Pic of the fabled TRIDENT at BNG.
Discussion
Yes, this is the.... 'is it a TVR ?'.... Trident V8 at the Big Northern Gathering up ere. :)
The car was in lovely condition.
In my 'Fastest Cars in the World' book, to which I referred, as a teenager, they gave top speed as 175mph! :yikes:
That was 30 odd years ago!
Sorry about quality - steam camera again.
[pic]http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/7376/picoftvrtrident2wc.jpg[/pic]
The car was in lovely condition.
In my 'Fastest Cars in the World' book, to which I referred, as a teenager, they gave top speed as 175mph! :yikes:
That was 30 odd years ago!
Sorry about quality - steam camera again.
[pic]http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/7376/picoftvrtrident2wc.jpg[/pic]
Found some 'proper' pictures of the same Trident here.
www.gspovey.demon.co.uk/garage/tvr/gallery/tridentc3.htm
www.gspovey.demon.co.uk/garage/tvr/gallery/tridentc3.htm
A lovely car. Made with both the American Ford V8 engine and V6. One was the Clipper and the other the Venturer.
First drawn on a restaurant tablecloth I believe.
At one time, me and a chum were looking at the possibility of buying the company (I think it was even advertised for sale in Motor Sport Magazine). But we were seriously looking at the rights to the Strada Car Company at the time and bought one of the prototypes.
Alas, my chum's dad decided not to back the venture, so we didn't become motor manufacturers! So me back to being a local government officer and he back to being son of a Vauxhall dealer and manning the pumps!
The story of how Trident came to be a separate marque may not be quite as the TVR pages suggest.
The original Tasmin is more likely to have been influenced by the Maserati Khamsin. The vertical rear window is a good clue. Doesn't the story go that Martin Lilley's girlfriend of the time was called Tamsin?
All evocative stuff!
JJ
First drawn on a restaurant tablecloth I believe.
At one time, me and a chum were looking at the possibility of buying the company (I think it was even advertised for sale in Motor Sport Magazine). But we were seriously looking at the rights to the Strada Car Company at the time and bought one of the prototypes.
Alas, my chum's dad decided not to back the venture, so we didn't become motor manufacturers! So me back to being a local government officer and he back to being son of a Vauxhall dealer and manning the pumps!
The story of how Trident came to be a separate marque may not be quite as the TVR pages suggest.
The original Tasmin is more likely to have been influenced by the Maserati Khamsin. The vertical rear window is a good clue. Doesn't the story go that Martin Lilley's girlfriend of the time was called Tamsin?
All evocative stuff!
JJ
Also a bit of 3000M in there . . .
Good thing they sorted out the prototype.
Awesome car indeed
Trevor Fiore also did the current TVR-logo . . .
Good thing they sorted out the prototype.
Awesome car indeed
Trevor Fiore also did the current TVR-logo . . .
I was talking to my 78 year old grandma a few weeks ago. I was telling her about how I repaired the front on my car with GRP etc etc, and then out of nowhere she told me about how she used to lay up car bodies using GRP when she was younger. I asked her for some more details, and she told me that it was the body for a car called a Trident, and that she used to work in a factory at the back of the old bus station (cattle market) in Ipswich. Apparently this is where the Trident was conceived. You learn something new everyday!!!
Dan.
>> Edited by digga951 on Monday 31st October 12:44
Dan.
>> Edited by digga951 on Monday 31st October 12:44
Yes - the cars were made in Ipswich!
I remember two cars in an open showroom by the bus station with an old brick built shed or industrial unit behind/adjacent.
Don't think the cars were conceived there; built - yes.
I think the remnants of the Trident ptoject ended in the hands of a dealer as the project was never actually acquired by TVR. Something like that anyway.
Ask your gran for more info and any photos.
JJ
I remember two cars in an open showroom by the bus station with an old brick built shed or industrial unit behind/adjacent.
Don't think the cars were conceived there; built - yes.
I think the remnants of the Trident ptoject ended in the hands of a dealer as the project was never actually acquired by TVR. Something like that anyway.
Ask your gran for more info and any photos.
JJ
That is Norman Hawkes's car and it is a GENUINE TVR Trident, built by TVR. The dealer in Ipswich was Bill Last who was a TVR dealer. When TVR went bust in 1965 Bill Last went to the factory and "aquired" the moulds to make Tridents as payment for alledged debts owed to him by TVR. When Martin Lilley took over the company he never pursued the Trident rights too strongly because he had enough other more pressing issues. . The TVR cars were built on Tuscan V8 chassis but the Bill Last cars were built firstly on Big Healey chassis and later on TR6 chassis sTeVeR
>> Edited by thegamekeeper on Monday 31st October 13:54
>> Edited by thegamekeeper on Monday 31st October 13:54
firefox1712 said:
What was Trevor Fiore's real name - from Lancashire wasn't he?
Trevor's real name was Trevor Frost and he was from Sheffield (Yorkshire - not Lancashire!)
He changed his name to Trevor Fiore because your future in car styling in the 60s was far better if you sounded Italian rather than English (although I can't recall meeting many Italians called Trevor...)
The common misconception is that Fiore is Italian for Frost but that's not so: Fiore is Italian for 'flowers', the Italian for frost being 'fiasco'. Somehow a car designed by Trevor Fiasco might not have had quite the same cachet as one designed by Trevor Fiore, although in this case it might have been more appropriate!
The TVR Trident in the pictures is mine and if anyone wants the full and gospel truth they could contact me. Most stories contain some elements of truth but are generally plain wrong!
>> Edited by neh321 on Monday 31st October 14:30
neh321 said:
The TVR Trident in the pictures is mine and if anyone wants the full and gospel truth they could contact me. Most stories contain some elements of truth but are generally plain wrong!
Lovely car! Could I possibly ask for 2 piccies of it for my site please? I have what I believe to be the specs posted here:
www.carfolio.com/specifications/mo
Any errors or omissions that you may spot there I'll gladly fix as well.
Thanks
Ciao
Zak
Edited to add: I have added that the designer was Trevor Fiore (sic), but that isn't up live yet...
>> Edited by zaktoo on Monday 31st October 14:50
www.tridentcarclub.fsnet.co.uk/ says:
"In 1965 Fissore of Italy designed and produced the bodies for four TVR Trident prototypes, three coupes and one convertible. (All of these vehicles still exist, one coupe and the convertible in Britain in running order and the others in USA & Belguim both under restoration.)"
4.7 litre Clipper, Healey Chassis
5.6 litre Clipper
Lot's of usefull info here . . . thanx ;-)
"In 1965 Fissore of Italy designed and produced the bodies for four TVR Trident prototypes, three coupes and one convertible. (All of these vehicles still exist, one coupe and the convertible in Britain in running order and the others in USA & Belguim both under restoration.)"
4.7 litre Clipper, Healey Chassis
5.6 litre Clipper
Lot's of usefull info here . . . thanx ;-)
dinkel said:
Good thing they sorted out the prototype.
Actually, I like the prototype a lot...
dinkel said:
Trevor Fiore also did the current TVR-logo . . .
Has been restyled a bit though...
Page 103, 'TVR The complete history' by John Tipler.
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