Gordon-Keeble - The Luxury That Never Was

[@ingvarhallstrom2306]

It has the highest survival rate of any car in car history, a fact that is truly extraordinary.

[@ChromelineGaming]

A local hero in my hometown of Eastleigh, absolutely love the car, its always a pleasure to see a couple of them turn up to the local classic car show every year

[@nicnak4475]

My late father fully restored one, GBY 5J It took him years and was a retirement project, finally finished he took it for a drive and came back within 15 minutes, The heavy non P.A.S steering and very heavy clutch put him off and he sold it. 😀

[@theoriginalwallace]

You'll be glad to hear that your late father's car is still taxed according to the DVLA .

[@johntilley4040]

its still in excellent condition and was the last one built from spare parts, 3-4 years after collapse of the company

[@nicnak4475]

@@johntilley4040 Interesting John, thanks for that, It appeared in a YT classic car show video I was watching a couple of years ago.

[@nicnak4475]

@@theoriginalwallace Yes, thanks, I saw it in a YT classic car video, a couple of years ago.

[@adrianscott762]

I remember being overtaken by a Gordon Keeble back in 1980. How lucky to have seen one.

[@cossieboa5717]

Giugiaro's masterpiece. It looks so perfect from every angle.

[@promerops]

We had two tortoises as family pets - Keeble and Gordon. These very entertaining reptiles, being of the South African Rooipens species, were actually quite fast movers, delighting in chasing people around the garden. Sadly, each one, in its time, escaped our property and was never seen again. It's a great pity that the Gordon Keeble company also faded into nothing more than fond memory.

[@DKS225]

It's a shame really because that is an awesome looking car from the 60's and seeing as there's only 95 of the original 100 makes it an extremely rare classic.

[@ecsrobin]

The factories went Slough > Eastleigh > Sholing. If you go to the multi-storey car park at Southampton airport as you walk through to the terminal there is a plaque donated by the Gordon Keeble car club to commemorate production between 1964-66 at the Eastleigh site.

[@team3383]

I doubt there will be ANY documentaries, books and clubs for the hundreds of thousands of small companies that have failed to get to production with their offerings, but wait; oh, this was a car factory. The biggest heist of all. Selling emotions.

[@ducatisti]

@@team3383 People research, write, and spend money on the things they love and that bring them joy. Many people find joy in old cars and motorcycles, thus the plethora of media, shows, and clubs supporting them. If your joy comes from old lawn mowers made by small failed manufacturers then by all means, start a club, write a book, host a show, but don't get mad when no one else shares your devotion.

[@team3383]

@@ducatisti Yes, I agree, it's a pity isn't it.

[@philiptownsend4026]

I saw that plaque many times as I walked twixt car park and terminal. Each time paying my silent respects. It is small and low-key so I doubt many even see it.

[@philiptownsend4026]

I used to see one every day as a schoolboy in North London as I walked twixt home and bus stop. It was someone's what we would call today, daily driver.

[@Ballterra]

My uncle owns number two it’s probably the most original GK in existence a very nice car he did also have number 49 at one time though it no longer had its manual gearbox as the previous owner had put a Powerglide automatic in it so his wife could drive it as a daily back in the 80’s … Anyway I’d love one 😁

[@allanconnor1013]

When I was a teenager living in Glasgow in the 60s a neighbour had a Gordon Keeble. Each evening after dark my friends and I, all petrol heads, used to go and stand and stare at it and drool.

[@skelejp9982]

That Peerless looks beautiful ,1st time I hear of that Brand, and see this Car . And that Maserati 3500 GT is a piece of Art !

[@jon-paulfilkins7820]

Going to school as a kid, I would walk past one of these parked up on the side of the road (I think it was the owners worked in London, travelled by train and used the G-K as a weekend fun car), this was the early 80's. In the glass fibre, it is a stunningly attractive and well balanced shape. Pretty sure I saw the same one at a nearby car show just before Covid!

[@noggin48]

My father purchased one of these beauties to restore, but sadly he never started it, as he had just been diagnosed with cancer, so sadly his dream was sold on, it was a red one. To me, these cars were one of the most elegant cars, ever produced on these shores!

[@Silent_Speaker]

I love these obscure marques

[@johnny5805]

You can see how other manufacturers like Jaguar and Rover and Triumph (looking at the Wikipedia photos) 'borrowed' various styling elements.

[@jimdee9801]

Xjs springs to mind - headlights & grille

[@plinkplanky]

Am i right in thinking those rear lights were borrowed... Looks like Rover P6 perhaps?

[@akr01364]

I saw one of these here in the US state of Massachusetts about ten years ago at an ice cream shop. That it was so rare a car made it it and the resulting sitting inside rather special.

