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{{Infobox company
| name = Kieft
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'''Kieft Cars''', founded by [[Cyril Kieft]], was a British car company that built [[Formula Three]] racing cars and some road going sports cars in a factory in Derry St, [[Wolverhampton]].<ref name="Georgano">''The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present''. By [[G.N. Georgano]], Dutton Press, New York, 2nd ed. 1973, {{ISBN|0-525-08351-0}}</ref>
==History==
[[Cyril Kieft]] was born in [[Swansea]] and spent his early working life in the steel industry. After the
A new design by Gordon Bedson, who had joined the company from the aircraft industry, was produced in time for the 1951 Whit Monday Meeting at [[Goodwood Circuit|Goodwood]] where it won the Formula Three event driven by Moss. [[Don Parker (racing driver)|Don Parker]] was employed as works driver and won the [[British Formula 3 International Series|British Formula Three
Between 1953 and 1954, Kieft designed a [[Formula One]] car. It was designed to accommodate a [[Coventry-Climax]] Godiva engine, but the engine was not released in time due to fears it would be uncompetitive, and the project was shelved. It would later be acquired by Bill Morris, a former ERA driver, and restored for historic racing. The car finally debuted in September 2002 at a [[Vintage Sports-Car Club|VSCC]] Silverstone meeting, with Cyril Kieft in attendance.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Kieft GP car makes debut|magazine=Motor Sport|page=7|date=November 2002|access-date=31 July 2021|url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-2002/7/kieft-gp-car-makes-debut}}</ref> It also raced in the [[2006 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco]].
In 1954 Kieft started to make a two-seater sports car which could also be used as a road car. Using a [[Coventry Climax]] FWA engine, all independent suspension using transverse leaf springs at the rear and a lightweight glass fibre body the car was really a racing car and at £1560 it is doubtful if any were bought just as road cars.<ref name="Georgano"/>▼
▲In 1954, Kieft started to make a two-seater sports car which could also be used as a road car. Using a [[Coventry Climax]] FWA engine, all independent suspension using transverse leaf springs at the rear and a lightweight glass fibre body the car was really a racing car and at £1560 it is doubtful if any were bought just as road cars.<ref name="Georgano"/>
The company was losing money and at the end of 1954 Kieft sold the company to racing driver Berwyn Baxter.▼
▲The company was losing money and at the end of 1954 Kieft sold the company to racing driver Berwyn Baxter.
Kieft Cars left Wolverhampton in 1956 and moved to nearby Birmingham where they concentrated on preparing and tuning other makes of cars. There were plans for a return to making Kieft cars but these failed to materialise. The company was sold again in 1960 and changed its name to Burmans.▼
▲Kieft Cars left Wolverhampton in 1956 and moved to nearby Birmingham, where they concentrated on preparing and tuning other makes of cars. There were plans for a return to making Kieft cars but these failed to materialise. The company was sold again in 1960 and changed its name to Burmans.
== See also ==
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{{Commons category|Kieft vehicles}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090828061758/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/genealogy/Kieft/CyrilKieft.htm Detailed history of Kieft's motor racing involvement]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051031071828/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/Museum/Transport/Cars/Kieft.htm#Kieft Brief history and photos of Kieft cars]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051118231153/http://www.500race.org/Marques/Kieft.htm Kieft 500cc racing cars]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies based in Wolverhampton]]
[[Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Sports car manufacturers]]
[[Category:British racecar constructors]]
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