Gryff, the fast plastic sports car from Basel
The fast and elegant sports cars of Peter Monteverdi are known to have come from Basel. In 1983, however, Pierre Läubin presented an exciting plastic sports car, which he called " Gryff " in reference to the name of his small garage.
It was a modified version of the Nova GT, both visually and technically. This in turn had already been created in 1971 and was the work of the company "Automotive Design and Development Ltd" (ADD). However, the rights to the design were transferred to Vic Elam in 1975, who marketed the car under the company name Nova Cars until 1990, only for it to be produced in small series in Cornwall later on. In addition to the "original", there were various licensed versions of the Nova GT, including Ledl ( Austria), Puma (Italy), Eagle (South Africa), Sterling (USA) and Scorpion (New Zealand).
The Nova GT combined a breathtaking wedge-shaped body with the chassis of the VW Beetle. A special feature was that the car had no doors. To get in, the entire cockpit roof was raised.
The Gryff in Allschwil near Basel was also a licensed production of the Nova GT. However, some changes were made to the bodywork, e.g. to the design of the headlights, which were hinged on the Gryff. Läubin reinforced the chassis with a heavily dimensioned tubular frame and fitted independent wheel suspension at the front and rear. Disc brakes on all wheels and engines from Porsche (911 SC with 204 hp) or Ford (Capri 2.8i with 150 hp) guaranteed super sports car-like performance and braking deceleration, not least thanks to the low weight of 900 kg. The interior was attractively equipped and the Wolfrace rims further refined the car.
With all the refinements worked out by Läubin, the car, which took around 800 hours to build, could certainly be described as an in-house design, which the designer wanted to deliver to order for 70,000 (Ford V6) or 80,000 francs (Porsche). The Automobil Revue 9/1983 reported that the necessary steps for certification in Switzerland had been completed in 1983. How many Gryff Läubin vehicles were built is unknown, as is the whereabouts of the prototypes and any production vehicles.
On May 18 and 19, the international meeting of plastic cars "Fantastic Plastic" will take place in Lucerne. More information can be found here.
