Buckle Up!

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We'll forgive you if you don't immediately recognise the car in the photograph above. It's a Buckle Coupé, the homegrown Australian sports car built in tiny numbers during the 1950s. In fact, just 20 of these cars were built, all using the 2.6-litre straight six engine from the Ford Zephyr Six. With the option of bolt-on Raymond Mays tuning goodies and triple SU carburetters, the Buckle could do a genuine 110mph with relative ease.

The gentleman leaning against the car, looking remarkably relaxed, is Bill Buckle himself. A Sydney motor trader, Bill thought he could turn his hand to making cars from scratch, and the Coupé was the result. Buckle had his fingers burnt with the enterprise, but he had a lot of fun along the way. The yellow car was a lightweight 'works' car, in which he proved a formidable driver. Such is his enthusiasm for his own product, almost 60 years later he still owns an immaculate, fully restored example.

The full story of Bill Buckle and his Antipodean sports car can be found in the latest issue of The Automobile, which is out now.

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