We are pleased to have been awarded a project along with Q-Flow and other partners.....

Innovating together - Hydrogen and Value-Added-Carbon production through Waste Heat Recovery: Hy-Value Recovery.

We are proud to announce that an exciting project is now underway along with a consortium of businesses. This project will embed new manufacturing technology in the UK and contribute to decarbonisation of the Foundation Industries.
'Hydrogen and Value-Added-Carbon production through Waste-Heat-Recovery' (Hy-Value Recovery) will up-scale a manufacturing process for a sustainable, affordable, value-added-carbon product for the Foundation-Industry Chemicals sector through utilising high-grade waste-heat from steel/glass furnaces.

Q-Flo's Value-Added-Carbon product range, Torstran, is produced by high temperature processing of methane/hydrocarbon feedstocks including renewables/wastes (e.g. from land-fill, biogas, hot-steel reaction gases) to give a carbon nanotube product in a safe bundled structure.

Hy-Value Recovery' will develop / build / operate an industrially-relevant-scale Torstran-Production-Demonstrator, at Glass Futures pilot plant in St Helens, Merseyside, demonstrating continuous 24-7 operation at an industrially-relevant scale, producing large volumes of Torstran and pure hydrogen for evaluation within industrial, aerospace and automotive applications.

Tata Steel UK will evaluate integration with their operations, use of the hydrogen by-products as a process-gas in annealing ovens, and explore use of Torstran to add functionality to their products. University of Cambridge and Glass Futures will evaluate Torstran coatings on glass/steel. Almath Crucibles will evaluate Torstran-enhanced ceramics. Torstran has demonstrated excellent potential for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and as a composite in reduced-weight electric vehicles. Great British Sports Cars and United Aerospace will lead further optimisation/ validation/ electric vehicle trials.

Martin Pick, Q-Flo - “The Hy-Value Recovery project is a tremendous boost to the development of this technology.  The project and its partners bring expertise, knowledge and resources which will be invaluable in helping us achieve our mission to scale the carbon nanotube production process and become key supply chain partners in exciting emergent markets. Innovation from University of Cambridge, along with support from Innovate UK, has been crucial to this and we are very pleased the manufacturing is now beginning in the UK”

Richard Hall, Great British Sportcars -  “Great British Sports Cars (GBS) are pleased to have been awarded this project along with Q-Flo and other partners and are very much looking forward to working with the Project members to develop these new applications and opportunities that we can demonstrate the processing and manufacturability of the material in novel real world applications.”

Rob Ireson, Innovation and Partnerships Manager at Glass Futures - "Glass Futures (GF) are delighted to be working with Q-flo on this project to develop new techniques for improving the efficiency of its Torstran manufacturing processes through the utilisation of the waste heat energy from industrial processes. We will host the technology at our pilot facility and demonstrate its continuous operation on our new 30T/day furnace to show how this can be applied to commercial glass furnaces. 

“We believe that the ultra-long carbon nanotube materials produced with this process have potential to add value to a range of applications and products manufactured within the Foundation Industries (FI), such as new conductive coatings and improved industrial abatement technologies. GF are very much looking forward to working with the Project team to develop and evaluate these new application opportunities and establish itself as a global centre for FI development”

The funding was provided through Innovate UK’s Transforming Foundation Industries challenge which is helping energy-intensive businesses to share expertise and come up with radical new innovations to help reduce their carbon footprint. It is part of UKRI’s Challenge fund which is bringing together the UK’s world-leading research base with our best businesses to transform how we live, work and move around.

Bruce Adderley, Innovate UK Challenge Director for the Transforming Foundation Industries Challenge, added:  “Underpinned by circular economy thinking, the Foundation Industries and their supply chain partners are bringing forward a range of new innovations as they move towards a sustainable competitive future. But these need to be demonstrated at scale if they are to be rapidly deployed in the UK and taken to international markets. That is why we are delighted to be able to support projects like Hy-Value Recovery that are up-scaling manufacturing processes to develop and evaluate new application opportunities that will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of foundation industries, create high-value jobs, and make it internationally competitive.”

The outcome for GBS in this project will be to produce a demonstrator vehicle showcasing the technology in the real world which will demonstrate the processing and manufacturability of the material in finish components.  This project is now underway and further updates will be shared later this year as the project develops.

