TMC Costin Expert Reveals Frank Costin Racing Secrets

The Thompson family of County Wexford, Ireland, had a rich agricultural heritage, with six sons who eventually ventured into various professions. Among them, Peter Thompson pursued a career in engineering, starting with Phillip Pierce and Company in Wexford and later joining the Timoney Research Centre. Two of his brothers, Val and Sean, also joined Timoney, with Val working as a financial controller and Sean as a design technician. In March 1983, these three brothers, along with a fourth sibling, Anthony, established the Thompson Manufacturing Company (TMC) to build cars. Peter Thompson sought the expertise of Frank Costin, a renowned engineer and aerodynamicist, to design their debut car. Costin’s responsibilities included designing the car, as well as creating the tooling and jigs necessary for its production. In return, he would receive a 10% royalty on each car sold. The result of this collaboration was the TMC Costin, a car envisioned as an evolution of the iconic Lotus Seven. It earned the moniker "the Irish Seven" and became Ireland’s first road-racing car. Despite its racing success, the company built only 26 TMC Costins before financial difficulties led to its closure in 1987. The chassis rights were later sold to Daniel Panoz in the United States, leading to the creation of the Panoz Roadster, which is based on the TMC Costin. Full TMC Costin story available in our Digital Magazine 7Spot.Live ... https://shorturl.at/zvcBt