This little car made us chuckle, but at the same time we wanted it badly. Four wheels Berkeleys are fairly common in the States, but when was the last time you saw the three wheeled model? We doubt you have ever seen one before since there were only about twelve imported to the States. This 1960 Berkely T60 is listed for sale on AutoTrader by The Dezer Collection out of Miami Florida. They are asking $18,995 and it may be worth it considering that it is from a museum collection.
The front of this Berkeley looks just like their four wheeled cars, but the rear end is what really makes it standout. It almost looks Lotus Elevenish to us. This car is in excellent condition and the seller states that it has received a minor restoration sometime in the past. We wish the seller would have included a photo of the two-cycle engine, but they do claim that it has been rebuilt. With their lightweight fiberglass body and front wheel drive layout, these things must be very fun to drive.
The interior of these cars are very bare bones in order to save weight. Conveniences such as gauges were even options when new. We love the wood rimmed steering wheel and angle hinged doors that close themselves. Even with a tiny engine, these cars still featured a four speed transmission and are claimed to be capable of speeds up to 60mph.
This car also features a very rare option that only 40 cars were ever produced with. This is a T60/4 which meant that it came with a backseat for the kids! The body on the T60/4 was a little differnt than the standard model to make room for the extra seat. With only a couple hundred T60’s left in the world, this T60/4 is truley a great find. We hope the next owner enjoys it and realizes how rare it is.
We forgot to mention that even though this is rare there are some parts available from Kip Motor Company.
Cute little bomb.
Hey the back wheels are gone lol
Hey, had one of the ‘tricycle’ models back in Scotland in the mid-70’s. Cute, yes, but a PITA to keep running. The monococque body with doors molded shut made for interesting entry/exit – left leg in first, then left cheek, bend forward at the waist, slide left until right cheek flops into seat, then grab right leg, pull and tug it into place. Sold it when I rotated back to CONUS in ’78. Most important driving lesson – – do NOT straddle pot holes!
I was allowed to drive my girlfriend’s Berkley. That was in 1959. Much later I purchased a 1960 Austin Sprite. I have the feeling that if the two cars were parked side by side the Sprite would look the size of a German panzer tank. The Berkley which by the way was a four wheel configuration had doors and a really good ride…about the same as an MG-TD.
It was also the smallest sports car I ever saw and that includes the three wheel Morgan which I also had the pleasure of taking for a spin. This particular 1950 Morgan was powered by a British Ford Anglia engine.
Doug Vernon
San Diego, California
All the body is available from http://www.cascu.co.uk/Start.htm and with many of the other parts available from http://www.king-cart.com/kipmotor/new_frontpage=Berkeley it would seem that with a little back yard ingenuity a person could buy what he needs and source other parts from the backyard mechanic market and cobble together a pretty fine aftermarket Berkeley. Could even use the body parts for plugs and make new molds and start production again. I think a light little three wheeler done as an electric vehicle and motorcycle licencing that also just happens to be very sporty would sell better than snowmobiles in Canada