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BBC One launches an all new Doctor Who for the
21st Century in March. The the first episode goes out on Saturday,
26th March 2005.
We've found a Nottinghamshire connection!
Pete Farries, from Beeston, Nottinghamshire, built the Doctor Whomobile
- aka The Alien - for Jon Pertwee after the third Doctor spotted
one of his other creations - the Californian Hot Rod - at the opening
of the new Ford showroom in Nottingham in the early 1970s.
Jon approached Pete and asked him if he'd like to build something
he could use in the TV series.
The car Pete built was originally called The Alien as Jon wanted
it to sound like something from outer space. But the first thing
the director did when Jon brought the car onto the set of Doctor
Who was make Jon clean off the lettering - she didn't want the car
linked to a name.
That wasn't the end of Pete's association with Jon and the TV series:
"I actually looked after the car whilst it was on Doctor Who
- so I spent two years going everywhere with it."
Remembering the car fondly Pete says: "It could do 105 mph.
It's the only thing I've ever seen that moves lorries. Once they
look in their mirrors and see you've got no wheels they quickly
shift over!"
So, what happened to the car? Well, it wasn't ever the property
of the Beeb - the car was always Jon's. After the show it ended
up on a trailer and was becoming a bit of a burden. In the end it
was put in a car auction in the early 1980s and was bought - for
£1700 - by someone who was purchasing the car for his son.
The car is now in a secure location in the UK and hasn't seen the
light of day since 1996.
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Pete Farries - Gallery of Cars
The Alien wasn't the first - and isn't the last - car Pete's built.
He had a business in Carlton where he did one-offs - hot rods mainly.
However, he had to complement this work with accident repairs. A
lot of his time was spent repairing dents in Nottingham's old black
and white cabs.
Below are just a small selection of cars built by Pete Farries.
To see larger pictures of the cars just click on the images.
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| The Alien |
Name: The Alien
Built by: Pete Farries
Built for: Jon Pertwee Year: 1973
Max speed: 105 mph
This car was built for the third Doctor Who after Jon Pertwee saw
another one of Pete's cars, the Californian Hot Rod.
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| Model T Hot Rod |
Name: Model T Hot Rod
Built by: Pete Farries
Built for: Pete Farries
Year: Early 1970s
0 - 60 mph: Three seconds
The Californian Hot Rod started Pete's passion for building cars.
It is still his favourite. It took him five years to complete.
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| Tin Of Paint |
Name: Tin Of Paint
Built by: Pete Farries
Built for: Berger
Year: Early 1970s
Engine: Triumph Tilado
This car was built for the 1973 Motorshow.
Apparently, it can still be found in Berger's Paint Factory in Dagenham,
Essex.
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| Clown |
Name: Clown
Built by: Pete Farries
Built for: Blackpool Circus
Max speed: 75 - 80 mph
Peter Jay wanted something to advertise his
circus.
He managed to get onto the front pages of the local paper the first
time the the car was parked as a traffic warden couldn't work out
how to give the Clown a parking ticket.
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| The Elephant |
Name: Elephant
Built by: Pete Farries
Built for: Hypodrome Circus, Yarmouth
Max speed: 75 - 80 mph
Peter Jay wanted something to advertise his circus.
The car was built from scratch and is still in use.
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| Sheriff's Car |
Name: Sheriff's Car
Built by: Pete Farries
Built for: Pete's daughter's wedding
The car was originally built for his daughter but was used for a
Whitbread promotion, pushing the new Easy Street club in Nottingham
in the 1970s.
The car was regularly pulled over by the police but Pete struck
a deal with the Nottinghamshire Chief Constable that the car could
stay on the road as long as he covered up the blue lights with a
rug.
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So, has Pete got bored of cars yet? Nope. At present
he's cutting up a Chevy El-Camino.
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