Covin (automobile)
The Covin is a kit car replica of the Porsche 911 Turbo created by Tim Cook and Nick Vincent in the early 1980s. The name Covin came about from CO (Cook) and VIN (Vincent) to produce COVIN Performance Mouldings. Early models of the Covin were based on a shortened Beetle floorpan/running gear but later used its own Covin chassis and VW Type 3 running gear.
| Covin | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Production | Early 1980s–1992 Approx |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 2-door coupe 2+2 2-door convertible 2+2 |
| Layout | Rear engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Platform | Covin own or VW Type3 chassis |
| Related | Volkswagen Variant Type 3 |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | Various fitments |
| Transmission | 3-speed automatic 4 speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 87.2 in (2,215 mm) |
| Length | Coupe: 165.2 in (4,196 mm) |
| Width | Coupe: 72.1 in (1,831 mm) |
| Height | Coupe: 50 in (1,270 mm) |
The company was sold in the 1990s to DAX and later moved to new owners GPC and was relocated to County Galway in Ireland where up to now the Covin has not been produced again. The Covin came in three body styles all based on the Turbo model. These were, Flatnose and Coupe, both were also available in a convertible version. There is also known to be only one narrow body Covin ever made.
Covin also produced a few 356 Speedster models but these are rather rare.
Some Covin units even run real Porsche 911 engines.
The Covin Club
The Covin Owners Club is run by Darren Parker (club technical adviser) and club secretary Michael Dykes. As of 2015, the Covin forum has 378 members, 24487 posts, covering 2762 topics.