CHESIL MOTOR COMPANY

In 1990 Chesil Motor Company founded by Peter Bailey, entered the replica marketplace with the acquisition of the Street Beetle project from Chris Boyle. The Street Beetle was a good car but poor marketing meant that it never reached its potential. Peter put a lot of effort into marketing with well built demonstration cars, attractively stands at shows, effective advertising, tidy premises, good literature, lots of publicity (some of it outside the traditional kitcar press) and a very good sales technique.

This led to Chesil Motor Company becoming the leading manufacturer of Speedster replicas in the UK during the 1990s in terms of number of cars produced. Cars were sold both as kits and as finished vehicles. In 2004 Peter Bailey sold the company to Angus McCubbin and Jerry Bailey who then traded simply as Chesil. This company was involved in a number of expensive marketing programmes including an exclusive limited edition deal with Studio-G on the Speedster2 project in 2005. Chesil also had a major ongoing development programme, but like many small companies, Chesil Speedsters didn’t have the financial resource to call on the outside services they perhaps needed.

Eventually, financal difficulties caused the Chesil company to be wound up in March 2007 and its assets were purchased by the Tygan Motor Company who planned to carry on production of the Speedster and Spyder replicas in a new factory and add further models to the range.

However Tygan itself went into administration in December 2008 and Peter Bailey was able to purchase the Tygan company and assets and relaunch the Chesil Motor Company. As of 2015 Chesil continues to make cars and kits from its new premises in Salwayash, near Bridport in Dorset

In July 2019 Chesil was purchased by Westfield, based in the West Midlands Chesil now comes under the Westfield Sportscars umbrella and is managed by MD Simon Westwood. Chesil Speedsters and kits continue to be built and supplied from both locations with the purchasing and supply function centralised at Westfield Sportscars in Kingswinford.

Click here for more information

Westfield tell me their plan is to combine their differing technology, skills and beauty, harnessing the Westfield brand and expanding their portfolio. In introducing Chesil’s models to Westfield’s manufacturing techniques and innovations, they will seek to future proof the Chesil Speedster and keep it in production for many years to come.The long-term vision for the combined business is to provide the first fully electric car for the home build market and to design, build, manufacture and certify a retro electric Speedster to sit along side the existing Classic Speedster.