In 1986 Ian Hyne of Kit Car Magazine "tracked down the potentially superb Latham Sports". This is what he had to say . . .

Visitors to the 1984 Stoneleigh show may remember a prototype body for a forthcoming sportscar displayed on the Latham stand, but it would be quite understandable if you had forgotten it, for it would not be the first time that a project in prospect had bitten the dust in the early stages of development. But not so the Latham F:2 Super Sports, for although news of its progress has been scant, the last two years have witnessed intensive development at the company's new, secluded premises near Penzance in Cornwall.

The idea was to produce a truly original, two seater sports car embodying the most modern methods of design and construction. In that, Paul has been successful, on top of which he has produced a car of beauty, practicality, safety and driver appeal.

It is an advanced car incorporating a number of sophisticated structural features developed in motor racing. The basis of the car is a central, composite monocoque of immense strength and torsional rigidity. These qualities are achieved by the floors and the bulkheads being of double skinned, honeycombed construction while the large sill sections are filled with hard plastic foam and sturdy steel anti intrusion beams. As well as lending tremendous strength, these materials are also extremely light.

To the front and rear of the centre section are bolted tubular steel subframes designed to feed road stresses into the central monocoque where they are dissipated. This method of construction is similar to that employed in the design of both the E type Jaguar and Ford GTD 40.

The car utilises the engine and mechanical components of the Triumph Dolomite and Dolomite Sprint models, the latter providing a 2 litre engine with four valves per cylinder resulting in an estimated performance of 0-60 in 7 seconds and a top speed of 125 mph while giving fuel consumption of around 25 mpg.

The rear suspension utilises the Triumph axle located by four trailing arms and telescopic dampers while at the front the Triumph set up is altered to use lower wishbones and top rocker arms with inboard telescopic-dampers.

The unstressed body will be available in either GRP or 16 SWG hand formed aluminium and, while being a unique design, for me, it is highly reminiscent of the Toyota 2000 GT; I've still got my Corgi James Bond one that fires little yellow plastic rockets out of the boot — I wonder where he put his suitcase?

The shape is smooth and flowing, the front wings incorporating faired in twin headlamps and the bonnet line sweeping up to the MGB screen to cover the wipers. The doors are a good size to allow easy entry and incorporate aluminium channels for the wind up windows which use Lotus Elan glass.

The passenger compartment is very low in the car as emphasised by the low screen and the high back of the compartment; an increasingly used styling feature which adds a great deal of useful luggage space to the boot area which is a necessary feature of a touring car.

It is also very low to the ground, keeping the centre of gravity down for good handling, and while the wheels may look a little small, it is specifically designed to run on either 13" rims with 185/70tyres or 14" rims with 185/60 tyres. The Dolomite Sprint provides a nice set of alloy wheels which can be used but give a slightly narrower track.

The interior of the car is all one would expect of a high quality, well-designed sports car and affords the occupants a high level of space, comfort and equipment. Indeed, detail finishing throughout is of a very high standard and when launched, the car will justifiably warrant comparison with the best cars the industry has to offer.

As well as being of advanced construction, the car will be available in kit form and Paul has certainly had the builder in mind during the design and development. Interested parties will also he pleased to know that the prices will be most competitive.

Further information and full specification details of the car are available from . . . .

With thanks to Ian Hyne
Kit Car Magazine, September 1986, pages 24/25

This article was based on Ian's viewing of the development buck from which the body moulds would subsequently be taken. Look closely at the image above and you can just see the castors at either end of the cill sections, one just behind the front wheel, the other just ahead of the back, of the trolley supporting what was, in effect, a full scale wood and resin model.

Certain features hinted at in the text never appeared in the finished car. The cill sections never contained steel beams, and the forward bulkhead, like the cills, was of double skinned composite construction injected with rigid foam - the aluminium honeycomb proved less effective in practice and was deemed unnecessary. Aluminium bodypanels were also never offered, even as an option, and the F2 had its own uniquely-shaped side windows, without the full-frame Elan surround. Everything else, however, duly came to pass . . .

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