Anziel Nova

Anziel Nova
Anziel Nova
	A 1966 Anadol A1, on which the Anziel Nova was based, at the Rahmi M. Koç Museum in Istanbul
Overview
Manufacturer	Anziel Manufacturing
Production	1967; 1 prototype
Designer	Ogle
Body and chassis
Class	Mid-size ; Large family car
Body style	2-door saloon
Layout	FR layout
Related	Anadol A1 ; Reliant FW5
Powertrain
Engine	1,498 cc (1.5 L) Ford Kent Inline-four engine
Transmission	4-Speed Manual gearbox
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,565 mm (101.0 in)
Length	4,381 mm (172.5 in)
Width	1,644 mm (64.7 in)
Height	1,422 mm (56.0 in)
Curb weight	> 828 kg (1,825.4 lb)

Last updated January 30, 2023

The Anziel Nova was meant to be New Zealand's first domestically produced car. A prototype of the fibre-glass bodied car was unveiled in September 1967, however never reached production.^[2]

Background

In 1965 Alan Gibbs, then an economist, had returned from England with the idea of creating a New Zealand made car. However, he initially worked for the Government's Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on the Import Licensing schedule. This experience gave him a good understanding of the problems a start-up venture would face.

The project commenced in Autumn 1966 when Alan moved to Auckland to join with his brother Ian, owner of Anziel Limited, in the venture. The Gibbs brothers also needed an import licence for the assembly plant, parts, and materials. Because of its use of fibreglass bodywork Reliant Motor Co of England was approached for a suitable design. This was to maximise the quantity of local product in the manufacture.^[3]

At the time Reliant was developing the FW5, a mid-range family saloon, for Otosan of Turkey. The FW5 was aimed at relatively low production numbers without the need for expensive plant and tooling. It was designed by Tom Karen of Ogle Design. Reliant considered the model suitable for construction in less developed countries because of the ease of manufacture.^[4] This car was deemed suitable to meet the Gibbs' requirements.

The proposal

In August 1966, the Gibbs brothers sought government consent to obtain an import licence for their proposal. They proposed to build 3,000 cars per annum, with production commencing in mid-1968. However, Jack Marshall, who was the Minister of Trade in that period, declined the request on the grounds that New Zealand was suffering from falling export revenues at the time, which was causing a balance of trade problem for the government. Other established car manufacturers were having their import licences reduced and the granting of a licence to another manufacturer was seen as counter-productive.

Despite this setback, the Gibbs brothers continued to lobby Marshall, who eventually relented and allowed them a licence to import a prototype from Reliant.^[3]

The car

On 16 December 1966, Otosan had begun production of the FW5, naming it the Anadol A1.^[5] Whether it was an FW5 or an A1 that the Gibbs brothers obtained as their prototype is unknown, as either source could have been used. Given the probable higher import duties on non-United Kingdom sourced vehicles it is more likely that it was a Reliant FW5.^[6] The car arrived in New Zealand in the winter of 1967.

As the Anziel Nova, the two-door car was to be powered by a 1498cc pre-crossflow Ford Kent engine with a 4-speed gearbox. It had an expected top speed of 90 mph (140 km/h). Alterations were made to its trim and the car was re-badged by the Gibbs brothers prior to its unveiling. In the publicity documents the company said that it was going to produce a four-door version, as well as planning to make a station wagon, commercial van, and a light truck.^[3]^[7]

The prototype is still in existence and owned by Alan Gibbs.^[8]

Promotion and stonewall

The Gibbs brothers brought in Sir Laurence Hartnett, who was considered the father of the Australian car industry, to promote the car at an official announcement on 17 September 1967. The car was said to be going to sell for NZ$2,400.^[9] This would have placed the car in a price range in New Zealand with cars that included the Hillman Hunter (NZ$2,232), Toyota Corona (NZ$2,296), and Isuzu Bellett 1500 (NZ$2,398).^[10] Its advantage over these models was that its higher local content meant a reduced need for overseas funds.

Jack Marshall and Norman Shelton, Minister of Customs, were less than enthusiastic about the project. They considered that the country at that time could ill afford to spend its overseas funds on such a project, but would continue to consider it. Discussions continued in the following year with no real change. By the end of 1968 the government offered a licence for 600 units, but this was insufficient. Through 1969 there were ongoing battles with the government but no progress. Even obtaining funds for paying a fee for Reliant's technical assistance was declined. The project was finally doomed in March 1970, due to the changes made by the government on import rules for cheaper, fully built cars.^[3]

Alan Gibbs retained his interest in cars and went on to develop the Gibbs Aquada in 2003.

