Ronart Cars is a British sports car manufacturer. It is also the constructor of unique and bespoke sports racing cars. The company was founded in 1984 by Rona and Arthur Wolstenholme. It is based in Peterborough. The company design and manufacture sports and racing cars for both road legal and track day use with unique designs from open wheel racing cars to modern day sports cars.
Established
1984
Headquarters
Peterborough, UK
Ronart History
The W152 was the first car to be designed and manufactured by Ronart Cars. Wolstenholme initially had the idea in 1981 but the design and manufacture of a prototype car started in 1984. The car was launched at the 1985 International Classic Car Show. Production began in early 1987. The Mk2 version of the Ronart W152 began production in 1996 which has continued until the present day.
A departure into more mainstream cars came in 1999 where the company took on new joint ownership and designed and built the carbon fibre Ronart Lightning V8. They launched it at the 1999 London Motor Show. More than twenty four direct orders were taken at the show stand on its unveil. Only a limited number of cars however were manufactured before production ceased in 2003.
The W152 was produced under licence by Vanwall for ten years, from 2004 until the factory closed in early 2014. Since then manufacturing has continued by Ronart. The Ronart W152 is currently being produced from Ronart Cars, Peterborough.
Models
W152
The W152 was the first car to be designed and manufactured by Ronart Cars. Design started in 1981 and production began in 1986. The W152’s style is based on that of the front-engined Formula 1 cars of the 1940s and 1950s. The external exhaust system and “hump style” headrest are key design features of a car from that era. The W152 design however is not a copy but an original design with a reflection of many styles of cars from that era.
The MK1 chassis was originally designed by Spyder Engineering. It had made chassis for Lotus in the past. The W152 uses a backbone chassis, like many Lotus cars. So, the chassis narrows in the centre, at the transmission tunnel and spreads out to all 4 corners. The MK 2 cars, manufactured since 1996 featured the chassis redesigned and built in-house. The chassis is normally powder coated or enameled in black. The W152, does not have any doors nor a windscreen, instead it uses two small Brooklands aero screens in the style of those classic Formula 1 cars. It has two seats which share a backrest.
Lightning V8
On 19 October 1999, the Ronart Lightning V8 was introduced at the 1999 International London Motor Show, only six months after work started on the project. The successful launch of the concept car saw Ronart receiving direct twenty four orders for the Lightning sports car. Work started in earnest in 2000. Changes were made to enhance the vehicles lines and shape as well as development of interior/chassis and exterior components. Two further concept shells were manufactured until the road going prototype car was completed.
The Lightning V8 was powered by a Ford Mustang SVT Cobra providing 320BHP as standard with optional 500BHP supercharged version. The last two cars manufactured were fitted with superchargers. The V8 was fitted up to a five speed manual gearbox and with a Hydralock differential for power control. The Lightning V8 production ended after only seven cars were manufactured and delivered to customers, many more current active orders were cancelled at the time.
