Lynx and Proteus come under the same ownership
Discussion
See the undernoted press release which I have cribbed from the Octane site.
Lynx Motors International, famous for its range of high quality sports cars and stylish designs that include the Jaguar-based Lynx Eventer, has been purchased by a UK company.
Lynx, which was founded in 1968, will be continuing to build the Lynx C-type, Lynx D-type and XKSS and Lynx Lightweight E-type. Future projects may also include a Lynx sports car. Project management, consultancy and specialist restorations of historically significant vehicles will continue with John Mayston-Taylor (former Lynx Chairman & Managing Director) under Mayston Taylor & Company Ltd. Heading up Lynx as Managing Director is Anthony (Tony) Gott, former CEO of Rolls Royce and Bentley Motors.
His knowledge and engineering experience within the automotive industry ideally complements the excellent reputation of Lynx within this specialist market. “This is an exciting challenge and an opportunity to further the Lynx name and utilise the talents of our highly skilled team”, commented Tony. John Mayston-Taylor added, “My goal was for Lynx to continue its reputation for design and engineering excellence, and I am confident this will be achieved under Tony Gott’s leadership.
His profile and experience within the car industry certainly speaks for itself”. “Following strong interest in the Lynx brand, I am delighted to confirm that the company will be continuing its tradition for hand-built sports cars using traditional methods of craftsmanship with our renowned attention to detail”. Lynx will continue to be based in the UK with facilities in Berkshire and Hampshire.
Proteus aren't mentioned, but the same man has bought the Proteus name, which, after the bankruptcy of Enduro reverted to the ownership of the Gregsons who operate from Poland. The company, including the manufacturing in Poland, has now been sold to the same person. Looks like we might see some interesting developments in the future!
Lynx Motors International, famous for its range of high quality sports cars and stylish designs that include the Jaguar-based Lynx Eventer, has been purchased by a UK company.
Lynx, which was founded in 1968, will be continuing to build the Lynx C-type, Lynx D-type and XKSS and Lynx Lightweight E-type. Future projects may also include a Lynx sports car. Project management, consultancy and specialist restorations of historically significant vehicles will continue with John Mayston-Taylor (former Lynx Chairman & Managing Director) under Mayston Taylor & Company Ltd. Heading up Lynx as Managing Director is Anthony (Tony) Gott, former CEO of Rolls Royce and Bentley Motors.
His knowledge and engineering experience within the automotive industry ideally complements the excellent reputation of Lynx within this specialist market. “This is an exciting challenge and an opportunity to further the Lynx name and utilise the talents of our highly skilled team”, commented Tony. John Mayston-Taylor added, “My goal was for Lynx to continue its reputation for design and engineering excellence, and I am confident this will be achieved under Tony Gott’s leadership.
His profile and experience within the car industry certainly speaks for itself”. “Following strong interest in the Lynx brand, I am delighted to confirm that the company will be continuing its tradition for hand-built sports cars using traditional methods of craftsmanship with our renowned attention to detail”. Lynx will continue to be based in the UK with facilities in Berkshire and Hampshire.
Proteus aren't mentioned, but the same man has bought the Proteus name, which, after the bankruptcy of Enduro reverted to the ownership of the Gregsons who operate from Poland. The company, including the manufacturing in Poland, has now been sold to the same person. Looks like we might see some interesting developments in the future!
HI LOWDRAG re proteus/enduro and realm c types,how do they drive ? i assume you have driven them all.Are they comparable to the e type.I would like to buy one The looks alone are fantastic but i am unsure about the driveability of replicas.
How do they handle and are there good and bad makes out of the three mentioned.
How do they handle and are there good and bad makes out of the three mentioned.
Proteus and Enduro C types have, frankly, iffy handling if what I hear is true. They need some tweaking to get them right. Now I've never driven a Heritage and Enduro went bankrupt last year. Proteus (which in a convoluted fashion became Enduro) I am sure will, given the provenance of the new owner, be ressurrected to make good cars. Lynx are a different thing altogether; beautifully made (I've had two) superbly set up and handle like a dream. One can say a real D type with IRS which, on the road, is supple and which on the circuit (click up the Spax) is sure footed.
Hi Tony, actually an excellent combination. Proteus gives lynx the title they lacked for so long. Kit car manufacturer!
I`m surprised anyone would want to work with lynx or JMT. After asking over £1m for the name since it`s demise owing ???????? I thought it was dead and buried. This man is responsible for so many fakes,such as the Michelotti D,featured in Octane as you may know created by Lynx in the 80s for Bill Lake -infamous for XKD505.For me he is just another trader and I think you know my opinion of traders.I suppose Chris may or may not confirm the authenticity of the Micho/ Lake car, subject to how agressive the other party will be.
