Decades of forgotten, this 1960s British-made sports car is back alive

Forgotten ONES Indeed, there are still many sports cars that have been made in the past that we have never known. So, here is one of them called the Vixen GT, a British-made sports car that can be said to be one that has been forgotten by the times, and we are sure that some of you have never heard or known it before.

The Vixen GT was one-of-a-kind sports car made by Ian Stronach, a former British racer who was also a gifted engineer back in the 1960s. (Picture from: Otomotif-OkeZone)

The Vixen GT was one-of-a-kind sports car made by a former British racer who was also a gifted engineer back in the 1960s, it had raced several times at several race events before finally being abandoned which was finally found by a car collector and restored to back like new. Well, this sports car was built by Ian Stronach, a former racing driver from Manchester, England.

The Vixen GT was built on a tubular steel frame with the front part of the car taken from the Cooper-Jaguar MkII car. (Picture from: Otomotif-OkeZone)

Ian Stronach.

He raced in England during the 1960s to 1970s, participating in various formula races, starting from Formula 2, Formula Libre, and Formula 5000. During his racing activities, he began to think about making his own racing car. In order to realize his wish, then Stronach started his car project in 1962 which began by building a tubular steel frame with the front part of the car taken from the Cooper-Jaguar MkII car. Due to everything was done by himself, this sports car project was only completed two years later, in 1964.

The Vixen GT car project began in 1962 by building a tubular steel frame with the front part of the car taken from the Cooper-Jaguar MkII car. (Picture from: Drive-My.com)

At the time, Ian Stronach planned to build three cars, even he was built the tubular chassis for the other two cars, but never got around to actually building them. As seen, the Vixen GT sports car carried various innovative designs at the time. Starting from the configuration of the engine which is placed at the rear of the car, right in front of the front axle, making it the first car in its class with an engine configuration like this.

Originally, the Vixen GT powered by a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder turbo engine of Ford Kent that produced 157 ponies. (Picture from: Drive-My.com)

In addition, the Vixen GT comes with a rear spoiler design that blends with the body, making it the first sports car was implemented such design at that time. While for the drivetrain, initially Stronach wanted to use a 3.5-liter V8 engine of GM, but in the end he used a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder turbo engine of Ford Kent that produced 157 ponies.

Meanwhile, in the cabin the potentially knee-crushing crossmember under the dashboard has been replaced with a safer, higher-mounted reinforcement. (Picture from: Drive-My.com)

After that the Vigen GT sports car was used to race across Europe and also experienced many owner changes, until it was finally bought by a French racer named Lionel Laglave in 1980. And in 2012, while a Belgium car enthutiast named Didier van der Linden looking for a car to restore, then he found this sports car was on the sale list of a classic car site.

After restoration, the Vixen GT powered by a a 3.5 liter V8 engine from Buick which is capable of producing 280 hp @ 6,500 rpm and torque of 385 Nm @ 3,800 rpm. (Picture from: Drive-My.com)

From this it is known that this car has been sitting in vain for decades in a farmyard in Strasbourg, France. When it was first found, the condition of the car was very poor with a body full of rust and even the paint was missing, so did its engine, plus the interior was gloomy filled with dust.

The Vixen GT comes with a rear spoiler design that blends with the body, making it the first sports car was implemented such design at that time. (Picture from: Otomotif-OkeZone)

Shortly after that Didier van der Linden bought the car, and restored this sports car with help from Ian Stronach who is now 81 years old. Even though he is old, his memory is still very strong. By using references from design sketches, old photos of the car, and suggestions from Stronach, after three and half years of hard works, finally Didier managed to restore the Vigen GT came back like its hey day in the 1960s.

Nowadays, the Vixen GT has returned to racing track with a new body design and a 3.5 liter V8 engine from Buick which is capable of producing 280 hp @ 6,500 rpm and torque of 385 Nm @ 3,800 rpm. By combining with a 5-speed manual transmission system taken from the Renault Alpine, this sports car often seen races in circuit of Mettet, Belgium. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DIDIER VAN DER LINDEN | DRIVE-MY.COM | ]

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