira - Hawthorne - Collins - Moss -

Salvadori and El Maestro himself ..... Fangio.

READ FULL STORY ON ARTICLES PAGE

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