Tickford

Last updated
Tickford Coachwork
MG VA Tickford DHC coupe front.jpg
Product typeCoachbuilder
CountryUnited Kingdom

Tickford is an automobile engineering and testing business in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, known for tuning and such products as the 140 mph Tickford Turbo Capri.

Contents

Under the name Salmons & Sons and their Tickford products the firm has an almost two century-long history of coachbuilding.

History 150 years of coachbuilding

Salmons & Sons

Salmons & Sons' patent Tickford winding gear. A crankhandle winds the luxurious and heavy roof up or down Tickford patent winding gear.jpg
Salmons & Sons' patent Tickford winding gear. A crankhandle winds the luxurious and heavy roof up or down

Tickford Limited grew from the very substantial coachbuilding business founded in the 1820s by Joseph Salmons later known as Salmons and Sons at Tickford on the east side of Newport Pagnell. Their products bore the brand-name Tickford. With the advent of the internal combustion engine, Salmons & Sons progressed into developing coachbuilt cars as early as 1898 and prospered. [1] In 1925 they announced their Tickford "All Weather" body, a drophead with the hood mechanism operated by inserting and turning a handle in the rear quarter-panel. [2]

During the 1930s Salmons built standard catalogued Tickford drophead bodies for: BSA, Daimler, Hillman, Lanchester, MG, Rover, Standard, Triumph, Vauxhall and Wolseley. [3]

By the late 1930s 450 people were employed producing 30 car bodies a week. Their London showrooms were at 6–9 Upper Saint Martin's Lane WC2.

Tickford Limited

In 1943 following Ian Boswell's purchase of Salmons & Sons Limited the company changed its name to its trademark, Tickford Limited. [4]

1955–1981: Aston Martin Lagonda

A badge believed to have been placed on bodies of this era Tickford badge.png
A badge believed to have been placed on bodies of this era

In late 1955 Tickford Limited was bought by David Brown, [5] owner of Aston Martin since 1947 and Lagonda since 1948 both always fitted with Tickford bodies. He soon moved Aston Martin onto the site at Tickford Street where it remained until Ford moved DB7 production to Bloxham and then to Gaydon for the DB9 and DBS.[ citation needed ]

Subsequent brand name use

1981–1990: CH Industrials

In 1981 Aston Martin created an engineering service subsidiary and chose the name 'Aston Martin Tickford'. With the changing fortunes of Aston Martin, the company moved into a purpose-built facility in Milton Keynes under the separate ownership of CH Industrials plc and despite carrying out a lot of unseen, "back-room" engineering projects for major manufacturers, gained most publicity from adding engineering and tuning to its coachbuilder roots allowing it to develop special products like the 140 mph, turbocharged Tickford Capri for Ford. After the Capri, Tickford worked with among others, MG to create the Maestro Turbo and Ford to create the road-going Sierra Cosworth RS500 and the homologated version of the RS200. These vehicles were made in a factory set up near Coventry and a railway division was set up in Nuneaton to design interiors for underground and mainline train carriages.

The roof of the Jaguar XJS cabriolet was also designed by Tickford. These cars were originally converted by Tickford themselves, but it was so successful that Jaguar set up a convertible production line to cope with demand.

1990–2001: Independence

During the collapse of the CHI Group in 1990, the directors of Tickford executed a buy-out and saved Tickford from going into receivership, partially funded through the sale of the railway division to Babcock International. Tickford was now back in its roots of engine and vehicle engineering and worked on developing new markets. The company won projects in Detroit and the Far East and set up liaison offices in the US and Germany.

Tickford set up a production line in Daventry to convert the Ford Puma into the limited edition Ford Puma Racing (just 500 were built) and did most of the engineering design and development of the Ford Focus RS at Milton Keynes, also providing a build facility next to Ford's Saarlouis plant.