I think we know the answer to that one.
Luckily for us all the technical expertise rests with CKL whom I hope do not suffer, as many others did, as a result of this new lYNX reformation.
I keep having Octane trying to sell me add space, recently on the back of the aforementioned feature. My arguement with them concerns factual content. Simple soulution. I buy the space if you get it right.The writer did not even consider researching his subject, so no sale.
I`m surprised anyone would want to work with lynx or JMT. After asking over £1m for the name since it`s demise owing ???????? I thought it was dead and buried. This man is responsible for so many fakes,such as the Michelotti D,featured in Octane as you may know created by Lynx in the 80s for Bill Lake -infamous for XKD505.For me he is just another trader and I think you know my opinion of traders.I suppose Chris may or may not confirm the authenticity of the Micho/ Lake car, subject to how agressive the other party will be.
I think we know the answer to that one.
Luckily for us all the technical expertise rests with CKL whom I hope do not suffer, as many others did, as a result of this new lYNX reformation.
I keep having Octane trying to sell me add space, recently on the back of the aforementioned feature. My arguement with them concerns factual content. Simple soulution. I buy the space if you get it right.The writer did not even consider researching his subject, so no sale.
Whoa there Paul! I think you might be a trifle harsh here on the Lynx name. Remember that when these cars were built in the early 1980s they were just cars, not the telephone numbers we know them as today. The Michelotti D was well documented and was rebuilt as a D type in 1973 if memory serves when these were just old curiosities. The 505 history has never been in doubt and widely known, so much so that several firms of solicitors were involved in drafting the wording for the Rockingham sale catalogue. The person I have always taken exception to is M-T who I have always called Paul not John (Work it out for yourself! 
) When I wanted to negotiate on the lasy lowdrag coupé he had been trying to sell for 2 years he kept me waiting for half an hour when I was on time for my appointment, wouldn't let me photograph the car and was so condescending I had to grit my teeth. But as regards the Lynx name they did not, in my knowledge anyway, try and deliberately falsify cars. Customers like Bill Lake wanted a D type built around one suspension part but the history is well known and the car worth considerably less than a provenanced car. XKD 604 is another contentious issue sadly.
No, given that the person who has acquired the two companies has a car manufacturing background and that he seems, from what I've heard, to be going about ressurecting the company in a proper way I'm prepared to sit back and await the outcome. I wish him only the best, since as far as company proprietors go the Proteus name and reputation has really suffered since the Jim Marland days. I see the Polish web site is no more now!
) When I wanted to negotiate on the lasy lowdrag coupé he had been trying to sell for 2 years he kept me waiting for half an hour when I was on time for my appointment, wouldn't let me photograph the car and was so condescending I had to grit my teeth. But as regards the Lynx name they did not, in my knowledge anyway, try and deliberately falsify cars. Customers like Bill Lake wanted a D type built around one suspension part but the history is well known and the car worth considerably less than a provenanced car. XKD 604 is another contentious issue sadly.No, given that the person who has acquired the two companies has a car manufacturing background and that he seems, from what I've heard, to be going about ressurecting the company in a proper way I'm prepared to sit back and await the outcome. I wish him only the best, since as far as company proprietors go the Proteus name and reputation has really suffered since the Jim Marland days. I see the Polish web site is no more now!
My very limited experience of the Lynx D-Types is that they are very impressive cars. These aren't trying to pass themselves off as anything other than a homage to the original.
As to recreating cars from the surviving components, as long as the history is known, and it is known who did what when, there surely isn't too much of a problem. Jaguar themselves did this in period, so when a works car was destroyed on the way to a race, it was recreated by cannibalising anything that was within range.
I guess it has become inevitable that the people who can make the best repairs and the best copies will find themselves in situations where someone will come to them and say - look I've got this interesting car, but it's a bit damaged and I'd like it repairing... well actually the only surviving bit is this gear stick...
The problem is then claiming that the recreated car, is the original.
As to recreating cars from the surviving components, as long as the history is known, and it is known who did what when, there surely isn't too much of a problem. Jaguar themselves did this in period, so when a works car was destroyed on the way to a race, it was recreated by cannibalising anything that was within range.
I guess it has become inevitable that the people who can make the best repairs and the best copies will find themselves in situations where someone will come to them and say - look I've got this interesting car, but it's a bit damaged and I'd like it repairing... well actually the only surviving bit is this gear stick...
The problem is then claiming that the recreated car, is the original.
