Sports Cars from GD Cars, Gardner Douglas Sports Cars

Here at Gardner Douglas we believe that the backbone of our company is the team of people who devote their lives in the pursuit of automotive perfection.
We utilise an experienced and talented group of professionals to design and hand-build our cars to the highest standards:

Andrew Burrows
Managing Director (Company Founder)

Meena Patel
Company Secretary

Tom Hextall BEng (Hons)
Motorsport Engineer

Matthew Benselin BA (Hons)
Design Engineer

Lester Mayle
Fabricator / Welder / Engineer

Paul Marzeta
Pattern Maker, GRP Magician

• 1990 “Gardner Douglas Sports Cars” was created as a suitable trading name to launch the company. Established by Andrew Burrows, a highly skilled fabricator and coded pipe welder to ASME IX and Lloyds class 1 certification, Andrew’s background working to such high standards and being a competent self taught design engineer, gave him the confidence to give up the day job and concentrate on his passion for cars. Andrew’s objective was to create his own brand of iconic sports cars that could be easily built and maintained by the keen enthusiast. Andrew had first designed the chassis and body tub back in 1986, then followed a trial period to develop further improvements before finally committing to production. The GD427, though a Cobra replica externally, the car was introduced to showcase an alternative and more modern approach to the chassis and body construction for this style of Sports Car.

• Very soon the GD427 gained recognition from the specialist press, picking up on the ride quality and handling and significant improvements in standards compared to other offerings.

• By 1993 the GD427 was voted “Simply the Best” by Kit Car magazine

• In 1994, Gardner Douglas won Gold at the BBC Top Gear Classic and Sportscar Show for ‘Excellence in Stand Presentation’. An award we are very proud of to this day.

• And in 1994 & 1995 Kit Car magazine staged an all UK Cobra replica group test and announced the GD427 as the “Best Cobra Replica for Performance and Handling“. A vote echoed with each and every article written ever since culminating with Complete Kit Car magazine’s final word in Aug 2010 marking the GD427 10/10 for being the best Cobra Replica ever tested.

• An intermittent racing programme has seen the GD427 at the front whenever it has taken part, winning the Retro Sports & GT Challenge in 1996, 1997 and 2001 in convincing style.

• Gardner Douglas Sports Cars were founding members of both S.T.A.T.U.S. and the A.S.C.M. and Andrew Burrows played an active roll in lobbying for the industry over changes it would face with the then forthcoming VOSA Single Vehicle Approval Scheme and the DVLA points registration process.

• In 1996 the business was relocated to the current Roseland Business Park premises, expanding the facilities to cope with an increasing order book. Both body and chassis development and production undertaken in-house.

• In 1998 the GD427 was the first car of its kind to be submitted to and pass the SVA test. GD quickly reassured future customers there was nothing to be concerned of with their products

• In 2002 Gardner Douglas Sports Cars were the first UK car company to recognise the benefits and make the transition from old iron block American V8’s to the latest generation of fuel injection GM LS V8’s. As popularity and press interest grew around the GD installations, now in their hundreds, many specialist car manufacturers have since taken note with companies like Dax Cars producing their Tojeiro and AK Sports Cars with their AK427 both offering their cars for the GM LS3 engines in 2010. Today the GMLS small block are the most talked about V8 engine for specialist car builders with crate engines available from companies like PartsWorld Performance. Gardner Douglas continues to stay at the forefront, embracing the benefits of more bespoke engine from tuners like Mast Motorsport.

• 2003 Gardner Douglas Sports Cars was incorporated.

• 2004 development was completed for the introduction of the GDT70, a modern interpretation of the legendary 1965 Can-Am Lola T70. Not intended to be an exact replica because of the constraints necessary to meet SVA and now IVA, however, the GDT70 is no less formidable.

• 2005 launch of the GD427 “Mk4” body option. Introduced to give customers a choice of body styles and meet the changing interests of the market. Replicating the lines of the AC MK IV, the GDMk4 re-affirmed Gardner Douglas as the benchmark for quality, seen at the launch with the flawless polished black gel coat semi-monocoque body.

• 2007 Gardner Douglas Sport Cars was invited to join the Niche Vehicle Network.

• 2010 The GDT70 sets a blistering lap time around the world famous Nürburgring in Germany placing it within the 50 fastest cars ever to set an official time.

• 2011 Gardner Douglas celebrates their 21st year in business.

• 2012 Gardner Douglas launches the GDT70moda. An evolution of the established T70, the T70moda features a fully removable hard-top with the option to run it in closed, targa or open form. Also in 2012, the GD427 Mk4 has been given a Le Mans style hard-top, designed in-house and built to GD’s legendary quality.

The Gardner Douglas brand has achieved an enviable reputation over the years but not as a result of cute marketing, since the proprietor admits to spending little in that area, but simply down to a well-proven quality products backed up with a knowledgeable and friendly personal service.

In the last 20 years much has been written about the company, its people and its cars. At a time when brand is everything it is reassuring to know that a major part of the GD brand is its reputation for always putting quality first. Quality in everything – attitude, skill, engineering, delivery.

From the outset the company produced premium sports cars for individuals who wanted the very best combination of 60s era design and contemporary handling and performance. Although Andrew Burrows had designed an entirely new car to demonstrate the company¹s engineering prowess, he chose, wisely, to bring these skills to an established marketplace where there was proven demand likely to sustain a fledgling business.

It was, and remains, a market offering an extraordinary range of cars from the crude and dangerous to the highly refined. GD has built its reputation from the top end of this market where nothing is sacrificed in the pursuit of the ultimate classic performance drive. And GD has deliberately avoided the temptation to merely replicate. Rather, the company has always offered its own interpretation “in the style of” to be consistent with the advanced engineering under the skin.

At one level all sports cars are just a bunch of components, designed, assembled, tested and then driven or raced. Today the global car brands offer staggering levels of sophistication in all their models. Huge investment in research and marketing goes into these ranges and the whole business model is based on the existence of fierce competition from the other big brands. From the driver¹s perspective there is a bewildering choice of functionality in contemporary production sports cars. But not always to their liking.

Gardner Douglas offers the type of sports cars that re-engage the driver with the real experience of open driving.

Why build a sports car that seems on the face of it to imitate an historic marque from another time? There are many answers. One is that there is an enduring fascination with cars of the 60s era when many driving legends were born. The AC marque, as an example, has a big following around the world and there is a special recognition of that moment in history when British beauty and American muscle came together in one machine to take on Ferrari.

There is a ready market for reproductions of these cars especially as the 60s originals are rare and a very substantial investment today. Another reason is that the AC Cobra had real presence. By today¹s aerodynamic standards it is undeniably crude but walk up to one and its shape speaks to you in a deeply evocative language. Climb into one and you will always feel different, special, individual. These cars have soul and long may they continue.