Another mystery car
Discussion
skwdenyer said:
piper said:
Well, it’s hit the National Press, let’s hopes it leads somewhere!
https://apple.news/ARImy0mqHRX6xnDyR-7ie6g
https://apple.news/ARImy0mqHRX6xnDyR-7ie6g
Sun said:
But a handful of experts seemingly ‘nailed’ the mystery by identifying it as a rare Sunbeam Tiger Project TS4 concept car, which seems to only exist as a 3D image.
Oops 
I may be completely wrong here, but I have an idea what this car might be...
I lived in a village in Buckinghamshire and there was an engineer called Ken Ward who had designed and built his own GT car - he called it an 'Aston' after the village he lived in.
I was too young to really appreciate or even ask anything remotely technical about it, but my 55 year memory is of something very much like this car and definitely in a very similar colour.
I believe the chassis was wooden and of his own design and manufacture and running gear, panels, trim and glass came from a wide variety of sources. I seem to remember it being rear engined, which would fit with the low bonnet, but I don't remember what powertrain (or even if I ever knew).
I think he worked mostly in Watford, so it's quite conceivable that he popped into the City from time to time.
I have a feeling the car died and was disposed of not long after I moved to the village in 1967, as I only recall seeing it a few times, but he was a bit of a local legend for building it from scratch. Not sure if I can think of anyone who might remember more about it to ask.
I lived in a village in Buckinghamshire and there was an engineer called Ken Ward who had designed and built his own GT car - he called it an 'Aston' after the village he lived in.
I was too young to really appreciate or even ask anything remotely technical about it, but my 55 year memory is of something very much like this car and definitely in a very similar colour.
I believe the chassis was wooden and of his own design and manufacture and running gear, panels, trim and glass came from a wide variety of sources. I seem to remember it being rear engined, which would fit with the low bonnet, but I don't remember what powertrain (or even if I ever knew).
I think he worked mostly in Watford, so it's quite conceivable that he popped into the City from time to time.
I have a feeling the car died and was disposed of not long after I moved to the village in 1967, as I only recall seeing it a few times, but he was a bit of a local legend for building it from scratch. Not sure if I can think of anyone who might remember more about it to ask.
GTRene said:
so its finally known, its the sunbeam tiger project ts4 concept car
lad I can get that out of my mind :-)
Ha ha ha ha - and where exactly do you shoe-horn a 4.7l V8 under that low bonnet and still get steering gear etc in there?lad I can get that out of my mind :-)
What a load of rubbish - created by AI no doubt?
I'm sure one of the pictures on the wall is of something like a MkII RS2000 front, by the way.
kVA said:
I may be completely wrong here, but I have an idea what this car might be...
I lived in a village in Buckinghamshire and there was an engineer called Ken Ward who had designed and built his own GT car - he called it an 'Aston' after the village he lived in.
I was too young to really appreciate or even ask anything remotely technical about it, but my 55 year memory is of something very much like this car and definitely in a very similar colour.
I believe the chassis was wooden and of his own design and manufacture and running gear, panels, trim and glass came from a wide variety of sources. I seem to remember it being rear engined, which would fit with the low bonnet, but I don't remember what powertrain (or even if I ever knew).
I think he worked mostly in Watford, so it's quite conceivable that he popped into the City from time to time.
I have a feeling the car died and was disposed of not long after I moved to the village in 1967, as I only recall seeing it a few times, but he was a bit of a local legend for building it from scratch. Not sure if I can think of anyone who might remember more about it to ask.
This is by far the most credible scenario.I lived in a village in Buckinghamshire and there was an engineer called Ken Ward who had designed and built his own GT car - he called it an 'Aston' after the village he lived in.
I was too young to really appreciate or even ask anything remotely technical about it, but my 55 year memory is of something very much like this car and definitely in a very similar colour.
I believe the chassis was wooden and of his own design and manufacture and running gear, panels, trim and glass came from a wide variety of sources. I seem to remember it being rear engined, which would fit with the low bonnet, but I don't remember what powertrain (or even if I ever knew).
I think he worked mostly in Watford, so it's quite conceivable that he popped into the City from time to time.
I have a feeling the car died and was disposed of not long after I moved to the village in 1967, as I only recall seeing it a few times, but he was a bit of a local legend for building it from scratch. Not sure if I can think of anyone who might remember more about it to ask.
Yertis said:
kVA said:
I may be completely wrong here, but I have an idea what this car might be...
I lived in a village in Buckinghamshire and there was an engineer called Ken Ward who had designed and built his own GT car - he called it an 'Aston' after the village he lived in.
I was too young to really appreciate or even ask anything remotely technical about it, but my 55 year memory is of something very much like this car and definitely in a very similar colour.
