Another mystery car

[TooMany2cvs]

galro said:

One thing: I'm fairly certain that the car does not have more than four letters/digits long number plates. Does this tell us anything about the age of the car? I don't think I have seen anything newer than the late '50s with such short number plates from the UK but I don't know what the rules where (if there where any).

It was possible to transfer plates, even back then.

[galro]

TooMany2cvs said:

It was possible to transfer plates, even back then.

Ok. Then I guess it won't tell us much.

[piper]

I have heard back from the owner of the 1957 Arnott Le Mans Coupe, he has told me his car is aluminium bodied and was built and designed by Arnott themselves, apparently it is the only fixed head coupe that Arnott built. He is adamant that the car is definitely not an Arnott. Sadly no further forward...

[galro]

Thanks. I have to say that it does sound weird two unrelated people/companies would make two so odd yet almost identical gullwing designs in the same geographical area in roughly the same period, but all people that I would think could know about it seems to think that was case so I guess I just have to accept that that was actually what happened.

But then I guess he also are of the opinion that this is the same car as the one he own?


Because I have looked at it more closely after you (or was it somebody else?) thought it looked different from his car and it appears to me like it have a shutline for the bonnet between the headlights (i.e. as it in not being a flip-front like his car), but it is hard to say as the quality of the picture is not that great. It also looks like to have something on the side that I would think beloning to the fastening mechanism for the flip-front bonnet, so there is that. Anyway I guess it could have been modified after that picture was taken ...

Edited by galro on Saturday 12th March 20:35

[DaveGoddard]

andyps said:

There are some elements within the Tornado that have similarities too, but none of them match fully.

Given the odd proportions that some Tornado Cars products had, especially their kit cars, you could be on to something there...

[andyps]

I just remembered to ask the only person I know who might have been able to identify the car (my Dad!) And unfortunately he doesn't recognise it.

Will it remain a mystery for ever?

[Lynchie999]

I think the PH community should be allowed to name it... you know like when new stars and elements are discovered....

[threespires]

Good idea

[Dr G]

The gullwinged horse of retro tat?

[Riley Blue]

The JL for Jonathan Livingston.

[Roy C]

[Snoggledog]

I asked my father who said that he knows what it is but can't recall exactly! His first suggestion was an Ogle or Fairthorp but the clamshell bonnet and gull wing doors don't match anything that I can find online. He also said that kit cars in the 60's were unlikely to have curved windscreens unless they were poached from something else. If it's a kit car then it's unlikely that we'll ever find out for certain but he thinks that it could also be a coachbuilt 'special'. If he remembers I'll let you know.

[restoman]

Snoggledog said:

I asked my father who said that he knows what it is but can't recall exactly! His first suggestion was an Ogle or Fairthorp but the clamshell bonnet and gull wing doors don't match anything that I can find online. He also said that kit cars in the 60's were unlikely to have curved windscreens unless they were poached from something else. If it's a kit car then it's unlikely that we'll ever find out for certain but he thinks that it could also be a coachbuilt 'special'. If he remembers I'll let you know.

Isn't that the same as not knowing what it is ?

[piper]

Just a quick bump, very frustrating we are no further forward on this, I followed up on a couple of trails but all ended up not relating to this vehicle. For such a professional unusual looking car, especially in period somebody somewhere must know something!

[TIGA84]

The rebodied Healey by WSM in this thread is awfully close in terms of the details.............

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Maybe a clue, might have been done before though.

[torquespeak]

So I leafed through about 10,000 pages of 1959/1960/1961 Autocar in Haymarket's archive the other day, hoping I'd spot it in a tiny classified somewhere perhaps, but still no joy.

Bizarrely enough, a Twitter user flagged up this oil painting - apparently by a Mr Wallace Trickett - of the photo in question, but with the car removed and a taxi in its place. Weird!

-Ed

[Allan L]

. . . and the buses have become RMs although some of their advertising (and the route numbers) is retained and they are not in quite the same positions!

[uk66fastback]

Interesting! Yet ,as you say, weird.

Mr Trickett has no idea of perspective that's for sure!

[threespires]

torquespeak said:

So I leafed through about 10,000 pages of 1959/1960/1961 Autocar in Haymarket's archive the other day, hoping I'd spot it in a tiny classified somewhere perhaps, but still no joy.

Bizarrely enough, a Twitter user flagged up this oil painting - apparently by a Mr Wallace Trickett - of the photo in question, but with the car removed and a taxi in its place. Weird!

-Ed

That's incredible! Well done..

[threespires]

Mr Trickett's Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/316223488570963/photos/a....