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Auction archive: Lot number 34

1965 GORDON-KEEBLE G.K. 2+2 COUPE

Auction 19.04.2005
19 Apr 2005
Estimate
£12,000 - £16,000
ca. US$22,734 - US$30,312
Price realised:
£17,625
ca. US$33,390
Auction archive: Lot number 34

1965 GORDON-KEEBLE G.K. 2+2 COUPE

Auction 19.04.2005
19 Apr 2005
Estimate
£12,000 - £16,000
ca. US$22,734 - US$30,312
Price realised:
£17,625
ca. US$33,390
Beschreibung:

1965 GORDON-KEEBLE G.K. 2+2 COUPE Registration No.CUU 77C Chassis No.C63 Engine No.63/F05IIRD Regency red with magnolia leather seat and door trims, original black vinyl on dashboard, bulkhead, and centre console, black carpets. Engine: eight cylinders in 90 degree vee, overhead camshafts, Weber Edelbrock fuel injection system, 5,355cc, 300bhp at 5000rpm. Gearbox: Warner T10 four-speed manual, synchromesh on all four, Hurst shifter. Suspension: independent wishbones and coil springs to front, De Dion axle, coil springs, trailing arms, and Watts linkage to rear, telescopic dampers fitted all round. Brakes: servo-assisted discs all round. Right hand drive. The list of British car manufacturers that have briefly flourished before sinking into obscurity is by no means small, but there are very few whose efforts and memory have been as effectively and lovingly preserved as Gordon-Keeble. Conceived as the Fifties drew to a close, the Gordon GT prototype was the star of Bertone's 1960 Geneva Motor Show stand (penned by an anonymous 21 year-old by the name of Giorgetto Guigaro), and later that year was labelled "the most electrifying vehicle ( Autocar ) has ever driven" - no mean accolade. Using the emerging formula of coupling British chassis engineering with large-capacity American muscle, John Gordon and Jim Keeble sought to provide Aston performance at a fraction of the cost. Their creation so capably filled the brief that it was still attracting praise seven years later. The Motor road test from June 1966, for example, compliments this "immensely fast and satisfying car to drive" and places its performance firmly into DB6 and E-type territory, cars whose evolutions were swifter and supported by pedigree and budget. Wrapped in a glassfibre body and atop a 1-inch square-tube chassis, the 5.4 litre Chevrolet V8 (shared with the early Corvettes) provides an impressive 192 bhp per ton; when matched to the original gearing, it could propel the G.K.1 to 60 miles an hour in just over 6 seconds and on to a maximum of around 140mph. The figures are only part of the story, however, as this was one of the first road-cars to realise the potential of the front mid-engined configuration. Distributing the weight evenly between the front and rear axles was one of Jim Keeble's main priorities, so conscious was he of offering drivers the perfect platform from which to exploit the 300 braked horses. The technical success of the package was such that it was unashamedly copied by Rivolta and (master of cars) Bizzarrini with their ISO Rivolta. Rivolta had examined the prototype at his factory but declined involvement in the project. A few years later the ISO coupe emerged boasting a suspiciously similar layout, even using the same Corvette engine. Thus was the Gordon GT a direct ancestor of Bizzarrini's highly competitive 5300GT. Enthusiasm for the Gordon-Keeble was instant, but the company was enslaved by its reliance upon external parts suppliers, and by the unwillingness of financial backers to see the project as a worthwhile investment. Production was eventually funded out of one of the directors' own pockets (financier George Wansborough), but when workers at Adwest (who supplied the steering system) went on strike for 19 weeks, the strain was too much to bear. The company folded after completing just over 80 cars. Production trickled onwards under successive attempts to save the company, eventually grinding to a halt after 99 cars had been built. The 100th car was shipped in parts to be assembled by B.C. & H. Motors in London. Despite the demise of the Gordon-Keeble company, the cars continued to impassion owners. In 1969, one Ernie Knott, owner of a coachworks and repair company in Brackley, bought his G.K.1 having fallen in love with one in the paddock at Silverstone five years earlier. His recognition of the cars' potential and his desire to enhance the experience of ownership led to his acquiring the majority of the spares left in the wa

