An A-to-Z of every vehicle maker in the UK

Anyone who thinks the United Kingdom’s vehicle industry is in a parlous state only needs to tally up the number of makers present in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Here’s a list of all the companies producing vehicles in the UK. We’ve stuck to those who offer fully built cars, though some also have the option of home assembly, and they are listed in alphabetical order.

AC Cars

AC Cars is one of the longest running names in the automotive world, dating right back to 1903 when the 20HP Weller Touring Car was launched. This became known as the Autocarrier that gave rise to the abbreviation AC and the company adopted the shortened name in 1907.

There have been several attempts to keep the AC name alive since its heyday in the 1960s. The most recent sees the launch of yet another iteration of the Cobra with the options of a 350bhp 2.3-litre four-cylinder engine and all-electric drivetrains. They are in addition to the existing petrol V8-powered 378 Superblower model with 430bhp. However, diehards will note this model is now powered by a Chevrolet-sourced LS3 motor rather than a Ford V8.

Arash Motor Company

Aero Cycle Cars

Arthur Rayner’s Aero Cycle Cars business has been producing delightful trikes since 2007, which developed from the BRA CX3. Based in Ditchling in East Sussex, the Aero Merlin three-wheelers stick with the classic two wheels at the front, one at the back for a sporting drive and you can assemble one yourself from a kit that starts at £3995.

Power for the Aero Merlin comes from a Moto Guzzi motorcycle that provides a punchy V-twin motor and shaft drive to make building the car simpler than using chain drive. The Aero Merlin is produced to a very high standard and, being hand-made to customer specification, it can also be tailored to individual requirements for space and style.

Alcraft Motor Company

On the strength of the individuals working at the Alcraft Motor Company, it seems destined for success. The British team is led by David Alcraft, who has brought together names such as Charles Morgan, Matthew Humphreys and Roland Cherry. Their aim is to produce a ‘skateboard’ platform for a range of electric vehicles.

An initial design has been shown of a low-slung coupe and the aim is to offer it as a four-seat sports car. Alcraft states it aims to use the best of British technology to minimise weight and maximise efficiency to give the best performance. That includes using a carbon fibre structure, 400-mile battery range and 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds.

Alexander Dennis

Alexander Dennis has sites in Falkirk and Larbert in Scotland and Guildford in England, which reflects the bases of the two firms that came together in 2004. The company subsequently also acquired Plaxton and is now the UK’s largest bus and coach manufacturer.

Alexander and Dennis both started out producing motorcycles before moving on to heavier vehicles. Dennis fire engines were a common site and Alexander’s Y Type single-decker bus in 1961 became a huge success. Now, the company produces a range of diesel-electric and full EV buses to offer zero tail pipe emissions for city transport.

Allard

Sydney Allard was quick to recognise the benefits of large capacity V8 engines from the USA in the immediate post-war period. He used them to great effect in his sports cars and was also an early proponent of drag racing in the UK, another American import that took his fancy.

After lying fallow for some time, Allard is now back building continuation versions of its JR that competed at the 1953 Le Mans 24 Hour race. Each car has a chassis number that follows directly on from the original’s and power comes from a 5.4-litre Cadillac V8 running through a three-speed manual gearbox. The only real difference between this car and the original is the latest Allard models are constructed in Gloucestershire rather than Clapham, London.

Alvis

The Alvis Car Company is proudly located in the Midlands at its Kenilworth base close to where the firm started out in Coventry. Founded in 1919, the current operation got under way in 1994 when company boss Alan Stote bought the firm. He has since re-introduced a range of Alvis models from the pre- and post-war periods.

These cars include a 4.3-litre version of the Vanden Plas Tourer and Bertelli Sports Coupe, though the motor now comes with fuel injection and a six-speed gearbox. However, it’s produced using the original drawings that are all part of the company’s history. The post-war continuation coupe and convertible models go one better by using genuine old-stock engines that have been stored since the 1960s, though they are minutely checked before being used. Each new Alvis costs from £250,000, it takes two years to complete the hand-built process, and so far four have been made.

Ariel

Ariel is one of the great success stories of the cottage automotive industry in the UK. Based in the small town of Crewkerne in rural Somerset, the Ariel range of cars and motorcycles is anything but sleepy. It all started with the Atom in 2000, though the company name stretches back to the Ordinary bicycle of 1870.

That first Atom tapped into the burgeoning track day scene and offered fabulous performance thanks to its mid-mounted Rover K Series engine with up to 190bhp and minimal, featherweight design ethos. Since then, the Atom has developed into a 320bhp supercar baiter, while the Nomad offers similar thrills off-road. There’s also a revival of the Ariel name on two wheels with the Ace motorcycle that uses a Honda engine and twin-clutch gearbox. The firm is also looking to future with its EV Hipercar that has an 880kW motor to deliver 0-60mph in 2.1 seconds.

AS Motorsport

The UK’s cottage automotive industry specialises in producing sublime recreations of past sports cars and AS Motorsport’s R1 Le Mans Aston Martin DB3S evocation is about as exquisite as it gets. From the outside and the driver’s seat, there’s almost nothing to give the game away, while under the bonnet you’ll need an eagle eye to spot the Jaguar XK engine that’s used.

Each R1 Le Mans is constructed to the customer’s choices at the company’s base in Bressingham, Norfolk and all cars are supplied complete and ready to use. The price of perfection starts at around £90,000 for a car with a glassfibre body or £130,000 if you opt for the hand-formed aluminium version.

Aston Martin

It doesn’t get more blueblood bulldog British than Aston Martin. It’s even named one of its models after that breed of dog, though the Bulldog supercar remained a one-off. The company began in in 1914, founded by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, though they didn’t produce their first car till 1922. After the Second World War, Aston enjoyed relative prosperity under industrialist David Brown’s wing, but then slumped in the 1970s as the fuel crisis bit and the firm sold just 20 cars in 1974.

The company moved from Feltham near London to Newport Pagnell during the David Brown period and enjoyed success with its DB models. Now based at Gaydon, the firm also has a production site at St Athan’s in Wales for its DBX SUV, which accounts for more than half of the company’s sales now. The Newport Pagnell site remains in use for the firm’s Works historic and classic operation.

