A fiendishly capable and well-built little car, the Gecko came from Tamworth-based Nick Ingram, which neatly crossed the divide between Mini Moke and beach buggy.
It was originally built as an in-house shunter/runabout for Nick’s company Autobarn Fabrications and was used as such for several years from 1975. Then one day, Nick recognised that the car had more potential, so revised it into what we now know as the Gecko, was launched in 1982. At the time, Autobarn Fabrications was one of the UK’s most successful VW specialists.
The ubiquitous Mini was the donor for the Gecko and supplied running gear and subframes which were bolted to a tough little box-section chassis to which the body, made from a mix of plywood, aluminium and fibreglass was fixed.
A variety of wheelbases were available from 50in (70in was ‘standard’) to 100in which was used on a six-wheeled version. Kit prices started at just £340. A GRP hardtop was announced in mid-1987.
David Simmons of Simmons Design of Banbury, took over in 1990 before he moved to Cornwall, where he continued to sell Geckos until about 1992, when he moved into property development. An estimated 85 of the original version were sold.
He has announced a new version of the Gecko which appeared at the National Kit Car Motor Show at Malvern in early June 2026, with production of the Fiat-Abarth-based newcomer starting late summer 2026.