The Ascort TSV was an Australian sports coupe originally created by Mirek Craney. The car was built using primarily Volkswagen components and was based on the Volkswagen chassis. The 1.3 liter Volkswagen engine was extensively re-built with performance parts from Okrasa.
The Ascort was made with occupant safety in mind and had a double shell fiberglass body with tubular steel reinforcing frame. This included steel double roll bars and windscreen bar.
Only thirteen of these cars were made before the company was forced to end production.
Fast Facts
- Mirek Craney migrated to Australia in 1950 and by 1958 had established his company Continental Coachwork Pty. Ltd. and built the prototype of his first production car The Ascort TSV.
- The Ascort TSV was based on Volkswagen chassis and engine parts but with significant improvements, especially to the engine which was completely rebuilt using Okrasa performance parts.
- The Ascort TSV entered production in 1959 and was the subject of an article by Australian magazine “Modern Motor”.
- The Moden Motor article led to Mirek Craney being invited to show his car at the Melbourne Motor Display, and this resulted in 57 orders for the car.
- Unfortunately only 13 complete cars had been made by 1961 when the company folded.
The 1950’s was a quite fantastic time. It was an era when the world entered into recovery after the horrors of the Second World War: in fact most of those in their productive adult years had lived through not only the war but also the Great Depression that had preceded it.
Australia was a country that was often referred to as “The Lucky Country” and the Australian people were known for their common sense resilience coupled with a quite wacky sense of humor. You can catch a glimpse of this if you watch the movie “They’re a Weird Mob” which was released in 1966.
It was to this “Lucky Country” that a man named Mirek Craney traveled. He had escaped from the oppression of communism that was smothering his native country: and he settled in the city of Sydney in 1950, which was at that time the most beautiful of Australia’s cities, and I think it still is.
Mirek Craney was a car aficionado with a great fondness for the Porsche 356 and the Volkswagen Karman-Ghia: but being both an enthusiast and a highly creative expert in the fabrication of fiberglass he reasoned that he could create a car that was superior to both.
So in the prosperous and free environment of Sydney, Australia, Mirek Craney set about achieving his dream.
He wasted no time in starting his own company – Continental Coachwork Pty. Ltd. (i.e. a Proprietary Limited company – a common type of small business in Australia) – and had designed and built his first prototype by 1958.
Mirek’s vision was for a car that would blend the best of the Porsche 356 with the style and practicality of the Volkswagen Karman Ghia – but make a car that was more beautiful than either of them.
Constrained by the practicalities of obtaining and importing component parts into Australia Mirek chose to base his car on the platform chassis of the Volkswagen and its engine.
The Volkswagen was improved by fitting it with the Karman-Ghia anti-roll bar while the 1,300cc 36bhp Volkswagen engine was tweaked up with the use of Okrasa and Porsche parts to bring its power up to a rather more lively 54bhp.
Okrasa stands for Oettinger Kraftfahrtechnische Spezial Anstalt, it was a Volkswagen performance tuning business founded by Gerhard Oettinger in 1951.
The engine for the Ascort was rebuilt using a high performance crankshaft of chromium steel with new cylinder barrels and pistons, light alloy cylinder heads fitted with high performance valves and springs, twin Solex-Porsche dual choke carburettors, and performance exhaust manifolds.
This engine red-lined at 5,200 rpm and produced its peak power at 4,300rpm. The Ascort had a top speed of 97mph and could accelerate from standing to 50mph in 12 seconds.
The weight of the Ascort was 1,467lb and this lightness kept its performance and handling enjoyable and lively.
Another advantage Mirek gave this car was that because it was largely based on Volkswagen foundations it was a car that most mechanics in Australia could work on with no difficulty at all, and spare parts were not difficult to source, even back in those days well before the invention of the Internet.
Unlike Lotus and many other small production creative car makers Mirek Craney did not intend to sell the Ascort as a kit car. Mirek was a perfectionist and he, wisely, was determined to have absolute quality control over the cars that emerged from his workshop.
Not only was Mirek concerned with sporty performance with good handling, but he was also concerned with the protection his car would afford its occupants in the event of a crash.
The fiberglass body of the Ascort was double-shelled and created around a steel frame which included double steel roll bars in the roof and reinforced steel windscreen tubes to provide a measure of race-car protection for the driver and passengers.
In addition to the structural reinforcing the interior was designed with crash protection in mind and included a rounded dashboard.
The Ascort was a style leader looking like a car from one of the European design houses and the body included integrated front and rear bumpers, Aston Martin DB3 tail lights, and Porsche headlights.
The car provided comfortable accommodation for four adults and the semi-bucket front seats were fully reclining and leg-room adjustable.
The Ascort 1300 officially entered production in January 1959 and the car was subject to a rather positive review by Australian motoring magazine “Modern Motor”. This proved to be sufficient publicity to have the car invited to the Melbourne Motor Display that year and at that event there were 57 orders for the car placed.
Promising as this appeared to be thirteen complete cars were produced up until 1961 when the company was forced to fold, with the remaining six bodies being sold as part cars.
Some of these quite unique pieces of Australasian automotive history still exist and one is currently for sale by online auction at Collecting Cars.
This car is finished in silver paintwork with red interior and has had its engine upgraded to a Porsche 356 1.6 liter unit mated to a four speed transaxle.
You can find the sale page for this delightful and rare coupe if you click here.
Picture credits: All pictures courtesy Collecting Cars.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