Atalanta Motors

Atalanta Motors was all set to join the elite of British motoring when it launched its first model in 1936. However, the company based in Staines, near London, found production halted by war after only 22 cars had been completed. These models are now hugely sought-after by collectors, which inspired the company’s rebirth in 2011.

The modern Atalanta is made in Bicester, Oxfordshire and may look all but identical to the 1930s car, but it’s a different story under the swooping bodywork. The chassis is made from a bonded aluminium composite, there are disc brakes and the engine is a 214bhp 2.5-litre unit from Ford. All of this makes the Atalanta a quick car, which costs from £150,000 to buy.

BAC

BAC, or the Briggs Automotive Company, was started by brothers Ian and Neil Briggs and they launched their Mono sports car in 2011. Rather than try to create a road car that would satisfy on the track, the pair came up with a single-seater track-focused machine that also happened to be road legal. It makes a Caterham Seven look civilised.

The firm is based in Speke. near Liverpool, and BAC is proud that 95 per cent of the components for its car are sourced within the UK. Power comes from a mid-mounted four-cylinder Ford engine and the company has recently added the R model in 2020 that has a 342bhp 2.5-litre engine to give 0-60mph in 2.6 seconds.

Bentley Motors

Although now German-owned, Bentley’s factory resolutely remains in Crewe, where it’s been sited since the firm moved car production there after the end of the Second World War. Bentley only lasted a few years in Derby under its then-new owner Rolls-Royce and had previously built cars in Cricklewood, north London.

Up until the beginning the of the new millennium, Bentley made cars in the hundreds, with most post-war models based on a contemporary Rolls-Royce. That all changed with VW ownership and the introduction of the Continental GT and its W12 powerplant. Suddenly, Bentley was building cars by the thousand and has never looked back. 2021 was a record for the company, with 14,659 cars made and helped by the introduction of hybrid power for the Bentayga and Flying Spur (pictured).

Bowler Motorsport

Bowler may now be part of the Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations Division, but it has a history going back to 1984. That first car for off-road competition led to the Cobra model, followed by the hugely popular Tomcat that may have looked like a Land Rover Defender but was a much hardier, faster beast in the rough stuff.

As Bowler Motorsport grew, so did the ambition of its racing programme. This culminated in outings on the infamously difficult Dakar Rally and fielding a team in 2005 that resulted in the highest rate of finishers from any make.

Bradshaw Electric Vehicles

Bradshaw is the largest producer in the UK of electric vehicles for industry. Most of its vehicles are destined for use in airports and warehouses, so you may well have spotted them without realising it when boarding a plan for a holiday.

The company also builds small electric commercial vehicles for use in cities. The Goupil G6 has a 93-mile range and there are body options including dropside, van, and tipper. It also remains a family-owned business that has been based in Stibbington, Peterborough since it started in 1975. Over the years, it has produced thousands of vehicles and employs more than 50 staff.

Buckland B3 Motor Company

Always built to a very high standard, the three-wheeler Buckland is now with its third owners and undergoing some subtle updates. Powered by a four-cylinder Ford engine, it drives the single rear wheel by chain, in a similar fashion to the original Morgan trikes.

Run by three friends from the company’s Worcestershire home, the Buckland has a unique party piece where the entire body tilts up to give access to the rear wheel and suspension. Not the cheapest three-wheeler on the market, the Buckland is one of the best made which should see sales increase from the total of 23 sold so far.

Caterham

When Graham Nearn started Caterham Cars in 1959 to sell Lotus’ range of sports cars, little did he realise what he was founding. Jump to 1973 and Caterham bought the rights to the Lotus Seven and quickly switched production back to the Series 3 shape that is still so familiar today.

Only 40 of the slightly awkward S4 models were made by Caterham and the Super Seven that succeeded it sold around 100 cars per year for a long time before sales grew with the rise of track days and the firm’s own racing series. Now, Caterham sells about 500 Sevens of all models annually, helped by incredibly strong residual values and the option for customers still to build their own car at home from a complete kit.

Caton

Caterpillar

Caterpillar may be an American company, but it has been building machinery in the UK for more than 55 years. It now has 16 sites around Britain, making everything from diesel engines to solar turbines. On the vehicle front, it has two UK facilities, with one in Leicester that builds plant for use in the construction industry and another in Peterlee in the north of England making articulated trucks for earth moving.

The Leicester factory was the first Caterpillar facility outside of the USA. Although the company won’t say how many vehicles have been built in the UK, it says there are more than 4 million of its products in use around the world right now.

CCM

Clews Competition Machines is better known as CCM, a maker of very able off-road motorcycles produced in Bolton. The current Spitfire range has more of a café racer look, but they still hark back to their heritage with a thumping single-cylinder 600cc engine at the core of the machine. CCM also builds motorcycles for military use, as well as quad bikes and offering all-terrain rider training to its customers. Private buyers of its Spitfire range can modify their bikes with a huge range of options, making every bike bespoke.

Chesil

It may look like a Porsche 356 Speedster, but the Chesil hails from Kingswinford, Dudley in the Midlands. The firm is now under the ownership of Westfield Sportscars and before that the cars were built in Dorset, where the Chesil name comes from.

Always regarded as one of the best of its type, the Chesil 356 Speedster replica can be built from a kit at home or bought as a turnkey car. More than 500 have been produced since the first was made in 1991 and the company now also offers an electric version with 200-mile range.

Combat Vehicles (UK)

The name says it all, really, and Combat Vehicles (UK) has around 4000 vehicles currently in service with the British Army. That may not sound like a lot, but when you consider some of those machines include the Challenger tank, Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle, and Terrier armoured vehicle it adds up to a considerable range.

Part of the wider BAE Systems group, Combat Vehicles has facilities in Filton, Newcastle and Telford. The Challenger tank comes with a 1200bhp V12 turbodiesel engine, six forward gears and two reverse gears. A recent upgrade programme will see the Challenger remain in service until 2035.

Crosslé

One of the longest-running race car constructors, Crosslé has been building its pretty competition machines since 1957. Unlike so many others in this arena, the firm has never suffered the fluctuating fortunes the so many others have experienced. It helps that its cars are built for customers rather than running its own racing activities, though company founder John Crosslé was a gifted driver who used his own cars to great effect in club racing.

