Berkeley sportscars set for 2021 revival

After Moss launched the SA322 in 1956, Berkeley went on to build a series of other small, featherweight fiberglass two-stroke sportscars. Its initial SA322 model was quickly followed by a number of different iterations on the same theme, with about 1,200 examples of its SE328 model sold the world over, and the micro-sized T60 three-wheeler derivatives selling in even stronger numbers.

At the October 1960 London Motor Show at Earls Court, Berkeley took the bold step of attempting to move up-market with a new, full-sized four-cylinder Bandit model, aimed at the jugular of well-established contemporary rivals such as the Austin-Healey Sprite. This proved to be far too ambitious however, with only two examples made before the company went bankrupt.

Following a short-lived attempt to revive the marque in the 1990s with Mini-powered front-wheel-drive SE328 and T60 replicas, the Berkeley name seemed destined to remain forgotten in the history books for ever more, that is until now.

Almost 60-years to the day of the ill-fated Bandit’s Earls Court debut in 1960, there’s a new, modern Bandit model, set to return in April 2021. It will be offered in both lightweight open Roadster and GT closed coupe form, with a choice of existing mid-mounted Ford 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol power or electric alternatives, plus two- or all-wheel-drive options being made available, based on a bespoke in-house Berkeley platform design.

Reservations for the two new Bandit models are now being taken ahead of Berkeley’s planned April 2021 debut.