Related Research Articles

Transport in New Zealand, with its mountainous topography and a relatively small population mostly located near its long coastline, has always faced many challenges. Before Europeans arrived, Māori either walked or used watercraft on rivers or along the coasts. Later on, European shipping and railways revolutionised the way of transporting goods and people, before being themselves overtaken by road and air, which are nowadays the dominant forms of transport. However, bulk freight still continues to be transported by coastal shipping and by rail transport, and there are attempts to (re)introduce public transport as a major transport mode in the larger population centres.

Reliant Motor Company was a British car manufacturer based in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England. It was founded in 1935 and ended car production in 2002, the company had been known as "Reliant Motor Company" until the 1990s when it became "Reliant Motors" and then finally became "Reliant cars LTD" after production had ended of the Robin as the company was restructured to be a car import business. It is now a dormant company and the only entity left is a separate parts company created called "Reliant Partsworld" which produces parts for Reliant vehicles.

Anadol was Turkey's first domestic mass-production passenger vehicle company. Its first model, Anadol A1 (1966–1975) was the second Turkish car after the ill-fated Devrim sedan of 1961. Anadol cars and pick-ups were manufactured by Otosan Otomobil Sanayii in Istanbul between 1966 and 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogle Design</span>

Ogle Design is a British design consultancy company founded in 1954 by David Ogle and based in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.

The Reliant Robin is a small three-wheeled car produced by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England. It was offered in several versions over a period of 30 years. It is the second-most popular fibreglass car in history after the Chevrolet Corvette, with Reliant being the second-biggest British car manufacturer for a time.

A knock-down kit is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then exported to another country or region for final assembly.

The Button car plan, also known as the Button plan, was the informal name given to the Motor Industry Development Plan, an Australian federal (Labor) government initiative intended to rationalise the Australian motor vehicle industry and transition it to lower levels of protection. It took its name from Senator John Button, the then federal Minister for Commerce, Trade and Industry.

Devrim was the first ever automobile designed and produced in Turkey.

Toyota New Zealand Limited is the importer and distributor of new Toyota and Lexus vehicles to New Zealand. It also imports used vehicles from Japan and refurbishes them at its former assembly plant in Thames.

Ford Otomotiv Sanayi A.Ş. is an automotive manufacturing company based in Turkey that is equally owned by Ford Motor Company and Koç Holding. It was established in its current form in 1977, with original relations dating back to 1928. It currently operates five facilities throughout the country, and is headquartered in Gölcük, with a second location in İnönü.

The Todd Corporation is a large private New Zealand company with a value of $4.3 billion, owned and controlled by the Todd family and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand. The corporation is currently led by chairman of the board, Henry Tait, and Group Chief Executive Officer, Jon Young. The corporation employs 800 individuals, at 20 locations in New Zealand, Australia and the United States, including eight on the senior management team. The board of directors has nine members.

Alan Gibbs is a New Zealand-born businessman, entrepreneur and art collector. After a successful business career in New Zealand, which made him one of that country's wealthiest individuals, he relocated to London in 1999. He retains strong links to New Zealand through his development of Gibbs Farm, one of the world's leading sculpture parks. He is the founder of Gibbs Amphibians, based in Detroit, Michigan, Nuneaton, UK, and Auckland, New Zealand, which pioneers high-speed amphibious vehicle technologies.

General Motors New Zealand Limited, is a subsidiary of General Motors that distributes GM' motor vehicles, engines, components and parts in New Zealand.

United Australian Automobile Industries (UAAI) was an automobile model sharing firm that operated in Australia between 1987 and 1996 as the result of an agreement between Holden and Toyota Australia. The joint venture resulted in the two companies sharing production of locally produced automobiles by selling their models under both brands.

The Reliant FW11 is a prototype car designed by Marcello Gandini of Gruppo Bertone in 1977 for the British company Reliant who were developing the car for the Turkish Otosan car company.

The automotive industry in Turkey plays an important role in the manufacturing sector of the Turkish economy. The companies operating in the Turkish automotive sector are mainly located in the Marmara Region.

Malaysian motor vehicle import duties is an article describing the excise duty on imported vehicles into the country.

