Alan Jones and the Delanda story...

Posted by John Mellberg September 21, 2020

Alan Jones and the Delanda story...

Alan Jones, famed Australian Formula 1 driver poses with the AJF1,
a development of the De-Type GT5000

The original GT5000 was developed in Queensland Australia as a prototype by Lawrie Howlett and Darrell Barnett. Howlett was a designer of open-wheelers and Procar Series racecars. Barnett was once a refrigeration systems engineer, so he knew a thing or two about "cool". He was also a skilled fabricator. The car was initially introduced under the company moniker De-Type. However, the project was rebranded as Delanda a few years later (with new partners and funding, it is presumed).

The GT5000 and all subsequent developments featured an aluminum tub and box-section steel tube frame with at least one example being powered by a 3.8 liter, super-charged, Ford V6. The body was done in fiberglass/GRP.

Delanda made 3 examples of the car, two of which are accounted for. One came up for sale in 2013 on eBay Australia and the other known GT5000 was in the hands of Delta Automotive as of 2018.

The GT5000 was followed up with the "Demon" in the mid 2000's. The chassis carried over but the bodywork was heavily revised; softening the overall lines, reworking the headlights, and adding a rear diffuser into the shape. At least one Delanda "Demon" was sold and ended up in New Zealand in an unfinished state, as of 2017.

Alan Jones, MBE (born 2 November 1946 in Melbourne, Victoria) is a former Australian Formula One driver. He was the first driver to win a Formula One World Championship with the Williams team, becoming the 1980 World Drivers' Champion. He was the second Australian to win that honor, following triple World Champion Sir Jack Brabham. He competed in a total of 117 Grands Prix, winning 12 and achieving 24 podium finishes. In 1978 Jones won the Can-Am championship driving a Lola.

In 2010 or so Alan got involved with Delanda with the intent of building a supercar carrying his name. Being a well known motorsports figure, he had access to new capital for the venture, which got a fair amount of coverage in the Australian motor press.

“Just about every other bloody country has got its own supercar, and I thought there’s no reason why we can’t have a home-grown one,” he told Australian magazine, MOTOR, in 2011.

“I think a vehicle has to have four things: it has to have looks, performance, finish, and price. We believe now that we’re getting there.”

The Alan Jones AJF1 was a development of the Australian Delanda Demon intended for limited production in the early 2010's. The prototype was Lexus powered, but "production" models were slated to get Chevy LS motors and the MSRP was $300,000. While it looked like a promising prototype, the venture never really got off the ground, being sold to a company called Delta Automotive in 2016.

Delta Automotive, in turn, used one of the GT5000 prototypes as the basis for a car in development called the Delta Ligero. The Ligero features a redesigned version of the original GT5000 chassis with major componentry sourced from an early Porsche Boxster, including the engine, transaxle, and front steering and suspension.
Sadly this project seems still-born as well and no evidence . Their web and social media presence has been quiet since 2018.

Photo Credits:
Car-from-UK.com
Delta Automotive
Motor Magazine
Carguide.com.au (Car Guide Australia)