Showing posts with label 16. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 16. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Sunday, 16 October 2011
A Clockwork Orange - Adams Probe 16 AB/4
For anyone, like me, who was a kid during the fierce competition to conquer space through the 1960's part of the vision for the future included mandatory white jump suits, jet packs and incredibly cool cars like the Adams Probe 16 seen here at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this year.
This design came about as a result of an investigation into the extremes of styling by Dennis and Peter Adams who are credited as having introducing a number of modifications to the Marcos GT which became the Marcos Fastback GT.
With a roof line at just 34" above the ground, that is a full 6" shorter than the Le Mans winning Ford GT 40 which took it's name from it's 40" height, access to the Probe 16 is effected through a slide back glass roof panel.
It would appear that the three Probe 16's were manufactured at the the old Marcos factory at Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, power came from a mid mounted 4 cylinder motor sourced from, an at the time very common, front wheel drive Austin 1800.
Winning the award for the best British Styling Exercise at the London Motor Show in 1969 did not raise the public profile of this vehicle enough for it to go into volume production. Though four similar Probe 2001's were manufactured by the Probe Motor Company and WT Nugent Engineering between 1970 and 1972. Up to 48 further vehicles which used some of the Probe 16 body moulds are thought to have been built under the Centaur brand.
Of the three original Probe 16's one went to Wichita Lineman singer song writer Jim Webb, by way of complete contrast another Probe 16 went to Sunshine Of Your Love singer song writer Jack Bruce. Jack passed his Probe 16 on to Mountain drummer on the Nantucket Sleigh Ride Cody Laing.
However AB/4 seen here is arguably the most famous of the trio of Probe 16's having played the role of Durango 95 in the Stanley Kubric ultra violence shock flic A Clockwork Orange. After its flirtation with the silver screen AB/4 spent many years in the Pollock Auto Showcase.
AB/4 still painted it's original yellow, was repatriated in 1987 and featured in the pseudo comedy television series Top Gear at the beginning of the century.
More detailed information about all of the Probe 16 related cars can be found on the probe2001.com website, on the linked page some photos of AB/4 can be seen of the car being driven around Brands Hatch. Thanks to The Nostalgia Forum reader MCS the driver of the car at Brands Hatch has been identified as most likely being Ray Allen who immortalised his place in the annals of motor racing history for winning the worlds very first Formula Ford race.
My thanks to MCS abd everyone else who contributed to the Adams Probe 16 thread at The Nostalgia Forum.
Thanks for joining me on this A Clockwork Orange edition of 'Gettin' a li'l psycho on tyres', I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
POST SCRIPT, this will be my last daily post from this site all future daily posts will be made from a new dedicated site, linked here, with the hope that it will be much easier to leave comments than is presently possible with this particular web page.
I really can't thank everyone who has contributed to the success of this particular page enough, however I hope moving on to the new GALPOT site serves as a small token of my appreciation for now. Please do not forget to come back here now !
This design came about as a result of an investigation into the extremes of styling by Dennis and Peter Adams who are credited as having introducing a number of modifications to the Marcos GT which became the Marcos Fastback GT.
With a roof line at just 34" above the ground, that is a full 6" shorter than the Le Mans winning Ford GT 40 which took it's name from it's 40" height, access to the Probe 16 is effected through a slide back glass roof panel.
It would appear that the three Probe 16's were manufactured at the the old Marcos factory at Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire, power came from a mid mounted 4 cylinder motor sourced from, an at the time very common, front wheel drive Austin 1800.
Winning the award for the best British Styling Exercise at the London Motor Show in 1969 did not raise the public profile of this vehicle enough for it to go into volume production. Though four similar Probe 2001's were manufactured by the Probe Motor Company and WT Nugent Engineering between 1970 and 1972. Up to 48 further vehicles which used some of the Probe 16 body moulds are thought to have been built under the Centaur brand.
Of the three original Probe 16's one went to Wichita Lineman singer song writer Jim Webb, by way of complete contrast another Probe 16 went to Sunshine Of Your Love singer song writer Jack Bruce. Jack passed his Probe 16 on to Mountain drummer on the Nantucket Sleigh Ride Cody Laing.
However AB/4 seen here is arguably the most famous of the trio of Probe 16's having played the role of Durango 95 in the Stanley Kubric ultra violence shock flic A Clockwork Orange. After its flirtation with the silver screen AB/4 spent many years in the Pollock Auto Showcase.
