1959 Ascort TSV GT

Despite its unmistakable italian influences, instead of coming out of one of the big design houses like Zagato or Bertone the humble Ascort was penned by Mirek Craney. A native Czech who boarded a boat destined for Australia in the Early 50’s with the idea to use his background in plastic engineering and VW conversion kits to build his own fiberglass sports coupé.

The goal was to build a car with the class and visual drama of a Karman Ghia but then the performance and equipment level of a Porsche 356. Things were looking good but without the feature in Modern Motor Magazine which granted them an invite to 1959’s Melbournes Motor Display the little Ascort may have not come into fruition.

As soon as people saw the car for real, interest grew and with 57 post show orders being made, the little Ascort was put into production. Even with these orders the asking price of the Ascort was dearer than an Austin Healey 100/6 and not far shy of its rival Porsche 356. This paired with Craney's stubbornness to take an offer from a big US manufacturer meant that in 1961 the doors closed. By then 19 bodies had been produced, the first 13 complete and the remainder being sold as part cars.

We’re excited to offer what is to be believed the most documented Ascort in existence. Being used for many different purposes and sporting many different guises such as show car, drag racer and hill climb car to name a few, the owner finally came to the conclusion to return the car back to its original former glory, restoring it to as near stock as he could.

The restoration left no stone unturned and has to be seen to be believed. The quality of the Brilliant Silver paint leaves one guessing if the body is even fiberglass, that then being paired with the deep red Porsche interior adds a level of quality you wouldn't expect from an Australian coachbuilt car.

The only part of the car straying from an original Ascort is the engine. The Okrasa 1300 VW engine didn’t have quite enough pep so was swapped for a 356 engine, commissioned by renowned US 356 specialist Duane Spencer.

Forgotten in fiberglass, don’t miss your chance to have a look at this unknown Australian Icon. Book an appointment with one of the team and dive into the mountain of documentation, magazine and of course see this stunning coachbuild in the flesh.