Launched in 2000, the Shelsley T2 was a kit car that promised much, but that promise never quite equated to sales. The car was conceived by Peter Needham who had a wealth of experiencing in hillclimbing. He also had form with kit cars, pushing Westfield to offer the SEiGHT after he had successfully shoehorned a Rover V8 into an SE and bagged class honours in the Modified Sports Car category. When the rule-makers changed the eligibility rules to weed out non ‘production’ cars, he badgered Westfield to include a V8-engined car in its model range and the rest is history. Needham continued to compete, and with backing from the factory.
Needham followed through with assorted single-seaters before devising what in time became the T2. He envisaged a mid-engined sports car that employed four-cylinder engines from the Rover 220, 420GSi, 620Ti and 800 Vitesse. It also borrowed a Rover PG1 gearbox with an in-house gear linkage arrangement, while a panelled semi-monocoque centre structure with front and rear multi-tubular structures underpinned the glassfibre body. The brakes and hubs were located on fabricated uprights with lower wishbones and inboard coil-over dampers. At the rear, another pair of fabricated uprights housed Maestro wheel bearings but with Nissan 280Z discs and Rover 200 calipers. The Maestro also gave up its radiator, front discs, engine mounts and driveshafts.
The car’s outline was original rather than plagiaristic, the front end integrating headlights from a Vauxhall Omega. The T2 initially didn’t feature doors, but they were added among a raft of developments from 2002. Inside, the instrument panel was borrowed from the Rover 200 but set in a specially moulded dashboard.
Ian Stent was impressed after driving the two-litre turbo-powered demonstrator for Which Kit? in June of that year. He reported: ‘Practicality is going to be one of the T2’s big selling points. Not only is the interior very accommodating, with a good heater, wind-up windows etc, there are boot areas behind the engine, under the rear deck, and also under the bonnet.’
Stent raved about the driving experience, too, saying: ‘The ride is firm, yet hit potholes and uneven back roads and the suspension soaks them up without complaint. It’s a neat trick and there aren’t many cars that can pull it off… The handling on sweeping A-roads also appears excellent, with generous levels of grip, terrific turn-in via the quick rack and an overall feeling of assurance… Dial in both the performance and handling characteristics of the Shelsley and you can only come to one conclusion – here is a very special car.’
Needham Engineering claimed a car could be built on a budget for around £10,000, or £14,000 to a high spec. Perhaps inevitably, the T2 proved itself in competition, with a 2.5-litre Subaru flat-four-powered car proving a giant-slayer in hillclimb events. However, it was all over by 2005.