The Northern Ireland-based firm currently offers three models from its Hollywood base. The Trials car uses a Honda engine, while the 9S comes with a 220bhp Ford Zetec. The HTP is a 9S built to meet historic race regulations and uses either a BMW or Ford Twin Cam motor.

Dare

Dare came about when two of the four brothers who founded Ginetta decided to reintroduce the original G4 sports car. Ivor and Trevers Walklett quickly added the G12 and broadened the offer from exporting only to Japan to offering cars to UK customers.

Around 150 Dare G4s have been built to date, mostly with a 130bhp 1.8-litre Ford Zetec engine. Opt for the G12 with a mid-mounted motor and you can have power up to 300bhp from a Ford Duratec motor. With either car, superb handling is the cornerstone of the package and they also have very pretty bodies that hark back to club racers of the 1960s.

Darrian

Adrian Evans founded Davrian in 1967, selling Hillman Imp-based cars from Clapham, London. Before you think we’ve misspelt the name, Davrian produced a long line of models through to 1983, many with a leaning towards motorsport. In 1984, Tim Duffee’s Darrian Cars took over Davrian production and the firm ended up in Nantglas in the west of Wales.

It may be a remote location for a car maker, but it works for Darrian as its vehicles are predominantly used for tarmac rallying and regularly feature at the sharp end of the results. And, coming full circle, the company can also supply a complete kit to build a classic 1960s Davrian.

David Brown Automotive

The name may lead you to thoughts of Aston Martin DB models, but this is a different David Brown and the company is based at the Silverstone race circuit rather than Newport Pagnell. However, the Jaguar-based Speed back model bears more than a passing resemblance to the Aston DB5 and 6 models. Even so, these are handbuilt cars.

The firm also makes the Mini Remastered, which is an apt description of a wholly reworked classic Mini that has a thoroughly modern and luxurious cabin. However, some might baulk at the £75,000 price tag for a car, even if you are unlikely to see another on the road.

Dennis Eagle

A prime example of a British manufacturer that leads the world is Dennis Eagle. Its refuse collection vehicles are at the forefront of the waste and recycling industry yet few know about this firm based in Warwick. It builds more than 1000 vehicles per year and exports all around the world thanks to its innovative chassis that can be adapted for bin lorries and skip carriers.

Dennis Eagle also provides an electric option with the Ecollect model. It offers zero emissions and near silent running, making it ideal for the urban environments where most of these vehicles are used.

Dowsetts Classic Car Company

Dutton

Tim Dutton will be a familiar name to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the kit car industry. He built a huge empire based on his simple, affordable range of home-build cars and sold more than 8000 cars between 1969 and 1989. He then turned his attention to the amphibious vehicle sector and has concentrated in this area ever since.

The Dutton Reef is based on a seventh generation Ford Fiesta, while the four-wheel drive Surf uses the Suzuki Jimny as its base. Both are road legal and can be driven from land into water and back out. As with his previous cars, both the Reed and Surf can be ordered as kits or you can have one built by Dutton at its base in Littlehampton, West Sussex. Tim Dutton put the company up for sale late in 2022.

Eagle E-types

Henry Pearman founded Eagle E-types in 1984 to restore his favourite Jaguar model to perfection at the company’s base in Sussex. That led to the firm offering upgrades and in 1991 it launched its remanufactured E-types made to the best modern standards, establishing Eagle as one of the originators of the idea of classic cars built better than they were when new.

The company continues to offer its immaculate restoration services alongside the Speedster, GT, Low Drag and Lightweight models. Only a tiny number of each is ever made and the time it takes to produce any of these cars means a waiting of list that can stretch up to seven years. It takes 8000 hours to build a Lightweight and the price is around £750,000, which is still a lot less than the cost of finding and buying one of the 12 original lightweight E-types.

Elemental Cars

Like so many small British sports car producers, Elemental is tucked away in a quiet corner of the countryside. From its Hambledon, Hampshire base, John Begley and his team create the lightweight, track-focused RP1 that uses a mid-mounted Ford engine with up to 320bhp. That’s enough to hit a 165mph maximum speed and 0-60mph in 2.6 seconds.

What makes the Elemental different from most cars using a Ford engine is the RP1’s is mounted longitudinally and drives through a Hewland gearbox. That helps explain the £75,000 price tag that means the RP1 will also be a rare sight on the road or track.

Gardner Douglas

One of several firms building kit replicas of the AC Cobra, what makes Gardner Douglas stand out is its use of a backbone chassis rather than a simpler ladder frame. This endows the GD models with superb rigidity and handling, as well as making it easier to remove the body should you need to work on the underpinnings.

Run by Andy Burrows and his team since 1990, Gardner Douglas also produces the 350 that’s a different take on the Cobra theme. There are the GD T70 models as well that are superb replicas of the Lola T70 and, like the Cobra, use big V8s to deliver sensational performance. Based in Grantham, Nottinghamshire, Gardner Douglas has rightly earned a reputation for the quality of its cars.

GBS

It would be easy to sit back and think you’re done when you’ve designed a lightweight two-seat sports car in the same vein as the Caterham Seven, but Great British Sportscars (GBS) doesn’t operate that way. Instead, the Ollerton, Nottingham team has developed the Gen 2 version of its Zero kit and also offers a single donor model based around the Mazda MX-5.

As well as this, GBS has developed a complete package that comes with every last component to build a Zero at home or you can have a factory-built car. There are also race versions and huge scope for personalisation. Little wonder GBS has sold more than 500 of its Zero model since it was launched in 2007.

Gibbs

Gibbs bills its Aquada as the world’s first high speed Amphibian as it can hit more than 100mph on land and top 30mph on water. It’s been building these dual-purpose vehicles since 1994 at its factory in Nuneaton, but it has a much broader range than just the Aquada.

As well as amphibious quads, Gibbs also produces the Humdinga and Phibian models that have practical applications for marine rescue and maintenance work. The Humdinga comes with a Mercury V8, while the Phibian uses twin turbodiesel V8s so it can carry up to 15 passengers.