[@Roger.Coleman1949]

Fascinating history of a beautiful car, I thought I may hear the name John De Bruyne associated with it, I seem to recall the time when he tried to restore production of the marque from the Newmarket, Suffolk area.He still lives in nearby Cambridge.

[@robertcarless7445]

I remember going to that "workshop" in Newmarket as a young man (Can't remember why) and admiring the two cars there. Some time later I saw a highly polished one on the road....... Strange what one searches for in old age ....

[@Roger.Coleman1949]

@@robertcarless7445 Yes I thought I didn't dream it Robert !.Funnily enough , I met him when I was very young in different circumstances at his old family home and met him again nearly 3 years ago - he is quite a character !

[@alanwayte432]

My Father owned a number of industrial units next to Eddie Knott in Brackley, he was offered one in 1977 but bought a Rover SD1 instead, the Gordon Keeble he deemed would be unreliable...as the SD1 power steering failed on day 1 and it had to be replaced twice due to electrical fire and engine failure, he always regretted his decision.

[@hedgehog5001]

Saw a whole (crawl)- (collective noun for a group of cars with a turtle for its badge) in Ironbridge a few years back.beautiful sight and sound.

[@AvroHawker]

Beautiful, occasionally see these now and then on the road. Always have a nice look. Thanks for the info.

[@robertcollins106]

The Peerless name has been associated with Slough trading estate since the 1920’s. It was a brand of US truck that was stored and refurbished there after WW1. A Peerless trading company was founded dealing in surplus trucks and was how the estate started, originally known as the ‘dump’. Slough has a long history of car manufacturing including a part in the GT40 development. A pub called the New Peerless existed on the estate up to the 1980’s.

[@drscopeify]

Yeah there seem to be 2 companies with the same name an American company and a UK company both with the name Peerless, the one you are referring to is the American company this one: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peerless_Motor_Company

[@roum22]

Citroen had a factory there, it was in operation from 1926-65

[@philiptownsend4026]

​@@roum22I remember. Didn't they build the 2CV and or it's descendents there? A bit different to a Gordon-Keeble.

[@adamweston4152]

I've loved Gordon keebles since I was a young boy and I also loved the facel Vega too, amazing GT car's. thanks for your excellent video 😃👍

[@TheHylianBatman]

Their logo is a turtle and their cars are beautiful, how could I not love it? Man, this is really some missed potential, it breaks my heart. I wish I could see those everywhere, and love them.

[@tarkus-sw9wx]

A most attractive car with an outstanding survival rate unlike many of its competitors, anyone remember the Trident Clipper?

[@cbanham]

My brother had one..used to start it up on Sunday morning ..and rev it…the neighbours were less than pleased..even those more than one hundred yards away!

[@gulfstream7235]

One of the nicest dashboard/interior of any car in my opinion

[@phillipstahlman1418]

I could do without the quilted vinyl ..... always reminded me of the Datsun 240Z .

[@964cuplove]

The acceleration is close to a Porsche 993 Targa that I once owned, that’s impressive !

[@johnmarsh2078]

Naughty Bert-One designed two cars that shared looks to the extent that they could have been first cousins ..... The GK1 and the Iso Rivolta. Mechanically, both had 327 GM V8s, Jag steering and front uprights and De-Dion rear ends with Jag S Type driveshafts and Dunlop disc brakes..

[@1258-Eckhart]

Thanks for this review. As a child, this was my favourite car.

[@fhwolthuis]

Beautiful car, thank you for this excellent video!

[@gregorylenton8200]

never knew about gordon keeble car......now i have many thanks

[@kimjongbingbongtingtong4430]

Saw several of these years ago at Ragley Hall, possibly owned by Henry Seymour, 9th Marquess of Hertford and current owner of the estate

[@rockall66]

I'm glad they got the production run up to 100, my OCD couldn't have handled just 99 of them being built.

[@nakoma5]

Regarding the badge, I vaguely recall reading it was inspired after one of the founders seeing a turtle crossing the road in front of their car [a Gordon?] or something along those lines, there might be more or less to it.

[@David-ci1vn]

The prototype had been rolled outside badgeless, the tortoise apparently emerged from a neighbouring site and was placed, as a joke, on the bonnet where it relieved itself hence the yellow circle.

[@gerardleahy6946]

I saw a beautiful maroon example at a vintage car rally here in the west of Ireland about 20 years ago. It was then Irish based but dont know its present whereabouts.

[@philtucker1224]

Absolutely fascinating thank you very much! 🙏

[@stevie-ray2020]

Ironically, while their cars were very fast, supply-chain problems acquiring components caused production to become very 'turtle-like'!

