Gill (automobile)

Infobox Automobile


name = Gill Getabout
manufacturer = Gill Cars Ltd
production = 1958-1960
class = Microcar
body_style = 2-door coupé
engine = 322 cc Anzani two cylindercite book |last=Robson |first= G|title=A-Z of British Cars 1945-1980|year=1974 |publisher=Herridge |location=Devon |id=ISBN 0-9541063-9-3]
transmission = 3-speed manual
length = 114 inches (2895 mm)
width =
height =
weight =
wheelbase =
designer = The Gill was an English car based on the Astra and built in George Street, Paddington, London from 1958 to 1960 by a subsidiary of the British Anzani Company. It was another product of the fuel shortages that occurred during the 1956 Suez Crisis.

Like the Astra it featured a rear-mounted 322 cc air cooled engine mounted under the floor at the rear and all-round independent suspension with swing axles at the rear. Drive was by chain to the rear wheels through a three speed motor cycle gearbox with floor mounted change lever. The brakes were hydraulically operated.

The two seat body was made from aluminium over a wood frame mounted on a steel chassis. It shared the Astra's front bodywork cite book |last=Georgano|first= Nick|title=Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile |publisher=HMSO |location=London|year= 2000|id=ISBN 1-57958-293-1] but from the windscreen back it was bodied as a coupé called the Getabout. A four seat taxi version was also proposed and some saloons might have been made. At £500 (£523 for the de-luxe) the car was expensive when a Ford Popular cost £444.

References