Spartan Cars was founded in 1973 by Jim McIntyre, who had been running a vehicle repair business in Nottingham. The company began at Mapperley Plains, Nottingham, before moving to Pinxton, Derbyshire, in 1978.
The company’s main product throughout its life was the Spartan Roadster, an open, two-seater kit car with traditional 1930s-style proportions, built at first on the chassis and running gear of the Triumph Herald with a Triumph Spitfire engine, and later adapted to other donor mechanicals. More than 4,000 kits were produced and exported to over 23 countries. Spartan also built a small estate car, the Sherwood, a motorhome conversion called the Starcraft, and a Jeep-style utility vehicle, the Treka.
Production continued at Pinxton until the company closed in 1995.