The history of Radford coachbuilders

We were very excited to learn, earlier this year, of the exciting relaunch of Radford – one of the most prestigious coachbuilders in British automotive history.

The iconic marque is probably most famous for its luxuriously customised 1960s Minis, owned by The Beatles, George Best and other movers and shakers from the time. That decade was Radford's heyday to date – but further good times look to be on the way, thanks to fresh investment and expertise from former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button and others. And the new team's first project will, excitingly, tackle another British sporting legend – Lotus' low-slung, 1960s Type 62 racer.

Before we get to that, though, let's tell the Radford story in full.

Origins: a Bentley classic upscaled

The story of Radford begins with one Guy Harold Radford, a successful Rolls-Royce and Bentley dealer who ran a showroom in South Kensington, London between the wars. A little later, during the Second World War, Harold Radford & Co Ltd received government contracts to supply modified vehicles to the armed forces.

By 1948, Radford & Co. were ready for a new challenge, and Harold set to work creating a modification to the luxurious Bentley Mark VI – converting the handsome saloon into an estate, complete with its own capacious boot, thanks to the addition of wood-framed rear bodywork.

Radford called his Bentley conversion the ‘Countryman’ and asked the North London firm of Seary & McReady to carry out the actual conversion work. The conversion was so beautifully done that one example won first prize at the 1948 Concours d’élégance at Cannes: and orders came in thick and fast from then on. By 1950, Radford had bought a majority share of Seary & McReady, renaming that company Harold Radford (Coachbuilders) Ltd.

From this start, the latter outfit began creating bespoke bodies and interiors for Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, with their own modifications to meet the needs of the moneyed classes of the time.

The conversions were about far more than a bigger boot, though. To your already prestigious Rolls Royce Silver Dawn or Bentley Mark VI, Radford were able to add anything from a long options list including dog pens, cocktail cabinets, bespoke colour schemes, foldable picnic tables – and even redesigned front and rear seats, which could fold flat to form a full, six-foot double bed. They would also sell you a nice range of creature comforts including a kettle, an electric shaver, an ice box – and even a built-in sink complete with hot and cold running water.

The company moved into a new workshop further west, in Ealing, and made its debut at the 1951 London Motor Show. By now, the Countryman conversion bore a new look: gone were both the wood exterior detailing and the estate body, to be replaced by a very early example of the hatchback form.

Yes indeed: Radford had thought up a full-size tailgate and an electrically folding rear seat for the contemporary Rolls-Royce and Bentley saloons, without having to tinker with their elegant looks. Impressively, Radford was the first company to patent both reverse-mounted seats and the hatchback design.

At the 1951 show, Radford exhibited one of its customised Bentley Countrymans in the coachbuilding section. The firm would continue exhibiting at the Motor Show until 1963, winning numerous awards along the way.

Throughout the 1950s, Harold Radford and his company continued producing bespoke Countryman conversions, as well as taking on various other one-off coachbuilding commissions. The year 1958 brought a change of ownership as both Radford’s companies were acquired by the Swain Group, owners of rival Rolls-Royce & Bentley dealership HR Owen. Harold Radford himself remained with the company until 1963 – a year that brought a significant new direction for the firm.

Radford take on an icon from the 1960s

Now based at King Street in Hammersmith, Radford embarked upon a new venture: upgrading affordable production cars (this was already being done by Vanden Plas, who had started providing upscale versions of the Austin Princess).

April 1963 brought a major milestone in both the company's history and the iconography of the dawning Swinging Sixties, as the Radford Mini de Ville appeared.

Releasing its own coachbuilt version of Alec Issigonis' already iconic Mini was a masterstroke for the firm. Radford Minis were acquired by several movers and shakers in 1960s London, including Eric Clapton, George Best, Twiggy, Peter Sellers and all four members of the Beatles – and became as much a part of that place and time as miniskirt, mop-tops and psychedelia.

The Radford Minis featured electric windows, leather trim, walnut dashboards, and a veritable array of dashboard controls. Ringo Starr specified his cherry-red Radford (registration number LLO 836D) with a specially reshaped boot, to fit his drum kit; George Harrison's psychedelic version (LGF 695D) was used in the filming of the band's 1967 film, Magical Mystery Tour.

Paul McCartney's Cooper S (GGJ382C), in California Sage Green, was retrofitted with rear lights that imitated the Aston Martin DB5 (itself fresh from its moment in the spotlight, thanks to its appearance in the third James Bond film, Goldfinger), while John Lennon drove a sporty Cooper S in all black, including windows and bumpers. The Beatles' Radfords remain hugely sought after to this day – McCartney's fetched £182,000 at a US auction in 2018, a year after Spice Girl Geri Halliwell paid £102,000 for Ringo's car. We hope one of Geri's first acts after purchase was a phone call to some classic car insurance specialists.

The Mini de Ville was offered in three varieties and – to begin with – could also come performance-tuned by tuning specialists Speedwell. At the top of the range, the Radford Grande Luxe Mini de Ville boasted the kinds of features you'd expect from a car at the other end of the price spectrum from the humble Mini: full-length sliding sunroof, electric windows, a wooden steering wheel and a lavishly re-upholstered interior with its own deep-pile carpets.

1963 was an eventful year for Radford – it also saw the company regain its independence, when the Swain Group decided to sell off its coachbuilding activities at the end of that year. Harold Radford himself returned, in an advisory capacity.