Great to see the Zeros being enjoyed in all weathers all over the world....

We enjoy our Zero demonstrators all year and its great to see that many of you do too! GBS customer Jacob Dowling sent us these photographs of his Zero out in the countryside in the recent snow fall that we had in the UK. While over in USA GBS customers have been out enjoying their Zeros together meeting in Saratoga for a run up Highway 9 and 35.
Another GBS Zero self build kit was collected last week that is now on its way to the USA which is going to Seattle Washington, where the owner is looking forward to enjoying it on the beautiful Cascades mountain roads. Two more shipping crates are also expected to be with us later this week for more Zeros that we will be preparing that will be going to USA over the next few weeks.
There are now GBS Zero’s on the road or under construction in many USA states. Contact us if you are interested in a GBS Zero in North America and Click here for more details about the Zero Self Build options that we offer.

EXCITING NEWS – Great British Sports Cars is expanding

We are excited to share with you all that we are expanding, we are pleased to be doubling our site here in Nottinghamshire with the purchase of our premises and the adjoining site. 

Just before Christmas we got the keys and the team have now started all the hard work of preparing the building, this move will give us room to grow and expand our business and crucially allows us to bring all elements of our production under one roof. 

As well as bringing the team to one site and the extra space we are pleased to take this big step as a business as it will give us, our employees and our customers stability, given the current economic environment and the challenges and costs faced by business and all of us at the moment we are grateful to be able to ensure that our premises are stable for the future. 

We look forward to welcoming you to our growing facilities at our next cars and coffee event which we will be announcing next week and keep an eye out for factory tours later this year. We are also busy preparing the GBS Zeros for our first event of the year which is the Autosport International Show at the NEC in Birmingham which is happening next week where the Zeros will be on display including our new Zero Race car.

Happy New Year, stay safe & Best Wishes to you all.
Best Wishes From
Richard and All the GBS Team.

Tri Tech will be with us on our stand at the Autosport Show in January.....

Click here for more details about Tri-Tech and what they offer.

We are looking forward to being at this years Autosport’s Show in January and we are delighted that Tri-Tech 3D will be joining us on our stand.
On display, along with the Zeros including our new Zero Race car there will be one of the newest 3D printers from Stratasys – the F370CR. Built for robust applications and ideal for the Automotive industry, this industrial FDM printer 3D prints in ABS-CF10 and Nylon-CF10 materials – perfectly suited to supplement traditional fabrication technologies.
Not only will Tri-Tech 3D have the printer on the stand (printing live), they will also bring with them a host of 3D printed models & previous projects that are sure to make you stop and look.
We can be found with the Tri-Tech team in Hall 3 on Stand 3642 over the four days, follow us on our social media channels during the lead up to the show for more details of what will be on display on our stand.

The learning curve of building a Zero is one the most rewarding things I have ever done......

We always love to see photographs and hear about customers Zero build stories and experiences they have had and how we as a team can improve and make the build experience even better and more enjoyable. GBS customer Andrew Ives has been enjoying his Zero on the road for some time and we asked him to write a few words about his experience…….

My name is Andrew and I've been asked to write something about my experience with the highs and lows of building and owning my own GBS zero race.  
After lots of research and meeting the team at a car show, followed by a factory visit, I made the decision to go with GBS for lots of reasons but mainly for their attention to detail, and design. The quality of the wielding and powder coating on the frames and parts was also a very good reason as its nothing short of remarkable.
With the build, I took my time. From the trestles to being on the road, it took me just under 4 years. I would say the whole build went as I envisioned it, with only a couple of surprises, one having to do the IVA 3 times down to just emissions, funnily the road tax on my Zero is less than the MX5 the engine came from! And two, having to shell out an extra £900+ on individual throttle bodies because the MX5 engine plenum would not fit in the engine bay, at first this stung but now in hindsight it may be the best upgrade on the car and I would highly recommend them. Talking of upgrades, well one that I chose to buy, I would also recommend the solid rear end bushes as they transform the feel of the rear end and you can set up the geometry exactly how you like it.