Ginetta

The Ginetta name has been around since 1958 and is responsible for some of the best clubman racing cars of the 1960s and ’70 such as the G4 and G15. Today, its owned by Lawrence Tomlinson and produces race cars from its base in Garforth, Leeds for use in its own series and others.

The bread and butter model is the G40 that uses Ford four-cylinder engines and rear-wheel drive. The G55 is similar in looks but has a 3.7-litre Ford V6 with 355bhp under the bonnet. Ginetta also offers its G58 and LMP3 models for endurance racing at the highest level, while its Akula is the only road car in the line-up and uses the company’s own 6.0-litre V8 motor with 600bhp.

Gladstone Motorcycles

There can’t be many motorcycle makers named after British prime ministers, but Gladstone Motorcycles is. It’s the dream of television two-wheeled fanatic Henry Cole, whose great uncle was William Gladstone, and the firm builds bespoke ‘bobber’ bikes with no rear suspension and classic Triumph engines.

Each bike is handmade to the customer’s specification and individually numbered when it rolls out of the Cotswolds factory. The bikes use the best outside suppliers, so the frame is from Metisse and the engines come from The Baron’s Speed Shop in London. Each bike costs from around £28,000 depending on specification.

Gordon Murray Design

It may not have the sexiest name for a car of this type, but the T.50 has pedigree like few others. It’s the latest work from Gordon Murray, the man behind the McLaren F1 and numerous championship-winning Formula 1 race cars. The T.50 is the culmination of all that experience and comes with a jet-fighter central driving position and 3.9-litre V12 engine that revs to 12,100rpm.

All of this is put together at Gordon Murray Automotive’s factory in Guildford, Surrey, not too far away from Woking where the McLaren F1 was constructed. Like the F1, the T.50 will be produced in limited numbers and only 100 will be sold.

Grinnall Cars

Mark Grinnall’s eponymous company started in the 1980s by converting Triumph TR7s with Rover V8 engines. The standard of engineering was excellent and around 350 conversions were carried out, but Grinnall wanted to try something new and indulge his passion for motorcycles. So, in 1991, the three-wheeled Scorpion was born with a BMW engine.

The latest Scorpion S-III model has been much refined but sticks to the same formula with two wheels at the front, a single rear wheel and now a 185bhp 1.30-litre BMW motorcycle engine. There’s also the Scorpion IV that is a four-wheeled take on the theme. Around 300 Scorpions have been built so far and Grinnall also produces motorcycle-based trikes based on Triumph or BMW machines.

GTO Engineering

Hawk Cars

Hawk Cars straddles the kit and classic car spheres with ease from its base in Frant, East Sussex. The reason for this happy mix is the quality of work from Gerry Hawkridge and his team, which produces superbly faithful AC Cobra replicas and parts that are used on many genuine Cobras. Customers can  choose from a range of Cobra variations and many choose the more subtle 289 body shape from Hawk in preference to the bulging 427 version.

As well as its Cobra work, which has resulted in around 400 cars being built, Hawk also produces an AC Ace replica and one of the Lancia Stratos. Again, both are highly praised for their accuracy and the HF Lancia replica has generated parts used by owners of original Stratos cars.

Honda

Honda’s Swindon plant started building cars in 1992 and had a planned maximum capacity of 150,000 vehicles per year. Sited to the north east of Swindon, the plant has been a production hub for the current Civic model, including the Type R, and a car rolls off its line every 69 seconds. The plant employs more than 3000 people and covers and area of 370 acres. The land was acquired in 1985 and was in use a year later for pre-delivery checks of engines. By 1989, the Swindon plant was making its own engines and car production followed. It will close down in 2021.

Ibex Vehicles

Developed out of the Foers company set up by John Foers in 1990, Ibex Vehicles continues to offer its unique take on the ultimate off-roader. This no-nonsense approach is entirely in keeping with the company being based in equally plain-talking Yorkshire.

The F8 is the latest model and the existing Ibex can be ordered in a huge number of body styles to suit a variety of needs. It’s also available in four- and six-wheel configurations, all with huge axle articulation for superb off-road ability. You can also order the car ready-built or as a kit with a Ford 2.4-litre turbodiesel engine, and the unique Foers centrally-mounted Vector Winching System.

Ineos

We’ve yet to drive a Grenadier from Ineos, but the company was originally planned to build this off-roader at Bridgend in South Wales. The brainchild of Jim Ratcliffe, boss of chemicals giant Ineos, the Grenadier is named after the pub it was conceived in and owes much of its design inspiration to the original Land Rover Defender. Prices are expected to begin at £40,000 and Ineos claims it will build 25,000 Grenadiers per year when production is in full swing.

While design and development will continue in the UK, the Bridgend plan has been scrapped in favour of a production location at a Smart factory in France.

Jaguar

Jaguar’s legendary Brown’s Lane factory may be long gone, but the company still has plants in the UK. One is in Solihull where the F-Pace is built, while another is Castle Bromwich for XE, XF, and F-type manufacture. Over in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Jaguar has its Special Vehicle Operations where it builds its SVR models. There is also an engine plant at Halesowen.

In 2021, Jaguar sales dipped by 1.2%, not helped by the loss of the XJ luxury saloon from the firm’s line-up in mid-2019; its all-electric replacement was cancelled in early 2021, just before launch.

Jankel

Robert Jankel started his Panther Westwind business in 1972 with the J72 that was a loose pastiche of the Jaguar SS100. It was followed by several other models until the company found success with the Lima and Panther models that were rivals to Morgan. However, the company really found its footing when it began to convert Range Rovers and Rolls-Royces with extra luxury kit and then armour plating.

Now known simply as Jankel, the Surrey-based firm specialises in armoured vehicles for use in troubled parts of the world. Some are based on existing models, such as the Toyota Land Cruiser, with bullet- and bomb-proofing fitted, while others are bespoke models such as its Fox family of light tactical vehicles for military use.

JCB

One of the most easily recognisable brands in the automotive world thanks to its distinctive yellow and black branding, the JCB range of vehicles has a global reach from its Uttoxeter site. It’s been there since the company started in 1945 with just Cyril Bamford running the show. Now, JCB employs more than 11,000 people across four continents and 22 production facilities.