I believe the chassis was wooden and of his own design and manufacture and running gear, panels, trim and glass came from a wide variety of sources. I seem to remember it being rear engined, which would fit with the low bonnet, but I don't remember what powertrain (or even if I ever knew).
I think he worked mostly in Watford, so it's quite conceivable that he popped into the City from time to time.
I have a feeling the car died and was disposed of not long after I moved to the village in 1967, as I only recall seeing it a few times, but he was a bit of a local legend for building it from scratch. Not sure if I can think of anyone who might remember more about it to ask.
This is by far the most credible scenario.I lived in a village in Buckinghamshire and there was an engineer called Ken Ward who had designed and built his own GT car - he called it an 'Aston' after the village he lived in.
I was too young to really appreciate or even ask anything remotely technical about it, but my 55 year memory is of something very much like this car and definitely in a very similar colour.
I believe the chassis was wooden and of his own design and manufacture and running gear, panels, trim and glass came from a wide variety of sources. I seem to remember it being rear engined, which would fit with the low bonnet, but I don't remember what powertrain (or even if I ever knew).
I think he worked mostly in Watford, so it's quite conceivable that he popped into the City from time to time.
I have a feeling the car died and was disposed of not long after I moved to the village in 1967, as I only recall seeing it a few times, but he was a bit of a local legend for building it from scratch. Not sure if I can think of anyone who might remember more about it to ask.
swisstoni said:
Yertis said:
kVA said:
I may be completely wrong here, but I have an idea what this car might be...
I lived in a village in Buckinghamshire and there was an engineer called Ken Ward who had designed and built his own GT car - he called it an 'Aston' after the village he lived in.
I was too young to really appreciate or even ask anything remotely technical about it, but my 55 year memory is of something very much like this car and definitely in a very similar colour.
I believe the chassis was wooden and of his own design and manufacture and running gear, panels, trim and glass came from a wide variety of sources. I seem to remember it being rear engined, which would fit with the low bonnet, but I don't remember what powertrain (or even if I ever knew).
I think he worked mostly in Watford, so it's quite conceivable that he popped into the City from time to time.
I have a feeling the car died and was disposed of not long after I moved to the village in 1967, as I only recall seeing it a few times, but he was a bit of a local legend for building it from scratch. Not sure if I can think of anyone who might remember more about it to ask.
This is by far the most credible scenario.I lived in a village in Buckinghamshire and there was an engineer called Ken Ward who had designed and built his own GT car - he called it an 'Aston' after the village he lived in.
I was too young to really appreciate or even ask anything remotely technical about it, but my 55 year memory is of something very much like this car and definitely in a very similar colour.
I believe the chassis was wooden and of his own design and manufacture and running gear, panels, trim and glass came from a wide variety of sources. I seem to remember it being rear engined, which would fit with the low bonnet, but I don't remember what powertrain (or even if I ever knew).
I think he worked mostly in Watford, so it's quite conceivable that he popped into the City from time to time.
I have a feeling the car died and was disposed of not long after I moved to the village in 1967, as I only recall seeing it a few times, but he was a bit of a local legend for building it from scratch. Not sure if I can think of anyone who might remember more about it to ask.
kVA said:
Ha ha ha ha - and where exactly do you shoe-horn a 4.7l V8 under that low bonnet and still get steering gear etc in there?
What a load of rubbish - created by AI no doubt?
I'm sure one of the pictures on the wall is of something like a MkII RS2000 front, by the way.
I think there's an amount of tongue in cheek, which has unfortunately been missed by some people who've found their way here from some Facebook postings about the car and presume that the mystery has been solved.What a load of rubbish - created by AI no doubt?
I'm sure one of the pictures on the wall is of something like a MkII RS2000 front, by the way.
Isn't that Daytona about five years later than the original photograph as well, which one might presume is later than the clay model would have been? To say nothing of the quality of the image.
That TS4 thing is completely fictional. It's a computer render of a virtual model that was made from the photo of the car by someone who used to be on this forum who was determined to 'prove' that his idea that it was based on a Sunbeam was correct. He said he was even going to get a real Sunbeam and convert it into the car in the photo.
skwdenyer said:
Most villages have a Facebook page / group (or more than one!) and local history enthusiasts. So that would be a place to try posting for those with long memories.
That's exactly what I did and sadly it turns out it isn't Ken Ward's car in the picture, as it's the wrong colour (my memory failed me and his was British Racing Green when I saw it - although it was Red originally, apparently.However, it does seem that it was a glass fibre body and a few of them were made... Trying to track down the make and also trying to find a photo.
Back to the drawing board!
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