1958 GSM Dart – Today’s Tempter

By: Alex Affat, Unique Cars magazine

Date: 24.05.2018

A Unique Car indeed, this South African sports car was only produced for 6 years in the late 50s

Glassport Motor Company was a little known sports car manufacturer in South Africa for six short years from 1958 to 1964. Narrowly missing the title of South Africa’s first sports car maker, they were beaten to the punch by GRP Protea one year prior.

The name Glass Sport was derived from their use of fibreglass in production, which was a new technology at the time.

GSM eventually produced two different cars, the Dart and the Flamingo.

The GSM Flamingo was a compact rear-cab biased two door sports coupe that – if you stood back and squinted a little – looked a bit like an old Alfa.

The GSM Dart however, was an open top sports roadster, loosely drawing comparisons to British roadsters of the time.

With dual headlight lamps set either side of the nose, a long sloping bonnet, and a fantastically finned rear end; the Dart reflected British design influences heavily.

The open two-seater fibreglass body sat atop a ladder frame with transverse springs up front and coil springs at the rear. Being a small manufacturer, engine options were various units lifted from Conventry Ford Anglia engines, even a few with Alfa Romeo 1.3lt and S.V. engines.

As the Company only operated for six years, we don’t imagine there’s many of these cars left, lesser few that made it to Australia.

This GSM Dart is based in Victoria and listed for $19,000.

With a 1.8lt four-banger (which engine exactly is not specified), five-speed manual, driven wheels at the rear, and a featherweight body, this could make for one extremely unique vintage racer.

You can check out the full listing here!

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