In the UK, the company produces its most recognisable machine, with its innovative front and rear buckets. More than 750,000 of these have been built since the first was made in 1952. The company also makes vehicles for military use with its armour-plated tractors and diggers.

Kougar Cars

Around 800 Kougars have been produced across the car’s life with seven different owners. It started in 1976 with a design by Rick Stevens inspired by the Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica. With its sweeping wings and low stance, the Kougar enjoys a solid following and it delivers on performance too thanks to power from Jaguar six cylinder and V12 motors.

Now under the wing of Classic Jaguar Racing in Tenterden, Kent, Kougar Cars can supply a ready to drive car from £34,995. You could also choose the firm’s Monza, which is styled along the lines of the Ferrari 500 Monza race car.

Land Rover

Land Rover’s spiritual home is Solihull in the West Midlands of England. The place name has even featured on the badge of some of its models, so it’s no surprise to find it still builds cars here. Models produced in Solihull include the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Velar ranges, while the Discovery Sport and Evoque are assembled at its Halewood plant near Liverpool.

The Land Rover brand is indelibly linked to its British roots, even though the company now has facilities Brazil, China, India and Slovakia. 

LEVC

The London Electric Vehicle Company has a very specific buyer in mind for its hybrid machine: taxi drivers. The latest TX is a complete update of the classic black cab, meeting all of the requirements demanded by cabbies yet with low running costs thanks to its range extender powertrain.

Built in Coventry, LEVC is owned by Chinese giant Geely, which also owns Volvo. This has helped the British-based firm develop the TX and its new VN5 van derivative with a £500 million investment in the plant. It’s paying off, too, as the firm recorded its 7000th sale in May 2022.

Leyland Trucks

Leyland Trucks takes its name from the town where it’s based in the north of England close to Preston. It now builds the range of DAF trucks as the company is part of the PACCAR Group, but the firm has a history stretching back to the Lancashire Steam Motor Company from 1896 when it built a 1.5-tonne capacity van.

Employing 1000 workers, the Leyland plant covers an area of 86 acres. At the end of 2021, the company reached the milestone of building its 500,000th vehicle at its UK factory.

Lister

Brian Lister came from the same mould as Colin Chapman, developing racing cars in the post-war era and gong on to enjoy huge success. Unlike Lotus, Lister did not build road cars, instead concentrating on its racing efforts. The firm was reinvigorated in 2013 by Andrew and Lawrence Whittaker, a father and son team who have re-established production in Cambridge of these fast cars.

For the modern age, Lister builds its own versions of the Jaguar F-type with modified engines, suspension, brakes and interiors. They also produce continuation versions of the famous Lister Knobbly race car from the 1950s and the Lister Costin.

Lotus

Still domiciled in Hethel, where it’s been since Colin Chapman moved the firm there in 1965 from its previous base at Cheshunt in Hertfordshire. The 55-acre site was a former US Air Force base and ideal for Lotus as it could have its own 2.5-mile test track on the doorstep to try out new models and racing cars.

Today, Chinese giant Geely has a 51% share of Lotus and has invested heavily in a new model line-up that has already witnessed the unveiling of the Evija electric supercar. Production of the Elise, Exige and Evora finished at the end of 2021, making way for the Emira and new EV-powered SUV Eletre.

Marlin

McLaren

Woking in Surrey may not be the most obvious place to build some of the fastest and most able supercars ever devised, but then the McLaren Technology Centre is not your normal car factory. Designed by Sir Norman Foster, it sits on a half million square metre site with its own lakes that help to cool the heat generated by the plant’s wind tunnels used to develop the cars.

Around 1000 people work at the Technology Centre producing the company’s various models and running the Formula 1 team. In 2021, McLaren sold 2673 cars worldwide, with sales down due to the superchip shortage and pandemic issues.

Metisse Motorcycles

The Metisse name was revived in 2005 under new ownership. Rather than simply reintroduce versions of old models, though, new owner Gary Lisi came up with the ambitious plan to create a new motorcycle complete with its own engine. So, the Adelaide eight-valve motor was designed and put into production.

Among Metisse’s offering is the Steve McQueen Desert Racer, which is styled along the lines of the Metisse that this Hollywood icon and keen racer owned in the 1960s. There are also several other models that can be ordered from the Faringdon, Oxfordshire factory that produces every bike by hand and to order.

Mellor

Metrocab

The Metrocab is another take on the classic London black taxi in its styling, but underneath it has a range-extender electric power set-up. Built in Coventry, the Metrocab comes with two 50kW electric motors that are supplied by a 12.2kWh lithium-ion battery. This can be charged by plugging it into an external power supply or with the 1.0-litre range-extender petrol engine.

The 1750kg Metrocab has a top speed restricted to 80mph and emits less than 50g/km of carbon dioxide emissions. It can carry six passengers in the rear compartment and has the option of an extra seat in the front.

MeV Automobiles

Being based in a city, it’s no surprise the Manchester-domiciled MeV Automobile firm has a focus on zero emissions vehicles. Its BeeAnywhere is a two-seat urban car that has been designed from the ground up to be more affordable than most EVs.

Designed with input from the National Centre for Motorsport Engineering at the University of Bolton, the BeeAnywhere is lightweight and can be controlled from the driver’s smartphone. It will have a swappable battery pack to reduce charging times, while the estimated price will be around £8000.

MEV Cars

Stuart Mills is one of the most prolific car designers you’ve never heard of. The force behind MEV (Mills Extreme Vehicles), he’s come up with a stream of affordable kit cars and has found huge success with the Mazda MXC-5-based Exocet. Produced from the company’s Gloucester factory, the Exocet was launched in 2010 as a low-cost way into an exo-skeletal framed car similar to the Ariel Atom.

Hundreds of owners have now built an Exocet and the company estimates it should take about four weeks of full-time work to complete a car or around a year of weekend and evenings in the garage.

MINI

The 1959 Mini is one of the most iconic cars every produced in the UK, so BMW made the right decision when it set up production of its re-imagined MINI. The first generation went on sale in 2001 and was an instant success. Since then, MINI has not looked back, though there have been a couple of duds along the way and the less said about the Paceman the better.

