The Hartnett was an automobile that was produced by the Hartnett Motor Company in Australia from 1951 to 1952. Company formation Laurence Hartnett, former Managing Director of General Motors-Holden (GMH), was approached in 1948 by Prime Minister Ben Chifley regarding the establishment of a domestic motor manufacturing company to challenge the dominance of GMH in the Australian market. The two met on 29 November with the Commonwealth Government favouring the project and being prepared to provide financial assistance. Hartnett announced the intention to establish Hartnett Motor Company on 7 February 1949 in Chifley's presence. The original plan was to sell 5,000 cars in the first year of production and 10,000 in each subsequent year. A prospectus was issued on 29 August and Hartnett Motor Company was formed on 31 August. Manufacturing site Throughout 1949 there was competition from the state governments to attract the manufacturing site of the company. The Government of Victoria and Frankston City Council were the favoured option throughout the year. In March 1950 the company announced that production would begin in England. They stated that as material and labour became more plentiful in Australia they would move closer to the objective of making the whole car in Australia. In May 1950 the company announced that all tools, gauges and jigs were ready at a plant in Geelong (Victoria). In November 1951 Hartnett company director Mr N Goldberg revealed that it had transferred the company production centre from Sydney to Melbourne. In March 1952 the first Hartnett car produced in Australia was dispatched from its production facility in Frankston. Engine development In May 1950 the company announced that it had signed a £500,000 contract with FM Aspin and Co of Bury, England to manufacture and supply engines and gearboxes. An unspecified initial consignment was due to be delivered to Australia in August 1950 with a further 500 engines per month thereafter. Design Plans were devised to build a small front wheel drive car based on a prototype two door sedan developed by French designer Jean Grégoire. The design of the original Gregorie vehicle had been developed into three separate prototypes using the same basic engineering, but with different body styling. The "Panhard" version and the "Simca" version were developed by French interests. The "Kendall" version was adopted in England by Grantham Productions, a company set up to manufacture the car by Denis Kendall who was a Member