This lovely Welsh car was sent into me by Gareth Edwards last year. Gareth worked with the son of Bernard Friese, the “Bern” in “Gilbern” – a Welsh former car manufacturer. The attached image shows a car built from scratch by the son of Bernard!

What Was the Gilbern?

Did you know that the only Welsh car manufacturer (not including Aston Martin, which now manufactures cars here) was a car manufacturer called Gilbern (Gilbern Sports Cars Ltd)?

Gilbern was founded in 1959 and was based out of Llantwit Fardre, Pontypridd, Glamorgan. They didn’t last long, however, going bankrupt in 1973 as a result of the 1973 taxation changes. These changes added VAT (Value Added Tax) to kit cars and given that Gilbern cars were already expensive, they were doomed to fail.

Today, Gilbern cars are much sought-after by collectors of classic cars and can sometimes be found at classic car shows. Let me know if you have seen any!

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Welsh Histories is a Welsh history celebrating platform which looks to promote all aspects of Welsh history. Though we focus predominantly on native Welsh history, we do also share the non-native aspects from time to time. You can follow us on Facebook; Instagram or Twitter for more. You can also support us as a member of our Patreon community. A reader? We also have our very own Welsh Histories Shop where we sell our Welsh Histories Magazine. Diolch yn fawr iawn and keep enjoying Welsh Histories.

Niklas George

Niklas is the founder, owner, manager, editor, writer, video creator, voice over artist, and so forth, of Welsh Histories. He is passionate about the preservation of Welsh culture; the rejuvenation of the Welsh language and the promotion of Welsh history. Niklas currently resides in Pune, Maharashtra, with his beloved wife.