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50 years of Dutton Cars
Annual report from Tim Dutton Jan 02 2019 PREAMBLE 2018 came as a bit of a surprise with sales of the Surf increasing year on year, we had expected some amphibiers would have changed their plans and gone for the new Reef. This increase in Surf sales forced us to put the Reef on the back burner for 2018. We are now up to date with Surf delivery so 2019 will be the year of the Reef. EXHIBITIONS The January 2019 London Boat Show has been cancelled due to poor attendances at Excel over the last few years. We have always used exhibitions as our main form of paid advertising. Our first exhibition was 1970 when Peter Filby rented a field in (we think) Hindhead in Surrey. Of course the 1982 Motor Show at the NEC Birmingham was the most talked about as we had just won the court case bought by Ford Motor Co who spectacularly failed to stop us using the name Sierra. Our court costs were £20,000, the best £20K we could have spent on publicity, the story being reported all over the World. Even cartoons appeared in the national press (as below), we think no other car company has ever been the centre of such attraction in cartoons. It was particularly amusing that just by chance our exhibition stand was next to the Ford exhibit at the NEC Birmingham. This year we will be celebrating 50 years of vehicle manufacture and will be exhibiting at the National Kit car show at Stoneleigh Warwickshire May 05 and 06. Later in the year at the Southampton Boat show September 13 to 22
1982 cartoons salvaged from our 1992 factory fire MAGAZINES It was sad to hear of the closure of Kit Car Magazine especially as it was the first magazine in the World to be dedicated solely to kit cars. Luckily we still have Total Kit Car and Complete Kit Car magazines to promote the UK specialist car industry THAT 2005 COURT CASE Our court case from over a decade ago still brings incredulity from our customers when they hear our side of the story involving the sale of an old Commander sold in 2005. This story has virtually fallen off the radar but we still need to set the record straight. The Judge in Carlisle Paul Batty QC was severely criticised by Lord Justice Moses (great name) in the Royal Courts of Justice in London where in our appeal his lengthy criticism of Batty is summed up with the Lords findings:- In our judgment, this offence did not cross the custody threshold. It was both wrong in principal and manifestly excessive. In those circumstances, we shall quash the sentence. It then goes on again referring to Batty :- We turn then to a further matter that does give us more concern..... And it goes on and on - if anyone who wants to read the entire appeal email us and we will send you the PDF
First prototype (1989) based on Dutton Sierra drophead, note the use of steel bumper / chassis (never again) alfresco exhaust and a bemused Tim Dutton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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London Excel Boat Show
Photos of our last London show
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PICTURES OF THE MONTH
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What are the chances? An amphibious caravan passing an amphibious car...
20 mph, 5ft drop and no slipway...
Modern cars are designed to last 11 years. This Dutton Mariner is over 20 years old and still going strong.
Make contact | To make contact with us please email factory@timdutton.com Tel 01903 713313 we don't always hear the phone so quicker to email
2019 model year | 1/ For both Reef and Surf kits your entire door lock assemblies are factory fitted (feedback from customers tells us this gives problems to accurately line up all the components/rods/cables for correct operation) 2/ All extra mechanical parts that are required for the Reef kits are now included in the kit
UK Pound drops 10% to 15% due to Brexit | For export sales now is the time to take advantage of this temporary "blip" in the UK exchange rate as it has dropped against most major currencies
We buy dead 4WD Duttons | We are eager purchasers of all 4WD Duttons regardless of their condition including part built kits Send us full details/photos and price WHERE THEY GO | Austria, Brazil, Belgium, Burma, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dubai, England, France, French West Indies, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Monaco, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Russia, Scotland, Southern Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE, USA, Wales And some Military stuff.. This is not the total of all our cars sold, customers have bought more than 1 Dutton, there are repeat orders and many are sold into the same location We have been manufacturing amphibious cars longer than all the other companies in the World added together - including Amphicar - this unparalleled experience over 30 years and 260+ sales has allowed us to produce 4 entirely different models - the Mariner up to 2000, Commander up to 2006 and the current Surf and Reef We take customer privacy seriously and will NEVER disclose customer names or addresses or cold-call them so please don't ask
