I know it isn’t a high speed Autobahn rocket, but I’ve always wanted one of these tiny Turner sport cars. These compact drop tops were powered by a meager Austin 950 inline 4, with just 35 horsepower. While that isn’t much, their light design made great use of the power. The majority of these Turners were actually exported to the US, yet this one is located in Norwich, United Kingdom. I don’t imagine there are many of these left on British roads, so hopefully one of our fine UK readers will save it! Find it here on eBay with bidding just over $1,200 with no reserve.
This car is in pretty rough shape and is going to need just about everything. The body is all fiberglass, so you won’t have to deal with rust in the quarters. You will however have to fix all the cracks and body damage, which could be a pain. You’ll also have to deal with tons of rust underneath that sweet little body.
If this one were on our shores, I would be sorely tempted to make it my own! They might not be fast, but they are agile and feel much faster than they really are. I actually wish I had spotted this one sooner, simply so we could have featured one of the other cars this seller had listed. The cars belong to the listing agents friend, who is quite ill and is unable to list them. The other car, which already sold, is an amazing Fairthorpe. Talk about an interesting mix of cars to have in your driveway! So would you enjoy owning a Turner 950 as much as I would?
I’ve always thought of these as just ‘plastic Sprites.’
The Turners I remember had 1600 Cortina engines, were potent road race and autocross cars. guess I will have to resort to Google to figure them out.
Turners are far from plastic Sprites. They are much more like a race car disguised as a little roadster. Unlike the Sprites, a Turner has a large tube frame that is very stiff, a panhard rod equipped rear suspension, and better weight distribution. They also weigh much less, close to Lotus 7 weight. A well prepared Turner 950 will wax a Series 1 Lotus 7. I know because I owned and raced both. The Lotus was a flexi-flier hampered by heavy 15″ wheels vs. the stiffer Turner which could make better use of sticky 13″ tires.
I believe this Turner is not a 950, but rather a Mk.1. The 950’s having a rounder rear and guppy mouth grille. The seller’s “950” probably refers to the BMC A-series motor. Incidentally, while the majority of the body is fiberglass, the doors should be aluminum.
What a neat car if it were mine I’d restore the frame and suspension, then I’d transplant a Toyota 22r engine port injected from a celica GT with an sr5 trans behind it. I’d then repair the body paint it orange with a black stripe over the hood and trunk ( bonnet and boot ). Finally I’d do a black leather interior. Nice find looks worse than it probably is.
This just cries for a 1275 and ribcase tranny.
Alan, my ’63 series 2 Lotus 7 had a 948 A-series engine and 13″ wheels. Very light and nimble, but no competition for the Huffaker and Mueller cars in F-Prod.
Plus with those wing fenders, when people asked what I was doing for the weekend, I’d tell them I was going to go fly my Lotus. At around 100 mph, you could watch the whole front end lift.
I now own this car. It’s got a new chassis, a modified 1098 Sprite engine and is in great running order. I’m currently rewiring it and it will get new paint and inerior during 2023