Tickford Vehicle Engineering & Ford Tickford Experience

After a worldwide search, Ford Australia selected Tickford as a joint-venture partner, resulting in Tickford Vehicle Engineering Pty Ltd (TVE) being established in 1991 as the high performance car division of Ford in Australia. [6]

TVE is best known for building the Ford Falcon XR6 and XR8 models for Ford. It also engineered a range of higher performance cars, the T-Series [7] with TE50 & TS50 models based on the Ford AU Falcon [8] and the TL50 derived from the Ford AU Fairlane. The FTE T-Series models were launched in October 1999 under the FTE name, [9] FTE being an acronym for Ford Tickford Experience. [10] The "T-Series" was produced in very limited numbers with 842 built [11] (including pre-production press vehicles). The third series, known as the T3 was the final resting place for the Ford Windsor V8 engine and the last model from TVE.

2001–2005: Prodrive

In 2001 the whole Tickford Group in UK, Germany, Australia and USA, was acquired by Prodrive, the British motor sport company and, in 2002, its Australian joint venture with Ford, Tickford Vehicle Engineering, was rebranded as Ford Performance Vehicles. The Tickford name disappeared again.

2006–2012: Tickford Powertrain Test

In December 2006, the management team of Prodrive Test Technology, running the former Tickford site at Milton Keynes, purchased the business from Prodrive, renaming it Tickford Powertrain Test. The company now focused on the independent engine and vehicle testing needs of vehicle manufacturers, component companies and the catalyst and petroleum industries. In June 2007, the company acquired Scott Gibbin Ltd, a Peterborough-based engine test and development company. In the spring of 2009 the Peterborough site was closed and the work transferred to the Milton Keynes facility in Tanners Drive.

2013–2015: Intertek

Intertek Group plc, a provider of Assurance, Testing, Inspection and Certification services to a wide range of industries worldwide, acquired Tickford Powertrain Test on 31 December 2012 from its management shareholders. Traded as Intertek Tickford for 12 months and then latterly just Intertek.[ citation needed ].

2016-present: Tickford Australia

In 2016, through Prodrive, Tickford returned to the Australian automotive market. Offering high performance upgrades to the Ford Mustang, Ranger and Everest.This was as a result of Ford Australia shutting down local production, ending the Falcon model and discontinuing the Ford Performance Vehicles brand.

Motorsport

Tickford built on its engine performance heritage with the development of V8 racing engines for Aston Martin. These were raced in Nimrod and EMKA chassis and powered Nimrod to third place in the 1983 World Endurance Championship for Makes. Tickford also developed Cosworth engines for Ray Mallock Racing and Ecurie Ecosse, with the latter gaining second place in the C2 Class of the 1987 World Sports Prototype Championship for Teams.

In the late 1980s Tickford designed, developed and built Formula One engines, including some with unique 5-valve cylinder heads. A Tickford 5v version of the Judd V8 was commissioned by Camel Team Lotus for Nelson Piquet and Satoru Nakajima to use.

Related Research Articles

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with expensive grand touring cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and with the fictional character James Bond following his use of a DB5 model in the 1964 film Goldfinger. Their grand tourers and sports cars are regarded as a British cultural icon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newport Pagnell</span> Human settlement in England

Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area.

Sir David Brown was an English industrialist, managing director of his grandfather's gear and machine tool business David Brown Limited and more recently David Brown Tractors, and once the owner of shipbuilders Vosper Thorneycroft and car manufacturers Aston Martin and Lagonda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Capri</span> Fastback coupé manufactured by Ford Motor Company

The Ford Capri is a fastback coupé built by Ford of Europe, designed by Philip T. Clark, who was also involved in the design of the Ford Mustang. It used the mechanical components from the Mk2 Ford Cortina and was intended as the European equivalent of the Ford Mustang. The Capri went on to be highly successful for Ford, selling nearly 1.9 million units in its lifetime. A wide variety of engines were used in the car throughout its production lifespan, which included the Essex and Cologne V6 at the top of the range, while the Kent straight-four and Taunus V4 engines were used in lower-specification models. Although the Capri was not officially replaced, the second-generation Probe was effectively its replacement after the later car's introduction to the European market in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Martin Lagonda</span> Full-sized luxury four-door saloon car by Aston Martin

The Aston Martin Lagonda is a full-size luxury four-door saloon manufactured by British manufacturer Aston Martin between 1974 and 1990. A total of 645 were produced. The name was derived from the Lagonda marque that Aston Martin had purchased in 1947. There are two distinct generations: the original, the short-lived 1974 design based on a lengthened Aston Martin V8, and the entirely redesigned, wedge-shaped Series 2 model introduced in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Martin Bulldog</span> Motor vehicle

