GCS Cars

GCS Cars, also known as Gary Colin Specialist Cars, was a British specialist automobile company associated with the Hawke, an open two-seat sports-car kit. The company initially traded from Orpington in Kent and was founded by Garry Hutton and Collin Puttock. Its product occupied the British kit-car and replica-car market, where small manufacturers developed lightweight bodies and chassis intended to be completed by customers using donor-car components. The Hawke drew some broad visual comparison with the Burlington SS and, more generally, with the classic Morgan roadster, but it was not a Burlington derivative. According to the available reference material, the car was developed independently by the GCS Cars partners and differed from the Burlington in its overall dimensions and construction. The distinction was particularly important in the chassis and body design. The Dorian/Burlington concept was associated with a Triumph-based chassis, while the Hawke was designed around a ladder-frame chassis capable of accepting components from Ford Cortina and Ford Sierra donor vehicles. This architecture gave the Hawke a substantially wider body and wing arrangement than the earlier Dorian/Burlington design. Its body was made as a one-piece glass-reinforced plastic shell with an integral floor, rather than the combination of glass fibre, wood, and aluminium associated with the Burlington body tub. The kit could accommodate a range of engines, including Ford units and the Rover V8, giving builders flexibility in performance, availability, and budget. GCS Cars later changed ownership. The business was eventually sold to Tiger Racing, another British specialist-car manufacturer, and was subsequently sold to LCD, identified in the reference material as LC Developments Ltd. LCD was founded in 2003 by Richard John Laking and Paul John Chapman. The latter company became responsible for continuing to manufacture the Hawke and supply it as a kit. The available material does not establish a precise founding year for GCS Cars, production volumes, a current corporate website, or a detailed international distribution network. Its documented significance lies principally in the independent development of the Hawke and in its place within Britain's small-scale kit-car tradition.

GCS Cars was established by Garry Hutton and Collin Puttock as a British specialist-car venture. The company initially traded from Orpington in Kent and developed the Hawke for the kit-car market. This market traditionally relied on customer assembly, donor-car mechanical components, and comparatively small production runs rather than the integrated manufacturing model used by mass-market automakers. The Hawke was an open two-seat sports car with styling that recalled the Morgan tradition while remaining a distinct design. It was sometimes compared with the Burlington SS, but the available account emphasizes that the Hawke was developed independently by the GCS Cars partners. The car's engineering layout also separated it from the Burlington/Dorian approach. Rather than being designed around a Triumph chassis, the Hawke used a ladder-frame chassis intended to accept Ford Cortina and Ford Sierra components. This decision influenced the car's proportions: the Hawke's body and wings were considerably wider than those of the Dorian/Burlington vehicle. Construction was likewise different. The Burlington body tub used glass fibre together with wood and aluminium, whereas the Hawke employed a one-piece glass-reinforced plastic bodyshell with an integral floor. The design could be fitted with several engine types, including Ford engines and the Rover V8. This donor-component flexibility was suited to kit-car builders seeking to tailor the finished vehicle to available parts, desired performance, and personal taste. GCS Cars did not remain independent throughout the product's commercial life. The company was eventually sold to Tiger Racing. It later changed hands again, being sold to LCD, or LC Developments Ltd. The reference material identifies LC Developments as having been founded in 2003 by Richard John Laking and Paul John Chapman. LCD subsequently manufactured the Hawke and supplied it as a kit, extending the product's availability beyond the original GCS Cars period. The available sources do not provide a reliable founding date for GCS Cars, detailed annual production figures, a complete chronology of ownership transfers, or evidence of major advertising campaigns, recalls, legal disputes, or public-company activity. The documented history therefore centers on the Hawke's independent design, its technical contrast with the Burlington SS, and the transfer of the product from GCS Cars to Tiger Racing and then to LCD.

• 2003

  LC Developments established

  [1]GCS Carsen.wikipedia.org

  LC Developments Ltd was founded by Richard John Laking and Paul John Chapman before becoming the later manufacturer and supplier associated with the Hawke.

• GCS Cars founded

  [1]GCS Carsen.wikipedia.org

  Garry Hutton and Collin Puttock founded GCS Cars, which initially traded from Orpington in Kent.

• Development of the Hawke

  [1]GCS Carsen.wikipedia.org

  GCS Cars developed the Hawke as an independently designed open two-seat kit car using a ladder-frame chassis compatible with Ford Cortina and Sierra components.

• Transfer to Tiger Racing

  [1]GCS Carsen.wikipedia.org

  GCS Cars was eventually sold to Tiger Racing.

• Transfer to LCD

  [1]GCS Carsen.wikipedia.org

  The business was later sold to LCD, also identified as LC Developments Ltd, which continued manufacture and kit supply for the Hawke.

A British specialist kit-car marque offering an independently developed, Morgan-influenced open two-seater using a ladder-frame chassis and readily available Ford or Rover donor-car components.

• Kit car

  GCS Hawke

  The Hawke is an open two-seat sports-car kit developed by GCS Cars. Its styling was modeled broadly on the classic Morgan roadster without being a direct copy, and its proportions differed significantly from the Burlington SS. The car used a ladder-frame chassis designed to accept Ford Cortina or Ford Sierra components. Its body was a one-piece glass-reinforced plastic shell with an integral floor, and the design could accommodate a range of Ford engines as well as the Rover V8. After ownership transfers involving Tiger Racing and LCD, the Hawke continued to be manufactured and supplied as a kit by LC Developments Ltd.

1. 1GCS Carsen.wikipedia.org