MINI has two main factory sites, with the bodies produced at its Swindon site and then between 80 to 90 trucks transfer parts each day to the Oxford facility to build the finished cars. In 2021, MINI built 302,144 cars of all models, which was up by 3.3% on 2020’s figure.

MK Cars

The MK Indy has grown to become one of the UK kit car industry’s biggest players thanks to its quality and success on the race track. It’s a pared down two-seat sports car that developed from the company originally supplying parts in 2000 to those building other kit cars. The company is based in Rayne, Essex and has turned out more than 1000 kits and turnkey cars.

There are a variety of different engine and chassis packages available for the Indy, so named because it had independent rear suspension from its inception. Its six different models are dimensionally all the same and use the same body panels, but are designed for differing budgets and performance levels. MK makes its own chassis and uses Ford-based mechanicals for some models, Mazda MX-5 for others, including an affordable single-donor MX-5 car. At the other end of the scale you can fit Honda S2000 or highly-tuned motorbike engines to create high-performance track day weapons or race cars. 

Morgan Motor Company

Morgan may not be owned by the British family that founded the firm back in 1909, but it still builds its cars largely by hand at its factory in Malvern, Worcestershire. For a firm that many have claimed could not survive on low production numbers and labour-intensive build methods, Morgan has gone from strength to strength, which was underlined by the launch of the new 3-Wheeler in 2016.

The current range comprises Plus Four and Plus Six models. The Three Wheeler was discontinued at the end of 2020, but a new Super 3 trike arrived in mid-2022 to acclaim. Together, those cars account for around 800 new vehicles leaving the factory every year and, yes, there’s still a waiting list.

Morris Commercial

The Morris J-Type van was a staple of British firms from the 1940s through to the 1960s, so it was a prime candidate for the retro treatment for this new battery-powered light commercial vehicle. Designed by Morris Commercial and set to be built at its factory in Hinton-On-The-Green near Evesham in Worcestershire, the plan is to make 1000 of the JE EV vans per year.

The JE went on sale at the end of 2022, with pre-orders being taken. Those who can afford its £60,000 will find it offers a 250-mile range and payload of up to 1000kg.

MST Cars

Mulholland

The Legend 480 from Mulholland is being designed and built very much in the mould of TVR’s most successful models from the 1990s. This means a big V8 engine up front, manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive. The engine is a 6.2-litre Chevrolet V8 with 480bhp, while the transmission is a six-speeder.

Mulholland reckons this should be enough for 0-60mph in around four seconds thanks to the Legend’s proposed kerb weight of 1200kg. The styling is the work of former-TVR man Damian McTaggart, while the car will be built at Mulholland’s Derby factory with a price starting at £90,000.

New Holland

Munro EV

Nissan

It may be a Japanese firm, but Nissan has a long history in Sunderland of building cars. It goes back to 1984 when the company and UK government agreed a deal to turn a 799-acre site into a car plant, and the first Bluebird drove off the line in 1986. The Sunderland factory currently produces the Juke, Qashqai and Leaf, with production amounting to around 500,000 cars per year. That means that one in every three cars made in the UK comes from the Nissan factory.

Noble

Noble may no longer be run by its eponymous founder Lee Noble, but it’s still based in Leicestershire and turning out very fast sports cars. The M600 is the mainstay of the range, with the lighter Carbon Sport and open-top Speedster models also available.

Every model uses a Yamaha Judd 4.4-litre V8 engine developing 662bhp. That’s sufficient to see the M600 to a claimed top speed of 225mph and 0-120mph in 8.9 seconds. The M500 model joined the range in 2022 using a twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 engine from Ford.

Norton Motorcycles

Optare

Optare produces a range of single and double decker buses that will be familiar to anyone who travels through the UK’s towns and cities. The Leeds-based company makes its buses with a choice of diesel or electric power, and the company is also developing a hydrogen fuel cell bus. In 2012, Optare built its 10,000th vehicle and the company continues to supply many operators in the UK and abroad. The company is now owned by Ashok Leyland, one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle producers.

Ovik

Ovik is a company that few outside of the military and specialist vehicle world will have heard of. The company’s Crossway and Overlord models offer four- and six-wheel drive platforms for a variety of roles, including armoured options for security, police and counter terrorism roles. There are also options for fire services and utility companies that need a serious go-anywhere machine.

Power for the two models comes from a range of Ford engines, including 2.2-, 2.5- and 3.2-litre turbodiesels, as well as a 5.0-litre V8 with 500bhp. Made in Bournemouth, Ovik’s vehicles are all designed to specific customer specification.

P50 Cars

The Peel P50 is proudly proclaimed by its maker as the world’s smallest car. It’s an easy claim to believe when you see the P50 in the plastic as it’s a single-seater and uses either an electric motor or a choice of 49- and 124cc petrol engines. Prices start at £11,495 for the EV model, which makes it considerably cheaper than an original 1960s Peel P50, which can change hands for six figure sums.

Peel also produces an open-top version of the P50 at its London factory and the Trident, which is another classic model revived for the modern world. Choose the Trident and you can also have a four-wheeled EV model with a giddy top speed of 55mph.

Pembleton

The three-wheeler car is always an acquired taste, but for those who love them the Pembleton is among the best. Based in Kidderminster, the company has evolved its car from one that used a Citroen 2CV engine to something more sophisticated in the V-Sport with its Moto Guzzi V-twin motor.

Tipping the scales at just 298kg, the V-Sport can see off 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds thanks to a its 175bhp per tonne power-to-weight ratio. Around 100 Pembleton Supersports were made, plus 280 of the firm’s Brooklands models, while adding to the V-Sport numbers will cost you from £28,794.

Penman

Penman is one of the few companies in the UK that builds vehicles in Scotland from its Dumfries base. As well as armour upgrades for passenger cars and cash in transit van conversions, the company also offers a range of bespoke military and police vehicles.

Other vehicles on offer from Penman include rapid response fire and rescue trucks, as well as mine clearance machines and 6x6 conversions for a variety of off-roaders.

Pilgrim

One of the biggest names in the self-build car business, Pilgrim has sold more than 14,000 kits during its long lifespan that started in 1985 with its pseudo-1930s Bulldog tourer. That sold around 2000 units, but it’s the Sumo Cobra replica that has been the biggest hit for the firm, which now offers this and the Speedster, which is replica of the 1950s Porsche of the same name.

