A kitcar that I have always liked and one that has sold in very good numbers is the Gentry, which is celebrating a superb 45th birthday, this year.

Created by an engineer called Roger Blockley, who ran RMB Sportscars (RMB stood for nothing more exotic than ‘Roger Michael Blockley’) in Barwell, Leicestershire, he’d worked on the Spitfire production line (that’s Triumph rather than Supermarine!) and had an understandable fondness for the Triumph marque and expert knowledge on Herald, Vitesse and Spit, in particular.

His Gentry, a more than passable take on the MG TD, was launched in 1974 and some 2500 have been sold since.

Terry Phillips, initially with his friend Mick Sinclair, and then on his own, took over when Roger moved on and the former RMB employees sold the lion’s share of Gentry kits before it ended up with Vintage Motor Company, where only a few were sold before it went onto the back burner.

Ex-traffic policeman, Geoff Beston acquired the kit in 2006 and began marketing them again in 2008. Indeed, he made some real improvements to the overall package and built a stunning demonstrator, too. Geoff and his wife, Ellen, traded as Gentry Motor Company. They really put the car back on the kit map.

They carried on supplying spares from their base in Nuneaton but withdrew from kit sales several years ago.

The Gentry Owners Club is one of the most enthusiastic and pro-active clubs around

Therefore, I was delighted to learn recently that the project is back in production once more and now under the control of Jon Burrows and Gus Goodall. Jon, another Triumph enthusiast and Gentry owner, and the duo have big, but do-able plans for the old stalwart, a real favourite for many enthusiasts. These include exciting new engine options, but more on those in future months.

In the meantime, Jon and Gus will continue to offer the Triumph-based version with comprehensive kits starting at £7995 meaning that a Gentry can feasibly be built on a real budget from around £12,000. You can easily pick up a Herald donor for £500. Spend £15,000 and you’ll more than likely be able to build yourself a top-spec example.

Jon and Gus are happy to talk about fully built cars but initially, they will concentrate on kits. The new Gentry Cars will take their bow at the forthcoming National Kit Car Motor Show at Stoneleigh on May 5 & 6.

More from www.gentrycars.co.uk or 07961 231 899 ENDS.