Auction archive: Lot number 34
Auction:
Datum:
19 Apr 2005
Auction house:
Christie's
London,The Jack Barclay Showroom
Beschreibung:

1965 GORDON-KEEBLE G.K. 2+2 COUPE Registration No.CUU 77C Chassis No.C63 Engine No.63/F05IIRD Regency red with magnolia leather seat and door trims, original black vinyl on dashboard, bulkhead, and centre console, black carpets. Engine: eight cylinders in 90 degree vee, overhead camshafts, Weber Edelbrock fuel injection system, 5,355cc, 300bhp at 5000rpm. Gearbox: Warner T10 four-speed manual, synchromesh on all four, Hurst shifter. Suspension: independent wishbones and coil springs to front, De Dion axle, coil springs, trailing arms, and Watts linkage to rear, telescopic dampers fitted all round. Brakes: servo-assisted discs all round. Right hand drive. The list of British car manufacturers that have briefly flourished before sinking into obscurity is by no means small, but there are very few whose efforts and memory have been as effectively and lovingly preserved as Gordon-Keeble. Conceived as the Fifties drew to a close, the Gordon GT prototype was the star of Bertone's 1960 Geneva Motor Show stand (penned by an anonymous 21 year-old by the name of Giorgetto Guigaro), and later that year was labelled "the most electrifying vehicle ( Autocar ) has ever driven" - no mean accolade. Using the emerging formula of coupling British chassis engineering with large-capacity American muscle, John Gordon and Jim Keeble sought to provide Aston performance at a fraction of the cost. Their creation so capably filled the brief that it was still attracting praise seven years later. The Motor road test from June 1966, for example, compliments this "immensely fast and satisfying car to drive" and places its performance firmly into DB6 and E-type territory, cars whose evolutions were swifter and supported by pedigree and budget. Wrapped in a glassfibre body and atop a 1-inch square-tube chassis, the 5.4 litre Chevrolet V8 (shared with the early Corvettes) provides an impressive 192 bhp per ton; when matched to the original gearing, it could propel the G.K.1 to 60 miles an hour in just over 6 seconds and on to a maximum of around 140mph. The figures are only part of the story, however, as this was one of the first road-cars to realise the potential of the front mid-engined configuration. Distributing the weight evenly between the front and rear axles was one of Jim Keeble's main priorities, so conscious was he of offering drivers the perfect platform from which to exploit the 300 braked horses. The technical success of the package was such that it was unashamedly copied by Rivolta and (master of cars) Bizzarrini with their ISO Rivolta. Rivolta had examined the prototype at his factory but declined involvement in the project. A few years later the ISO coupe emerged boasting a suspiciously similar layout, even using the same Corvette engine. Thus was the Gordon GT a direct ancestor of Bizzarrini's highly competitive 5300GT. Enthusiasm for the Gordon-Keeble was instant, but the company was enslaved by its reliance upon external parts suppliers, and by the unwillingness of financial backers to see the project as a worthwhile investment. Production was eventually funded out of one of the directors' own pockets (financier George Wansborough), but when workers at Adwest (who supplied the steering system) went on strike for 19 weeks, the strain was too much to bear. The company folded after completing just over 80 cars. Production trickled onwards under successive attempts to save the company, eventually grinding to a halt after 99 cars had been built. The 100th car was shipped in parts to be assembled by B.C. & H. Motors in London. Despite the demise of the Gordon-Keeble company, the cars continued to impassion owners. In 1969, one Ernie Knott, owner of a coachworks and repair company in Brackley, bought his G.K.1 having fallen in love with one in the paddock at Silverstone five years earlier. His recognition of the cars' potential and his desire to enhance the experience of ownership led to his acquiring the majority of the spares left in the wa

Auction archive: Lot number 34
Auction:
Datum:
19 Apr 2005
Auction house:
Christie's
London,The Jack Barclay Showroom
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