ERNIE UNGER STORY
the venture and somewhere to build the
cars. As it transpired, on the basis of
what he’d seen (particularly the
impressive aluminium prototype), World
Powerboat Champion Tim Powell, a
good friend of Ernie’s and whose
company Universal Power Drives (UPD)
manufactured specialist trucks and
forklifts, agreed to provide the backing.
Powell and UPD’s sales director
Andrew Hedges, a successful racing
driver, felt that a small, high-quality, GT
could transform the company’s
somewhat staid image. A corner of the
factory was put aside for development
and production purposes.
Things progressed well and before
long, the team had a demonstrator ready
for unveiling at the Racing Car Show.
However, it had yet to be given a suitable
moniker. Thankfully, Ian Smith, the
show’s organiser came up with a
suggestion. “With the show imminent,
Ian contacted us, asking whether we had
a name for the new car which could put
in the event programme etc,” remarks
Ernie. “Well, we hadn’t actually decided
upon one. Ian then went on to say that
seeing as UPD owned the name
Unipower, why not simply call it the
Unipower GT. So Unipower GT it was!”
The Unipower GT (which soon
garnered the nickname ‘Mini Muira’ due
to its mid-engined format and styling)debuted in January 1966, at the Racing
Car Show, and the response was
phenomenal. It wasn’t just the public who
were attracted either; Stirling Moss, Tony
Brooks and Graham Hill were all spied
drooling over the car at various times
during the day. This was hugely
gratifying for Ernie, but the high point
was when a certain Austrian gentleman
came visiting. “Carlo Abarth and his
entourage spent hours on our stand,
which made the day rather special for
me,” recollects Ernie fondly.
Not only did the Unipower earn
approval from Carlo Abarth, it was also
much-admired by Issigonis. “We took
the demonstrator to BMC’s Head Office,to show it to Issigonis,” Val Dare-Bryan
reveals. “We felt that it would be good to
get his approval. I remember him saying
that he particularly liked the way we’d
packaged the car.”
Encouraged by such plaudits and
buoyed up by a rapidly filling order book,
the team began thinking about actually
building the cars. Nevertheless, unlike
the rest of the UK motor industry, Ernie
and Val weren’t willing to let a car leave
the factory until it was completely sorted.
“We were not prepared to do the
development on our customers,”
impresses Ernie. “The planned for targa
version was dropped and we made
several changes on the GT, such asThe Unipower received rave
reviews when it was displayed
at the Racing Car Show.Due to spiralling costs, Targa
never made production.Left-hookers ready for export.ERNIE UNGER STORY
the venture and somewhere to build the
cars. As it transpired, on the basis of
what he’d seen (particularly the
impressive aluminium prototype), World
Powerboat Champion Tim Powell, a
good friend of Ernie’s and whose
company Universal Power Drives (UPD)
manufactured specialist trucks and
forklifts, agreed to provide the backing.
Powell and UPD’s sales director
Andrew Hedges, a successful racing
driver, felt that a small, high-quality, GT
could transform the company’s
somewhat staid image. A corner of the
factory was put aside for development
and production purposes.
Things progressed well and before
long, the team had a demonstrator ready
for unveiling at the Racing Car Show.
However, it had yet to be given a suitable
moniker. Thankfully, Ian Smith, the
show’s organiser came up with a
suggestion. “With the show imminent,
Ian contacted us, asking whether we had
a name for the new car which could put
in the event programme etc,” remarks
Ernie. “Well, we hadn’t actually decided
upon one. Ian then went on to say that
seeing as UPD owned the name
Unipower, why not simply call it the
Unipower GT. So Unipower GT it was!”
The Unipower GT (which soon
garnered the nickname ‘Mini Muira’ due
to its mid-engined format and styling)
debuted in January 1966, at the Racing
Car Show, and the response was
phenomenal. It wasn’t just the public who
were attracted either; Stirling Moss, Tony
Brooks and Graham Hill were all spied
drooling over the car at various times
during the day. This was hugely
gratifying for Ernie, but the high point
was when a certain Austrian gentleman
came visiting. “Carlo Abarth and his
entourage spent hours on our stand,
which made the day rather special for
me,” recollects Ernie fondly.
Not only did the Unipower earn
approval from Carlo Abarth, it was also
much-admired by Issigonis. “We took
the demonstrator to BMC’s Head Office,to show it to Issigonis,” Val Dare-Bryan
reveals. “We felt that it would be good to
get his approval. I remember him saying
that he particularly liked the way we’d
packaged the car.”
Encouraged by such plaudits and
buoyed up by a rapidly filling order book,
the team began thinking about actually
building the cars. Nevertheless, unlike
the rest of the UK motor industry, Ernie
and Val weren’t willing to let a car leave
the factory until it was completely sorted.
“We were not prepared to do the
development on our customers,”
impresses Ernie. “The planned for targa
version was dropped and we made
several changes on the GT, such asThe Unipower received rave
reviews when it was displayed
at the Racing Car Show.Due to spiralling costs, Targa
never made production.Left-hookers ready for export.