For the discerning Enthusiast & Collector

​The Madison is perhaps the near perfect name for this long established kit car.
Its styling undeniably touches on the glamour of Hollywood's roaring forties, with an element of British tradition tucked in there to stop things getting too ostentatious or out of hand. In short, it's mid Atlantic and perfectly balanced right from the radiator shell, which is based around that of a 1939 Packard 120 Convertible, to the rear wings and lights, which are reminiscent of the 1935 Auburn 851 Boat tail Speedster.
In between, there lies the long, tapering and multi- louvred bonnet which itself has a Packard basis and opens to offer excellent access to the engine bay

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Autum 1980

The breathtaking GP Madison Roadster when launched was available only for the VW Beetle base, utilising the chassis/floorpan, engine and suspension components which were in abundance at the time, and it became an immediate hit with the car builder enthusiasts.

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The original Roadster did not feature doors and this helped to keep things simple and allow the shell to retain stiffness.

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The basic Madison kit consisted of all the fibreglass mouldings, the main tub moulding which includes the windscreen frame (it takes flat glass) and comes with all wings ready bolted-on. Supplied separately were the radiator shell, headlamp pods, bonnet, dashboard, seat moulding, engine cover and a set of four hubcaps which
clip to the standard VW chrome items.
 

All mouldings were  turned out in a high gloss colour impregnated finish, and the colours available were red, ivory and blue. It was expected to have a launch price of about £750 plus VAT, with further stages of completion available later.
Period bumpers, weather equipment and side screens were extras.

The Madison build-up was kept simple by its use of a standard VW Beetle chassis, the seating position was 3ft. further back than in the saloon and thus the foot pedals, steering wheel and gear lever all had to be resited.

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Other Beetle components required were the wipers wiring, instruments, headlamps, front sidelights, rear lights and fuel tank, the latter fitting on to special brackets supplied with the kit. Even the standard VW wheels can be used — preferably with 1 inch spacers or alternatively widened by 1 inch.

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The Roadster sold well throughout the world and thanks to its VW Beetle base parts were readily available in most countries.

 

Three years after its introduction GP felt that popular though the VW still was as a kit car basis, they just had to broaden their range to take in what was at that time  fast becoming the car everybody turned to for parts and a build base, the Ford Cortina and in an effort to keep pace with the new mechanical trend, the Madison was developed to utilise Ford Cortina components allied to a purpose designed chassis and it also appeared in coupe form with suitably innovative styling that smacked of the Bugatti type 57 Atlantic