 Being 6 foot 4 and fed up of feeling cramped in other 7en's, I chose the GT frame. The GT also only comes with lowered floors which meant I had lots of headroom for my crash hat under the roll cage, this means I wouldn't have a problem with scrutineering on race events. I've owned and done a lot of work on MX5's, so it was an easy choice to go down the MX5 donor root. It also kept the cost down, then and now due to parts being cheap. 

At first, I thought I may have bitten off more than I can chew, as I decided to build as much of the car as I possibly could, starting with the ECU, a Megasquitrt MS3X kit. A full engine and diff rebuild. A custom wiring loom to my own design but using the fuse box from the MX5. The headlight switch I used from a VW Golf, this helped with the IVA fog light rule. Setting up the geometry, doing the tuning and finally taking it through the IVA. But this was another nice thing about GBS and kit spares, If I got stuck at any point, I was safe in the knowledge that I could just call GBS for help or spend some money for a short cut to get me over the finish line.

 And yes, without question, before I started, the idea of not having a build manual was terrifying but looking back on it now, it allowed me the freedom to build something fit for my purpose and unique to my needs.
I'm currently using the car on the road and track but also for grassroots motorsport which has to be the most enjoyable thing I do with the car. Being a member of Farnham district motor club has opened up a world of new possibilities that I've only just started to discover. Click here to watch a short video. 

If you're like me and grew up building RC cars and unable to stop yourself thinking about everything on wheels, you have to put building a kit car on you bucket list. The learning curve of building a Zero is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done! - A. Ives

The learning curve of building a Zero is one the most rewarding things I have ever done…. 

The first event on the GBS Calendar for 2023 is confirmed & announced....

BUSY START TO 2023….

The very first event on the GBS Calendar for 2023 is announced, we are delighted to be exhibiting at the Autosport International Show at the NEC in Birmingham in January where the GBS team will be with the Zeros.
Make sure you follow us on Instagram to see more details of what we will be revealing on our stand. We can be found in Hall 3 on stand 3642, we are all looking forward to being back their as it was 2019 since we were last there due to Covid.

More events have now also been added to our 2023 calendar and the GBS Cars & Coffee dates will be announced very soon, so make sure you keep checking our GBS event page to see what we are upto.

The mince pies went down well at our GBS Christmas Cars & Coffee event.....

Thank you to everyone who joined us last Saturday (3rd December) at our GBS Christmas Cars and Coffee event which was our last event of 2022……. We had another fantastic day with great weather, cars and mince pies, it was great to have a car park full of so many different sports cars. We would like to say a big THANK YOU to you all for joining us and helping us make it another great event and enjoyable day, the mince pies went down very well, with only a few left for the GBS team to enjoy.

The GBS and Kit Spares show room was very busy with people and the Kit Spares  Shop was also very busy with sales and enquires. The GBS Workshop was also open on the day for viewing, to see more about the workshop services we offer click here.

Another great thing about our GBS Cars & Coffee events that we love, is that we are able to raise money for our 2 chosen charities which are the Cancer Research UK and The Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance. We all feel and hope you agree that The Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance is a fantastic service and has helped & will continue to help many people, as well as the Cancer Research UK that is again a fantastic charity that makes a big difference to so many people and their families. Thank you for your kind donations, we will let you know soon how much money we have raised.
Follow GBS on Facebook and Instagram to see more photographs from the day. Or click here to visit our GBS YouTube Chanel to see a video from the day.

The 2023 GBS Cars & Coffee dates will be announced very soon…..

GBS & Kit Spares Christmas Opening times & Gift Ideas….

All of the GBS and Kit Spares team are all looking forward to a well earned break over the festive period, below are our Christmas opening times.

The GBS Factory and Kit Spares Shop will be closed from Friday 23rd December and we will be open again and back to normal opening hours on Tuesday 3rd January 2023.

You can still place your orders online from our parts website Kit Spares over the Christmas break, but please note any orders placed on or after 23rd December 2022 may not be processed or dispatched until 3rd / 4th January 2023. www.kitspares.co.uk Don’t forget to follow us on our GBS, Kit Spares & ATR Products Social Media Channels and over the Christmas holidays to see what we are up to!

Its also our GBS Christmas Cars & Coffee event this Saturday (3rd December) at GBS, we hope you can all join us. More details can be found on our event page the Kit Spares Shop will also be open on the day and also Sealy Tools will be joining us, if you need any parts to keep you busy over the Christmas holidays or are looking for some Christmas presents.

