FAB 1

In the original Thunderbirds (1965–66), as well as the feature films Thunderbirds Are Go (1966)[6] and Thunderbird 6 (1968),[7] 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, Aloysius 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 rear-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 and skis (for travel on water and snow).

On the choice of make, series co-creator Gerry Anderson said: "Considering [Penelope's] personality, and the role she played in International Rescue, it could only be a Rolls-Royce."[8] AP Films (APF) approached Rolls-Royce Limited, which consented to the use of its brand. In 2004, Rolls-Royce's head of public relations in the 1960s said that the company "couldn't see any harm in [APF's] request, and as the series was aimed at children we thought it would be good for the cars – give them a modern image and, you never know, inspire a child to own one, one day."[9] In return for its co-operation, the company asked that all on-screen references to the make of the car use the full brand name "Rolls-Royce", rather than the abbreviation "Rolls".[10]

To distinguish the look from that of real-life cars, designer Derek Meddings gave FAB 1 a six-wheel drive.[11] He said that his decision to place two sets of wheels at the front, instead of at the back, was motivated purely by aesthetics: "My excuse [...] was that the engine was so big and powerful it needed them, but it wasn't done for any technical reason."[10] He remembered FAB 1 for its "outrageous styling, which bore no resemblance to any Rolls-Royce ever produced".[12]

Two shooting models were built: a six-inch-long (15 cm) miniature and a puppet-size version, measuring six or seven feet (1.8 or 2.1 m), to accommodate the 1⁄3 human-scale marionette characters.[13][14][15] The latter – constructed from plywood, aluminium and chrome-plated brass – cost approximately £2,500 to build in 1964 (£53,900 in 2021).[13][14][15] It had fully-functional steering and headlamps with a removable canopy, doors and underside to facilitate puppet filming.[13][14][15] The headlamps incorporated parts from bicycles.[13] Rolls-Royce supervised the construction and supplied one of its own radiator grilles (costing £100), complete with a Spirit of Ecstasy figure.[16] This was used for close-ups of the larger model, including shots of the car firing its machine guns and a stock photograph of the bonnet featured in the series' closing titles.[13][14] As the car was the most expensive prop to be built for the series, special security measures were followed whenever it was used on set.[12]

Noting FAB 1's weaponry and gadgets, Robert Sellers and Marcus Hearn liken the car to the modified Aston Martin DB5 driven by James Bond in the films Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965).[10][17]

FAB 1 (2004)
FAB 1 on display at the Heritage Motor Centre
General characteristics
Armaments	3 mini-guns 2 heat-seeking missile launchers 2 torpedo tubes
Maximum speed	320 kilometres per hour (200 mph) On water: 180 or 185 km/h (112 or 115 mph; 97 or 100 kn) In air: 9,120 km/h (5,670 mph; 4,920 kn)
Propulsion	Gas turbine jet engine Mini hover engines
Power	Miniature nuclear fusion reactor
Mass	3.4 tonnes (3.3 long tons; 3.7 short tons)
Length	7.9 metres (26 ft)
Width	2.1 metres (6 ft 11 in) 3.5 metres (11 ft) with hydrofoils deployed 4.7 metres (15 ft) with wings deployed
Height	1.68 metres (5 ft 6 in)[18]

In the 2004 live-action film, Thunderbirds, FAB 1 is still pink and powered by a six-wheel drive. Its glass canopy is tinted, and it is now capable of flight as well as 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.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and its owner BMW declined to be involved in FAB 1's re-design. This led production company Working Title to approach Ford, who accepted the commission and adapted the car from its eleventh-generation Thunderbird.[9][19][20][21] According to Working Title's head of marketing, Rolls-Royce had pushed for the vehicle to be "one of their standard cars – and that would have been too sedate. If you're transferring something like this to the big screen, you have to make it bigger and better." He also called FAB 1 a "crazy missed marketing opportunity" for Rolls-Royce given the car's prominence in the film.[20]

Ford's designers said that due to the car's versatility, "there was a level of restriction that we had to encompass [...] Then we had to identify the link with the Thunderbirds theme and, from our perspective, identify a T-bird essence that wasn't a deliberate rip-off."[9] The finished car was fully functional and roadworthy, and appeared in a segment of the motoring TV series Top Gear, during which it was road-tested by presenter 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. Testing the car for The Daily Telegraph, Ian Adcock compared the driver's section to a "command module", noting its armrest controls and "fighter aircraft-style joystick" in place of a conventional steering wheel. He also observed that the car "understeers like a yacht, so you constantly have to feed more and more lock on as you power through corners."[9]

Motor Trend magazine called the new FAB 1 "one of the stars of the movie" and "exquisitely executed", while Starburst described it as a "futuristic sports car which recaptures as much of the original's feel as possible."[19][21] The car was negatively received by XPosé and SFX magazines; XPosé commented that FAB 1 "still look[ed] rubbish" while SFX described it as "rather ugly" and suggested that fans of the original Thunderbirds would not regard it as canon.[22][23]

Following its appearance in the film, the car was put on display at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire.[24]

• 
  Top view
• 
  Side-rear view
• 
  At the Goodwood Festival of Speed, 2004
• 
  Interior, 2012
• 
  Interior close-up, 2015

In the remake series Thunderbirds Are Go, FAB 1 is given a slightly different design that still retains a Rolls-Royce silhouette and is as close to a Rolls-Royce as possible without actually being one. It has the classic pink color scheme from the original, but the color is no longer solid throughout the body, as the hood and trunk covers are now a grey-silver (heavily resembling the real Rolls-Royce Ghost "FAB-1" charity car). The headlights are more streamlined and the wheels are larger, though the tires are thinner. It still retains the same role it has in the original series with new features compared to its original counterpart, being capable of flying much like its live-action counterpart and can also travel under water. All machine guns have been removed, including the one in the grille, and replaced with explosives such as missiles and torpedoes but still retains the smoke screen and oil slick dispensers.

• Archer, Simon; Nicholls, Stan (1996). Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Biography. London, UK: Legend Books. ISBN 978-0-09-922442-6.
• Bentley, Chris (2005) [2000]. The Complete Book of Thunderbirds (2nd ed.). London, UK: Carlton Books. ISBN 978-1-84442-454-2.