Wednesday, 10 November 2010

The Buggy boogie

Metal flake paint and ultra wide wheels; I have always liked Beach buggies. But, hey, they are Beetle based aren't they? Well, there is an exception to that rule and it came from that master of obscure contraptions Neville Trickett. He was responsible for the MiniSprint as for so many other unusual, quirky or plain weird cars. In fact, he is one of my heroes.

Trickett designed and built the Siva Buggy in 1970 but I think he must have been fed up soon as he sold the rights of building and selling the thing to a company named Skyspeed, who simply renamed the creature the Skyspeed-Siva Buggy. However, for me, things get even more interesting when in the next buy-out a company named Euromotor took over the rights of production and sales. That is because, unlike Trickett's company and unlike Skyspeed, Euromotor was not based in the UK, but in The Netherlands. In fact, they were in Amsterdam, which happens to be my home town.

The trouble is that Euromotor's premises were destroyed in a 1976 fire, devouring the original moulds of the Buggy too after a total of 94 cars was built. Or so I am told. Every trace of Euromotor seems to have disappeared after that. Frustratingly I have never been able to find out more about the company. I do not even know where exactly in Amsterdam they were situated.
It could be around the corner, you know.

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