Tornado

Tornado Cars was founded in 1957 by Bill Woodhouse & Anthony Bullen and based in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, UK.

The first model was the Typhoon Sports body fitted to a Tornado designed and manufactured chassis to which a range of engines and treansmissions could be fitted. About 350 of this model are believed to have been made through to 1962.

Next came the Thunderbolt with a stronger chassis, still with a 2 seater body.Tr3 engine and gearbox, Ford consul back axle. Only one was made and still belongs to the original builder of the car.

A similarly styled Tempest model featuring a Ford Anglia 105E engine and independent wishbone front suspension was introduced around 1960-61, but only around 15 were produced.

In 1962, the company introduced the Talisman 2+2 coupe carrying an attractively styled fibreglass body on a more sophisticated tubular steel chassis with Ford 1,340cc or 1,500cc engines in 2 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 186 Talismans had been made.