Shamrock Motors
The Shamrock Motors Limited was an Irish automobile manufacturer, which was based from 1959 to 1960, first in Tralee in County Kerry and then in Castleblayney in County Monaghan .
description
The company was founded in Tralee by the American businessman William K. Curtis , but relocated to Castleblayney before production began. The goal was to produce an open car for export to the United States.
Shortly after the start of production in 1959, however, the weaknesses of the design became apparent: Although the car was large and heavy, it was powered by the relatively small four-cylinder engine of the Austin A55 with 1489 cc and an output of 55 bhp (40 kW), which is the driving performance limited. Another problem was that the rear wheels were covered by body panels and could only be removed (for example in the event of a flat tire) if the rear axle was removed. The car had a GRP body with four seats and two doors as well as a removable hard top . The wheelbase was 2487 mm.
Originally, up to 10,000 cars were to be built per year, but only eight to ten vehicles were made in the six months until production was stopped. After the factory closed, the remaining parts were sunk in nearby Lough Muckno .
Only four specimens survived to this day, three in Ireland (in Killarney ( Kerry ), Thurles ( Tipperary ) and Drogheda ( Louth )) and one in the United States in Seattle ( Washington ) or Reno ( Nevada ). Another source indicates that eight vehicles still exist.
literature
- Bob Montgomery: Motor Assembly in Ireland . Dreoilín Specialist Publications, Foxrock 2018, ISBN 978-1-902773-35-3 (English).
- David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975. Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 (English).
- George Nicholas Georgano (Ed.): The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars 1885–1968. E. P. Dutton and Co., New York 1974 (English).
Web links
- Shamrock Car Returns Home for Festival (English) ( Memento from July 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- Jonathan A. Stein: 1960 Shamrock The Luck of the Irish ( Memento from August 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ^ Alan Mills: Our Drive for Success. In: Irish Daily Mail , May 4, 2015, accessed December 28, 2019.
