The Manic GT: Canada's Alpine A110 #classicsarecool

Canada has never been known for making cars. We’ve been known more for maple syrup and snow. Although in recent years we have seen amazing things like the HTT Pléthore, a 6.2 liter V8 powered supercar. Other examples of crazy Canadian cars are the Magnum GT and the Felino CB7, both track day cars. But before all of these were created, we didn’t have much. But we had something. That something was called the Manic GT. A small rear engined sports car created by Jacques About (pronounced ah-boo) born in Montreal. The Manic GT was created after Jacques, who was working with Renault, surveyed the marketplace in a plan to bring the stunning Alpine A110 onto Canadian soil. Unfortunately Renault stopped that from happening even though there was a market for the small sportscar in Canada. Jacques knew that, and he wouldn’t let his plan fail. So he rented an office nearby Montreal, and began his work on what would soon become L’Ecurie Manic Inc.

Manic would have to get the attention of investors and the public to make the company a success, and what better way to do that than to throw an Alfa Romeo racing engine in a Formula C car? The plan was to head out to St. Jovite, where the famous Mont Tremblant circuit is, and set a lap record with what was called the Manic GRAC. The Manic GRAC did break a record, and Jacques would be pleased with what would happened next. After investors saw the potential of Manic, they invested $1.5Million into the company, allowing Jacques to build a factory for his new car. The factory, located in Terrebonne, Quebec would soon be home to the Manic GT. In 1970 the factory would be moved to Granby. The first Manic GT would be presented at an auto show in Montreal, 1969. Soon after, the first Manic GT’s would roll off the production line.

The Manic GT shared a chassis with the Renault 8 sedan, and it also had 1.3 liter Renault engines too, making either 65, 80, or 105 hp, which thanks to the lightweight fiberglass body, could reach speeds of 169 km/h, 193 km/h, or 217 km/h. The only way to reach that 217 km/h top speed was if you bought the car with the 5-speed transmission, which was actually quite rare on a Manic GT. The car had an independent suspension, and 4 disc brakes. The only big downside was how expensive the Manic GT was. At the time, the $2200 to $3400 price tag was talking quite a big amount of money. The car was thankfully very sporty and economic, which made up for the big price tag. That showed with a two month waiting list to get a Manic GT. Even though the Manic GT was a huge success, the company folded in 1970, and we got Renault to blame for that.

Since the base components of the Manic GT were from Renault, there would be no chance of survival for the company if the company if Renault stopped producing those vital parts. Renault didn’t stop producing the parts needed, they just stopped sending them to Manic. The decision to stop sending Manic parts has little information, but a possibility is that Jacques never paid back Renault for the parts. 160 models were made, 60 sent to get recycled. Canada’s sports car came to an end in March, 1970.

The Manic GT was the official Canadian sportscar way before things like the HTT Pléthore were produced. It was a car built for Canadians, by Canadians, and it would have been a success if it weren’t for the decision by Renault to stop sending the parts that the Manic needed. If Manic hadn’t folded, the Manic GT could have competed with the best of the time.

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