TMC Costin
Encyclopedia
The TMC Costin was a lightweight sports car
built from 1983 to 1987 at the Thompson Motor Company in Wexford
, Ireland
.
It was designed by the aerodynamicist and Marcos founder Frank Costin
and was intended to be an Irish-made rival to Lotus Seven
-inspired cars as manufactured by companies such as Caterham
and Westfield. Costin had previous associations with Lotus
and Maserati
for race-car chassis designs. The cars were very successful in racing, but just 39 cars were built before TMC went bankrupt in 1987. The chassis rights were sold to the American Daniel Panoz, founder of Panoz Auto Development, which still builds the Panoz Roadster
which is based on the Costin.
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
built from 1983 to 1987 at the Thompson Motor Company in Wexford
Wexford
Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern corner of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
It was designed by the aerodynamicist and Marcos founder Frank Costin
Frank Costin
Frank Costin was an automotive engineer who pioneered monocoque chassis design and was instrumental in adapting aircraft aerodynamic knowledge for automobile use. He was the brother of Mike Costin, co-founder of Cosworth. Frank Costin used his aeronautical knowledge to design and build a chassis...
and was intended to be an Irish-made rival to Lotus Seven
Lotus Seven
The Lotus Seven is a small, simple, lightweight two-seater open-top sports car produced by Lotus Cars between 1957 and 1972....
-inspired cars as manufactured by companies such as Caterham
Caterham Cars
Caterham Cars is a manufacturer of specialist lightweight sports cars based in Caterham, Surrey, England and part of the British motor industry. Their only current model, the Caterham 7 , is a direct evolution of the Series 3 Lotus Seven designed by Colin Chapman and originally launched in 1968. A...
and Westfield. Costin had previous associations with Lotus
Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...
and Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
for race-car chassis designs. The cars were very successful in racing, but just 39 cars were built before TMC went bankrupt in 1987. The chassis rights were sold to the American Daniel Panoz, founder of Panoz Auto Development, which still builds the Panoz Roadster
Panoz Roadster
The Panoz Roadster is a sports car launched in 1992 by the American manufacturer Panoz Auto Development Company of Georgia. The Roadster was succeeded by the AIV Roadster in 1997. They were built using aluminum, similar to that of the Plymouth Prowler first sold several years later in 1997...
which is based on the Costin.
External links
- Car Spec on Carfolio technical Spec of TMC 1600.
- German owner site tmc-costin.