Blackjack Cars
TypePrivate
IndustryMotoring
Founded1996
FounderRichard Oakes
Headquarters
Helston, Cornwall
,
England
ProductsKit cars

Blackjack cars, founded by Richard Oakes in 1996, was a manufacturer of three-wheeled kit cars based in Helston, Cornwall, England. The company's first car, the Blackjack Avion, was produced from 1996 until 2004, replaced by the VW Beetle-engined Blackjack Zero. In 2008 a lighter variant of the Zero known as the Blackjack Guzzi was introduced, the name derived from the Moto Guzzi motorcycle engine that powers it.[1] Blackjack Zero kits have been unavailable since June 2013.

Vehicles

Blackjack Avion

The styling of the two front wheel and single rear-wheeled Avion is based on the pre-war Morgan three-wheeler racing cars. It was launched in 1996 and continued in production until 2004, during which time 69 were built. It uses Citroën 2CV mechanical parts and engine mounted on a steel chassis of Blackjack's own design, all housed in an open-top doorless fibreglass body.[1]

Blackjack Zero/Guzzi

The Zero is a more performance-oriented car than the Avion, with which it shares its three-wheeled front-wheel drive layout. Introduced in 2005, it was initially powered by a VW Beetle air-cooled engine.[2]

A 2009 review published in The Telegraph praises the "elegant practicality and the production-quality finish" of the Zero.[3]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Rees (2013), p. 34
  2. ↑ Hole (2012), p. 40
  3. ↑ English, Andrew (23 February 2009), "Blackjack Zero review", Telegraph Media Group, archived from the original on February 26, 2009, retrieved 14 March 2018

Bibliography

  • Hole, Steve (2012), A–Z of Kit-Cars: The definitive encyclopaedia of the UK's kit-car industry since 1949, Haynes Publishing, ISBN 978-1-84425-677-8
  • Rees, Chris (2013), Three-Wheelers A–Z:The Definitive Encyclopaedia of Three-Wheeled Vehicles from 1940 to Date, Quiller Print, ISBN 978-0-9926651-0-4
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