The Bond Bug is a small British two-seat, three-wheeled automobile which was designed by Tom Karen of Ogle Design for Reliant Motor Company, who built it from 1970 to 1974, initially at Bond Cars Ltd factory, but subsequently at Reliant's Tamworth factory. It is a wedge-shaped microcar, with a lift-up canopy and side screens instead of conventional doors.

The automotive industry in New Zealand supplies a market which has always had one of the world's highest car ownership ratios. The distributors of new cars are essentially the former owners of the assembly businesses. At the dealership level they have maintained their old retail chains in spite of the establishment of the many new independent businesses built since the 1980s by specialists in used imports from Japan. Toyota entered into direct competition with those used-import businesses refurbishing old Toyotas from Japan and selling them through their own dealers as a special line. The nation's car fleet is accordingly somewhat older than in most developed countries.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 "1967 Otosan Anadol A1". carfolio. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
↑ Niall, Todd, "Chapter 24", The Trekka Dynasty, Iconic Publishing, ISBN 0-476-00757-7
1 2 3 4 Chapter 4, Serious Fun - The Life and Times of Alan Gibbs, Paul Goldsmith, Random House, Kindle edition
↑ Britain designs Turkey's first car, Design journal, No 214, October 1966, pages 48-49
↑ Smith, Maurice A. (5 January 1967). "Instant Industry". Autocar . 126 (3699): 52–54.
↑ Extract from the New Zealand Official Year Book 1967 - Motor Vehicles— Motor vehicles imported in an unassembled or completely knocked-down condition pay 6 1/4 percent duty under the British preferential tariff, 45 percent under the most-favoured-nation tariff, and 65 percent under the general tariff. Under the Canadian Trade Agreement motor vehicles imported unassembled from Canada pay from 13 3/4 percent to 45 percent, depending on the percentage of Canadian materials and labour involved. Motor vehicles imported in an assembled condition pay 20 percent duty under the British preferential tariff, 55 percent under the most-favoured-nation tariff, and 75 percent under the general tariff. Vehicles from Canada pay from 33 1/3 percent to 55 percent. Motor vehicles, autocycles, and scooters pay 12 1/2 percent under the British preferential tariff, 32 1/2 percent under the most-favoured-nation tariff, and 50 percent under the general tariff
↑ Anziel Nova publicity brochure
↑ Gibbs lives a life of 'serious fun', Fiona Rotherham, Updated 05:00 01/08/2012
↑ First look at the New Zealand family car, Evening Post, Wellington, 21 September 1967, page 28
↑ Assorted advertisements, Evening Post, Wellington, 7–18 September 1967

External links

Picture of the Anziel Nova at its official unveiling

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[A1dimensions-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 "1967 Otosan Anadol A1". carfolio. Retrieved 6 January 2014.

[Trekka-2] Niall, Todd, "Chapter 24", The Trekka Dynasty, Iconic Publishing, ISBN 0-476-00757-7

[Serious-3] 1 2 3 4 Chapter 4, Serious Fun - The Life and Times of Alan Gibbs, Paul Goldsmith, Random House, Kindle edition

[4] Britain designs Turkey's first car, Design journal, No 214, October 1966, pages 48-49

[Autocar196701-5] Smith, Maurice A. (5 January 1967). "Instant Industry". Autocar . 126 (3699): 52–54.

[6] Extract from the New Zealand Official Year Book 1967 - Motor Vehicles— Motor vehicles imported in an unassembled or completely knocked-down condition pay 6 1/4 percent duty under the British preferential tariff, 45 percent under the most-favoured-nation tariff, and 65 percent under the general tariff. Under the Canadian Trade Agreement motor vehicles imported unassembled from Canada pay from 13 3/4 percent to 45 percent, depending on the percentage of Canadian materials and labour involved. Motor vehicles imported in an assembled condition pay 20 percent duty under the British preferential tariff, 55 percent under the most-favoured-nation tariff, and 75 percent under the general tariff. Vehicles from Canada pay from 33 1/3 percent to 55 percent. Motor vehicles, autocycles, and scooters pay 12 1/2 percent under the British preferential tariff, 32 1/2 percent under the most-favoured-nation tariff, and 50 percent under the general tariff

[7] Anziel Nova publicity brochure

[8] Gibbs lives a life of 'serious fun', Fiona Rotherham, Updated 05:00 01/08/2012

[9] First look at the New Zealand family car, Evening Post, Wellington, 21 September 1967, page 28

[10] Assorted advertisements, Evening Post, Wellington, 7–18 September 1967

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]