Westcountry

Sports car production is coming to the Cornish town of Redruth with the launch of a new business that will create at least 50 jobs.

Jetstream Sports Cars is setting up a new factory from where it hopes to produce 50 high performance sports cars in its first year, rising to 300 in five years.

The firm, formed by motor industry veterans Malcolm Faiers and John Donnelly, is being supported with a £265,000 investment from the South West of England Regional Development Agency (RDA).

Finance director Andy Goodman said that Jetstream Sports Cars has signed a lease with Percy Williams Builders using the services of Camborne-based property agents Goldring Yates for a 14,000 sq ft unit on the Treleigh Industrial Estate in Redruth and expects to start production later this month.

The design of the car is being kept under wraps until a formal launch in the coming weeks.

Jetstream Sports Cars director John Donnelly, whose entire professional career has been in the automotive industry including stints with Jaguar, the Brabham Formula 1 team and American GT, said Cornwall was the natural choice.

Co-director Malcolm Faiers: "Many of the skills we need, like composite manufacture, precision machining and paint finishing, already exist thanks to Cornwall's marine building industry and we will be able to tap into that skills base."

"Having moved to Cornwall two years ago I have seen first hand the engineering skills and experience that we have on our doorstep. Combined with the high level of business support we have received together with an enormous amount of support from Cornwall College Automotive Engineering Deptartment which has helped with the construction of the prototype, there is nowhere we'd rather be," he said.

Co-director Malcolm Faiers, whose career spans BMW, Mitsubishi and acting as consultant to many of the world's leading car companies, added: "Many of the skills we need, like composite manufacture, precision machining and paint finishing, already exist thanks to Cornwall's marine building industry and we will be able to tap into that skills base."

The Jetstream SC is a brand new road legal sports car with a mid-mounted supercharged Ecotec engine developed by GM to meet the latest environmental standards, aluminum chassis and composite body. The company is also looking at developing a model that runs on bioethanol and has a number of environmentally-friendly features at its production unit.

Designed by former Ford Europe design guru Brian Rossi, the rear wheel drive car will be available in 205, 250 and 300 brake horsepower models with prices ranging from £27,000 to £35,000.

Local companies already lined up to supply Jetstream include Composite Integration of Saltash; Metal Surgery in Penryn; Hickley Valtone in St Columb and Goodridge Racing in Exeter.

Jetstream has already forged strong links with the Automotive Engineering department at Cornwall College Camborne, where it has been able to use the college's £5m workshops to help build its first production prototype.

John Latham, principal of Cornwall College, said: "We're really excited about the benefits this brings to the college in terms of linking an education establishment with manufacturing and commerce. Our students and staff are gaining immeasurable experience from working with such an accomplished motor sport engineer as John Donnelly, and we are already in discussions about our students working at Jetstream Sportscars in the future."

Richard Goldring, of Goldring Yates, said: "Jetstream were after a modern production facility with excellent transport links and we are delighted that they have chosen the unit at Treleigh to set up their business. It shows that this area has the skills and the premises available to attract leading-edge companies."

Nigel Tipple, chief executive at CPR Regeneration, the urban regeneration company for Camborne, Pool and Redruth, said: "This is a real coup for Redruth and what's especially exciting is the link between education and business through the College."