AB/4 still painted it's original yellow, was repatriated in 1987 and featured in the pseudo comedy television series Top Gear at the beginning of the century.
More detailed information about all of the Probe 16 related cars can be found on the probe2001.com website, on the linked page some photos of AB/4 can be seen of the car being driven around Brands Hatch. Thanks to The Nostalgia Forum reader MCS the driver of the car at Brands Hatch has been identified as most likely being Ray Allen who immortalised his place in the annals of motor racing history for winning the worlds very first Formula Ford race.
My thanks to MCS abd everyone else who contributed to the Adams Probe 16 thread at The Nostalgia Forum.
Thanks for joining me on this A Clockwork Orange edition of 'Gettin' a li'l psycho on tyres', I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
POST SCRIPT, this will be my last daily post from this site all future daily posts will be made from a new dedicated site, linked here, with the hope that it will be much easier to leave comments than is presently possible with this particular web page.
I really can't thank everyone who has contributed to the success of this particular page enough, however I hope moving on to the new GALPOT site serves as a small token of my appreciation for now. Please do not forget to come back here now !
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Interim Model - Rover 75 P3
In 1878 the Rover Company was founded as Starley & Sutton Co. of Coventry which by 1885 had developed the template for the modern bicycle in the form of the Rover Safety Bicycle.
From 1904 still using the Rover Marque brand the company started building motor cars and motorcycles.
After World War 2 Rover moved to it's Solihull factory where it had engaged in building aircraft for the war effort, since it's car plant in Coventry had been wiped out by bombing during the hostilities. The interim P3, launched in 1948, was Rovers first post war model.
The Rover 75 version of the P3 was powered by a novel new six cylinder motor that featured overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves that had been developed prior to the commencement of hostilities in 1939.
The styling combined elements of the pre war Rover 12 and 16 but only the Rover 12 wings and bonnet were carried over from the narrower earlier designs.
The unitary monocoque design, requiring no independent chassis, featured independent front suspension and hybrid hydraulic / mechanical brakes.
This the 75 body style seen here was known as a light six saloon and cost a relatively expensive £1106, £ 26 more than the similar 4 cylinder 'Sports Saloon' known as the Rover 60.
From 1948 - 1949 7,837 Rover 75's were produced before the all new P4 vehicle was introduced.
The engine and gearbox of the P3 formed the basis of the very first agricultural all terrain 'Land Rover' conceived in 1947. Note the vehicle above built in times of material austerity features a cyclops third head light but only one wing mirror.
This particular P3 can be seen at the Atwell Wilson Motor Museum in Calne.
Thanks for joining me on this 'overhead and side valve' edition of 'Gettin' a lil psycho on tyres', I hope you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
From 1904 still using the Rover Marque brand the company started building motor cars and motorcycles.
After World War 2 Rover moved to it's Solihull factory where it had engaged in building aircraft for the war effort, since it's car plant in Coventry had been wiped out by bombing during the hostilities. The interim P3, launched in 1948, was Rovers first post war model.
The Rover 75 version of the P3 was powered by a novel new six cylinder motor that featured overhead inlet valves and side exhaust valves that had been developed prior to the commencement of hostilities in 1939.
The styling combined elements of the pre war Rover 12 and 16 but only the Rover 12 wings and bonnet were carried over from the narrower earlier designs.
The unitary monocoque design, requiring no independent chassis, featured independent front suspension and hybrid hydraulic / mechanical brakes.
This the 75 body style seen here was known as a light six saloon and cost a relatively expensive £1106, £ 26 more than the similar 4 cylinder 'Sports Saloon' known as the Rover 60.
From 1948 - 1949 7,837 Rover 75's were produced before the all new P4 vehicle was introduced.
The engine and gearbox of the P3 formed the basis of the very first agricultural all terrain 'Land Rover' conceived in 1947. Note the vehicle above built in times of material austerity features a cyclops third head light but only one wing mirror.
This particular P3 can be seen at the Atwell Wilson Motor Museum in Calne.
Thanks for joining me on this 'overhead and side valve' edition of 'Gettin' a lil psycho on tyres', I hope you'll join me again tomorrow. Don't forget to come back now !
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