The Manta Cars story

Posted by John Mellberg September 21, 2020

The Manta Cars story

A beautifully finished example of the Manta Mirage

Back in the early seventies a veteran Formula Ford racer named Brad Lovette designed and developed the V-8 powered Manta Mirage. It was an extremely potent package employing all of Lovette's racing expertise. It featured a custom tubular spaceframe and monocoque tub made of fiberglass. It was made to accept any GM or ford V-8 and employed Corvair rear and VW front suspension bits.

Unfortunately, Brad Lovette the founder of Manta was killed in a racing accident and the project was taken over by his brother Tim, who's savvy and expertise led the company into a very successful decade.

The Manta Mirage - replica of the McLaren M6GT

When the Oil crisis of the seventies hit, Tim Lovette saw the need for a more economical product for his company to market. Even though the Mirage was deliciously powerful and desirable, it was less than efficient in terms of MPG. Following the emerging trend in the industry to make kits based on the Volkswagen Beetle, Tim Lovette created the Montage.

The car proved immensely popular and received fabulous review from the press due to it's quality and ease of construction. Despite it's modest donor car, it was a very exciting car to drive and would draw a crowd where ever you took it.

The Mirage kit, in it's original guise, featured a flip open rear section for engine access, removable doors which converted the car from coupe to roadster, Can Am inspired styling, and a Jig welded tubular spaceframe with all engine and suspension mounting points installed. The basic kit included the body, doors, molded in dash, seats and interior, windshield and all other glass, frame and dual USAC approved foam fuel cells. The deluxe kit included all of the above plus upholstery, exhaust system, wiring harness, radiator, wiper assembly, headlight kit, steering kit, fans, and a custom air intake. The company claimed the kit could be built in 275 hours or less.

The Montage, on the other hand, was designed to bolt directly to a VW pan. It's features included a wrap around windshield, two piece sectional doors with pop-out windows, exposed rectangular headlights, and a tilt open rear section for engine bay and trunk access. Thermoformed plexiglass was used for the side and rear windows while the windshield was DOT glass. The body consisted of 3 sections plus doors. Also included in the kit were all of the glass, tail section hinge brackets, fiberglass seat shells, door latches, hardware and assembly manual.

A factory built mid engine tub and frame designed for V-6 power was also available. This setup was called the Montage T and used GM X-Body drivetrains (e.g. the Chevrolet Citation).

The Montage was also produced and sold under license by a British company called UVA, which was also well known for an authentic sand-rail dune buggy kit, in the 80's.

Manta's final product was a very accurate replica of the original (C1) 1955 Corvette which, as well received as they were, didn't sell well. Most likely they were eclipsed by the rash of Cobra replicas that came to dominate the market at the time.

Manta Cars ceased production in 1986, having sold about 1,000 factory-built and component cars. The project was subsequently purchased by a company called Warp Five Inc., in Blue Springs, Missouri which sold the Mirage and Montage in revised forms. They also sold an interesting, tandem seat, motorcycle powered car called the Starship, but this author is unsure how many of those were produced. They sold the former Manta cars from 1992 until 2001.

The cars were stars of pop culture as well. There was a Manta Mirage in the original Gone In 60 Seconds movie (the one from 1974) and a modified version of the Montage appeared in the television series Hardcastle and McCormick (1983-1986) as the Cody Coyote. It was arguably the star of the show.

Authors note: This article originally appeared in the Rare Component Cars e-Zine in 1998. It has been updated for detail and inclusion of pop-culture references.

Photo Credits: The Manta, Mirage Owners Group (Facebook)