Burton

Brothers Iwan and Dimitri Göbel inherited a practical creative streak from their artist parents; a working childhood kart built with their father Henk from DAF steering and a Zündapp engine foreshadowed their later work. Their shared enthusiasm for Citroën's 2CV led them to establish DuckHunt in 1993 as a specialist converting and maintaining A-series Citroëns. DuckHunt built pickup conversions and assembled or sold British-origin Lomax kit cars, but those products retain their own transformation or marque identities. Experience with Lomax exposed limitations the brothers wanted to solve with a four-wheel design of their own. Work began in 1997 on a foam prototype over a bare 2CV chassis, emphasizing usable seating and balanced styling inspired by Bugatti, Delahaye, Morgan, Jaguar, Talbot-Lago and other interwar roadsters. The first attempt demanded too many chassis changes. A second 1999 design, codenamed Hunter, prioritized fitting an essentially standard full-length 2CV platform so ordinary enthusiasts could build it. Renamed Burton before launch, the approximately 90-percent-final prototype appeared at Citromobile in 2000; the first body came from the mould on 9 February, and 98 orders had arrived by year-end. Detailed finishing produced customer car number one in 2001, which remained with the Göbel family and later exceeded 500,000 km. European availability followed in 2002. The polyester/fiberglass body bolts directly to a donor 2CV6 or Dyane 6 chassis, normally retaining its 602 cc air-cooled flat twin, four-speed transmission, independent interconnected suspension and legal identity. At roughly 480 kg—about 100 kg lighter than a normal 2CV—the roadster has lower drag and roll, published speed near 130 km/h and 430 litres of luggage space. Kits, turnkey cars, soft tops, bespoke convertibles and a removable hardtop with gull-wing doors are configurations of the same Burton Sportscar. In 2004 DuckHunt became Burton Car Company to remove confusion among the garage, parts and kit activities. Growing scarcity and poor quality of replacement components prompted an in-house Burton 2CV Parts line from 2008, followed by engine, gearbox, carburettor and axle rebuilding facilities in 2013 and a dynamometer department in 2018. A separate Burton Electric was presented in 2010 after collaboration with HAN University of Applied Sciences at Arnhem and Nijmegen. It was advertised as the first Dutch sports car buyers could build themselves and was available to order, though surviving factory history does not disclose battery, motor, range, duration or production count. More than 1,300 combustion Burtons had been delivered worldwide by 2020. In November 2022 France's 2CV Méhari Club Cassis acquired Burton Car Company, which continued operating with substantial independence and cooperation. French homologation of the Burton Roadster transformation arrived in 2025. Current new-build themes called Classic, Sport and Adventure select appearance and equipment—pastel trim, low screen and side exhaust, or raised suspension and protection—but do not alter the core chassis/body enough to become separate model lines. Three catalog rows preserve Hunter Prototype, continuing Sportscar and the propulsion-distinct Electric. Pickup conversions remain Citroën transformations, Lomax remains its own marque, and component catalogues do not create vehicles.

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