Berkeley

Berkeley T60

Published on 20.11.2016

At the end of 50s, three wheeler cars were popular, especially with motorcyclists in the UK who could drive them on a motorcycle licence without needing to take the car driving test. Berkeley redesigned the rear of the original 328cc car to fit a single rear wheel. The result was a sporting three wheeler which filled a gap in the market which had been left wide open since the last Morgan three wheelers were produced. This car, known as the T60 was Berkeleys most successful model and about 1800 Berkley T60s were produced. Most were open top cars, though a few cars fitted with hard tops were also made.

Berkley T60 was equipped with a 328cc Excelsior Talisman engine like the older SE328, and 4-speed reverse type VR gearbox. The very last cars had a revised ‘unit’ front and rear suspension layout, presumably to stop the bridge over the differential from breaking and the rear damper top mount detaching itself from the car.

The miniature Jaguar E-type looks of the Berkeley T60 made it continue to be popular long after production ended. Unfortunatly many were modified by fitting other engines, a few were modified in the original spirit of the car using units from other motorcycles. A large number had the bottom cut out of them so that the body could be dropped straight onto a BMC Mini engine/gearbox/suspension/subframe unit. This unit was much too big for the car, so most cars modified this way ended up with increased ride height and many ugly bulges added to the bodywork.

For certain overseas markets the Berkeleys headlamps were too low to meet local regulations. This resulted in some cars being fitted with bug-eye headlamps as seen on the car above. A four seat version of the T60/4 was produced in small numbers.