Lawrie Bond, Microcar Man: An Illustrated History of Bond Cars

by Nick Wotherspoon

Overview

Once a common sight on Britain's roads, few people today seem to have heard of the Bond Minicar not a diminutive, gadget laden conveyance for the fictional 007 character, but a popular, practical, motorcycle-engined, three-wheeler that in the post-war austerity period, gave tens of thousands of people affordable personal transport at a time when conventional vehicles were beyond the reach of the average household. Yet whilst the later, mostly imported, 'Bubble cars' have remained in the public eye, it is largely forgotten that the first of the postwar 'Microcars' to go into significant production was the British designed and built Bond. Equally enigmatic seems to be the designer of this vehicle, Lawrence 'Lawrie' Bond a prolific automotive design genius, with a penchant for weight-saving construction techniques. He was responsible for a wide range of two, three and four wheel vehicles; from ultra-lightweight motorcycles and scooters, such as the Minibyke, Lilliput and Gazelle, as well as his other Microcars the stylish Berkeley and perhaps less-than-pretty Opperman Unicar and finally to his later work, including the innovative, but troubled Bond 875 and styling the Equipe GT sportscar.Here the story is told in full, covering all Lawrie's innovative designs and the various vehicles that bore his name, all in prolifically illustrated detail, together with his passion for motor racing, which resulted in a number of technically acclaimed racing cars, some of which can still be seen competing is historic racing events today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781473858701
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/31/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	36 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Nick Wotherspoon BA (Hons) has been actively involved with vintage and classic vehicles for most of his life, owning several Bond vehicles over the years, including two currently, one of which is under restoration. He has maintained an strong interest in the Bond story, since researching the subject for a final year dissertation at university. This evolved into an earlier, now long out of print, work on Bond cars (1993) and a television documentary (Inside Out, BBC 2009), as well as more recently being commissioned to write the entry on Lawrie Bond for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. A former librarian, he currently works for Lancashire County Council Cultural Services and lives in the Ribble Valley.

Table of Contents

Dedication 5

Acknowledgements 11

Foreword 13

Prologue 15

Introduction 17

Lawrence 'Lawrie' Bond 21

500cc Racing 22

National 500cc Formula 25

The First Bond Minicar 32

Bond Minibyke 37

BAC Lilliput and Gazelle 41

Oscar Scooter 44

Rotary Valve Development 47

Sherpa Scooter 49

Lawrence Bond Cars Ltd 49

The Berkeley 51

First Berkeley Sports 56

Berkeleys to the USA 63

Berkeleys in International Motorsport 66

Berkeley Foursome 68

Three-Wheel Berkeley 72

The Bandit 75

Berkeley's Demise 78

Berkeley Tributes 79

S.E. Opperman Ltd 83

Opperman Unicar 84

Opperman Stirling 90

Bond Formula Junior Racing Car 95

Team Bond 102

Lawrie Bond's links with Preston Renewed 110

Development of the Bond Minicar 113

Post-War Austerity 113

Early Progress 115

Sharp's Commercials Ltd 117

Production Begins 119

The 'New' Mk B Minicar 129

The Minicar Goes Forth 132

Ultra-Light Commercial Travelling 133

Competition in the Three-Wheeler Market 139

The Minicar Grows Up 141

Expanding the Range 143

Selling the Minicar 145

The Mk D Minicar 150

The new 'Streamlined' Bond Minicar 153

Bond Build Scooters 157

The new Mk F Minicar Range 163

The 'New Line' Bond Minicar 167

The Beginning of the End for the Minicar 172

Bond Trailer Tent 174

Bond Motor Boats and Skis 178

The End of the Road for the Bond Minicar 181

The Bond 875 184

Hillman Imp Power Unit 185

Problems with the 875 188

Further Development 192

Unexpected Demise of the 875 194

The Bond Equipe 197

Equipe GT 199

The SAH Bond Equipe GT 205

Monte Carlo Bond 206

Equipe GT4S 212

SAH Equipe GT4S 218

Equipe GT4S 1300 220

A new 2-Litre Bond Equipe 222

Equipe 2-Litre Mk II 227

A Convertible Bond 229

A Bright Future for the Equipe? 232

The Final Phase 237

Reliant take over Bond Cars 238

The Bond Bug 245

Closure of Bond's Preston Factories 258

The Bug carries on 261

Bug Production comes to an End 266

The Mighty Metronome 268

The Spi-Tri 269

Doodle Bug 270

Webster Motor Company Ltd 272

'Official' attempts to revive the Bug 275

Appendices 281

1 Owners Clubs - Keeping the Cars Running 281

Bond Owners' Club 281

Berkeley Enthusiasts Club 283

The Bug Club 285

Triumph Sports Six Club - Bond Equipe Register 287

Vintage Motor Cycle Club 289

Register of Unusual Microcars (RUMcars) 290

Vintage Motor Scooter Club 291

2 Museums and Collections where Bond Vehicles may be seen 292

Lancashire County Museum Service, Preston 293

The Science Museum 294

The Bubblecar Museum 294

The Hammond Microcar Collection 295

PS.SPEICHER, Einbeck 297

Haynes International Motor Museum 298

3 Sharp's Commercials/Bond Cars Ltd Chassis Numbers 299

Index 303

Editorial Reviews

A truly inspirational story of a pioneer in the automotive industry = Bond was responsible for a number of amazing car designs – I’ve never been that fond of three-wheeled vehicles personally, but this history of Lawrie Bond’s amazing designs is inspirational and fascinating, almost larger than life!

Books Monthly