Now run by Paul Bennett from Pilgrim’s base in Small Dole, West Sussex, the company has gained a reputation for high quality cars at reasonable prices. Both models can be assembled at home or ordered as complete cars, with the Speedster costing from £56,000 and the Cobra from £55,000.

Radical Sportscars

Radical has been building its aptly named sports cars since 1997, with most being bought for track day and race use. The latest model, though, is road legal and the Rapture comes with a 360bhp 2.3-litre mid-mounted Ford engine that sees it from 0-60mph in 3.0 seconds and on to 165mph. That performance comes at a cost, which starts at around £90,000 depending on how you specify the car.

The cheapest way into brand new Radical ownership is the evergreen SR1 for £45,000 plus VAT. That includes driver training, technical support and entry to a 12-round race series. The SR1 is no slouch thanks to its Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle engine, offering 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds and 138mph. At the other end of the scale is the 850bhp Project 25 due to launch in 2023 as a track-only car and limited to 25 units.

Raptor Sports Cars

With a background in building championship-winning engines, it wasn’t a huge leap for Andy Entwistle and his team to develop their own lightweight sports car. Very much in the track day vein, the Raptor emerged in 2015 and has swiftly gained a reputation for its high quality of finish and set-up thanks to the company’s motorsport background.

Raptor offers a variety of engine options for its car, comprising both car and motorcycle choices. This includes the latest Ford Ecoboost engines with prodigious power outputs, which has attracted customers from all over the UK to Raptor’s base in East Fortune, Scotland.

RBSL

Working with military customers around the world, RBSL provides a variety of manned and unmanned vehicles for use in combat situations. The firm is part-owned by Rheinmettal Defence of Germany and employs 450 staff in the UK across four sites in Telford, Newcastle, Dorset and Bristol.

Among the firm’s products are wheeled and tracked armoured vehicles, including the eight-wheeled Boxer version used by the British Army.

Recharged Heritage

Revolution Race Cars

Riot Cars

Riot Cars was born out of the Sylva Riot, a simple mid-engined no-frills sports car designed by Jeremy Philips and sold as a kit. Mike Southerton now runs the show from his Somerset premises and the Riot continues to attract those seeking superb dynamics at a reasonable cost.

More than 100 Riots were sold by Sylva and the same number again has left Riot Cars’ factory. A Ford Focus provides the engine and gearbox, and a Riot can be built at home from £9500 or the factory offers turnkey cars.

Riversimple

While many other electric vehicle companies are using batteries, Riversimple has opted for a hydrogen fuel cell for its Rasa model. The company has taken this route as it believes it creates a lighter vehicle, which is helped by the Rasa’s carbon fibre core tub that delivers an all-up weight of  580kg.

The Rasa is already in use on the road and can cover up to 300 miles on a single fill of its hydrogen tank. It has been tested in London and also on the country lanes around the company’s base in Powys, Wales.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars

Rolls-Royce may have only built 5586 cars in 2021, but that was the firm’s best ever year for the number of cars made and sold. This figure was helped by the Cullinan SUV, but it also tells us that this British luxury icon is more desirable than ever.

Of course, Rolls-Royce is owned by BMW, but the cars are assembled at the firm’s Goodwood factory on the south coast of England. There is also still a lot of work put in by human hands to finish the wood, leather and paintwork to the expected standards when a Phantom costs from £450,820.

Ronart

Inspired by Grand Prix cars from the 1950s, the Ronart W152 is a fully road legal machine available in kit or fully built forms from its maker based in Peterborough. It’s the work of Arthur Wolstenholme and constructed around a strong steel chassis with Jaguar XJ running gear. Engines are also usually from Jaguar, with most owners choosing the XK straight six or V12 for an authentic feel.

Ronart has also offered the Lightening, which was a modern coupe and roadster with V8 power. However, it now concentrates on the W152, which is offered in ready to drive form from around £69,000 depending on the specification.

RML

Rotodama

The Land Rover Discovery might not be the first car you think of when considering green vehicles, but the Rotodama takes an old Disco and recycles it into a supremely useful all-terrain truck. Included in the conversion, which can be carried out by the company at its Isle of Wight base or at home by the owner, is the forward control driving position.

Using the Discovery as a base gives owners the option of a 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine or V8 petrol. With minimal overhangs, the Rotodama has excellent off-road ability and can be ordered with a single or double cab design with prices around £24,000.

Sebring Sports Cars

Suffolk Sports Cars

As the name suggests, Suffolk Sports Cars is sited close to the coast of this county in East Anglia. It’s a fittingly picturesque spot to build such attractive cars and the firm has built up a worldwide reputation for the high standards it works to. Its Jaguar SS100 is the car that started it all and company founder Roger Williams has since added a Jaguar C-type replica to the range. Both are available as kits or built to customer order.

A more recent addition to Suffolk Sports Cars inventory is the Suffolk XK120, which is built from an original Jaguar XK120 but with a host of subtle upgrades. Among the improvements are lowered floors to give more cabin space, reworked engine and gearbox, and uprated brakes, steering and suspension.

Supacat

You may well have seen some of Supacat’s machines without knowing what you were looking at, unless you serve in the armed forces. Its range of military vehicles are widely used in roles that used to be the preserve of the Land Rover Defender. Now, these jobs are dealt with by vehicles such as Supacat’s HMT 400 and 600 ranges, and the HMT Extenda.

All of these vehicles are designed and assembled at Supacat’s Honiton, Devon facility and are exported around the world. The company also makes its LRV, ATMP, HMT and SPV models.

Tempest of England

Developed along the lines of a trials car, the Tempest is a simple, light roadster with styling along the lines of a 1930s sports car. It’s built on a robust steel chassis and used tough, reliable Reliant running gear, which again is rooted in the sport of trialling where many Tempests compete.

The first Tempest cars were offered in 1987 by its creators Ian Foster and John Box, but the car is now under the wing of Joe Mason, who also runs Reliant Spares from the company’s base in Worcestershire.

