Power About Berkeley
There were two manufacturers of British Berkeley cars.
History
Berkeley (1) The first company made some 18 hp cars in 1913. The engine was quoted as a 75x100, 1764 cc unit of unknown origin. Little else is known of them.
Berkeley (2) The second was Berkeley Cars Ltd of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, who produced small cars with engines from 322 cc to 700 cc between 1956 and 1960. The company produced designs by Laurie Bond in the Berkeley caravan factory owned by Charles Panter. Four models were made. Production stopped in 1960 and an attempted merger with Bond Cars come to nothing. The factory was later used by Kayser Bondor to make women's underwear, but it has now been demolished and the site turned over to housing.
Models
Sports SA322, SE328 and B65
A glass-fibre monocoque, two-seater open tourer initially powered by an Anzani twin-cylinder 322 cc two-stroke engine producing 15 bhp. It was mounted transversely and drive the front wheels via a chain. The car had all round independent suspension by coil springs and in spite of the tiny engine gave remarkably good performance owing to its light weight (600 pounds - about 270 kg) and excellent roadholding. After 146 of the SA322 cars were made a change was made to the SA328 model with a 328 cc Excelsior engine offering 18 bhp. About 1300 were made, many being exported to the United States. The last 10 cars were known as B65 and had a strengthened body. Top speed was just over 60 mph.