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Below are just a few Christmas Gift Ideas for you and your Zero’s, visit our parts website Kit Spares or contact us for details.

A Kit Spares Gift Voucher could make the perfect gift….

Behind the scenes Factory Tour at GBS..... See what we are upto.....

We are always busy here at GBS and we often have some very interesting cars with us in the workshop and are involved in some very interesting projects. With full in-house design, development, manufacturing and testing we manage projects through the full product life cycle from concept to final production. Our capabilities range from less complicated prototype fabrication to complex composite structures. 

At GBS our philosophy remains to design and manufacture critical and custom components in-house. This ensures the highest quality, control of costs and lead times. For those parts we do not manufacture and wherever possible we select local sources to streamline the management of our supply chain and our delivery commitments. Click below to see a short video behind the scenes of what we are upto at GBS.
We have created a short video that shows Behind the Scenes of what we are upto. This short video shows an insight into the GBS Showroom and Kit Spares Shop, Kit Spares Stores, Engineering, Clean & Assembly Room, Design Room, Fabrication, Workshop, Composite and bodywork and an overview of the Zero.

GBS ENGINEERING

ATR PRODUCT RANGE

GBS WORKSHOP

GBS DESIGN ROOM

GBS FABRICATION

GBS COMPOSITES

THANK YOU for your generous donations at our GBS events, we have now raised over £2,000 for our charities....

At our GBS events we hold we always offer free refreshments on the day and always ask for donations to help our chosen charities which are the Cancer Research and The Notts & Lincs Air Ambulance.

We would like to say a big thank you to you all for your generous donations you have made to our charities on the day. We were delighted to have raised a total of £1,063.28 for The Cancer Research Charity and £1,244.79 for The Notts & Lincs Air Ambulance since we started collecting for them at our GBS Events several years ago, which is fantastic and we thank you all for your generous donations.

Our last GBS Cars & Coffee event of the year will be taking place in a few weeks on Saturday 3rd December and we hope you can all join us and enjoy some mince pies with us. We will be announcing the 2023 GBS Cars & Coffee dates very soon.

Start your Christmas shopping early - Kit Spares Christmas Gift Ideas.....

Below are just a few Christmas Gift Ideas for you and your Zero’s, visit our parts website Kit Spares or contact us for details. Or why not come and visit our Showroom & Shop.

The Kit Spares Shop will also be open on Saturday 3rd December at our Christmas Cars & Coffee event.

A Kit Spares Gift Voucher could make the perfect gift….

GBS 4wd high performance EV with integrated carbon structure.....

The whole GBS Team is proud to share with you an exciting new project which we have been working on behind the scenes for the past few years which has recently come to a point where we can share and show case what we have been creating.

Along with two other partners we were involved in this project to create an all-new Low Carbon super Car, this project focused on a zero emission, high performance super car for low volume production.

The project has been supported by innovative UK whose involvement has been a key part in GBS journey towards EV zero emissions, collaborative R&D nature of the project has allowed GBS as a smaller niche vehicle manufacture to push the boundaries of technology and design, whilst increasing the companies skills and engineering expertise in low carbon technologies giving accelerated progress of our low carbon technologies toward volume production product.

This project pulls together a number previous R&D programs, and development into one exciting concept car, that was designed to provide a concept/engineering platform for future projects with leading sports car performance and establish a superior position of zero emission vehicles in the sports car market.

It featured a four-wheel drive electric system with 220KW and 980Nm per motor fitted to each corner giving in excess of 1,100Hp and a weight of 1100Kg, fitted into a lightweight carbon fibre monocoque chassis, giving true super car performance with zero emissions.

GBS were responsible for the overall vehicle design and packaging and the design and manufacture including the new lightweight chassis using our innovative low-cost carbon fibre processing technology that we have developed inhouse. We also developed the vehicle styling, interior and ancillary system for the prototype.

The project has integrated four Yasa P750 motors with torque vectoring for increase control and performance, and we have worked closely with Yasa on the development and use of their own Yasa motor controllers, the lithium-ion Batteries are a dual chemistry set up with pouch cells from A123 giving the car a combined 60Kw hours and the ability for rapid charging and extremely high output from the high voltage system.

