7 1968 Nota Fang
If Bolwell was the Ginetta of the Australian industry then Nota is its Marcos. (NB – this was written after the following car) Established by aircraft engineer Guy Buckingham in 1952, Nota has been around off-and-on more or less continuously, and like the Marcos GT the Nota Fang has been a constantly evolving presence. The fundamentals of the Fang are quite straightforward – essentially it is a mid-engined evolution of the traditional Lotus 7 style Clubman car. As per standard practice it used the powertrain of a standard bread-and-butter vehicle, in this case it is the Mini that donates its subframe-mounted engine to be installed behind the seats. When the Mini ended local production, Lancia power was chosen to take over.
The Nota Fang is still available to purchase, with a Honda or Toyota drivetrain, and it has been joined by a couple of new models – the story continues.
http://www.notasportscars.com/
8 1969 Bolwell Nagari
Australia’s answer to Lotus, TVR or perhaps more accurately Ginetta – as three brothers combined to produce an evolving series of sports cars from 1960 using readily-available production mechanicals. The Mark IV saw significant sales as a kit car with 4cyl engines, and two subsequent models were evolutions switching to the ubiquitous Holden 6cyl engine.
The Nagari was a significant evolution, switching to the Ford 302 V8 and sold as a fully-built car instead of a kit. Styling had cues from Lotus, Ferrari and Lamborghini. There were plans for exports to the US, however new Australian Design Rule car regulations really bit hard – with no allowances given for a 100 unit-per-annum manufacturer against requirements designed for a 100,000 unit-per-annum multinational, the cost of things like crash testing (and facilities required) combined with the oil crisis affecting sales to bring a temporary end to Bolwell Cars after only 140 Nagaris had been built. Variations included a 351 engine option - staggering performance in a 920kg car! – and a rare convertible.
Bolwell would return years later with the VW Golf-powered Ikara, and is working on yet another comeback with a Toyota-powered sports car.
http://www.bolwellcarcompany.com/
http://www.bolwellcarclub.com.au/index2.htm
9 1970 Morris 1500 Nomad
Not all “British” cars sold in Australia were simply facsimiles of their UK source vehicles. Perhaps the best example of the unique local versions, the Nomad had a couple of features the original Morris/Austin 1100 did not, and which took its specification to as modern as you could want in 1970 – namely an overhead cam engine, a hatchback and a 5 speed gearbox. Interestingly, in 1966 BMC imported the first Renault 16 hatch into Australia – they even loaned it to local Renault executives!
http://www.elevenhundred.com/morris1500/