Matt Faulkner is 27 and has been working at The Light Car Company for just over a year. He served his apprenticeship at a Nissan dealer, which sounds rather lame until it is explained that the dealer was Andy Middlehurst, high priest of all things. Around 65 people work at TLCC, from engineers to designers to software experts to people like Matt who assemble the cars. Then there are the staff who deal with the ever-expanding order bank.
Our car is already painted in a lovely deep red. The live rear axle, complete with 12kW electric motor, is already fitted. The floor isn’t in yet, which makes sliding up under the car and working on it from inside very straightforward; although the car is 75 per cent scale, it is surprisingly easy to get access to any area that you might want to work on.
Around 550 components make up a complete Testa Rossa J. Although there are some machine tools at the company, including a lathe so that one-off components such as spacers can be made, almost all the car’s components are outsourced. The brake calipers, for example, come from Brembo and are the same as used on the back of Ducatis. Special parts, such as the splined hubs, are machined by outside suppliers. Every part is beautifully made and fits perfectly.
Pondering over which other great classics The Little Car Company could put in the shrinkometer makes for good bar chat. How about a Maserati Birdcage or a Jaguar D-type? I suspect that any car company would now leap at the opportunity to have one of its legendary machines recreated in this way. Especially now that Ferrari, always the most protective of its brand, has opened its arms.