The initial feasibility for the project was a spin off from a market research study undertaken by MSL in 1988 into the supercar market. The originating project was shelved due to the onset of recession and technical problems relating to the power unit. Discussions with Frank Costin led to the establishment with the aid of his son of a small unit in Wales at the end of 1989 to produce a small run of Auto 14 replicas, this was aimed to retail for IRO £20,000 but problems with suppliers and the quality of their components led to such a severe reduction in margin that a radical redesign was undertaken in Febraury 1991. The brief was to achieve the same end by a more ecomomical route, and relying on suppliers who could provide the required high quality components on time. A prototype with slave bodywork was under test by September 1991 to check suspension and chassis geometry and the results were sufficiently encouraging to move on to a styling excercise for the body work.
The requirement was for a modern looking aerodynamically stable design, with echoes of previous Costin designed cars. Bill Barranco then of lAD became involved to this end. In the meantime work continued on chassis no.2 to allow for the running of the more powerful Rover K seies engine, and incorporating detail refinements shown to be desirable by experience with the prototype. Testing of the preproduction chassis was completed by 1993. The body design was completed mid 1993 and the first body delivered to Wales September 1993, this has since been attached to the chassis and is now being painted and trimmed.
The remaining work is to the detailing of panel shut lines and body furniture, sound insulation, weather equipment, and interior design. These are areas which, being critical to'the overall finish and appearance of the vehicle, it is vital to get right. In this area potential customer feedback on image and feel is as important as function. With this in mind a generous time framework has been allocated to the work, to give allowance for the possibility of having to rethink in the event of adverse customer reaction, and so that deadlines may be met with certainty.
Basic parameters of overall size, engine layout, target weight and performance remained intact and have all been achieved, with the single exception of body design where aesthetic parameters have been far exceeded. A thorough approach to cost of manufacture has allowed the target price of just under £20,000 including tax to be achievable with a gross margin of 45%, a margin which will increase with refinement and parts discounts as production volumes increase.
We are on schedule for a launch in the spring of 1994.
COSTIN LTD COMPANY HISTORY (Simon Garrett 2006)
Frank and I first worked together in 1987 on the feasibility for a supercar project which was designed to be the first road car to reach 200mph. Frank was concerned that it should be possible to do this with far less power than the 400plus bhp which the contemporary Ferrari F40 needed to get to 190mph. Our commitment to using the Cosworth DFV as the power plant unfortunately skewed the development cost further toward the engine than the rest of the vehicle and the project was shelved, not however before I had become convinced that Frank Costin was one of the last of the really great car designers and a tragically neglected asset.
The research that went into the supercar had shown that there was a glaring gap in the market , nobody in Britain was making a small, light mid-engined sports car (except Darrian). With this in mind we decided to form Costin Ltd. to build, with the aid of Frank’s son Ron, replicas of the Costin Auto 14 (AKA Costin Nathan).
Premises were found in West Wales and work commenced at the end of 1989. The car was aimed to retail for IRO £20,000 but problems with suppliers and the quality of their components led to such a severe reduction in margin that, several monocoques having been built, a radical redesign was undertaken in February 1991. The brief was to achieve the same low drag, high power/weight ratio, high torsional stiffness but by a more economical route; and relying on suppliers who could provide the required high quality components on time. A prototype with slave bodywork was under test by September 1991 to check suspension and chassis geometry and the results were sufficiently encouraging to move on to a styling exercise for the body work.
The requirement was for a modern looking aerodynamically stable design, with echoes of previous Costin designed cars. Bill Barranco then of IAD became involved to this end. In the meantime work continued on chassis no.2 to allow for the running of the more powerful Rover K series engine (Rover were tremendously supportive of the whole project), and incorporating detail refinements shown to be desirable by experience with the prototype. Testing of the preproduction chassis was completed by 1993. The body design was completed mid 1993 and the first body delivered to Wales September 1993.
Frank’s death in February 1995 left me more determined than ever to prove his brilliance to a reluctant world. With a doorless version of the bodywork the chassis was tested with the K series engine. The project was now running seriously short of funding but it was hoped that having a near complete prototype would encourage investment. The economic climate was unfavourable however and, despite a £400 grant from the Welsh Development Agency, it became apparent that after roughly a year of seeking funding other work would have to be found for the company if it was to survive.
We were successful in working for various Japanese customers (including Nissan and Daihatsu) in various roles connected with prototyping. also assembling other cars for private Japanese customers. We were also commissioned to resurrect the Auto 14 project, again for Japan. The customer’s sales forecasts demanded that a more or less production line was required to fulfil this, to this end the moulds were revisited and brought up to production standards, new patterns were made for the monocoques and drawings were made for a spaceframe version given the attachment the Japanese had at that time for that type of structure. Unfortunately while we were working on this project the Yen halved in value against Sterling almost completely putting an end to all specialist sports car exports from the UK to Japan.
Again we looked around for new customers, having been exclusively working on the Auto 14 for roughly a year. An exciting project, completely in line with Frank’s thinking, arrived in the form of Bluebird Electric a project started by Donald Wales, grandson of Sir Malcolm Campbell who was trying very hard to break the land speed record for electric vehicles with a modified Formula Ford with half a ton of batteries strapped to it covered by nearly the highest drag bodywork which it is possible to conceive. There was scope for improvement. We redesigned the chassis and body, built the new car, and waited patiently for money to arrive from the significant number of sponsors we had met and who had expressed their commitment to backing the project.
A friend of mine in marketing had the inspired idea of introducing the team to Express Dairies with a view to our jazzing up their fleet of electric vehicles. I spent some happy hours driving a milk float and drew up a redesign brief. Express Dairies were persuaded that this was a good idea, but for some reason Bluebird’s MD, M R (no relation to the Astronomer Royal), put a costing to Express far below the level I had suggested would be required, and completely insufficient to complete the project. At this point I left the team, having lost patience with the continuing excuses for non-payment and prior to the record attempt which, despite running at half power, set a new UK record although obviously very far short of the speed which we hoped for.I subsequently found that the financial brain behind the project, also M R, had bought himself a house, some land and some horses during the timespan of the project despite his having started it in straightened circumstances and never being paid by Bluebird. At the same time the sponsors wondered how the money they had paid, they thought into the land-speed project, had been utilised.
Costin Ltd. went into involuntary liquidation following this episode and, perhaps unsurprisingly, I decided to seek employment outside the automotive industry.
A footnote to the above I see that Bernie Ecclestone has mooted a watered down version of the “Frank Costin Formula” as the way forward for formula 1 (although not, of course, by that name). Frank suggested that the most exciting and relevant racing formula should have only one rule, you can do anything you like but you may only use X gallons of petrol.
