Corry Car Company Cultra

“I drive a Corry Cultra” is probably not as impressive to the general public as it is to a small group of Davrian enthusiasts.

And unless you're a Davrian enthusiast, none of this will make much sense.

Davrian was a kit manufacturer who made small sports cars. Founded by structural engineer Adrian Evans and ex-Ferrari engineer and Formula One driver Mike Parkes, the Davrian cars were lightweight coupes designed to use engines from the Hillman Imp, Mini Cooper, Volkswagen Beetle, or Ford Fiesta. Depending on your selection, your Davrian could be rear-engined or mid-engined.

However: before track days became popular enough to woo the likes of Ultima, Noble, Dallara, KTM, Ariel, and other track-focused automakers, enterprising amateur racers sometimes turned to the kit car world for their competition cars.

Davrian had been noodling away for years, perfecting their kit car design, and in 1980 launched the Dragon, a mid-engined sports car that arrived fully built, as a real car. 

By 1983, the operation was bust. 

So: what to do with a fully baked sports car?

Irish racing driver Will Corry bought the rights to the car and moved production to Lisburn, Ireland, founding the Corry Car Company. 

No doubt impressed by its design and lured by the potential of a purpose-built machine, at the time Corry was an up-and-coming rally star who ran a fearsome MG Metro 6R4 Group B rally car.

For smaller championship events in regions such as Ireland that saw few dedicated motorsports facilities (and so more rally or road racing events), it could be expensive to convert a road car into a race or rally-ready one to compete at the highest level — so why not use a kit car? 

Often designed for a number of different engines anyway, the DIY racer could pick a bunch of parts up off the shelf to assemble their creation. This was the Cultra.

Designed for on or off-road competition use, the Cultra was sold in very limited numbers — nine in total, with seven known to exist as of 2014 (see below). 

Restyled by Tony Stevens, former Rootes Group designer who was responsible for the Hillman Hunter, the Cultra had awkward-looking (but very 80s) square headlights and a rear that was so (presumably) forgettable that nobody bothered to take pictures of it. 

Less than a handful were sold over its short run. When the company failed, its production line returned to the original Davrian factory in order to launch a new car company called Darrian. 

With the merits of racing a garage-built car proven through competition, the first Darrian won its first race. This small company now based in Wales still makes and services its race cars to this day.

Seriously — Darrian has been in business longer than either Tesla or Ariel Motor company has. Darrian has one British GT Championship to its name, which it won in 1996.

I bet if you looked closely enough, there'd still be some Cultra in the Darrian.

I'll leave you with the text from the Cultra brochure, which — rare for car marketing — speaks well for itself:

The new Corry 'Cultra' is our answer to spiraling costs in motor sport. The 'Cultra' is an off-the-shelf competition car, built specifically for rallying and racing.

The clubman and national competitor is under serious pressure due to the extreme cost of running competitive equipment. On the other hand, especially in rallying, the alternative of a front wheel drive 'Eurobox' is not attractive. With the 'Cultra' we have changed all that. The 'Cultra' is a car full of character and appearance, attractive to sponsors because of its presence and potential, affordable because the buyer determines the level of specification and therefore purchase and maintenance costs, secure in the knowledge that the full specification is built in, from the 'clubman' upwards. You decide your competition level and choose your specification accordingly, knowing you can upgrade when desired.

Take a lightweight strong monocoque in the latest composite materials, a mid-engined layout with competition brakes and suspension (both adjustable), high ratio steering, and full specification finish right down to the electrics and you have the clubman car.

Keep costs down by utilizing Ford engine and gearbox units, readily available components in all other areas and a lightweight layout to minimize tyre wear and maintenance. Specify a comprehensive list of optional equipment and you have a car which can be upgraded to full national contender specification.

The Corry Car Co. will supply a complete car less engine and gearbox in pure clubman trim at a price comparable to many manufacturer's competition body shell. In fullest specification the Corry 'Cultra' can provide the chassis equipment of the highly priced top line works car.

The unique styling is modern, aggressive, and beautiful. In short all the presence and drama of the supercars at an affordable price.

Be competitive, be noticed, be in a 'Cultra'!