Going forward we are now looking for investment and partners to bring the car to market as a British Super car offering.

Supported by Innovate UK

Let us work with you to design the bespoke paint design and graphics for your Zero.

Let us work with you to design the bespoke paint design and graphics for your Zero.
Paint is now fast becoming a popular option and is a service that we offer, we are able to colour match and design your cars paint effect with you from start to finish. The paint option is available on both Zero Self Builds and Factory Builds. Paint can take around 2 to 3 weeks, depending on the design and paint colour. Once your car is with us and the design is confirmed we will be able to give you a more accurate time scale of how long it will be. The other option which is also bespoke to you, is to transform your Zero with vehicle graphics.
Now your Zero is painted you can make it even more stylish with bespoke vehicle graphics which can be truly individual to you. Eye catching graphics can transform your Zero and make it stand out from the crowd even more, we are pleased to work with a local family run design and graphic company and together we are able to offer a bespoke design service for your Zero. You can use your own design or we are able to work with you to get the perfect design.

Below are some recent Zeros that have been painted to give you an idea of what you can have for your Zero. Follow us on Instagram to see more updates of what we are up to and of some other cars that we have painted. Follow us on Instagram here.

Full custom Paint & Vehicle Graphics…

GBS Christmas Cars & Coffee is happening on Saturday 3rd December....

The next event for the GBS Team is happening this weekend (11th-13th November) which is the Classic Motor Show at the NEC in Birmingham, see more details on our event page. Follow us on Instagram @gbs_cars to see photos live from the event. 

GBS Christmas Cars & Coffee event is confirmed and the GBS Team would like to invite you all to the GBS Factory on Saturday 3rd December for Tea/Coffee and Mince Pies & Biscuits to say Happy Christmas and Thank You for all your support this year.

The GBS showroom will be open on the day as well as the Kit Spares Shop, we hope you can come and join us!  Everyone is welcome, why not wrap up warm and come in your Zero and other sports cars and help us raise more money for two great charities…. We will be collecting for the Notts & Lincs Air Ambulance & Cancer Research.

Please note that the the Kit Spares shop and showroom ( www.kitspares.co.uk ) will be open on the day. Please feel free to call us or email and pre order ready to collect on the day to avoid any delays.
All the GBS team look forward to seeing you all. Below is just one car that we know will be joining us on the day! What car will you be joining us in?

Father & Son enjoying their Zero out on the track & more Zeros collected.....

We always like to receive photographs from customers out enjoying their Zeros, we recently received these photographs from father and son Jerry and Matt Haller out enjoying their Zero out on the track at Castle Combe.

January 2019 was the start of Jerry and Matts Zero build when they first visited our GBS stand at the Autosport’s Show at the NEC in Birmingham which was where they first saw the Zero’s on display on our stand. They then came to see us at the factory and enjoyed a factory tour, meeting all the team, seeing all the behind the scenes of what we do….. They went away with plenty of ideas and options, as well as both enjoying a test drive in our Zero demonstrator. A few weeks after their visit we got a email to say they have decided on their Zero spec and were ready to place their order, so they came up to the factory one Saturday and confirmed the spec and options of their kit and payed the deposit. They have been enjoying their Zero on road since the beginning of 2021 and have now enjoyed several road trips and track days in it.

The Zero self build is an ideal project for a Father and Son to enjoy together, and also enjoy together once its on the road on both the road and track.

We have lots of Zero self build kits currently being prepared for collection over the few weeks as well as some that are soon to be exported. We also received another nice Zero back from the paint shop last week, that we shared on our social media channels so make sure you are following us!

Busy GBS Cars & Coffee event on Saturday with Sealey Tools.......

Thank you to everyone who joined us last Saturday (17th September) at GBS for our third Cars and Coffee event of 2022……. We had another fantastic day with great weather, cars and cake, a car park full of so many different sports cars. We would like to say a big THANK YOU to you all for joining us and helping us make it another great event and enjoyable day, its always nice to see so many Zero’s together in the car park along with a wide variety of other sports cars.

