Image via radfordmotors/Instagram
Formula One champion Jenson Button’s car company, Radford Motors, has filed for bankruptcy after it’s been in business for only about three years. It’s a shocking twist in what many thought was an exciting new boutique automaker injecting some excitement into the automotive scene.
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Technically, the parent company for Radford, Finest Coachbuilding Group LLC, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That means a debt restructuring, not necessarily a complete liquidation of the organization, so the demise of the automaker isn’t for certain.
Button shares ownership of Radford Motors with Ant Anstead, a celebrity TV presenter and mechanic. A shocking report from People uncovered allegations of fraud against Anstead, with a business partner claiming in a California legal filing Anstead and another man owe him $2 million.
A few months after that, a cow-owner of Radford claimed the same two men used money paid by a customer for a car to pay themselves and a vendor for something unrelated. If true, that means the automaker’s coffers were being raided as if they were a personal piggy bank.
Radford has been showing off its Type 62-2, a low-production track toy with plenty of retro swagger hearkening back to the Lotus Type 62. With a Lotus Exige chassis, the supercar uses an all-carbon monocoque, just like many racecars. It is aimed at the very wealthy as a weekend plaything, with a mere 62 announced in the build schedule. However, it seems with the bankruptcy filing the future of the production vehicle hangs in the balance.
Unfortunately, it’s difficult to get any type of automaker, be it mainstream or boutique, off the ground. While Bradford Motors might be able to get its financial ducks in a row and continue forward, it was already facing an uphill battle, so it’s understandable why so many are doubtful about its future.
Image via radfordmotors/Instagram
