The Berkeley was a very popular British sports car; its constructor, Laurie Bond, was one of the more successful designers of mini cars in England.

In the 1940's, Bond raced successfully in a mountain race and decided to create a light 2-seat roadster with a fibreglass body, a 2-stroke motor and front-wheel drive.

In 1956 he joined forces with Charles Panter, owner of Europe's largest manufacturer of caravans, who wanted to offset seasonal sales variations by producing a car.

Production began with 3 prototypes, the bodies of which were made of two plastic parts, with a box-shaped substructure and suspension and engine compartment reinforced with aluminium, forming a fibreglass monocoque structure.

The headlights were under Plexiglas covers.

The first Berkeleys, the B60s, were 4-wheelers and had 322cc Anzani 2-stroke, 2-cylinder motors with 15 horsepower and chain drive to the front wheels.

These in turn were hung on A-arms, suspended by Girling coil-and-damper units.

At the rear...