Radford Motors, the corporate based by English automotive TV character Ant Anstead and Formulation 1 driver Jenson Button, promised to construct 12 road-going examples of its Lotus-based Pikes Peak racer, the Kind 62-2, for $1 million a pop. As a substitute, the corporate has filed Chapter 11 chapter and prospects are coming after it for vehicles and refunds they are saying they by no means acquired.
Carscoops stories on the state of affairs involving Radford and its prospects. The corporate is dealing with a number of lawsuits from prospects each giant and small, however all of them have one factor in widespread: they plunked down sizable deposits, anticipating to get a Kind 62-2, however by no means acquired the vehicles. One go well with filed this summer time entails a surgeon and a Lamborghini dealership out of Florida who paid Radford over $1 million for a Kind 62-2 Monitor Version.
One such lawsuit, filed in July 2024, entails Florida surgeon Scott Katzman and Lamborghini Palm Seashore. The posh automobile dealership claims it paid $300,000 for a street-legal Lotus-Radford Kind 62-2 and despatched an extra $750,000 on behalf of Katzman for a track-only Kind 62-2 Pikes Peak mannequin again in August 2023. That’s over one million {dollars} despatched Radford’s manner, with not a single automobile delivered in return.
The go well with goes on to say that Radford repeatedly modified and delayed the supply date for the Kind 62-2. Finally, the corporate not directly mentioned the automobile was by no means going to be delivered by providing what’s described as a “reimbursement schedule” for the deposit. Nothing ever got here of it, and by the point the go well with was filed in July neither Katzman nor the dealership had seen the automobile or the cash.
One other go well with filed by a buyer named Timothy Tasker describes how he gave Radford a $101,000 deposit again in 2022. Tasker finally backed out attributable to what’s described as an absence of progress by Radford on the Kind 62-2. He by no means acquired his deposit again.
One other potential buyer can also be suing Radford. Timothy Tasker offered Radford with a $101,000 deposit for a Kind 62-2 in Could 2022, and whereas assembly with Anstead, in addition to co-founder Jenson Button, Tasker says he was advised the primary deliveries would start in late 2022 and proceed all through 2023. Nonetheless, Tasker determined he wished his a reimbursement in October 2023 attributable to “an absence of progress.”
Tasker alleges that Radford “understood” his issues and mentioned he can be supplied with a full refund. Nonetheless, the agency has since left his calls and emails unanswered and he’s nonetheless but to obtain his deposit again.
These fits are along with one other go well with in opposition to Anstead and Radford co-founder Daniel Bednarski by their former enterprise companion Pastor Velasco. In accordance with the go well with, Velasco says he’s owed $2 million. One other enterprise companion, Roger N. Behlr Jr., can also be suing, claiming that “Anstead and co-founder Daniel Bednarski have mismanaged firm funds.”
Regardless of the drama, Anstead remains to be dedicated to Radford and bringing the Kind 62-2 to market. In an announcement, Anstead appears to gloss over the corporate’s troubles by making it appear as if that is one thing all startups undergo.
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