I met Tony a couple of weeks ago and he was most charming and the future of the companies and cars they would be producing sounds very exciting. I wish them all the best, I believe that Proteus will continue to exist in supplying rare parts whilst Lynx will produce cars.
Edited by TimCrighton on Thursday 2nd April 12:05
OK then, let me put a question to you. You want a C-Type, not an original one because it is way too expensive for you, because you like the line of it, you love the old Jag XK six, and you want to enjoy the traditional fifties sports car driving experience, complete with the narrower tyres. I suppose you want the experience rather than the car to be authentic.
If money, within reason, is not an object, what do you do?
If money, within reason, is not an object, what do you do?
cardigankid said:
OK then, let me put a question to you. You want a C-Type, not an original one because it is way too expensive for you, because you like the line of it, you love the old Jag XK six, and you want to enjoy the traditional fifties sports car driving experience, complete with the narrower tyres. I suppose you want the experience rather than the car to be authentic.
If money, within reason, is not an object, what do you do?
Well, you have opened a debate here with an enormous difference in the budgets! Start at the top at £2,000,000 and work down. Discuss. If money, within reason, is not an object, what do you do?
If you want a real C type copy then the best are the Peter Jay cars built in 1979/80. Two on the market and probably yours at the moment for £100,000. These are full FIA papered replicas, not lookalikes. For the same money, because of the name, you can probably have one of the five Lynx C types built. Totally incorrect under the skin, but a great drivers car and superbly made. For the same money you can go to Classic Chassis and order an FIA papered proper C type replica at the moment. Then, moving on down, there are the Jim Marland era Proteus cars. An alloy one is around £70,000 at the moment but for that you get what looks like a C type from a distance but is in no way the same under the skin. Different chassis, engine, gearbox and suspension. Then of course Enduro took on the Proteus name and made cars in alloy at £50,000. Then you have others like Suffolk building a nice fibreglass car at £67,000. Then you can build a heritage replica yourself and it'll cost you perhaps £30,000. Thye choice is yours. Then of course there is my C type which I won't go into the cost of..............
Hi,the suffolk 100 is an exceptional car, but not designed by Roger Williams.
Terry Rowan of TRAC engineering first started it back in the 80s. It is he wh who is responsible for the 100 we see now. Mr Williams bought the company from Terry.I have one of the original TRAC cars in the shop at present for assembly.
A brilliant engineer who was once part of Alf Hagon`s team, he used to manufacture all of the brightwork for the original SS cars and thought , `lets make a kit aswell` , obviously to sell more components. It didn`t work, in part because good engineers need good managers!and he didn`t sell enough.
Williams stepped in and bought the company and has never looked back.Still it is an exceptionnally good product.
Terry Rowan of TRAC engineering first started it back in the 80s. It is he wh who is responsible for the 100 we see now. Mr Williams bought the company from Terry.I have one of the original TRAC cars in the shop at present for assembly.
A brilliant engineer who was once part of Alf Hagon`s team, he used to manufacture all of the brightwork for the original SS cars and thought , `lets make a kit aswell` , obviously to sell more components. It didn`t work, in part because good engineers need good managers!and he didn`t sell enough.
Williams stepped in and bought the company and has never looked back.Still it is an exceptionnally good product.
enduro did an excellent aluminium body, which i believe was pressed, it was very accurate and had a great finish, one that would take a skilled craftsmens weeks to complete, and to add much stronger. I saw them when they had centre stage at the race retro a few years ago. It would be a shame to see all that tooling wasted, we now may see a cost effective and accurate c type replica being built soon. I'll see if i can upload some pic i'm sure i had some.
believe it or not they also had a c type coupe on the cards too, nothing more then a clay model and some diagrams as far as i know.
believe it or not they also had a c type coupe on the cards too, nothing more then a clay model and some diagrams as far as i know.
Just read this string, I have an enduro jaguar C type replica/recreation depends on your stance for description. I have owned the car for coming up to 3 years now. It is fantastic fun and a pleasure to drive. I have sprinted the car and find it's handling to be exemplorary, both on the road and track. Having covered 19000 miles to date without fault. I would never suggest it would pass off as an original, have independent rear suspesion and coils front end. It has what I beleive is the best components for a reliable daily driver, probably holds the road better than an original. THe aluminium body work is very good no filler used, seen prior to painting. Run a 321 electronic distributor combined with twin 2" sandcast carbs. Accepting one is not going to be able to recreate and original for the sensible money this is the closest I could get. There are more Tales that I could go into with regards the management of the enduro/proteus but the product when delivered was good. They had high asperations lacked guidence and experience. If anyone is interested I have a second car single door eccurie escosse blue for sale fresh engine 4.2 litre less than 150 miles. Have photos willing to forward, been in storage past year.
