- Swallow Doretti
Infobox Automobile
name = Swallow Doretti
production = 1954-1955
276 made
body_style = open 2 seater coupé
engine = 1991 ccStraight-4
transmission = 4 speed manual. Optional overdrive
length = Auto in|156|0
width = Auto in|61|0
wheelbase = Auto in|95|0
height = Auto in|52.5|0Swallow Doretti made a 2 seater sports car based on the Triumph TR2 made between 1954 and 1955.
The company name came from
Swallow Coachbuilding Co. (1935) Ltd. which was sold in 1945 by Jaguar formerly S.S. Cars Ltd. to the Helliwell Group which was taken over in 1946 by the British conglomerate theTube Investments Group (TI). Dorreti was derived from Dorothy Deen who ran the US dealership Cal Sales.cite book |last=Robson |first=G. |title=A-Z of British Cars 1945-1980|year=2006 |publisher=Herridge Books |location=Devon, UK |id=ISBN 1-9541063-9-3]The first and only model produced by Swallow under TI ownership was the Doretti which had a tubular Reynold 531 Cromolly chassis with a body made of a steel inner structural skin and aluminium outer. Most cars were supplied with overdrive and they were capable of 100mph. 276 cars were made including a single fixed head coupe version. The car was designed by in-house engineer Frank Rainbow, and produced in the TI factory at the The Airport,
Walsall ,Staffordshire , England.Production stopped in 1955 when the parent company TI changed policy. Allegedly, pressure from the British motor industry, most notably Jaguar itself, led to the cease of production of the Doretti. It is thought that the Directors of TI were convinced that continued production of the Doretti sports car placed TI in direct competition with their customers for raw materials creating a serious conflict of interest.
Performance
A car with overdrive tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1954 had a top speed of convert|100.2|mph|km/h|abbr=on and could accelerate from 0-convert|60|mph|km/h|abbr=on in 12.3 seconds. A fuel consumption of convert|27.9|mpgimp|L/100 km mpgus was recorded. The test car cost £1,158 including taxes. cite journal | authorlink = Unsigned |title = The Swallow Doretti 2-seater| journal =The Motor| volume = | pages = | date = September 15 1954]
The standard version without overdrive cost £1102. At the time a Triumph TR2 cost £887.
References
External links
* [http://www.doretti.co.uk/ Swallow Doretti pages]
* [http://www.doretti.no/ Swallow Doretti info]
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