Tornado Cars Ltd was founded in 1957 by Bill Woodhouse and Tony Bullen based in Mill End,

Rickmansworth Rickmansworth () is a town in south-west Hertfordshire, England, located approximately north-west of central London, south-west of Watford and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal ( ...

, Hertfordshire, England. The first model was the Typhoon Sports, available either as a body for fitting to

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

8/10 chassis (following a then current market trend for "specials" based on these mechanical components) or with a Tornado designed and manufactured chassis to which a range of engines and transmissions could be fitted. About 400 Typhoons of all variants are believed to have been produced through to 1962. A similarly styled Tempest model featuring a

Ford Anglia The Ford Anglia is a small family car that was designed and manufactured by Ford UK. It is related to the Ford Prefect and the later Ford Popular. The Anglia name was applied to various models between 1939 and 1967. In total, 1,594,486 Angli ...

105E engine and independent wishbone front suspension and live back axle. This was introduced around 1960–61, but only around 15 were produced. A Competition Tempest was also produced using the same front suspension, but with a highly tuned formula junior engine with twin 38 DCOEs. Fitted with a close-ratio gearbox and having an independent rear axle. Also from a

Formula Junior Formula Junior was an international single-seater auto racing, motor racing category that existed between 1958 and 1963. Devised by Italian motorsport promoter Count Giovanni "Johnny" Giovanni Lurani, Lurani, the formula was created as an ac ...

with in board alfin drums. A Tornado Thunderbolt was also produced using a

Triumph TR3 The Triumph TR3 is a British sports car produced from 1955 to 1962 by the Standard Motor Company of Coventry, England. A traditional Roadster (automobile), open two-seater, the TR3 is an evolution of the company's earlier Triumph TR2, TR2 mode ...

engine and a stronger chassis and suspension. Only one was built. This car survives today alongside the Competition Tempest, with the original constructor. In 1962, the company introduced the Talisman 2+2 coupe carrying an attractively styled

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...

body on a more sophisticated tubular steel chassis with Ford 1,340 cc or 1,500 cc engines in various states of tune. This model was available either in component form or factory finished and was praised for having lively performance combined with good ride and handling characteristics, and a high standard of finish. Cash-flow problems forced the company into liquidation in 1964 after just approx. 186 Talismans had been made. The company was bought in 1963 by John Rex Glyn Bekaert, Jaguar racing driver and friend of

Lofty England Frank Raymond Wilton "Lofty" England (24 August 1911, Finchley, Middlesex – 30 May 1995, Austria) was an engineer and motor company manager from Britain. He rose to fame as the manager of the Jaguar Cars sports car racing team in the 1950s, du ...

(Jaguar). The company was renamed Tornado Cars (1963) Ltd. and the first project was the build of the Talisman V8. This car was based on the shortened and strengthened chassis of a

Daimler SP250 The Daimler SP250 is a sports car built by the Daimler Company, a British manufacturer in Coventry, from 1959 to 1964. It was the last car to be launched by Daimler before its parent company, the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA), sold it to J ...

. Engine, gearbox and even suspension were reused from the Daimler and the Talisman body put on top. The car was presented to Jaguar Ltd. when finished and even taken into consideration by them, codenamed "Jaguar Intercity Car". Handling and performance were found to be brilliant and just two weeks after completion the car had won the Rallye de la Route in France when

Pat Moss Patricia Ann Moss-Carlsson (''née'' Moss; 27 December 1934 – 14 October 2008) was one of the most successful female auto rally drivers of all time, achieving three outright wins and seven podium finishes in international rallies. She was cr ...

only made it to 6th place.

References

The Tornado Register
{{reflist Kit car manufacturers Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England Companies based in Three Rivers District

See also

References