The first Enduro cars I saw were at Le Mans in 2006 when they brought three of them and did the driver's parade. An interesting replica in alloy rather akin to the Proteus replicas (based on the Heritage chassis) and none the worse for it. The problem with Enduro was their management and their "interesting" history which led them in the end to have cars built by XK Engineering when they had no staff of their own. They went bust spectacularly, which is no surprise since they were planning originally to build 150 cars a year, far more than the market could stand. I heard rumours last year that one of the ex-directors was looking for investors to put up £150,000 each with a contract to buy one car a month from him, but it didn't get off the ground. Yes, they are not in any way correct using a Mk 2 axle 4 ins wider than original and independent suspension. Cars started out at £50,000 and moved up to £65,000 before the collapse. A good original Proteus all alloy car of the Jim Marland era is around £70,000 today but few of the Enduro cars hit the market so I suppose that, being a newcomer, one might expect £60,000 for one today. Here comes the rub though; there are loads of C type replicas on the market from around £45,000 in good order, these being Heritage fibre glass cars and the market is saturated. Classic Chassis are now building independent suspension all alloy cars for around the same money as the value of yours I believe. Lynx are coming back into the market to build one knows not what but presumably C and D types plus more modern concepts, the prices to be seen but I'd not expect less than £150,000 for a D type based like mine on an E type under the skin but their name carries a premium. If you want to sell a car put it in the classifieds here and see how it goes but knowing a little of the history of the cars I would suggest a full survey for any prospective buyer. The chassis are rumoured to need sorting to ensure safe and correct handling.
Interested to read your comments regards handling issues??? have you driven one? I have to say that I have not experienced adverse handling. As previosly expressed have driven "nurbergring", Goodwood both Easter sprint and 3 track days, castlecoombe plus several continental trips, and Dunsfold (top gear track)
The rear end is independent suspension not a MK 2 live axle perhaps I misunderstand the technical side of your issues regarding type and dimension. As to the authenticity of the replica being true to the original I recall they never claimed to be an exact reproduction but in the spirit of the style, type and experience of the originals (but very close). I never expected it to handle as a modern car, and my expectations were fulfilled. Having owned modern Porsches, BMW, Mazda RX8 (not in that order), plus currently older classics inc current Mk 2 jaguar and e type. In reality only 53 of these iconic cars were produced; I could not expect to own one of these original cars but having spoken to some of the owners who have been more than magnanimus in their praise of my car have all suggest it probalby handles better than theirs . My car has also been driven by experienced racing driver instructors who have complimented the handling , steering ,braking and balance of the car. I also believe the 1st car was sent to MIRA for evaluation at the outset of the Enduro/proteus project, following which it was reported as being very good requiring minor adjustment in particular steering geometry relating to bump steer. I have to say that I have had nothing but pleasure from my car, a great experience and pure escapism a great tonic and release. Having looked at a number of other manufacturers models currently being produced the enduro/proteus cars are of an extremely high quality. XK engineering did produce the cars latterly their standard is very high. In reality everyone will draw their own conclusions and opinions but judge them on fact if you scrounge a ride in a cars see for yourself, great fun and in reality the journey is better than the destination!!!! opps don't tell my wife! Rgds.
The rear end is independent suspension not a MK 2 live axle perhaps I misunderstand the technical side of your issues regarding type and dimension. As to the authenticity of the replica being true to the original I recall they never claimed to be an exact reproduction but in the spirit of the style, type and experience of the originals (but very close). I never expected it to handle as a modern car, and my expectations were fulfilled. Having owned modern Porsches, BMW, Mazda RX8 (not in that order), plus currently older classics inc current Mk 2 jaguar and e type. In reality only 53 of these iconic cars were produced; I could not expect to own one of these original cars but having spoken to some of the owners who have been more than magnanimus in their praise of my car have all suggest it probalby handles better than theirs . My car has also been driven by experienced racing driver instructors who have complimented the handling , steering ,braking and balance of the car. I also believe the 1st car was sent to MIRA for evaluation at the outset of the Enduro/proteus project, following which it was reported as being very good requiring minor adjustment in particular steering geometry relating to bump steer. I have to say that I have had nothing but pleasure from my car, a great experience and pure escapism a great tonic and release. Having looked at a number of other manufacturers models currently being produced the enduro/proteus cars are of an extremely high quality. XK engineering did produce the cars latterly their standard is very high. In reality everyone will draw their own conclusions and opinions but judge them on fact if you scrounge a ride in a cars see for yourself, great fun and in reality the journey is better than the destination!!!! opps don't tell my wife! Rgds.
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