Basil Green Motors (VIN: BG) is a formercar manufacturer andracing team which is located inEdenvale, Gauteng nearJohannesburg, South Africa. The company has specialised inFord vehicles, in which the manufacturer's models are recognised by the brand namePerana added to the model name. The name Perana is a deliberate misspelling, asPiranha already had been protected. Currently the company is active as a dealer of Ford andMazda vehicles.
Founded in 1967 byBasil Green the company dealt withengine tuning of Ford vehicles and participated in a variety of races as racing team. After winning several races the Ford Motor Company became aware of the company and used the company for some of the South African models as a kind of in-house tuner.
| Gunston Cortina | |
|---|---|
 Ford Cortina Gunston Perana | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Basil Green Motors |
| Production | 1967–1972 |
| Assembly | South Africa |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 4-doorsaloon |
The first model of the manufacturer was the Ford Cortina Perana V6, which was launched in 1967 as a tuning model.Production began one year later in the summer.Grosvenor Motors, then the largest Ford dealer in South Africa, took over the sales. The price was 2950Rand. The standard version was based on theFord Cortina Mk II GT. For the units ordered by theGunston Cigarette Company, the Ford Cortina XL was used as basis. TheFord Essex engine with 2994 cc was used as engine. This was taken from theFord Zephyr as well as the powertrain. After the conversion and lowering the Cortina Perana V6 was 64 kg heavier than the Ford standard model. Recognition features of the Cortina Perana V6 are a black strip over the bonnet, a black front grille and black coloured rims.
| Escort Perana | |
|---|---|
 Ford Escort Perana | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Basil Green Motors |
| Production | 1968 – ? |
| Assembly | South Africa |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 2-doorsaloon |
The second model of the manufacturer was 1968 the sports carFord EscortPerana. Ford wanted to use the RS 1600, but theCosworth BDA engine proved too complex for South Africa. So Basil Green made new plans and fitted the four cylinder engine of theFord Pinto.
The removed RS 1600 engines Basil Green sold for 695Rand as ideal for among others the Escort.
| Capri Perana | |
|---|---|
 Ford Capri Perana V8 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Ford of South Africa |
| Production | 1969–1973 |
| Assembly | South Africa |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | Coupé |
The next model, theFord Capri Perana came out in 1969 as V6 version. About 20 units of this model were built; the top speed was 186 km/h. As Ford offered the Essex engine as standard from 1970 on, Basil Green had to take a more powerful engine. So he replaced the V6 with theWindsor V8 of theFord Mustang.
Technically the Capri Perana was a mix of the AustralianFord Falcon (XW) and the American Ford Mustang. It was sold with a 4 speedFord Toploader transmission and the 3 speedC4automatic transmission. In the beginning the price for this car was 4,450 Rand.
Top speed was 228 km/h, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h was possible in 6.7 seconds (automatic version 7.0 sec).
Officially the Capri Perana was only sold in "Bright Yellow" and "Piri Piri Red", but some cars were painted in different colours, for example Basil Green's Perana naturally was green.
The cars were manufactured by Ford of South Africa (a subsidiary of theFord Motor Company of Canada). Production ended in 1973.
| Gunston Perana | |
|---|---|
 Gunston Perana V8 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Basil Green Motors |
| Production | 1969 – ? |
| Assembly | South Africa |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | Coupé |
Based on the Capri Perana V8 racing cars were built for theSouth African Saloon Car Championship. The Z 181 was the onlyGroup 5 car and won 13 of 14 races in the 1970 season and topped the lap records on every course.
After a change of the rules to stop this dominance, Basil Green built 6 cars for theGroup 2. One of these cars won the championship in 1971, the A2 in 1972.
Z 181 and A2 were sponsored by the Gunston Cigarette Company, while the others were driven by private drivers. Technical modifications were made, especially to the engine. It received 4x48 down draft twin chokeWeber carburetors and could muster 400 hp. Top speed was more than 250 km/h. Brakes stayed the same as in V6 Capris, except that racing pads were built in. C-shaped single leaf springs were used at the rear axle to allow room for the 14.5" rims.
Z 181 is owned by the Scribante family in South Africa. A2 was found inRhodesia and rebuilt by a collector nearCape Town. One of the other cars had an accident at theKyalami Grand Prix Circuit with Basil Green at the wheel and were never rebuilt. What happened to the other cars is not known.
When the Cortina Mk III came out Basil Green brought the second generation of the Cortina Perana V6 on the South-African market in 1972. These models, also known asCortina Big Six, got the same engines as their predecessors.
| Granada V8 | |
|---|---|
 Ford Granada V8 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Basil Green Motors |
| Production | 1973–1977 |
| Assembly | South Africa |
Introduced in 1973 theFord Granada V8 has been the only model by Basil Green Motors not getting the namePerana. The engine was the Windsor V8 with 302 cui (5 litres). Transmission has been automatic or manual. With a top speed of 207 km/h and an acceleration of 7.8 seconds from stand to 100 km/h the car became the favourite of Ford's chairmanLee Iacocca. Ford Cologne bought two of these cars to explore if they were suitable for the European market. The oil price shock ended these plans.
After years without a change in the model range Basil Green Motors presented the Escort XR3 in 1980. For the first time in the corporate history the performance increase was not by a change of the engine but classic tuning like another carburettor. Maximum speed of the Perana XR3 was 183 km/h.
2 years later Basil Green Motors presented theFord Sapphire Perana. A few years later this car was produced bySamcor to satisfy the demand. The Sapphire was available as a 3.0 litre- (222 km/h) and a 3.4-litre- (236 km/h) version. The Sapphire 3.4 was produced byJT Developments.
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