The
Story
Introduction.
Tony has been persuaded to open up his personal archive of original drawings from a career spanning 70 years and to share them with enthusiasts around the world in limited edition print form. Numbered and signed by him.
An International car designer opening up his archive of his personal drawings is a unique event.
As a result we have no idea how it will go. So we are feeling our way. We have decided to start with a small selection from his archive of more than 100 cars and other vehicles and then add more designs as we progress.
Please keep an eye on the site as we expand the designs and please introduce it to fellow enthusiasts.
My Design process.
For most of my career computers were not available, so I have always worked a large AO drawing board with a full drawing machine.
The beauty of working on such a board is that if I work say 1/4 scale then I can get all the views of the car on one sheet of paper. All the views are in front of me and I can extrapolate from one to another instantly. Side view, plan view, front and rear views, all in front of me.
So how do I start. Clean sheet of paper.
What sort of car ?
Sports car, small family saloon, luxury saloon, estate car, mini car, racing car ?
What do we want it to do ? How many people ? What luggage ? What sort of performance ?
I start with the most important thing, the people, and sketch them in.
What sort of power unit ? Where will the engine be, desired driveline etc. ?
How long, how wide, how high ? How expensive/luxurious ?
I start drawing in existing known items, then around these lines start appearing on the board and I start firming them up.
What sort of construction should the chassis and body be ? Is it low or high volume production ?
What do I want it to look like ? So I start sketching body lines on all the views.
I have the advantage of being a sculptor as well as engineer, so although I am drawing in 2D I am always thinking in 3D.
I have had a fabulous career. Been lucky in the opportunities which have come my way, the places it has taken me around the world and the people I have met. Being a maverick there are also many things where I have failed to achieve what I was aiming for, and often the failures teach one more than the successes.
So I hope you will enjoy sharing both with me.
Welcome to my world. Tony.
