British Corvette? This Long Lost Peerless GT Phase 1 Longs for Respect and Restoration

12 hours ago - 8 March 2026, autoevolution

When you think of lightweight fiberglass sports cars, you think of the Corvette, and not much of anything else. In a way, that’s all down to marketing and advertising, not the notion that the Vette was alone in its execution back in the 1950s. Because the English Peerless GT sports car didn’t spawn a line of timeless classics like the Corvette did, it’s confined to the pages of history.

Well, at least this example’s getting its time in the limelight. Now looking worse for wear, this is the kid of restoration project you buy out of curiosity, not because you grew up lusting after it. Not to be confused with the Cleveland-based American outlet from the early 20th century, Peerless Cars Ltd was a team of Britts on the cutting edge of automotive development. Founded in Slough in 1957, Peerless aimed to be a peer of Jaguar, MG, and Jensen.

What they developed looked like a cookie cutter English sports car on first glances. But once you run your fingers across the bodywork, you start to realize the genius of their flagship product, the GT. Its fully fiberglass body was mounted to a tubular steel spaceframe. Paired with a manual transmission and a two-liter Triumph engine out of the TR3, the Peerless GT was a supercar of its era.

The Chevy Corvette with its brand-new 283-cubic-inch (4.6-L) V8 could top 130 mph in 1957. But the Peerless GT, with an engine less than half the size, could top 110. Such was the entire English sports car industry in a nutshell. Slow at the top end, light as can be, and with handling characteristics that light up the soul. With de Dion tube rear suspension and front disc brakes as standard, the GT was on par with more established sports car brands like Jaguar, but it never materialized as a profitable business venture.

The company closed down in 1960, with a short-lived tribute act by one of the founders lasting until 1960 with the original factory tooling. Only a touch over 300 examples built during the GT’s original production run, and this one for sale by a private seller in Los Angeles is one of a handful that still accounted for. This example is an early Phase 1 unit with the TR3 powertrain and the “P” emblem in the front grille. Phase 1s also had their bodies riveted to the frame, while later Phase 2s were bolted to the chassis.

Because there’s not metal body panels to rust, this Phase 1 GT only has superficial degradation on the outside. Could it be as simple as a simple sanding down outside and some tinkering underneath to get this thing running and driving? If it is, the $14,750 price tag might not be the worst in the world.