Currently reading: British Atalanta marque reborn
Pre-WW2 British car firm Atalanta has been revived and will produce its Sports Tourer

Pre-WW2 British car firm Atalanta has been revived and will produce modern examples of its one and only model, the Sports Tourer.

The Atalanta Sports Tourer was first shown to the public on 5 March 1937 and the company was relaunched at the Royal Automobile Club in London on 5 March this year, exactly 75 years to the day that its Sports Tourer design was first unveiled.

The original Atalanta was technically advanced for the time. The company's original aim was ‘to fulfil the exacting requirements of professional and amateur drivers on both road and track’. Just 21 cars were produced before the outbreak of war in 1939 forced the demise of the company. Only seven of the original Atalantas still exist, of which four are in running order.

The new car is the result of a joint venture between Staffordshire-based motoring enthusiast Martyn Corfield and Cheshire-based restorer Trevor Farrington.

It blends Atalanta’s original 1930s philosophy with modern safety features, and more than 85 per cent of the components are unique to the car’s design. The exterior is a hand-crafted aluminium over ash coach-built structure.

Limited commissions for the Atalanta are being taken and each will be built to an individual specification.

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Los Angeles 13 March 2012

Re: British Atalanta marque reborn

If there existed a constant number of devotees of the marque I could understand why investors and craftmen felt it commercially viable to recreate the car, adding modern mechanicals to suit modern traffic conditions and driving expectations.

The only thing that impresses from this distance is the aluminium body; normally small time recreations go for fibre glass to keep purchase cost and fabrication time low.

It sits higher than any Morgan I know, and believe me, driving flat out in UK's awful weather, in a sports car with no side windows and a rudimentary hood, a decent height from exhausts and puddles is a major plus. Then again, many Morgans retain a decent value which places this enterprise firmly in the uncertain category.

If it is the industry of a group of craftsmen hitherto preserving and improving veteran cars then best of luck to them. As a new venture ...

4rephill 13 March 2012

Re: British Atalanta marque reborn

newdevonian wrote:
Don't expect this company to be a volume seller. These will be made to order factory built kit cars / replicas to be brought out on high days and holidays, as expensive toys, NOT as transport. The construction method might be similar to Morgan, but that is as far as it goes. They are addressing different markets.
Don't be surprised to see them disappear as fast as they appeared! (if not faster!)

Londonist 13 March 2012

Re: British Atalanta marque reborn

Monk wrote:
Why do people bother. What a total irrelevance, how many people have been going around wishing Atalanta were still around ? I doubt the new? version will even manage the 21 produced by the original company. Obviously the two partners have more money than sense, I hope nothing important in their lives depend on this being a success. The original Atalanta was obviously a company pushing the boundaries of available technology, exactly the polar opposite of what this ridiculous idea is.

Of course if they fail to achieve these towering sales objectives they can always rebrand this silly thing as 'Squire' and look to sell only seven.