First appearance "Trapped in the Sky" Class Customised Rolls-Royce | Launched 2065 | |
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Affiliation Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward
International Rescue References Bleathman, Graham (2000). Thunderbirds FAB Cross-Sections. London: Carlton Books. pp. 22–3. ISBN 978-1-84222-091-7. Maximum speed >200 miles per hour (320 km/h)
50 knots (93 km/h; 58 mph) (on water) | ||
FAB 1 is a pink, six-wheeled car seen in the 1960s British science-fiction television series Thunderbirds, its three film adaptations, and the reboot TV series Thunderbirds Are Go.
Contents
1960s TV series and films
In the original Thunderbirds (1965–66), as well as the feature films Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968), FAB 1 is depicted as a modified Rolls-Royce. Owned by International Rescue agent Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, the car is usually driven by her butler, Parker. The driver sits in a central position at the front of the passenger compartment, which is covered by a bulletproof bubble canopy.
FAB 1 was modified by Brains, the inventor of the Thunderbirds machines, to include weaponry and gadgetry such as front- and back-mounted machine guns (although grappling hooks are seen to shoot out of the rear in the episode "The Perils of Penelope"). The car is also equipped with a smoke screen canister and oil slick dispenser, extendable tyre-studs (for increased traction), and hydrofoils (or outriggers; for travel on water and snow, respectively).
Background
On the selection of the car's make, series co-creator Gerry Anderson explained: "considering [Penelope's] personality, and the role she played in International Rescue, it could only be a Rolls-Royce." A six-wheel drive was incorporated into the design to distinguish the appearance from that of contemporary vehicles. Measuring seven feet (2.1 m) in length, the plywood model (which was equipped with fully functional steering and headlights) cost £2,500 to build in 1964; post-decimalisation, this is equivalent to £30,000.
Derek Meddings, the special effects director, remembered FAB 1 for its "outrageous styling, which bore no resemblance to any Rolls-Royce ever produced". Since it was the most expensive prop to be made for the series, special security protocols were followed on-set. Rolls-Royce supervised the model's sculpting and also supplied AP Films with a genuine radiator grille, complete with Spirit of Ecstasy ornament, costing £100. This was used in close-up shots (such as the machine guns firing, and a stock photograph of the car's front that appears in the series' closing credits).
2004 film
In the 2004 live-action film, Thunderbirds, FAB 1 is still seen to be pink and powered by six-wheel drive. Its glass canopy is tinted, and it is now capable of flight in addition to travel on land and sea. Prior to flight, the car's boot panels open, exposing the gas turbine engine; the wings then extend from the undercarriage. During flight, the rear set of wheels folds into the main vehicle body to prevent unnecessary drag. The passenger compartment doubles as a life raft in the event of an emergency at sea, while buoyancy tanks hidden in the body panelling ensure that the compartment remains afloat after it has broken away from the rest of the vehicle.
Background
Ford Motor Company supplied the full-sized prop, which was a heavily modified, 11th-generation Ford Thunderbird. The vehicle was fully functional and roadworthy, and appeared in a segment of the motoring TV series Top Gear, during which it was road-tested by James May. May noted that it was not the most practical of cars, its excessive length making it difficult to drive through small English villages. The car is currently displayed at the Heritage Motor Centre in Warwickshire. The UK registration mark FAB 1, originally issued in July 1946 and later assigned to a white Jaguar XJ6 before the number was then purchased by broadcaster Chris Evans in 2012 for the sum of £75,000. FAB 1 was temporarily assigned to a Rolls Royce Ghost during 2013. Rolls Royce donated the bespoke pink vehicle for a year to be used for breast cancer awareness. As of 2016 a check of the DVLA Car Tax records shows the registration is once again assigned to a Rolls Royce but this time a black, September 2012 year model, Phantom.
Replica vehicles
In 1966, a full-sized replica of FAB 1, based on a "chinese six" (four front, two back) Bedford Duple Vega coach chassis, was built to transport writers-producers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson to the premiere of Thunderbirds Are Go in London. It was constructed by the company Toby Baxter Contracts in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire under Sylvia's supervision.
The replica was fitted with a Bedford six-cylinder petrol engine, connected to a two-speed Powerglide gearbox. The axles were widened to fit the width of the body, which was a steel-covered framework "moulded" with filler to simulate the angles of the vehicle as seen in the TV series and films. The wheels were supplied by Land Rover, and the aluminium bumpers by a specialist welding company. The replica's perspex sides lifted up on screws, while the sides of the body folded out and under the vehicle to form a step. The radiator grille, which was not vertical as in standard Rolls-Royce models, was custom-built and inclined forwards at the top, complete with moveable slats and imitation machine gun. Since a custom number plate with the registration "FAB 1" had already been issued, the replica incorporated revolving plates, which read "FAB 1" on one side and gave the real registration number on the other.
On the night of the premiere, the replica broke down after a few hundred yards and the Andersons were forced to make the rest of the journey by taxi. Rolls-Royce were not impressed by the car, which had a poorly built fibreglass body, and made several attempts to purchase it and have it destroyed. For a period, the company were successful in forcing the removal of the genuine RR radiator grille, which was replaced by a version bearing the initials "LP". The vehicle survived and, after a full restoration, was installed at the Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswick, Cumbria. In early 2013, it was sold to the Dezer Car Museum in Miami, Florida.
Gerry Anderson would later commission the construction of a second, full-sized FAB 1 replica. This vehicle was a modified Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit, with the bonnet line extended to house the six-wheel drive, complemented by double Ackermann steering. It did not have the bubble canopy or centre-mounted steering of the original, and apart from the pink paint job and re-trim, the passenger compartment was stock Rolls-Royce. This model attended Anderson's funeral on 13 January 2013.
FAB 2 and FAB 3
FAB 2, Lady Penelope's private yacht appears in the Thunderbirds episode "The Man From MI.5". At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Parker has lost the ship in a game of poker. FAB 3 is Penelope's racehorse. It is kept at Ascot Stables and is the winner of many derby races.