Year and place: 1959-

Svenharry Åkesson is one of the few Swedish car constructors whose work has resulted in lots of cars.
     
(In spring of 2002 Åkesson sent me several photos and press cuttings (sometimes contradictionary about the Spider cars). I can't guarantee that I've sorted it out correctly...)

The racing cars
In 1959 Svenharry Åkesson began building his first car, a Formula Junior racing car. After a while Åkesson understood that his car would become too heavy, so it wasn't finished.

The next project started in the autumn of 1961, another Formula Junior racing car. It was named Spider Mark I. The 3,5 metre long car had a wheel base of 2,2 metres, and was only 77 centimetres at the highest point. It was powered by a BMC-A engine, had a Volkswagen gearbox, steering from Lloyd and rebuilt brakes from Fiat.

In the autumn of 1962 the improved Mark II began to take shape. This too used a BMC-A engine, and according to one source the engines in the cars hadn't lived up to the expectations.

The Spider Mark III was finished in 1965. Once again it had a BMC-A engine, this time a Speedwell-trimmed one. Later came Mark IV. Åkesson kept on producing racing cars, one each year for himself - and some for others. Some 20 cars were made.

During the Formula Junior era there were some 30-40 drivers in Sweden. There were not so many tracks, but races were held also in the winter. Often Åkesson got good results, when he weren't unlucky with breakdowns.

Later, in the early 80s, his son was a teenager almost 18 years old - the age when swedes can get a driving license. So, Åkesson began building a car for his son.

Silver Hawk
The car was finished in 1983 and named Silver Hawk. A Volkswagen 1600 chassis, with engine, was rebuilt and got a sleek streamlined plastic coupé body. Only 107 centimetres high. The roof over the chairs could be removed, and the head lights were retractable.

The Silver Hawk was displayed at a kit car exhibition in Uppsala (Sweden) in 1983, and a number of the visitors were interested in buying the car. So, Åkesson found a company where the cars could be built - Plastinova in Landskrona.

The cars were sold with or without the steel tube chassis that Åkesson had designed. Later chassis were made for a mid-mounted engine - and when the buyer told what engine, suspension et cetera would be used, the manufacturer told where to place the mounts to get good road handling.

Some 20 buyers bought the car with the chassis, some made their own chassis, and the rest of the 'round 330 manufactured bodies were fitted on various chassis. A variation of engines were used, among others a Cadillac V8.

In 1986 Åkesson sold the manufacturing rights to a person in Finland. In 1997 cars still were manufactured.

Sethera
After having ended the Silver Hawk business, Åkesson had ideas of improvements for the car. So, in 1987 his next car was finished. (It was named Sethera in a Swedish car magazine contest, which got 1.102 name proposals.)

The body was built as three parts: the middle section, the front that could be tilted forward, and the rear that could be tilted backwards. Its doors opened forward/upward. The 418 cm long composite body weighed 100 kg.

Sethera too went into serial production, manufactured by Sh-Design in Landskrona. It was built to be mounted on a Volkswagen chassis, but was also sold with a special chassis that could take care of a more powerful engine.

Some 200 Sethera were built, most of them sold in Sweden.

Sethera Mk 1
At a car exhibition in Britain in 1989, Åkesson met a frenchman who wanted to sell the Sethera in the rest of Europe. Since Ford parts were easier to find cheap on the Continent of Europe, the car was modified to use more Ford parts. It was named Sethera Mk 1.

A few Sethera Mk 1 were manufactured in Sweden, before the moulds were sold to a company in the Netherlands in 1991. The production were still going on in 1997.

Outside Sweden, also complete Sethera Mk 1s were built. Often with engine and gearbox from Audi 100.

Sethera Falcon
Åkesson was then hired to make the drawings for an extreme road racer. It were to be the most powerful car ever built, counted on the relation between weight and horsepowers: around 700 kg and 380 hp should give it a top speed of over 360 km/h.

The project was called Sethera Falcon. Unfortunately the project was put on ice after a while.

Then the Koenigsegg family stepped in, bought the project and paid to get the prototype finished. So, the Sethera Falcon was the forerunner, or prototype, to the "Koenigsegg CC". (See Koenigsegg about that car.)

Cobra
In 1995 Åkesson finished his next car, a Cobra, built together with his son Per-Gunnar. The body was made to look like the AC Cobra. It got a 350hp Chevrolet V8, which gives the 700 kg car a good acceleration. Only one Cobra was planned.

(I wonder what has happened in Åkessons garage since then...)

Photos:
Spider
Silver Hawk   being built   finished cars
Sethera   being built   finished cars
Sethera Falcon

Photos from Svenharry Åkesson March 2002.
2002-06-16. www.konditori100.se. Text/pictures: Arne Granfoss © (if not other named). Prod: AG Informice