Fierce Rarity - In the golden age of British motoring, when sports cars were finding their groove and small manufacturers dared to challenge giants, a curious little coupe quietly made its mark. At a glance, it might not shout its name like an Aston Martin or a Jaguar, but for those who know—really know—it represents something rare and special. Born out of passion more than profit, and engineered with heart more than hype, this is the Turner GT.
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| The Turner GT featured a lightweight yet rigid fiberglass monocoque shell combined with a steel subframe, trading traditional body-on-frame construction for enhanced performance over mere aesthetics. (Picture from: Andrew 2.8i in Flickr) |
Tucked away near Wolverhampton in the early 1960s, Jack Turner was quietly rewriting the rules of sports car design. An engineer with a racing soul, Turner didn’t have the vast resources of bigger players, but he had something they didn’t—a focused vision and a workshop filled with ideas. From the very start in 1951, he built cars that were light, agile, and thrilling to drive, using clever engineering rather than brute force.
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| In 1985, Jack Turner was photographed in South Wales proudly holding an image of his rare creation, the Turner GT, a testament to his engineering legacy. (Picture from: TurnerSportsCars) |
While Turner’s early creations—the A30-based roadsters and later the Turner 950 Sports—built a loyal following, 1962 marked a bold new chapter. This wasn’t just another lightweight convertible. No, this was something altogether more ambitious: a fixed-roof coupe with a sleek, smooth silhouette and the performance pedigree to back it up. The Turner GT arrived as a daring evolution of Jack’s original concept.
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| Jack Turner's early creations—beginning with the A30-based roadsters and evolving into the Turner 950 Sports—had already built a loyal following by the time 1962 arrived, marking a bold new chapter in his pursuit of innovation. (Picture from: Wikipedia) |
At its core, the Turner GT stood out with its fiberglass monocoque shell, a departure from traditional body-on-frame construction. That design choice wasn’t just about aesthetics or novelty—it was about performance. The GT's structure was light and strong, paired with a steel subframe to hold everything firmly in place. Underneath, it kept the brand’s signature fully independent suspension, allowing it to glide through corners with balance and grace that rivaled far pricier competitors.
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| The Turner GT retained the brand’s signature fully independent suspension, enabling it to glide through corners with the balance and grace of far more expensive rivals. (Picture from: Andrew 2.8i in Flickr) |
Power came mostly from the Ford 1500 engine, a reliable and tunable heart that gave the GT its voice. Some examples were fitted with Coventry Climax units, upping the performance ante even further. But what really set this car apart wasn’t just its speed—it was the way it drove. It felt alive in your hands, responsive and eager, built not just for the straight line but for the thrill of the curve.
Its looks? Well, opinions varied. Some found its proportions quirky—particularly the roofline, which drew its fair share of analogies—but no one denied it was distinctive. And in a world increasingly dominated by mass production, that individuality counted for something. The GT wasn’t trying to be anything but itself.
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| The Turner GT was powered mostly by the reliable and tunable Ford 1500 engine, though some examples featured Coventry Climax units for even greater performance. (Picture from: Andrew 2.8i in Flickr) |
Only nine Turner GTs were ever made. That’s not a typo—nine. This staggering rarity places it among the most elusive British sports cars of the era. Yet despite its limited production, its racing spirit was undeniable. Turner cars had already proven themselves on track, famously upsetting a Ferrari 250 GT SWB and a Triumph TR3 at Sebring in 1959. And they kept winning—Turner entries like VUD701 would go on to dominate club racing throughout the early '60s.
Jack Turner had even more plans up his sleeve. A rear-engine car based on the Hillman Imp was in the works, hinting at even more innovation to come. But fate had other ideas. Health issues slowed Jack down, and by 1966, the Turner Sports Car Company quietly closed its doors. Just 670 cars were built in total—a short run, but one that left a lasting impression.
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| Jack Turner's early creations—beginning with the A30-based roadsters and evolving into the Turner 950 Sports—had already built a loyal following by the time 1962 arrived, marking a bold new chapter in his pursuit of innovation. (Picture from: Andrew 2.8i in Flickr) |
Today, spotting a Turner GT is like glimpsing a unicorn. Some are tucked away in private collections; others occasionally reemerge for historic races, their engines still eager to roar. They may not be the flashiest cars from that golden era, but they’re among the purest—machines built not for marketing but for motion. | TPzGVTYRUGw |
And that’s the true beauty of the Turner GT. It was never about being the biggest, the fastest, or the most expensive. It was about chasing a dream on four wheels and showing the world what could be achieved when ingenuity meets passion in a small garage outside Wolverhampton. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | TURNER SPORTS CARS | WIKIPEDIA ]Note: This blog can be accessed via your smart phone.