[@RERM001]

Making a fast car while having a turtle as an emblem seems quite unfitting. Haha

[@joshuaharlow4241]

Under-rated history. Great videos.

[@WayneB27]

Remember seeing more than one being painted at Martyn Bakers Astral Garage in Warley West Midlands in the early '80s .

[@o8thman812]

Can I borrow it till Tuesday?

[@icooper5236]

What a shame and through no fault of their own.another favourite of mine Gilbern same small output Reliant (Scimitar) Jowett Jupiter,AC Marcos etc. wow this Island of ours made some sexy cars

[@donaldstanfield8862]

What a great story, sad it did not turn out well, that was a fast car for the time, and they were quite beautiful.

[@_autoverse]

Nice little vid, filled in some gaps in my knowledge of these.

[@BennysBenz]

What a fantastic motor, excellent styling.

[@shankarbalan3813]

Really elegant lines….

[@bryanpalmer9660]

By all accounts a stylish,fast well made British GT-"The car built to aircraft standards"-a "what if' of the automotive world

[@felawes]

My father in law bought one new and ran it for a few years, replacing it with a DB5 and then a DB6.

[@damonoliverfitch6316]

Miss Diana Dors had one of these

[@asd36f]

The two principals of the Gordon Keeble were John Gordon, who had been involved with the Peerless and Warwick GT Projects, and Jim Keeble, a garage owner who had installed a Chevrolet V8 engine in a Peerless. The car which became the Gordon Keeble GK1 was essentially a Peerless, and featured a spaceframe construction, De Dion rear axle, 4-wheel disc brakes, Borg-Warner 4-speed gearbox and was powered by a 300bhp 5.4 litre Chevrolet engine. It featured a 4-seat Bertone body made of fibreglass. The GK1 had a top speed of 225kmh (140 mph) and could accelerate to 100 kmh (60 mph) in 7.5 seconds. The car sold for £2798, but this price was too low for the company to make money, and the company failed in 1965. It was revised as Keeble Cars, and the price was raised to £4058, but few were made. Total production was approximately 100 cars.

[@KyrosTheWolf]

You forgot to mention, Giorgetto used the same front fascia when he designed the 1962 Nissan Skyline, back then known as Prince Skyline

[@sjaakmcd1804]

Another winner, thank you. Now how about setting your mind to the Rochdale Olympic?

[@kettle_of_chris]

As of 2014 - 95 of the original 100 Keeble GT's are still in existence? WOW!!! That is really impressive!

[@chrisrutherford3862]

Use to sit in the back of one in Northumberland going from Hexham Allendale at night going to work with my Mother the boss had one back in 1980

[@paddy1437]

stunning car

[@macjim]

Is it more rare than the Bristol mark? There's a company worth a look at, Ruairidh.

[@LordTwaddle]

You should do one of these history videos on Trident Cars LTD (Trident of England). I’m happy to assist in information and research as I own one myself.

[@johnjones4825]

Not one comment about how it so closely resembles an Alfa GT Junior....?

[@plinkplanky]

I always thought they had a 60s Lancia Flaminia look about them.

[@turistomer3702]

Used to run a 1976 junior myself, I think both come from bertoni, /Giugario stable?

[@thatguyfromcetialphaV]

So it was a bit like a Jensen Interceptor. Nice.

[@lloydrmc]

How many British car firms were run on to the rocks by labor strife?

[@ThomasD1962]

Truly a sad story!

[@taublix315]

Can you make a video about the class 40 locomotives? It would be a cool video.

[@titanus49]

The front of this Gordon Keeble, looks similar to the Lancia Flaminia 2.5 GT 3C

[@WSNO]

add these to the docket

[@macjim]

The twin heads and grill reminds me of one of the Peugeot models... Can't remember the version though.

[@thomasmulhall4873]

504?

[@philiprogers2218]

1970s 504

[@RonJohn63]

5:55 "strike action". I'd have been shocked if those words had *not* been mentioned in this video...

[@alansharp1528]

A beautiful looking car, sadly killed off by a poor supply chain. Only ever managed to see one " in print".

[@alan-sk7ky]

0:48 oh look a head has been edited off ;-)

[@stejer211]

My hands are all gooey now.

[@dangerousandy]

Is the Marque logo a reference to the Tortoise & Hare fable?

[@simontaylor2319]

Stunning car from every angle, I like the Triumph Vitesse Mk1 style headlights & Bristol's performed disk steel wheels. This would have been en excellent car from Triumphs, had they designed it

[@clyneheretic]

The wheels look to me like 'Dunlop' knock-off steels, as fitted to MGA Twin-Cams.

