Simon Cars - Turner Cars - British Classic Cars, Historic Automobiles, Old Vehicles from Jack Turner of Wolverhampton, UK

Turner Cars

Turner Cars were based at Wolverhampton once Jack Turner had moved from South Staffordshire. Turner was already building race cars when in 1954 he decided to create a low price sports car with a chassis of steel tubes. Turner cars were given a variety of engines, including BMC A-series, Ford, Coventry-Climax and Turner-developed engines. Race Turners achieved many team victories and class wins during 1958 and 1959, as well as wins in America. The first Turners used a lot of parts from the Austin A30 and later A35, and in 1959 a new 'Turner Sports MkI' was launched with a new body, disc brakes and BMC 948cc engines or Coventry-Climax. The 1960 Turner Sports MkII had a better interior and introduced the option of Ford engines. Nine Turner GT cars were made in 1962 with Ford 1,500cc engines. The Turner Sports MkIII came out in 1963 with tuned Ford 1,500cc engines and an air scoop. The MkIII was the final Turner as Jack Turner had a heart attack in 1966; Around 550 Turner Sports cars were made.

Turner Sports MkII 1960 - badge on bonnet

Turner 950S 1959. Fitted with an Austin A35 948cc engine, this car was supplied new as a homebuild kit. Kits avoided Purchase Tax which was a large percentage of the sale price for most cars.

Turner Sports MkI 1960, with BMC A-series engine. The MkI was extensively restyled, partially to achieve better streamlining

Turner Sports MkII 1960, it has been claimed that the Turner MkII 'copied' the Austin Healey Sprite MkII 3 years before that car was launched (!?!). However, what is not disputed is that the grille was a cut-down Austin unit.