FAB 1: The Most Famous Rolls-Royce in The World
- Editor OGN Daily
- 12 hours ago
- 2 min read
Maybe not today, but it definitely was in the 1960s in the UK.
The famous pink Rolls-Royce turns 60 today and originally featured in the TV series Thunderbirds, a British science fiction television series created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, filmed between 1964 and 1966 using a form of electronic marionette puppetry called "Supermarionation" combined with scale model special effects sequences. Two series, totalling 32 fifty-minute episodes, were made.
The bright pink bubble-topped coupé is best known by its registration number FAB 1, and was a custom model made for the fictional character Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in the TV series, which first aired on 30 September 1965. The show covers the heroic and death-defying exploits of International Rescue, a life-saving organisation with a secret base on an island in the Pacific Ocean. International Rescue operates a fleet of technologically advanced rescue vehicles, that can go anywhere - including space, underground and into the deep ocean.
Lady Penelope, a wealthy aristocrat and fashion model who was secretly a special agent for International Rescue. This gave her the means to commission a special Rolls-Royce which reflected her style and unique requirements. The car had options beyond what any regular Rolls-Royce customer would be offered, courtesy of International Rescue’s genius engineer Brains. These included hidden machine guns, harpoons and lasers for defence. There was also bulletproof glass and hydrofoils which allowed it to skim across water. It was powered by a gas turbine engine, which gave a top speed of about 300mph. It also had six wheels.
Where is the 1960s “puppet scale” car used in the filming of the original TV series today? Well, the 6ft-long model was bought and restored by Peter Jackson, best known as the director, writer and producer of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and is now part of his personal collection of props.