Air Vice-Marshal Donald Bennett, the Australian-born commander of the RAF’s Pathfinder Force during the Second World War, founded Fairthorpe in 1954. It began at Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire and moved to Denham in 1961.
The first model, the Atom of 1954 to 1957, was a lightweight two-seater with motorcycle engines. The Coventry Climax-engined Electron followed in 1956, and the Electron Minor, built from 1957 until 1973 with Standard and Triumph engines, was the company’s most successful car, with around 700 built. Many Fairthorpes were sold as kits for home assembly.
Later models included the Ford Zephyr-engined Zeta, the Triumph Vitesse-powered Rockette of 1963 to 1967, and the TX-GT coupé with a two-litre Triumph engine, developed with the help of Bennett’s son Torix through his company, Technical Exponents. Fairthorpe car production ended in 1973.
