So, Westfield have bought a GTM .......

[Thrustyjust]

Not sure what they got when they bought GTM. Would be good for @Simon Westwood - Westfield Sportscars Ltd to perhaps say something ?

http://southernkitcars.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&p=137869#p137869

 

[Thrustyjust]

Since the factory didnt answer the question, just found this 

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

A new/revived GTM has been on the drawing board for quite a while now.  An electric version was mooted and a prototype built back in 2014.

 

edit: for acuracy, GTM isn't actually owned by Westfield.  It is their parent company Potenza who bought GTM, Westfield and Roadster Bil.

[CraigHew]

Let's hope the Pod-buyers dont ask for a manual...?

[tolf]

Any spare parts?

[GaryD1971]

I wonder if Caterham will try to copy the pod design, get slapped with a litigation from Westfield leading to the development of a post lit/pre lit pod for future users to debate endlessly....

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

In certain ways though it’s such a shame that one of GTM’s big USP’s - the GRP monocoque, sounds to have gone by the wayside.

Otherwise thought, I really hope this works out for them. But as discussed in the Sport 250 thread, the competition from the big boys at this price point is going to be fierce.

[Thrustyjust]

4 hours ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said:

In certain ways though it’s such a shame that one of GTM’s big USP’s - the GRP monocoque, sounds to have gone by the wayside.

Otherwise thought, I really hope this works out for them. But as discussed in the Sport 250 thread, the competition from the big boys at this price point is going to be fierce.

The GTM is quite a pleasing car to the eye, but it has all its suspension hung on the fibreglass, which isnt actually that clever a thing to do. To make it a space frame would make it a better base , but it then depends how good the cloak of fibre glass is to cover it over.

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

12 minutes ago, Thrustyjust said:

The GTM is quite a pleasing car to the eye, but it has all its suspension hung on the fibreglass, which isnt actually that clever a thing to do. To make it a space frame would make it a better base , but it then depends how good the cloak of fibre glass is to cover it over.

The Lotus Elite from 1957 had a GRP monocoque shell...

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

True on the Libra, prior to that they used mini (front) subframes, front and rear, attached to the GRP monocoque.

Well engineered though, which they had much experiance of, there’s no reason why “direct” mounts shouldn’t work either though.  It just seems the Libra had design issues with its rear suspension, both rear bulkhead flex and flex/to many joints in the rear arms.

To be honest though, it’s all academic anyway, as a pure composites shell is most likely just going to price it out of the market. It just seems such a shame for the main legacy of such an innovative little company as GTM to fall by the wayside...

 

[stephenh]

58 minutes ago, Man On The Clapham Omnibus said:

The Lotus Elite from 1957 had a GRP monocoque shell...

Now you are showing your age, MOTCO!

And yes they did have a habit of pulling suspension mountings out of the shell, but the technology has moved on quite a bit since then, and could be augmented by bonding in suitable load dispersing struts or plates to provide strong anchoring points where required, I should have thought.

[Man On The Clapham Omnibus]

Ah, Stephen, you've sussed my secret! I was given a lift in in an Elite in about 1967 and as I was already love with the Lotus Seven ( a ride in my cousin's 1172cc side valve powered Broadley saw to that) it seemed logical that another Lotus would hit the right spot too. It seemed incredible to me at the time that an Elite would average >30mpg at 100mph but now even hefty lumps like BMW 3 Series, or Mondeos can do that. How technology changes!

[Thrustyjust]

3 hours ago, Man On The Clapham Omnibus said:

The Lotus Elite from 1957 had a GRP monocoque shell...

Probably why they changed it on the Elans, Espirit and Eclats to a steel backbone chassis and then onto extruded alloy ones in the Elise , because it was better way of keeping the wheels pointing the right way.

 

[jeff oakley]

17 minutes ago, Thrustyjust said:

Probably why they changed it on the Elans, Espirit and Eclats to a steel backbone chassis and then onto extruded alloy ones in the Elise , because it was better way of keeping the wheels pointing the right way.

 

That is not necessarily true to be honest. What is true it is cheaper and quicker to achieve the same thing. 

At our car club we had a talk by Roger Nathan who along with Mike Costin designed and built a wooden Chassid car , the Costin Nathan which won many victories. It was stronger and lighter than steel space framed of the day and had immense strength.

A properly designed Glass fibre monocoque is just as strong for hanging bits off than a steel or alloy one. The GTM one was pretty good but the rear suspension flexed badly in the bush design. Z cars fixed that issue.

The other good fiberglass monocoque is the Quantum which was very strong and was made to production standards of a major OE manufacturer and passed the usual tests for a new car.

But back to the New GTM, hope it works out but at £30k that is in the highest notch and the finish needs to be better than those presented for road test like the Westfield.