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THE
MALINS,
TEMPEST
THE
TORNADO TEMPEST
The company was started by friends Bill Woodhouse and Tony Bullen. Early Development was carried out at Catherstone in the West Country, a move was soon made to a farm in Chipperfield, Herts.
The
first model produced was the Typhoon which was designed to turn an old
Ford 10 into a sleek sports car. This was shown to the press at Durrants,
Croxley Green, in August 1958.
Production properly got underway at 90 Uxbridge Rd, Mill End,
Ricksmanworth, in an old polythene molding works next door to the Smiths
Coach Park. Eric Martin arrived to supervise the workshop shortly after
the move.
The
Typhoon sold well with over 300 produced and
by 1960 were ready to expand the model range.The Thunderbolt, Tempest
and the Sports brake were added. The same year saw Tornado Cars policy
of motor sport involvement pay dividends when they won the 750 Motor
Clubs' Six Hour Handicap Relay Race at Silverstone. December 1961 marked
the introduction of the talisman GT, an attractive four seats sports
saloon. This models specification being much influenced by new Director
Colin Hextall. The team of Talisman gave the factory it's second victory
in the Six Hour Relay Race in 1963. At it's peak Tornado Cars employed
60 people and was a major employer in the Mill End area. John Bekaert,
a renowned racing driver at the time, bought the company in 1963. A
new model was introduced, the Tornado
Fiat 600D GT which went into limited production alongside the Talisman.
However, quality production of cars came to an end in 1964. A new owner,
"Bert" Wood, planned relocation to Devon or Scotland and to restart
production, this did not happen however and subsequently built the company
up to be a well respected body work repair specialist. A tradition carried
on by his son Alan until closure in 1986. The Uxbridge Rd site is now
owned by Fairway Tyre Services who occupy a modern building which they
have named "Tornado House" as a tribute to these exciting cars.
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CHECK
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| The Historic photos at the photo gallery. | |
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| Tornado Fiat 600D GT which went into limited production alongside the Talisman | |
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