Turner Sports Cars   Production Information


On this page there is production information from two sources and an estimate of the remaining number of Turners by country as of January 1999.  The production information does not agree 100%, but each does provide some interesting details.  If you have additional information or would like to comment on the information presented here, please e-mail me.

The first Turner was built in The Smithy in Seisdon, South Staffordshire, England.  The factory moved to 32 Merridale Street, Wolverhampton around 1953, and then to it's final location at Pendeford Airport in 1956.

Below is a breakdown of the years of production, configurations and engines, approximate chassis numbers, and comments.  The source of this information was the Fairthorpe Sports Car Club and Bob Knijnenburg*.
Chassis No. Years Model Engine Remarks
1 - 10 1950 to 1953 2 seater Sports Vauxhall 4 cyl/6 cyl MG, Lea-Francis Aluminum body and cycle type front wings
7* 1950 to 1953 Formula II K3 MG, Lea-Francis, Turner Some powered with an all Turner engine.
10 - 100 1955 to 1957 A30/803 BMC A 803 Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) body. Front similar to AC Ace and "Egg Box" intake grill.  Rear similar to MGA.

100 - 270 1957 to 1959 950 BMC A 950 and Coventry Climax FWA/FWE Started with same body style as 803.  Re-styled rear body with large fins started in autumn 1958.*
270 - 430 1959 to 1960 Mark I BMC A 950/1098 and Coventry Climax FWA/FWE Completely new body shape, standard well known "Turner shape".
430 - 580 1960 to 1963 Mark II BMC A 950/1098; Coventry Climax FWA/FWE; and Ford 997, 1198, 1340, and 1500 Body similar to Mark I with detail changes only.  Ford engine models have mostly Triumph front suspension.
580 - 670 1963 to 1966 Mark III Ford 1500 (others optional); BMC A; and Coventry Climax FWA/FWE Body similar to Mark II, but with distinctive large air scoop on hood and elliptical tail lights.
GT1 - GT9 1961 to 1965 GT Ford 1340/1500 and Coventry Climax FWA/FWE Fixed head coupe ( 2 plus 2).  GRP body on sheet metal floor stiffened by top hat section steel members.


Below is a breakdown of the years of production, configurations and engines, and the estimated number of each type built.  The source of this information was Tim Atkins.
Model Production Years Configuration/Engine type Number
Turner Special
 1949 Single seat supercharged racing car based on pre-war MG Magnette

 1
Bardon Turner
 1950 500 cc Formula III racing car

 1
Early Production
 1950 to 1953 First batch of chassis.  Various bodies including Formula II racing car 8
Kieft Turner
 1954 Kieft Formula III racing car with Turner 4-cylinder twin ohc 500cc engine

 2
803
 1955 to 1957
1957 to 1958		 BMC A803
BMC A 948cc		 40
6
950
 1958 to 1959 BMC A 948cc
Climax FWA		 161
5
Mark I
 1959 to 1961 BMC A 948cc
Climax FWA
Climax FWE
Alexander BMC		 106
35
1
17
Mark II
 1961 to 1963 BMC A 948cc
Alexander BMC
Climax FWA
Climax FWE
Ford 105E 997cc
Ford 109E 1340cc
Ford 116E 1500cc		 58
20
6
17
12
31
17
Mark III
 1964 to 1966 Ford 122E
BMC A 1098cc		 71
GT
 1961 to 1964 Ford 109E/116E 10
Total       685


Below is a table of the number of Turners in existence (not necessarily in running order) as of January 1999.  The source of this information was Tim Atkins.
Country Number
UK
124
USA
90
Continental Europe
28
Australia
9
New Zealand
3
Canada
2
Japan, Malta, So. Africa, Sri Lanka
1 each
Total number in "known" existence       260



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