Aston Martin and "the world’s fastest dual-purpose vehicle"

The 1960s were the company's busiest decade. Another popular Radford conversion of the era was for the gorgeous Aston Martin DB5, which the firm was able to convert into a sleek-looking shooting brake, under contract to Aston Martin.

The job came about because David Brown, Aston Martin owner and originator of the DB name, found that his DB5 was proving a tight fit when it came to accommodating his polo equipment, hunting gear and dogs. He put in a request to Radford, by then well known for their Mini conversions, to make him his own DB5 shooting brake.

Brown's customised car inspired demand among other Aston Martin customers and, as the Aston Martin factory itself was at full pelt making the coupé version, Brown arranged with Harold Radford to continue making DB5 shooting brakes to meet demand.

The DB5 conversion was a wholesale affair, demanding a host of changes to the car from the windscreen backwards. The mechanics and chassis of the car, though, remained unchanged, allowing Aston Martin to continue to claim a top speed of 150mph and to market the DB5 shooting brake as ‘the world’s fastest dual-purpose vehicle’.

It was an impressive claim: it was also a major conversion project, meaning that only 12 DB5 shooting brakes were built, all of which are believed to survive to this day. When a DB5 Shooting Brake came up for sale in 2019, it fetched $1.765m (£1.456m) – the highest price ever paid at auction for a shooting brake-style car. We imagine the classic car insurance for that vehicle must be pretty gilt-edged.

The late 1960s: Radford's place in racing history

The 1960s kept Radford busy – although the Mini formed most of their work, other conversions included Austin's BMC 1100, two concept examples of Stirling Moss’s Ogle Cortina GT, and a redesigned version of Alfa Romeo's sleek, desirable Giulia GT coupé.

The firm was also involved with the GT40 project – Ford's quest to build a car that could upset Ferrari's early-1960s dominance at the annual French endurance race, Le Mans. The project was a huge success: the GT40 triumphed at Le Mans for four years running from 1966, making Ford the first American firm to manage a Le Mans victory.

To qualify for that 1966 season, though, Ford needed to create 50 homologation (or road-going) models of the GT40 within 12 consecutive months. Using the prototype Lola coupé from 1962-63 with a Ford V8 engine, the Ford GT coupé was created. The cars were built at Slough, before being sent to Harold Radford Ltd where the fibreglass doors, rear engine-hatch and front nose piece were made and fitted.

Come the summer of 1968, the company (now Radford, Freestone and Webb) were on the move again, this time to their own Radford Works at Park Royal, near Ealing – an area they shared with a few other coachbuilders, including rivals Wood & Pickett.

The 1990s and the Noughties: back to the Mini

Harold Radford himself lived on until March 1990, by which time the company had headed off in another new direction. In 1989, Radford's old friend the Mini celebrated its 30th birthday, an event which brought renewed interest in the iconic design.

Car designer Chris Humberstone (who had designed, among others, the beautiful, Jaguar XJ-based Owen Sedanca in the early 1970s) decided to use that rekindling of interest to relaunch the Radford brand, opening a new Harold Radford showroom at the West End.

The showroom sold a new generation of modified Mini de Villes – the conversion work was subcontracted to other companies, much as Radford had done with Seary & McReady in the late 1940s. Humberstone's re-galvanised Radford lasted until around 2000.

Radford owed its next reboot to the reinvention of the Mini by BMW. In 2005 the company re-launched the Radford Mini, based on the bigger, new-generation BMWs being made by the German car giant. Models were named the Bel Air, De Ville, De Ville S and MINI Miglia, recalling the names from the company’s heyday.

2021: Jenson Button, Lotus – and a legend reborn

Fast forward to the newest chapter in Radford's history, with the news earlier this year that the company has been given a boost with fresh investment from former Formula One World Champion Jenson Button, motoring broadcaster Ant Anstead, and car designer Mark Stubbs.

“To be able to help revive this iconic name is such a special and unique opportunity," said Button, speaking to Autocar. "The Radford brand carries such prestige and magnetism for anyone with an appreciation of cars.

“The work that Harold Radford and his team were responsible for in the mid-1900s is simply incredible, so I jumped at the chance to join Ant and Mark in their quest to put the Radford name back in lights. The journey has very much begun, and news of our first car will follow shortly so watch this space.”

The trio are picking up Radford's traditional ‘Design, Build, Drive’ motto, with car designer Stubbs overseeing the design, Anstead the build and Button track-testing and tuning each car.

The first vehicle to be produced by the new Radford team will be a modern-day interpretation of the 1960s Lotus Type 62 racer. This release will be limited to just 62 examples – so you'd better be fast out of the blocks if you want one (and your very next call, we'd imagine, will be to your classic car insurance provider).

Radford promises a mid-engine, two-seater sports car that will be “sleek, elegant and cosseting, but not at the expense of driver enjoyment.”

We wish the reborn Radford every success.

Classic car insurance from Lancaster

Radford have become a world-famous name in coachbuilding, and they have achieved this through their attention to detail and passion for working to the very highest standards.

We bring a similar philosophy to our classic car insurance. Like you, we love classic cars – and, with over 35 years of experience, we know how to protect them.

Benefits of classic car insurance through Lancaster can include:

• Historic rally cover
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• Limited mileage discounts
• Choice of repairer
• 24-hour claims helpline

Give your classic the protection it deserves and contact us for a quote today.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.