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Naylor Cars

Ever wanted a truly unique car. Here was your chance.

What began life as a Naylor, ended up as a Hutson, with few differences apart from the badging. 

If history had been different, though, there could well have been an MG octagon on the radiator grille ...  

Each car would have the customer's name on it, it was numbered, every car had a photographic record of its build, and this was signed by Alisdair Naylor and the names of the  mechanics who had assembled it, alongside its build number. Every car also came with a smart commemorative silver goblet. 

The Naylor was launched in a blaze of publicity at the 1984 UK motor show, and orders quickly started to come in. 

However, the car had not been fully proven under extended mileage, even during the show, one was being durability tested at the MIRA proving ground. While testing, a test car inexplicably had a half-shaft break, which caused a rear wheel to come off. 

This really was a disastrous start for the company, because, quite clearly, not a single car could be built until the cause of the problem was found and resolved, and any lengthy delay at this early stage could spell financial suicide. 

Lotus Engineering was brought in to deal with this; a costly business in both time and money. 

It turned out that a lack of compliance in rear suspension bushings had led to the half- shaft breaking. This, despite the fact that these were all well-proven components. 

Uprated components were made,  which meant more development, and investment.

 To fully understand why these extra costs were so disastrous, it must he understood that Naylor could not build an unlimited number of cars. 

The Marinal-ltal was now no longer in production and the tooling was about to be shipped to India. Supply limitations meant that the company could build a total of 165 vehicles so any cost increases would have to be shared by these cars.

 Meanwhile, there was a workforce to pay and, crucially, a top-heavy management structure had crept in to bleed money further. It was not looking good. 

On the plus side, a deal had been struck with Rover Japan to take ten cars a year, and TUV approval had been gained for a left- hand-drive version to be sold in Europe. 

The company was also looking at using  Ford for engine supply for Europe. 

In fact, in 1985 a left-hand-drive Naylor was launched at the Geneva show. The car was well received by those who had placed orders, but long before the hundredth car had been completed, the company was in a financial mess. 

The official receivers were brought in and the company was run by the administrators during which another ten vehicles were under construction, some of which were finished. 

There were a number of people interested in buying the company, or perhaps more accurately, the company's assets. 

Naylor remains bitter about the way the company fell apart and, at the time, could barely believe what he'd got himself involved in. 

"It should have stayed a cottage industry, but it became a numbers game, where we had to build and sell so many cars per month to be viable. My feeling is that there were too many professionals involved, which was not necessary, and nor could the company afford them." 

By the time the receiver was called in, Naylor was building car number 100 (although there is some doubt as to whether it was actually the 100th car built).

 That might have been the end of the story, but the company was eventually bought by industrialist Maurice Hutson, who revived production and, under the management of his son Mark, the company continued. 

initially, the name was changed to Naylor Sports Cars, but it then became the Hutson Motor Company. Hutson continued to produce the cars in small numbers, latterly badged as 'Hutson' rather than Naylor, and they also built at least one car with the Rover 16-valve M-series engine. 

The Hutson Motor Company still exists, but there will he no more TFI700s rolling out of the Bradford works. 

Today, Hutson makes replacement bodies and repro parts for the MG T-series and other cars. in all, somewhere around 150 to 160 Naylor's and Hutson's were made in the mid to late 1980s, and most of them are alive and well today. 

The Naylor Car Club has been in existence almost as long as the car itself, and a register of cars has been set up by the club to keep tabs on the survivors.