After the war there was a great demand for powered transport coupled with shortages of fuel and raw materials such as steel. Lawrie Bond designed a small three wheeled car and took his design to Sharps Commercials who agreed to manufacture it and the first Bond Minicar was born in 1947.
The Mark A as it was later to become known had two seat, open topped bodywork made largely of aluminium. The single front wheel was driven by a 122cc Villiers two stroke engine mounted on the front suspension so that it turned with the steering. Only the rear wheels were braked, there was no rear springing, and the single windscreen wiper was operated by hand.
The new car proved to be light, economical, and able. Further development resulted in the Mark B which externally resembled the Mark A. Improvements were made to the steering, and rear suspension was added. A De Luxe version was offered with a larger 197cc engine.
The Mark B was available in two other versions a MiniTruck and a MiniVan both sold under the Sharps name.
The Mark B was followed by the Mark C and D. These cars featured a larger body and a 197cc engine. The C and D where available in two and four seat versions, convertible or hardtop. A single door was fitted to the passenger side.
The engine, again a Villiers unit, continued to be mounted as part of the front suspension and steering, this time the whole unit could pivot through 180 degrees giving the car the ability to turn in its own length !!! 'U' turns could be acheived in about 10 or 11 feet making a reverse gear almost unecessary, although some cars had the option to start the engine backwards to provide reverse motion.
The next major development was the Mark E which later spawned the Marks F and G. These cars were much more car like, but kept many of the traditions pioneered by the earlier cars.
The body was still light weight, now using a mixture of aluminium and GRP. Villiers two stroke engines were still employed, now more powerful 250cc units, and in the case of the Mark G a much smoother running twin cylinder unit was available as an option.
In 1963 production of a new 4 wheeled GT car was started. The new Bond Equipe GT put Bond into head on competition with Reliant in both of its major car markets 3 wheelers and GT sports cars.
The Equipe made use of Triumph parts. The chassis came from the Herald, and the engine from the Spitfire. The bodywork was a stylish 2 door coupe made from GRP with the doors and windscreen also sourced from the Herald. An arrangement was made with Triumph which allowed the Equipe to be sold and serviced by Triumph dealers instantly opening up a large market for the car.
In response to competition from Reliant and the availabilty of more sophisticated small cars such as the Mini a totally new three wheeler was designed and production started in 1964. This car used an all GRP monocoque and was fitted with a Hilman Imp engine mounted in the rear. The combination of rear engine and a novel steering arangement which moved the cars centre of gravity on cornering gave the car exceptionally good handling characteristics.
The Imp engine fitted to a car which weiged less than 8 cwt gave the new Bond 875 remarkable performance to accompany its handling. The speedo only read up to 90mph, but the Bond could easily send this off the scale.A few brave souls fitted Imp sport engines to their 875s. A good 875 would often be seen embarassing 'hot' cars of the time such as the Mini Cooper or Lotus Cortina.
An improved version of the Equipe soon came along. The new Equipe GT4S feature an improved body, this time with a proper boot accessible from outside the car, and a new 4 headlamp front. A bigger Spitfire engine was fitted.
Meanwhile the 875 was given a facelift with a new front and other minor improvements.
A larger Equipe was developed this time using the Triumph Vitesse chassis and 2 litre GT6 engine.
This car had striking styling as was available in both coupe and convertible versions.
The new Equipe, along with the 875 three wheeler, put Bond into a position where they could really give Reliant some serious competition. So later when the group of companies that Bond now belonged to came up for sale Reliant seized the opportunity to buy Bond.
Reliant phased out production of the Equipe and 875. The Bond name was then used on an unusual sporting version of the Reliant three wheeler which was called the Bond Bug. With only a very few exceptions these cars were all painted bright orange and their wedge shape made them look like a giant lump of cheese.
The Bug offered very good performance and attracted a lot of attention, but it, being based on the Reliant chassis layout, never acheived the level of stability offered by the genuine Bond products. Although it was quick, it still was no much for the performance of the 875.
The end of Bug production marked the end of the Bond name which in its apan from 1947 to 1974 not only produced very innovative cars and three wheelers, but also produced small motorcycles, scooters, folding caravans and a number of other products.
