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Thread: 'Cirrus' by The Gold Motor Company

  1. 05-30-2011, 05:53 AM #1
    BeaverEcho
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    'Cirrus' by The Gold Motor Company

    Hi folks,

    Does anybody know anything about this car? I found it in an old copy of Cars and Car Conversions from August '91.

    It's called a 'Cirrus' and was manufacturd in the 80's by 'The Gold Motor Company' owned by a chap called Nick Butler.

    It was 4WD with a mid mounted rover V8, composite body over a steel tubular chassis......
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  2. 05-30-2011, 06:00 AM #2
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    henk4
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    never heard of it, but it actually looks like the V8 has been transversely mounted upon the rear axle.
    "I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting, but it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously." Douglas Adams
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  3. 05-30-2011, 06:11 AM #3
    BeaverEcho
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    Yes possibly transverse mounted, but if thats the case then I wonder how it got drive to the front axle?

    Its the drivetrain I'm interested in!
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  4. 05-30-2011, 09:43 AM #4
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    Matra et Alpine
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    ask and ye shall receive.

    Auto Imagination - The Engineering Genius of Nick Butler

    nick Butler was a bit of a design genius in the usual British eccentric fashion
    I've seen his T-bird at a show once.
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'
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  5. 05-30-2011, 10:51 AM #5
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    henk4
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    so it looks like a tranverse engine lay-out, with some link to the front wheels? The drawing is not very clear, but it looks like the connecting shaft to the FWD (reduction box?) comes from the left side of the car.
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  6. 05-30-2011, 01:20 PM #6
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    Matra et Alpine
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    Ep13 of 1991 Top Gear, Tiff Needell test drove it.
    Will give summary once downloaded
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'
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  7. 05-30-2011, 02:57 PM #7
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    NOT transverse. Engine mounted to Ferguson 4WD transmission
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'
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  8. 05-30-2011, 11:51 PM #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine View Post
    NOT transverse. Engine mounted to Ferguson 4WD transmission
    but looking at the first pic in post #1....why would you make an a-symetric engine cover like that?
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  9. 05-31-2011, 09:06 AM #9
    BeaverEcho
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    It looks like its the same setup as the Ford RS200 transmission then
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  10. 05-31-2011, 10:54 AM #10
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    csl177
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    Looked for more info on the car but ??? Butler seems to have built several show cars (and still works as a designer) but it's too bad the Cirrus didn't find more buyers. It is kind of like a civilized 200RS.
    Never own more cars than you can keep charged batteries in...
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  11. 05-31-2011, 04:14 PM #11
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    Not sure what part you mean as asymmetric.

    But for all interested hopefully this helps, clipped it from the full episode

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbEx1JQjeH0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbEx1JQjeH0[/ame]

    PS: With the "road pack" the RS200 was actually quite a "sophisticated" car on the inside. It's "sophistication" on the engineering and suspension/drive train is second to none tho'
    Last edited by Matra et Alpine; 05-31-2011 at 04:18 PM.
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'
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  12. 05-31-2011, 09:24 PM #12
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    csl177
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    ^^^ Thanks for that... man, Tiff looked young 20 years ago. I know how sophisticated the RS200 is and certainly wasn't comparing, what I meant was the Cirrus has some of the goods underskin but it's appearance lacks menace, not neccessarily a bad thing. I kind of
    like it. In some views it reminds me of Matra M530LX meets MR2, down to the targa... though one-piece instead of a T-top.

    The TG spot mentions production, any idea how many were built?
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  13. 06-01-2011, 01:07 AM #13
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    Matra et Alpine
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    You want to see Clarkson in that episode
    AND he was talkign facts and not spouting intentionally combative comments !!
    Yeah the shades of the M530 were clear.
    Dont know about production The two snippets I found were as far as the kit car guys knowledge coudl take us !
    "A woman without curves is like a road without bends, you might get to your destination quicker but the ride is boring as hell'
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  14. 06-01-2011, 12:36 PM #14
    CarGuy1994
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    Can't say I've ever heard of that.
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  15. 06-03-2011, 03:50 PM #15
    BeaverEcho
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    Thanks for the clip Matra :-)

    Nick has a website I found after some digging about on the net....

    Auto Imagination - The Engineering Genius of Nick Butler
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