Tornado Cars

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Logo of Tornado Cars Ltd.
emblem
Tornado Talisman Coupé from 1962
Front view
Rear view

The Tornado Cars Ltd. was a British car manufacturer based in Rickmansworth (Hertfordshire) from 1958 to 1964 .

description

From 1958 to 1961 the Typhoon , Tempest and Thunderbolt were offered as kit cars . These models were light sports cars with various Ford four-cylinder engines with displacements between 0.95 l and 2.0 l.

The Tornado Sportsbrake caused a sensation as a shooting brake , a completely new synthesis of sports car and station wagon. What the English trade press commented on as a curiosity around 1960 was copied a little later by well-known car manufacturers such as Aston Martin, and even marketed quite successfully by Reliant as Scimitar and Volvo as P1800 ES (Snow White's coffin).

In December 1961, the company presented the Coupé Talisman , which was built in various versions until 1964. These cars with a GRP body were also equipped with Ford four-cylinder engines with a displacement of 1.35 l or 1.5 l. Upon request, these vehicles were also available as kit cars. The talisman was very popular with private drivers in English club racing, because the Ford Cortina engines used at the time could be easily tuned with modification components from Cosworth . A comprehensive test report on the Tornado Talisman in the magazine Auto, Motor und Sport (issue 23 from 1962) caused modest publicity in Germany.

Production ended in 1964.

A Tornado Typhoon from 1958 was offered at auction on April 10, 2019, but was not auctioned with a maximum bid of the equivalent of 12,980 euros .

Models

model Construction period cylinder Displacement power at speed wheelbase
Typhoon Sportsbrake 1958-1961 4 row 1172 cc 36 bhp (26.5 kW) 4500 min −1 2184 mm
Thunderbolt Sportsbrake 1959-1961 4 row 1991 cc 100 bhp (74 kW) 5000 min −1 2184 mm
Thunderbolt 1959-1961 4 row 1703 cc 59 bhp (43 kW) 4200 min −1 2184-2540 mm
Tempest Sportsbrake 1959-1961 4 row 997 cc 39 bhp (29 kW) 5000 min −1 2184 mm
Tempest 1959-1961 4 row 948 cc 34 bhp (25 kW) 4800 min -1 2184-2540 mm
Talisman Tourer GT 1961–1962 4 row 1340 cc 55 bhp (40 kW) 4900 min -1 2407 mm
Talisman GT 1961-1963 4 row 1340 cc 75 bhp (55 kW) 5500 min -1 2407 mm
Talisman Tourer 1963-1964 4 row 1498 cc 60 bhp (44 kW) 4600 min −1 2407 mm
Talisman GT 1963-1964 4 row 1498 cc 85 bhp (62.5 kW) 5200 min -1 2407 mm

literature

  • David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975. Veloce Publishing plc., Dorchester 1999, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 .

Web links

Commons : Tornado Cars  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Motor Klassik , issue 6/2019, p. 62.