BRA

B.R.A. was a British manufacturer of replica and kit cars, established by restoration specialists John Berry and Peter Ibbotson to produce a replica of the AC Cobra. The company began operations in Doncaster, Yorkshire, before later relocating to Holywell and then Flint, both in Flintshire.

Unusually for a replica manufacturer, the firm's Cobra body was moulded directly from an original 289 narrow-arch car. Early examples featured a front spoiler, aero screens, squared-off wheel arches and an enlarged interior, though later versions became more faithful to the original design. The replica used MGB mechanical components mounted in a steel multi-tube chassis, with double wishbone front suspension and a leaf-sprung live rear axle. A V8-engined version joined the range from 1982.

In 1984, B.R.A. introduced a 427 replica featuring Jaguar-derived suspension mounted on a platform chassis designed by Gerry Hawkridge, who later worked with Transformer. Rover V8 engines were the recommended power units, although American V8s could also be fitted. This project was eventually sold to a German company.

The same year saw the launch of the J-Type, a cycle-winged two-seater inspired by the 1930s MG Midget, built on MGB suspension with a choice of MG or Ford engines. A variant known as the P-Type shared the same underpinnings but featured flowing wings instead of cycle wings.

Departing from its usual replica work, B.R.A. also produced a Mini Moke-style vehicle using Fiat Panda components, with a steel body on a tubular chassis and an optional 4x4 configuration; only one example was completed.

The company's final model was the CX3, a three-wheeled, Morgan-style barrel-back car introduced in 1992 and powered by a Honda CX V-twin motorcycle engine. Production of the trike was later transferred to a Welsh firm, which in 1998 also introduced a Citroën 2CV-powered variant called the CV3.

The original Doncaster operation ceased trading in 1993. The P-Type project was subsequently passed on to Rodney Rushton in 1995, based in Cheriton Bishop, Exeter, while the AC 289 replica project was taken over by Tyler.