[@pashakdescilly7517]

@@clyneheretic And the Jaguar D-Type

[@Ensign_Cthulhu]

You have to wonder if the strike action was carefully calculated to put Gordon-Keeble under. What a pity to create a great car and be at the mercy of others like that.

[@NVRAMboi]

Historical automotive documentaries : Bring on the company or industry-killing and paralyzing labor strike(s). Never fails.

[@mitreswell]

Ridiculously slender A, B and C pillars, and I mean that in a nice way.

[@rogerdorrington]

My boss had one when I was an apprentice in 1965 . I think it may have been reg no 73 WXH.

[@marvwatkins7029]

Wish they could bill a updated version.

[@stephenthomas3085]

Wasn't there a brief relationship with Vauxhall who contemplated using the Gordon Keeble engine to power an FD Victor but the plan was written off after one (maybe two..?) prototypes were completed. I would imagine that it would have been the fastest saloon car of its time, but would there have been a market for it..? Intriguing idea though.

[@fonziebulldog5786]

What a shame that a strike killed that nice car.

[@cheezyepicness7043]

Huh. I didn't knew a Car Company called Gordon Keeble existed!

[@calmeilles]

The tortoise logo on a keyring fob was a Significant Clue™ in a detective novel… and naturally I cannot now recall either the novel's title nor author. 😀

[@DebatingWombat]

I don’t know about a novel, but I do recall a Gordon-Keeble key (and subsequently the car itself) playing a role in an episode of the BBC series Waking the Dead (the one called Final Cut).

[@David-ci1vn]

An exceptional product killed off by cashflow problems caused by actions, or inactions, outside of its control, well there's a thing?

[@nowheelspin]

Continue to exist? Continues to live!

[@Brommear]

This car sounds very much like a V8 Lancia Flaminia GT.

[@graycav56]

Golly is there any British Manufacturer who wasn’t seriously damaged by strikes?

[@terencesaunders1357]

When I started my first job at fifteen/ sixteen I worked across from the keeble factory in Eastleigh airport.

[@craigsibley8161]

Bit of a shame. It had the looks to rival the E-type...

[@wintersbattleofbands1144]

Simple, elegant. Then we have the current Honda Civic, resplendent with tons of unnecessary chrome and fake black plastic vents.

[@RobSchofield]

Great!

[@turistomer3702]

I wonder who owns the marque now?

[@hedgehog5001]

Or more correctly, the luxury for those few privileged to own one. Beautiful.

[@Margarinetaylorgrease]

Peerless were fiberglass not alloy

[@anthonyxuereb792]

Italian design and American power let down by British supply chain? What a pity.

[@marshalllucky]

my neighbour has a couple of these old gordon kebbles in his yard , he has replaced the engine of one of them with a marina 1275 cc sport engine ,

[@philiptownsend4026]

You're not serious surely? If he preferred British Iron under the bonnet why not a period Jaguar XK? But maybe it would be too tall.

[@marshalllucky]

@@philiptownsend4026 the marina is a dreamy engine, low down torque and free revving

[@teddyboragina6437]

7:08 hol up. there's glue tycoons?!

[@TheGalacticEmperorOfLabels]

A car rarer than the Convair 880/990. If you owned one, would you dare drive it?

[@briansteffmagnussen9078]

That BMW looked a lot like the Volvo B 1800

[@phillipstahlman1418]

Somehow , you got through the whole story without mentioning the Iso Rivolta , a straightforward ripoff of the GK , even using the same GM engines . Equally desirable , available in the US new , left-hand drive and @ 800 built , it's a more likely purchase than the UK-only Gordon Keeble . Oddly , neither one had really great steering , but I wouldn't let THAT hold me back .

[@dcanmore]

hardly a rip off as it was from the same designer.

[@paulhall170]

So sad, yet another great car whose ambitions exceeded its financiers. Still a pretty car today..

[@drstevenrey]

I mean, come on, it's a Gordon Keeble. One of the rarest and most interesting cars ever built. The only grain of salt in the equation has to be that it was British.

[@jonathanpardoe8722]

Hum yeah , nice looking car but hardly in the same league as the Jensen that to this day refuses to die and many manufacturing upstarts have plans to re start Interceptor production , not forgetting that other icon of the 60.s the Marcos . which continued long after the TVR collapsed .

[@mikedavies3361]

GK was really an earlier car than the Interceptor. It should have reached production a couple of years earlier than 1964. It was priced too cautiously. Personally I think the rarity and styling of a GK will always make it more desirable car but the Interceptor is a fine looking and quick motor.

[@hugh-johnfleming289]

See, 'Maserati Mexico...'