Dutton Cars
automobile manufacturer

Dutton Cars, based in Worthing, Sussex, England, was a maker of kit cars between 1970 and 1989. In terms of number of kits produced, it was the largest kit-car manufacturer in the world.
The company was founded by Tim Dutton-Woolley and run from a small workshop in which a series of cars named P1 was built. In October 1971, the B-Type appeared with a more or less standard specification and based on Triumph Herald components. A move was also made to a larger factory in Tangmere, Chichester.
Products
Most Duttons depended on a ladder-frame chassis built from steel profiles, which held the various parts taken from the donor car. After originally using Triumph Herald parts, most Duttons kits used Ford Escort Mk 1 or Mk 2 components.
The B-Type eventually evolved into the Dutton Phaeton. Later versions of the Phaeton were based on Ford Escort components and were produced until 1989. These were also available as fully built-up cars, in which case they received a 1.6-litre Ford Crossflow engine with 84 hp (63 kW).
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Dutton Cars” is automobile manufacturer. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Dutton, Cars and automobile, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “automobile manufacturer” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q428785. The first chronological checks are 1970, 1989 and 1971.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Dutton Cars”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Dutton Cars primary sources, Dutton Cars archive and Dutton research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Dutton Cars”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Dutton Cars” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.