A Handsome Gentleman's GT

Posted by John Mellberg December 30, 2023

A Handsome Gentleman's GT

One of the most revered and storied makers of kit and specialty cars in America, Fiberfab, was founded by Warren "Bud" Goodwin in 1964. Goodwin was born in 1921 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but moved to California in '39. He was a former racecar driver and entrepreneur who had already been a pioneer in the US kit car scene. His previous company, Sports Car Engineering, produced Microplas Mistral bodies under license under the name "Spyder".

A Bonito GT, front 3/4 view

Though based in the US, the company also had offices abroad, including one in Germany. Founded in 1966, that arm of Fiberfab was named Fiberfab-Karosserie, based in Ilsfeld, north of Stuttgart, a town best-known as home to a huge Bosch factory. In the beginning, they imported a version of the American Avenger model, but would ultimately produce their own models based on European components from VW and Ford.

In 1969, they presented the Bonito GT at the International Automobile-Exstell. Its styling was an interesting mix of elements found in contemporary mid and mid-rear engine sportscars of its era. Influences may have included the Ford GT40, Alpine-Renault A110, and Matra Djet but the result was a distinctive design that proved itself in its enduring popularity.

Bonito GT at Essen, 2017

The initial model was equipped with a 1200 cc Volkswagen Beetle engine. However, that engine's lack of power prompted Fiberfab-Karosserie to change it, opting for the 1600cc variant. The Bonito featured a Ford Taunus 12M windscreen and Karmann Ghia taillights. It’s believed that the company sold over 1200 kits and cars in their homeland. In 1973, the German company broke ties with the American Fiberfab.

They sold the Bonito until 1982, after which the rights were bought by a UK GRP company called ACM in Poole, Dorset, specializing in boat hulls. However, AEM couldn’t really make it work for them and sold the project to Graham Keane of Bristol-based AED International in 1983. At that time Keane devised a convertible version of the Bonito, but only one prototype was made.

The Bonito GT, in convertible form, likely not the original with an unknown sibling, but maybe...

The project then passed to a company called Bonito Performance Centre until 1985, when it was purchased by John Grossart’s Seraph Cars. At this point, about 30 of the VW Beetle-based Bonito kits had been sold. Previously Grossart had a 12-year career in the RAF, as an airframe fitter, followed by three years designing racing cars, and was as a senior project engineer at Lucas Girling.

The Seraph abandoned the Beetle floor pan and mechanicals, opting for a bespoke spaceframe chassis using Ford Cortina mechanicals. Two models were available, the Seraph 115, which used a Ford Pinto engine, and the Seraph 215 with a Rover V8. Seraph produced around 35 kits before throwing in the towel.

The engine bay of the Bonito with VW power

An entrepreneur named Gary Whitfield resurrected the project in 1991 and offered them for purchase in kit form until about 2010. From the efforts of ACM through to the output of Whitfield Specialist Cars, it is believed that around 65 units were made.

It should be noted that the author is aware of yet another offshoot of the Bonito's family tree, which was built in Brazil under license, by the same firm that offered a locally produced version of the Avenger (called the Shark), but numbers and further details weren't immediately available at the time of writing.

Altogether, roughly 1300 FT Bonitos and their derivatives were built but it is unknown how many remain on the road today. The type remains particularly popular among European and British kit car enthusiasts, with groups having congregated in a number of countries and on social media.

Sources -

TKC Magazine

Wikipedia (Germany)