In the Netherlands you have the precise and the flexible. Of course this has a religious background, but it works 'wall-to-wall' here. There are people who genuinely believe that only cars with a separate chassis are 'classic'. There are people who happily and proudly see their almost brand new muddy Mini Countryman as a classic Mini.
For do it yourselfers
In that playing field there is of course also enough room for opinions about 'construction sets' as they have been made for many years on the basis of 2CV and VW platforms. And the fact that the Netherlands has become a world player in that field with the Zutphen Burton only makes the story more beautiful. Burton is a truly Dutch brand. A car manufacturer. And if you have always wanted to have such a company, you can contact the Gӧbel brothers, because the company is for sale. Still for sale. Because the story that Lee Towers's daughter had taken over the toko turns out to have been a false alarm.
The construction brothers
By building your own Burton, you will follow in the footsteps of Dimitri and Iwan Göbel, who started work on the very first Burton in 1998. Before that, they were already busy in the 2CV business. But the decision to come up with something for yourself was born from their consideration that the quality of most kitcar providers clearly left something to be desired. They felt that it could be better. For the brothers, there was no ready-made body, a warehouse full of parts or a handy construction manual. They had to make do with hundreds of sketches, a wall full of photos of old Bugattis, Delahayes, Morgans and Jaguars for inspiration. After knowing it came sweating: 160 kilos of filler and especially many hours of sanding and building. The first Burton came out of the mold at the beginning of 2000 and by the end of that year the counter was already at 98 orders. Now in 2021, about 1400 Burton's have been sold.
Not innovative, but retro
The American dune buggies on a VW chassis were a whole new kind of automobile. The Burtons are a tribute to earlier times. They are 100% retro. The fact that they do not have an alloy V12 with double overhead camshafts under the hood of their hand-hammered aluminum body should not spoil the fun. The fact that the Burton is just a design of its own and doesn't do its best to resemble an illustrious predecessor is a definite plus. Because there is little that made us more sad than a Bugatti replica on VW chassis including Bugatti logo on the 'radiator'.
So the Burton
The result is an endearingly fast car weighing only 480 kilos. With that weight and the low center of gravity, a Burton is really not motorized with a 2CV block. Not to mention what a Visa block does with such a trolley.
On license plate, such a Burton can simply be a classic. In reality it is of course not, although the driving experience can just throw you 50+ years back in time. And for the people who do not want to build themselves, there are now just 'second-hand' Burtons for sale. Burton: more appearance than being, but very fun and affordable. Kind of a classic ...
Also read: Lomax stands for: 'Low Costs, Maximum Fun'
Also read: RDW: Rules are rules
From sober to chic
I don't think the fact that it is made of plastic, but that it is a kit cart is the reason for the question whether this is a classic. There are indeed plenty of plastic classics: Alpine, CG, Corvette, DB, Lotus, Matra, Méhari, Renault, Trabant, etc.
Kitkars are of course not classics in themselves, until they become classics. This can be done by reaching an age or how 'people' view it.
Still nice from Dutch soil!
We can become a bit chauvinist. Less east neighbor @! More Daf too !!
These types of cars become even more fun if you use them for everyday rides. Recently I saw one with a trailer behind it, and it was full of trash. Guaranteed full of attention at the local recycling center (or where they were going to take that waste).
Incidentally, also in the category “plastic fantastic” but certainly classic: the Kaiser Darrin, from the same period as the Corvette C1. And if it isn't classic because of its age, then certainly because of the sliding doors.
I rode Burton for three years. It was British Racing Green, and people often thought they were dealing with a British unknown sports model. We liked it of course, but he was as French/Zutphens as he could be. I fell head over heels for this quirky automobile at the AutoRAI, but it took a few more years before I went to Zutphen to pick one out. Wonderful as a tour car, I dragged it through all the back roads of the Randstad. Great fun, but my love never wanted to come along: too vulnerable, and you felt that yourself as soon as you got on the highway. What was an impossibility, and remained: getting the roof on top. You really needed 1 people for that, that part was that tight and unwilling. In the end I sold it (good) and it is now driving around somewhere in Denmark…
fun in the living room to sit and watch driving means that you are the airbag yourself
What about the beautiful Lotus Elite from the early sixties
And then we forget the legendary Daimler SP250, also “plastic”
And then we forget the legendary Daimler SP250, also made of “plastic”!
Then you forget the Chevy Corvette and 'from your own stable' the Citroën Mehari and Tjaffer .. both made of ABS but long classic.
I understand, but correct me if wrong, that for both Burton's as well as Lomaxen / Lomaxis / Lomaxwhatevers no more Ducks are slaughtered… but that use is made of galvanized replica 2CV chassis..chasses..chassdingest.
The other Pascal, the fact is that to build a Burton, a 2CV still has to be removed from the register for the chassis number. So left or right, one 2CV is lost with every new Burton.
The Tjaffer was from an external factory (so a kind of kit cart)
I think the Mehari came from its own factory or at least from its own tube Citroen, so it is not really a kit cart, which is usually a ready-made or DIY kit from a “foreign” manufacturer, based on an existing chassis
I recently became the owner of a beautiful 1970 Ruska Regina Royal chassis. Of course this is a classic, just like the Burton. That is also allowed after more than 50 years. The old-timer insurer agrees, and that also applies to the tax authorities. Let's be happy and proud of these classic Dutch cars. And the advantage is that they have a Volkswagen or Citroen air-cooled engine after all these years very reliable.
The base is always more than 30 years old anyway. With the new jacket it looks even older, so why shouldn't it be a classic?
According to some tight thinkers because it is made of plastic. Just like a Corvette!
Then a Saab Sonnet or the very rare Volvo P1900 sport or the ˜Studebaker Avanti aren't classics either? they were also made of polyester / fiberglass ex factory
Trabants?
Also plastic
Whatever those tight thinkers think, the Corvette (from 1953) is certainly a classic in plastic (and what kind of one) but not the first.
The first in plastic was the Danish DKR (1950)
Also very early the DB HBR5 (1955) and, I drove it myself for a number of years, the GSM
Delta (1958).
And then all Matras, all true classics in fiberglass-reinforced polyester.
A very nice company by the way that Burton, did you know that one of their first products was a pampering toy for ladies?
No, I did not know the latter. Also made of plastic and motor driven ??
Only no wheels, otherwise a real classic.
a food processor!