Bond Tyres

Classic Bond Tyres

Bond History

Sharp's Commercials began manufacturing an affordable three-wheeled automobile in early 1949. It was known as the "Bond Minicar" (later renamed the Mark A) and was powered by a 122 or 197 cc single-cylinder two-stroke Villiers engine. The bodywork was largely made of aluminium, while some later models utilised fibreglass for some elements of the automobile. Because of the post-war economics, it was quite popular at the time. The final Bond Minicar, a Mark G, was manufactured in November 1966.

The Equipe GT was Bond's first four-wheeled automobile, a sports car with a two-door fibreglass shell. It was essentially a Triumph Herald chassis with a bulkhead, windscreen, and doors, and a Triumph Spitfire 1147 cc engine. The forward-hinged bonnet of the Herald was replaced with a redesigned version, giving it a superb, sleek sportscar-like look.

Bond Equipe 2-Litre Convertible

In 1964, it was superseded by the GT4S model, which had four seats and an opening boot lid. The installation of the quad headlights from the Triumph 2000, flanked by a scaled-down replica of the original Herald grille, considerably harmed the magnificent Italianate bonnet appearance. In addition, a bonnet scoop was added. In 1967, a 1296cc engine was introduced. It was not unusual to see Triumph Heralds modified by the installation of a Bond Equipe bonnet, as all of the side body lines matched perfectly.

The redesigned Equipe 2 Litre was debuted in August 1967, 19 months before the takeover by Reliant in February 1969.The doors received new skins, and all outward indications of the Triumph Herald were removed, besides the windshield surround and bonnet catches, which were based in part on style recommendations by Trevor Fiore but mostly developed by Bond's own in-house designer, Alan Pounder. The Triumph 2000 headlights were kept, but they were now integrated into a more attractive, full-width grille.

The Lucas triple-bullet tail lights were changed at the back, and this version of the car began to resemble the later Reliant Scimitar SS1, which would not emerge for another twenty years. This model used the six-cylinder 2-litre Triumph Vitesse chassis and engine, which was upgraded to the Mk 2 version in 1968 when a convertible variant was also available. Scooters, trailer tents, luggage, a power-ski and other goods were also manufactured by the company.