Bond Mini Car

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The basic concept for the minicar was derived from a prototype built by Lawrence ‘Lawrie’ Bond, an engineer from Preston.

An aircraft designer during the war, Lawrie Bond’s answer to post-War shortages was the Minicar three-wheeler. In the early part of 1948, he revealed the prototype of the new minicar to the press. Described as a "short radius runabout, for the purpose of shopping and calls within a 20-30-mile radius", the prototype was demonstrated climbing a 25% gradient with driver and passenger on board and achieved a cruising speed of around 30mph.

Bond entered into an arrangement with Sharp’s Commercials Ltd, to manufacture the Minicar, but after carrying out further development work, once mass production was underway he left the project and sold the design and manufacturing rights to Sharp's. The prototype and early cars used stressed skin aluminium bodywork, though later models incorporated steel chassis members. The Minicar was amongst the first British cars to use fibreglass body panels.

Sharp’s progressively developed the Minicar, creating several different versions but generally remaining true to Bond’s original concept. Most Minicars were convertibles although some later models gained a roof, these being available in either standard or deluxe form, though the distinction between the two was largely one of mechanical detail rather than luxury. There was even a commercial van and an estate derivative.

The cars were powered initially by a single-cylinder two-stroke Villiers engine of 122cc. In December 1949 this was upgraded to a 197cc unit and further increases were to follow throughout the 1950s, including a 247cc twin-cylinder Villiers 4T. These air-cooled engines drove the front wheel by chain. There was no reverse gear available, although the whole engine and wheel assembly could be rotated through 90 degrees allowing the car to turn within its own length. On later versions, a Dynastart unit, which doubled as both starter motor and alternator, incorporated a built-in reversing solenoid switch causing the engine to run backwards and thus allowing the car to reverse! More than 24,000 Bond Minicars were built between 1949 and 1966.

This 250cc Bond was first registered in January 1964 and retains its distinctive and transferable 997 KO Kent registration number which would look great on a modern Porsche 997 (not that we condone this number plate swapping business, of course…). It was purchased for the Stondon Collection from its 4th owner in October 1997 and has been on static display there ever since. Two old MOTs from 1980 and 1982 record the mileage as 29,730 and 31,460 respectively, a total which has now risen to 32,043. An original owner’s instruction book is also included which will doubtless prove invaluable to the new owner as they recommission the vehicle for service.