A Brief History of Tim | Article reprinted from February 2016 Complete Kit Car Magazine, see HERE
Sunday Observer |  48 year old advert from our Archives | As true today as it was in the early 1970's...Note £345 for an entire kit!  Built to last | We recently received this from a customer who bought a Dutton in 1972; now over 70, he still uses the B type (if his son is not borrowing it...)   Note WW2 Dutton shed in 1972, and the good old days when E Type Jaguars were simply thrown away when not needed...  47 years old and still going strong Reef in full Production |  REEF delivery & production | Delivery is now Spring 2020 We are quite happy to accept a deposit and incomplete order form as a firm order so you can get a production "slot", final spec can be added closer to the delivery date We attempt to keep some deck/hulls in stock:- We have one white Reef hull in stock - if ordered waiting time is reduced by 2 weeks IMPORTANT:- if we quote a delivery time from a general enquiry it is only valid at the time we quote, delivery times can easily vary drastically depending on pressure of work, however once an order has been received then the delivery date is fixed SURF delivery & production | Delivery is now winter 2019 we have room for only one more Surf for 2019 production, when that is sold delivery will be Spring 2020 We are quite happy to accept a deposit and incomplete order form as a firm order so you can get a production "slot", final spec can be added closer to the delivery date We attempt to keep some deck/hulls in stock:- none IMPORTANT:- if we quote a delivery time from a general enquiry it is only valid at the time we quote, delivery times can easily vary drastically depending on pressure of work, however once an order has been received then the delivery date is fixed
Stock cars | For the first time ever, we have managed to catch up with orders and now have some cars in stock. See the "new - used" page for further details.
UK Slipways & launch sites | A comprehensive list of UK slipways and launch sites that you can use for your Dutton is now available from BOATLAUNCH.CO.UK. giving details of over 940 British coastal and inland slipways. Please click HERE to access their site. Note that the site also gives tide predictions. Duttons 1969 to 1989 | With well over 8000 Duttons driving around the World and despite not making them for over 30 years we are still here to help owners. Got a TECHNICAL problem? then contact Tim for assistance. Please note we have NO documentation or spares on these early Duttons (and don't forget to join the Dutton owners Club) Duttons in
Norway & Canada | Duttons have now been registered for road use in Norway and Canada, this joins the ever increasing list of Countries where you can register the Dutton 
|  A day in the life..... cars being completed, customers and visitors cars and our two demo cars.  Our "fleet" of two demo cars.  Monday morning, Jimny donor for Surf, and Fiesta donor for Reef. Dutton goes electric | Tim Dutton is currently building five electric powered Surfs for a European Customer. The 'E Surfs' will be used on canals that have strict emission regulations and will be powered by 48v water cooled electric motors.  The photo above shows the motor coupled to the same jet that's used for conventional Surfs. The batteries will be on an overnight charge before the cars are driven to the canals during the day. If the batteries go flat on the water, the petrol engine can be run to give enough power back to the motor through a 48v converter. TOP 15% | A staggering 85% of all cars (all makes) fail the IVA test first time. The Dutton passes. We are so confident that the cars we present pass first time that if for any reason they don't we will re-test at our expense TV & VIDEO STUFF | TOWIE ITV2 The "lads" drove around Basildon and local lakes.  CHANNEL 4 SHOW "GADGET MAN" aired September 02 featuring the Dutton SURF  Tim also featured in an earlier episode of 'Scrapheap Challenge' on Channel 4. Female Comedienne JO BRAND has a new tv programme on DAVE TV where she does weird stuff to do with water. Jo spent a whole day at our factory filming in the Dutton Surf, this was shown recently and is viewable on here and shows Jo and Tim having fun before heading for France in a Surf. To view the video click HERE  THREE MEN GO TO IRELAND (BBC TV) Click HERE to view Video (5min)  2006 Channel Crossing Video now available. Click HERE to view (4min). The
Dutton. It is neither the car that thinks it's a boat nor a boat that thinks it's
a car. It has the invincible superiority of knowing that it is both | "Boris Johnson Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs" THE FACT DUTTON IS THE WORLD'S ONLY SUCCESSFUL AMPHIBIOUS CAR MAKER SAYS A LOT. THE S2's RUGGED............... | "AutoExpress Magazine"
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