# Moss Cars > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Moss_Cars > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Moss_Cars.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moss_Cars > Source revision: 1327726764 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Use British English|date=February 2024}} '''Moss Cars''' was a British [kit car](/source/kit_car) manufacturer active between 1981 and 1997. Originally doing business in [Sheffield](/source/Sheffield) as the '''Moss Motor Company''', they renamed the company '''Moss Sportscars''' after a fire in 1985. A period of instability followed, with various investors taking over but not meeting with any success; the company finally became Moss Cars after a move to [Bath](/source/Bath%2C_Somerset) in 1987. The company was defunct in 1997, although some sources state that kits were still being produced as late as 2000. Their designs were all by founder John Cowperthwaite, who also founded JC Autopatterns, creator of the [JC Midge](/source/JC_Midge) and [Locust](/source/Locust) cars. The company built three main designs, all [GRP](/source/Glass-reinforced_plastic) bodyshells originally intended to be placed atop a [Triumph Herald](/source/Triumph_Herald)/[Vitesse](/source/Triumph_Vitesse) or [Spitfire](/source/Triumph_Spitfire) chassis. ==History== Cowperthwaite started out by restoring MGs from 1975; in 1981 he launched his own company and designs.{{citation | first = Steve | last = Hole | title = A–Z of Kit Cars: The definite encyclopaedia of the UK's kit car industry since 1949 | publisher = Haynes Publishing | location = Sparkford, UK | date = 2012 | isbn = 9781844256778 | page = 177 }} By the early 1980s, Heralds and Spitfires were gradually becoming hard to find, or at least more expensive. To solve this problem, Moss developed their own chassis for their kits. The new, bespoke chassis could be fitted with either Ford or Triumph mechanicals.{{cite magazine | magazine = [Autosport](/source/Autosport) | date = March 11, 1982 | title = Factory Fresh: Moss Monaco | editor-first = Ian | editor-last = Hyne | page = 70 | publisher = Haymarket Publishing | volume = 86 | issue = 10}} After the fire, Cowperthwaite founded a series of new companies (Moss Sportscars, JC Autopatterns, CSA Character Cars, Hampshire Classics) in rapid succession, trying to keep his cars in production, but none made more than a handful until he sold the rights to outside investors who founded Moss Cars (Bath) in 1987. Moss' designs included the Roadster/Malvern, clearly inspired by the [Morgan +4](/source/Morgan_%2B4), "Malvern" being a reference to [Malvern, Worcestershire](/source/Malvern%2C_Worcestershire), where the [Morgan Motor Company](/source/Morgan_Motor_Company) has been operating for over a century. Their second design was the simple Monaco, a barrel-shaped, cycle-fendered design with a small windscreen and minimal creature comforts. While built out of GRP, the body incorporated visual references to classic, aluminium-bodied racers such as false rivets and seams. The third design was the Mamba, a short-lived design inspired by the earlier, Giulietta Spider-inspired Auto Kraft Continental kit. Herald/Vitesse-based, it used a plywood/fibreglass sandwich floor. Only a handful were built by Moss between 1983 and 1985, and the kit has been described as "crude" and of low quality.{{cite web | url = http://www.classic-kitcars.com/classic-kitcar-details.php?18 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20241218222458/http://www.classic-kitcars.com/classic-kitcar-details.php?18 | archive-date = 2024-12-18 | title = Moss Motor Company Mamba | work = Classic-Kitcars.com }} During 1987, this was also briefly offered as the Mamba Phoenix by CSA Character Cars out of [Radstock](/source/Radstock). ==Products== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; width: 90%" ! Model ! Image ! Period ! Number produced ! Description |- ! Moss Roadster !frameless|185px !1981–2000 |~2,000 |style="text-align: left" | Classic, two-seater British roadster, vaguely similar to a [Morgan](/source/Morgan_%2B4). A 2+2 version called the Moss Malvern was presented in 1983. Built on the Herald/Vitesse chassis or later on a ladder frame chassis with Ford Cortina mechanicals. From 1992, the car was also available for [Sierra](/source/Ford_Sierra) underpinnings which meant that larger engines such as the Rover V8 could also be fitted. |- ! Moss Monaco !frameless|185px !1981–2000 |~300 |style="text-align: left" | A simple, cycle-fendered design - "a barrel on wheels" according to the designer. Also on the Herald/Vitesse chassis; later on, a ladder frame chassis with Ford mechanicals was offered. |- ! Moss Mamba !100px !~1983–1987 |10-22 |style="text-align: left" | Roadster, inspired by Auto Kraft Shells' AKS Continental, itself inspired by the [Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider](/source/Alfa_Romeo_Giulietta_Spider). Built on the Herald/Vitesse chassis; from 1984 it could also be based on the rear-wheel drive [Ford Escort](/source/Ford_Escort_(Europe)) (Marks 1 or 2). |- ! Moss Malvern !frameless|185px !1983–2000 |~500 |style="text-align: left" | A 2+2 variant of the initial, Morgan-inspired Roadster; the name refers to [Malvern, Worcestershire](/source/Malvern%2C_Worcestershire), home of the [Morgan Motor Company](/source/Morgan_Motor_Company). |- |} ==References== {{commonscat|Moss vehicles}} {{reflist}} {{British Car Industry}} Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Category:Kit car manufacturers Category:Transport in Somerset Category:Transport in South Yorkshire Category:Defunct companies based in Sheffield Category:1980s in England Category:1990s in England --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Moss Cars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moss_Cars) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moss_Cars?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.