Tornado Sports Cars

Tornado Sports Cars started out building a replica of the McLaren M6 in 1984 and then added its TS40 replica of the Ford GT40 in 1989. The latter soon took off in sales and has been the mainstay of the firm ever since, with around 1000 cars supplied either as kits for home assembly or as complete cars.

That many cars makes Tornado one of the leading GT40 replica producers in the world and its cars are noted for their quality and relative ease of build for something of this complexity. Power comes from a mid-mounted V8 engine, usually a Ford or Chevrolet unit, and fully built cars from the Kidderminster factory use the latest Ford Coyote 5.0-litre V8.

Tiger Racing

Jim Dudley is a prolific designer and builder of sports cars and has offered no less than 10 models in Tiger Racing’s long history. The cars range from the dainty HS6 that is a replica of the Lotus 6 all the way to the twin-engined Z100 that set a world record for 0-60mph acceleration.

The current range of Tiger models from the Wisbech, Cambridgeshire factory are mostly on the theme of lightweight sports cars, though the ERA 30 is close in style to the Lotus 23. The most popular model is the R6 which can be built at home or by Tiger from £19,995 with a 175bhp 2.0-litre Ford engine and five-speed manual gearbox.

Toniq Cars

Toyota

Toyota has been building cars in the UK since 1992, when the first Carina E left the line in Burnaston, Derbyshire. Since then, around 4.5 million cars with a Toyota badge have been assembled in the UK, and that number includes just shy of 2 million Avensis models.

The factory now produces the Corolla, while Toyota’s Deeside plant in North Wales builds engines. This factory employs 600 people and turned out 257,395 complete engines in 2021, while Toyota built 131,024 cars in the UK in the same year.

TR Supercars Speed 12

If the TR Supercars Speed 12 looks familiar, that’s because it’s a continuation of the TVR Speed 12, a car that TVR boss Peter Wheeler decided was too fast for public roads. This has not put off TR Supercars, which will build you a 1012bhp car with twin-turbo 6.0-litre V12 motor to deliver a top speed of 218mph.

The Speed 12 is offered from the company’s base in Lancashire, just down the road from the old TVR factory in Blackpool. It’s well placed to produce the Speed 12 as TR Supercars is a division of Helical Technology, which makes precision components for engines.

Trident Sports Cars

Hand-crafted, sports car, sensational performance, 6.6-litre V8 engine: all the ingredients are there in the Trident Iceni and Magna sports cars. Oh, and the motor is a turbodiesel, not what you’d expect. However, the Norfolk-based team has come up with its Torque Multiplication technology that means the entry-point motor offers 397bhp and 700lb ft, while the uprated version gives 430bhp and 950lb ft. There’s also another with 660bhp and 1050lb ft of torque.

As well as all the performance you’d expect of a two-seat sports car with these sorts of power outputs, Trident also says the cars are capable of more than 1500 miles on a single fill of the tank.

Triking

Long before Morgan considered reintroducing its 3-Wheeler, Triking was catering to those who wanted a sporting small car with only a single wheel at the back. Tony Divey designed the Triking and put the first on the road in 1977, and ever since then there has been a steady flow of these superbly built and detailed small sports cars leaving the company’s premises in Norfolk either fully assembled or as kits.

The current fourth generation Type 4 model has recently been joined by the relaunched Type 1, which has been subtly updated for those who want the original style of Triking. Around 200 have been made so far and prices start at around £8500 for the kit that includes almost everything except the Mot Guzzi V-twin engine and gearbox to complete the car. Or, Triking will build one to your specification from £20,000.

Triumph Motorcycles

Triumph is one of the great success stories of the British automotive industry over the past few decades. When the firm looked like it was going the way of other formerly big names from the motorcycling world, John Bloor stepped in and bought the firm, gradually turning Triumph into a globally desirable brand with class-leading motorcycles.

In 2021, Triumph sold 56,600 motorcycles and the Hinckley factory in the Midlands remains the focal point of manufacturing. However, the firm also assembles bikes in Brazil and Thailand.

TVR

Ultima Sports Cars

The name Lee Noble will need few introductions and he designed the first Ultima for launch in 1983. This was followed by the Sports in 1992 that set the template for the RS we have today, which is still produced from a factory in Leicester. The location may be the same, but the RS is a very different beast to the original car and sports a Chevrolet V8 engine with anything from a base 480bhp all the way to a headline 1200bhp.

In this form, it can deliver 0-60mph in 2.3 seconds and a 250mph top speed, giving it performance on a par with the most exotic hypercars. Even so, the Ultima RS can be bought from around £60,000 for home assembly or you can have a factory-built example from around £100,000.

Vauxhall

Vauxhall takes its name from where the company was originally sited in this part of London. In 1905, it moved to Luton where it is now most closely associated with, though car production is now centred around the Ellesmere Port factory near Liverpool. The Astra hatch and Sports Tourer estate were built there until mid-2022.

From 2023, the Ellesmere Port factory will produce the electric Vauxhall Combo-e van, along with Citroen- and Peugeot-badged versions. The Vauxhall brand is unique to the UK; the firm is part of the larger Stellantis group.

Westfield

Westfield is a company that rarely gets the recognition for the success and sales it enjoys. The firm was started by Chris Smith when he offered a Lotus XI replica, followed by a Lotus 7 replica. However, Caterham Cars objected to this and Westfield redesigned the car to create the SE. From there, it never looked back and the firm has produced more than 11,000 cars of all types since.

The current range comprises the Sport and XI models, with the Sport offered either fully built or as a complete kit package in the same way as a Caterham Seven. Westfield also offers the Chesil Speedster, which is a Porsche 356 replica, with petrol or electric power, and the firm is also produces autonomous POD vehicles that are currently used at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport.

Wrightbus

Northern Ireland-based bus maker Wrightbus is leading the way in hydrogen-powered, zero emissions public transport. It was bought in 2019 by Jo Bamford, grandson of the founder of tractor maker JCB, and the company is aiming to deliver 3000 hydrogen-powered buses by 2024. Bamford already has hydrogen buses in service and believes this route is more sustainable and better suited to use in cities than hybrid or battery-powered buses.

He also owns Ryse, a hydrogen-producing company that is harnessing renewable wind energy to make hydrogen cheaply.

Wells Motor Cars

Westfield-Chesil