The GBS and Kit Spares show room was very busy with people and the Kit Spares   Shop was also very busy with sales and enquires and lots of people took advantage of the discount we were offering on the Sealey Tool range for the day. As usual the cakes attracted a lot of attention and certainly went down well with not many left along with the unlimited supply of tea and coffee. We would like to thank Sealey Tools for supporting our event, and for providing a Sealey Tool Kit as prize, the lucky winner picked at random was Steve Bower from the USA the Tool Case will be sent to you with your Zero Kit later this year. The GBS Workshop was also open on the day for viewing, to see more about the workshop services we offer click here.

Another great thing about our GBS Cars & Coffee events that we love, is that we are able to raise money for our 2 chosen charities which are the Cancer Research UK and The Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance, we all feel and hope you agree that The Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance is a fantastic service and has helped & will continue to help many people, as well as the Cancer Research UK that is again a fantastic charity that makes a big difference to so many people and their families. We will let you know soon how much money we have raised.
Follow GBS on Facebook and Instagram to see more photographs from the day.

The next GBS Cars & Coffee date will be announced very soon…..

GBS Cars & Coffee this weekend - Event update

Our GBS Cars & Coffee event this Saturday (17th September) with Sealey Tools will still be going ahead as planned and we look forward to welcoming you all to GBS, having a car park full of sports cars and raising money for our chosen charities Notts & Lincs Air Ambulance & Cancer Research. Please visit our event page for more details.

Following the recent announcement of the State Funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Monday 19th September, as a mark of respect, we have taken the decision to close GBS & Kit Spares on this day. We will reopen as normal on Tuesday 20th September.

A truly remarkable woman. Thank you for your extraordinary service.​ Our thoughts are with the Royal Family and we send our deepest condolences to them at this sad time.

Royal Mail Strike - Possible delay with Kit Spares orders.....

You may be aware that Royal Mail / Parcel Force workers will strike for two days this week. Strikes are planned on the following dates: 8th September & 9th September. Royal Mail are one of the main couriers that we use and while we are working closely with Royal Mail to minimise the impact this action will have on our customers, we do expect to experience some delays. www.kitspares.co.uk

Alternatively come and visit our showroom & shop we are open Monday to Friday and occasional Saturdays.

We hold a full range of stock for the GBS Zeros and other sports cars, which is currently just under 3000 items and is growing every day. If you can't find what you are after on our website its always worth giving us a call and one of our team can advise you hopefully meet your requirements, if we don't stock it we will do our best to get it!

The Kit Spares Shop will be open at the GBS Cars & Coffee event with Sealey Tools on Saturday 17th September at GBS.

Stocking Sealey Tools & what tools are required for your Zero to be assembled.....

We are pleased to have partnered up with Sealey Tools are a now stocking a range of their tools and products on our parts website - www.kitspares.co.uk or please contact the Kit Spares / GBS Team with the Sealey product code then we can get you a price for the item(s).

We recommend the 144pc tool kit that has a comprehensive range of premier hand tools that are ideal to have at hand when building your Zero is now available from our Kit Spares website.

Sealey Tools will also be with us at our GBS Cars & Coffee event next month, see more details here about this event - GBS Cars & Coffee Event.

The Zero has been designed so that it can be assembled with simple tools, that you most likely already have. If you do not, it may be possible to hire what you need from tool shops. If you decide to purchase them, bear in mind that it is not necessary to have professional grade tools as the workload for them is very small.

University of Nottingham Student placement comes to an end....

We are pleased to have had Hugo Stephens with us here at GBS for several months on his university placement which came to an end last week. Hugo was studying MEng Mechanical Engineering at The University of Nottingham and was also the Mechanical Lead for the Solar Electric Car being built by the University's Racing Team. With his strong background in CAD/CAM, Hugo has been busy working with the GBS team to create the first Build Manual for the GBS Zero. The manual is now well underway and not too far of completion, which we aim to complete and release later this year. By being able to offer a complete manual, we are hoping it will make the decision to tackle your own Component Build less daunting, as this is something we have heard from some of our customers could be improved.

Hugo is now taking a short break before starting a new graduate job in Motorsport in a few weeks. We would like to thank Hugo for all his hard work whilst he has been with us, and we wish him well in his new graduate job which is in Motorsport and look forward to keeping in touch with him.  We are continuing to work with the University of Nottingham and looking at offering other University of Nottingham students a Postgraduate placement with us later this year. Read more about Hugo and his placement in an earlier news post here - Click here.