Whilst we are keen to post news and information about classic Berkeley cars, we also are going to be using this blog roll for general news which surfaces from the Automotive world.

Owning a car usually offers much in the way of practicality and convenience, but things can go wrong, and you can be left needing to get your vehicle serviced, whether it is a New Porsche or a Used Fiat, no car is immune to the perils of the road. On top of that you need to have your car MOT tested annually, so it is never just plain sailing.

As soon as someone mentions the words “service” and “MOT” you hear moans and groans begin to echo; everyone feels the inconvenience, and everyone feels like they have been overcharged at some point. CarSite.co.uk has stepped up to the plate in an attempt to put an end to our moans and groans; a unique system which will make booking your Service or MOT much easier and should save you money.

It is free to use, requires no subscription and it is very straight forward. All you need to do is enter the necessary details of your vehicle and your location and you will be given pricing information regarding the Servicing and MOT costs from garages in your area.

Sports SA322

The first ever Berkeley model to role off the production lines was the Sports SA322 model. The Sports SA322 used a Fibreglass monocoque, and it was powered by a twin-cylinder 322 cc two stroke engine courtesy of British Anzani. This engine was primarily built with motorcycles in mind, and only produced 15bhp. Despite its low amount of power, the SA322 produced a brilliant ride, partly down to the fact that the car was so light, but also because of the all-round independent suspension by coil springs.

Sports SE328

After producing 163 SA322 cars, a change was made to the Sports model’s engine. The 322 cc engine was replaced after one year by a SE328 cc engine which could produce 18bhp, this became known as the SE328 model, Berkeley produced 1258 in total many of which were sold in America. The SE328 was capable of 70mph and averaged 70mpg, whilst these figures made for some catchy slogans, there was some dispute as to whether or not they were entirely true, as the Motor magazine, whilst testing the model found it to be capable of only 62.1mph and 58.3mpg. Regardless, the SE328 was a hit and received quite a lot of attention thanks to its involvement with lightweight motor racing at the time. People have since fitted the SA328’s with a variety of different engines, including a Used Honda CB400 super sport motorbike engine.

Sports and Twosome SE492

The SE492 made its debut at the same time as the SE328 and it featured a three-cylinder 492 cc engine which generated 30bhp, enough horses to push the SE492 to a top speed of 80 mph. As was with the other SE models, many of the 492 cc Berkeley Sports were exported to America in right hand drive form. Approximately 666 vehicles where made throughout its two year stint of production.

B95 and B105

These two models were introduced alongside each other at the Geneva Motor Show in 1959. The B95 and B105 both  featured twin-cylinder Royal Enfield 692 cc four-stroke engines , the one in the B95 was capable of 40bhp whilst the B105 could provide 50bhp, which could hit 100mph, something which was pretty special at the time. The 2 models were under production from 1959-1961 and around 200 were made in that time.

T60 and T60/4

The T60 and T60/4 were the last big models to come from Berkeley and they went down extremely well in Britain thanks to the fact that it only had three wheels and could be driven with a motorcycle license, this also meant that the three-wheeler Berkeley was a cheaper option than most other cars.

They featured a similar grill to the Austin Healey cars of the time and the same engine as the SE328 models which could generate 18bhp and was billed as capable of 70mph and 70mpg. They were under production from 1959-1960 and 1800 made.

Since then….

There were a few other models introduced from Berkely which saw two or three actually produced, including the Bandit in 1960 and QB95/QB105 models in 1959.  There were also tribute models made in New Zealand in the 80’s.

Berkeley Cars Ltd were a car manufacturing company based in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire and their expertise lay in producing economical sporting microcars. Unfortunately the company was forced into bankruptcy in 1961 when the caravanning side of their business fell through. In turn they were only producing cars from 1956 to 1961, yet during that brief period of time they managed to create some classics, of which 4100 were produced. All models were 2-door roadsters largely made of fibreglass and they were made to be “cheap, safe, easily repairable and pretty”.

There were eight different models in total, one of which (T60 & T60/4) had only three wheels. There are still a number (potentially hundreds) of road-worthy Berkeley vehicles thanks to their reliability and the international Berkeley enthusiast group who help owners with details on replacement Car Parts and restoration/repair information.

A company based in Syston, Leicestershire began restoring Berkeley cars in the 1980s, they even got hold of some of the original moulds allowing them to create new body panels and eventually complete T60 cars.

These days it is pretty hard to get hold of a Berkeley, for similarly vintage models it might be worth considering a Used AC Car or one of the New Westfield Models that are available and based on the Lotus XI Le Mans Car which is from 1956.