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Australian plastic gnomes - Lightburn Zeta Runabout and Sports

Name: Lightburn Zeta Sports 1964
Brand: Lightburn

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Created on August 1, 1983

Text:

Gavin Farmer

Photos:

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions 2012

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Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions 2012

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Lightburn Zeta Sports (1964) - offered at the auction of the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum by RM Auction on February 15 and 16, 2013

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Lightburn Zeta Sports (1964) - sold as lot 588 by AM Auction at the Bruce Weiner sale on February 15/16, 2013

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Lightburn Zeta Runabout (1964) - sold as lot 320 by AM Auction at the Bruce Weiner sale on February 15/16, 2013

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Lightburn Zeta Runabout (1964) - offered at the auction of the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum by RM Auction on February 15 and 16, 2013

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Lightburn Zeta Runabout (1961) - a plastic body was placed on the simple chassis

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Lightburn Zeta Sports Coupé (1964) - sold as lot 635 by AM Auction at the Bruce Weiner auction on February 15/16, 2013

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Summary

In the early sixties, small plastic cars were produced in Australia that remained virtually unknown north of the equator. Only a few examples of the Lightburn Zeta were produced and, in addition to a small station wagon, even a two-seater sports car was created, designed by Giovanni Michelotti. This report tells the story of the Zeta, which is a rarity even in the country of its origin.

This article contains the following chapters

"Down Under" has its eyes on Europe
Presentation in 1962
Cautious interest
Small but tough
Simple and light
70 km/h in reverse gear
With 400 kg and 16 hp
Sluggish business and a sports two-seater

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Small cars and microcars - an inexhaustible topic, and there is no automobile-building nation that has not made its contribution. We are familiar with all the dwarfs that populated the streets of Europe after the Second World War, the situation in Japan was no different (although the small car has always dominated there), and even in the USA there were attempts to mass-produce small cars. The fact that it was only a few decades later that there was a greater appetite for "small cars" in the States is another matter. What few people know: The Australians also had a kind of small car boom in those years. The Zeta dates from this period.

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