Friday 11 October 2013

Unipower GT: how many left?

I had a reason to check the Unipower GT files earlier this week and got all mixed up. There are quite a few pictures amassed but there's not much of an order. So there I decided to make some sort of a register to check which car is which and to see how many survive. Not easy! But below you find the results and I hope it clear some things up. Of the supposed 75 cars built I could track down pictures and / or details of 41 of them, although in some cases it's hard to tell which of these exist to this day. Some cars could be gone by now, others may be double in there as they can have been exported or re-registered. If you know of any changes or of cars not in here, please let me know as it would be nice to turn this into a an up-to-date register. For an overview that I made of Unipowers sold / for sale some years back, click here


British registrations:

KYT 9D (GB) picture here
KYL 294D (GB) picture here
OYF 80F (GB) picture here
NOP 413F (GB) picture here
XGH 7G (GB) picture here
HNK 8G (GB) picture here
LTM 80G (GB) picture below
ROR 99G (GB) picture here
1275 U (was XGH 7G?) (GB) picture here
4 British Unipower GTs in Britain in 1977. Eagle eyed viewers spot a 5th
Picture courtesy Alternative Cars


British registrations, but in Japan:

NGH 8D (now れにち57 ん66-81) (J) picture here
GUF 48D (J)
SUR 109D (J) picture here
PKR 534G (now 品川53 の60-11) (J)
HDH 800J (J) picture here
JGL 172J (J)
66 UP (J) picture below
'66 UP' used to be this car's British registration. It's in Japan now
Picture courtesy Mini Maruyama


Registrations elsewhere:

OBK-041 (B) picture here
ZH 332-269 (CH) picture here
JU 100-002 (CH) picture here
M 689-639 (E) pictures here
M 778-776 (E) pictures here
B 568-381 (E) pics & video here
B 570-090 (E) picture here
BK 7597 (HK) picture here
RR-28-52 (P) picture here + below
RR-28-37 (P) pictures here
UNIPWR-GP (SA) picture here
男分53 ん5-41 (J) picture here
れにち57 ん66-81 (was NGH 8D) (J) picture here
要を55 を12-75 (J) pictures here
This Unipower has been raced from the late 1960s on in Portugal
Picture courtesy Rui Sanhudo


Unregistered / unknown cars:

Light blue Mk1 (GB) picture here
Red Mk1 (AUS) pictures here
Blue Mk1 (US) picture here
Red Mk1 (J) pictures here
Green Mk1 (J) picture here
Yellow/green Mk1 (CAN) picture
Red Mk1, modified into ESAP Minimach (I) pics here
White Mk2 (J) pictures here
Orange Mk2 (J) pictures here and here
Yellow Mk2 (GB) picture here
Yellow/white Mk2 (GB) pictures here
White Mk2 (GB) picture below
Hidden under wraps: a Unipower in Britain needing full restoration
Picture source unknown

Fake registrations for press pictures:

UNIPOWER picture here
UPD 1000 picture here + below
'UPD 1000' is a fake number on an early works car in Perivale
Picture Jeroen Booij archive



UPDATE 21:00: a 4th Spanish car (M 778-776) added to the list, thanks to Miguel Plano. Picture to follow

UPDATE 17 October: NGH 8D is same car as れにち57 ん66-81; orange mystery Mk2 car added; above Spanish car added; Belgian ex-Janspeed car (OBK-041) offered at auction - click here

UPDATE 13 November: Portugese GT (RR-28-37) added), more about the japanese orange mystery car and 13 Unipowers officially imported into USA - click here


7 comments:

  1. Hello Jeroen, the car you have photo above as the un-restored car in the USA is actually in England and always has been. The chassis is 046715, and is my car. Unfortunately for various reasons it is still in the same condition but is now under wraps in a dry garage. I purchased it from the original owner a number of years ago.

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    1. What's the history to your car then ? Want to sell it ?? :-)

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    2. Thanks for that information, I will amend it in the article. It would also be nice to write a bit more about your car!

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  2. Sorry not for sale.

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  3. The light blue unknown car is mine, pictured as it arrived in 2001, it is registered OLB 522E and is undergoing a full restoration at scholar racing.

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  4. I owned a unipower in the late 1970s reg no HDH800J where is it now ?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Dave, that one is in Japan now. I have photographed it some years ago, drop me a line on jeroen@jeroenbooij.com when you are interested.

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