The Aston Martin Bulldog, styled by William Towns, is a British, one-off concept vehicle produced by Aston Martin in 1979. The code name for the project was DP K901. Initially, a production run of 15–25 cars was planned, but the project was deemed too costly and only one was built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Martin DB7</span> Aston Martin vehicle

The Aston Martin DB7 is a car that was produced by British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin from September 1994 to December 2004. It was designed by Ian Callum and Keith Helfet as a grand tourer in coupé and convertible bodystyles. The prototype was complete by November 1992 and debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1993. The six-cylinder DB7 was positioned as an "entry-level" model below the hand-built V8 Virage introduced a few years earlier. This model was the most-produced Aston Martin automobile up to that point in time, with more than 7,000 built before it was replaced by the DB9 in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. O. Bentley</span> English engineer (1888–1971)

Walter Owen Bentley, (16 September 1888 – 13 August 1971 was an English engineer who founded Bentley in London. He was a motorcycle and car racer as a young man. After making a name for himself as a designer of aircraft and automobile engines, Bentley established his own firm in 1919. He built the firm into one of the world's premier luxury and performance auto manufacturers, and led the marque to multiple victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After selling his namesake company to Rolls-Royce in 1931, he was employed as a designer for Lagonda, Aston Martin and Armstrong Siddeley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Fry</span> British businessman (born 1956)

Nicholas Richard Fry is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team, having previously served in similar roles at previous incarnations of the company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Performance Vehicles</span> Vehicle make

Ford Performance Vehicles was the Melbourne-based, premium performance arm of automobile manufacturer Ford Australia. The company produced a range of Ford-based models from 2002 to 2014 under the FPV marque name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Martin 2-Litre Sports</span> Motor vehicle

The Aston Martin 2-Litre Sports was a sports car sold by Aston Martin from 1948 to 1950. It was the first product of the company under David Brown's ownership and is retrospectively known as the DB1. The car debuted at the 1948 London Motor Show and was based on the Aston Martin Atom prototype. Just 15 were sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagonda</span> British luxury car marque owned by Aston Martin

Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008, 2010 to 2013, and 2016 onward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Martin DB2/4</span> Motor vehicle

The Aston Martin DB2/4 is a grand tourer produced by Aston Martin from 1953 until 1957. It was available as a 2+2 hatchback saloon, drophead coupé (DHC) and 2-seat fixed-head coupé. A small number of Bertone bodied spiders were commissioned by private buyers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagonda 2.6-Litre</span> Motor vehicle

The Lagonda 2.6-Litre was an automobile produced in England by Lagonda from 1948 to 1953. It was the first model from that company following its purchase by David Brown in 1947, and was named for the new straight-6 engine which debuted with the car. The Lagonda straight-6 engine was designed by W. O. Bentley and would propel Lagonda's new parent company, Aston Martin, to fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lagonda 3-Litre</span> Motor vehicle

The Lagonda 3-Litre is an automobile which was produced by Aston Martin Lagonda from 1953 until 1958. It was the second Lagonda model of the David Brown/Aston Martin era. The 3-Litre was fitted with a higher displacement 2.9 L 140 bhp version of the twin overhead camshaft Lagonda Straight-6 engine designed by Walter Owen Bentley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Falcon (AU)</span> Motor vehicle

The Ford Falcon (AU) is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1998 to 2002. It was the sixth generation Ford Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (AU)—the luxury-oriented model range. The AU series replaced the EL Falcon and was constructed on the (at the time) new EA169 platform which continued to harbour Falcon models until 2010 when the BF wagon was discontinued, and Ford Territory models until 2011. The AU series was replaced by the updated BA series.

Malcolm Victor Gauntlett was an English petrochemical entrepreneur and car enthusiast, best known for forming the largest independent petrol retail business in the United Kingdom, and for reviving Aston Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Falcon GT</span> Motor vehicle

The Ford Falcon GT is an automobile produced by Ford Australia from 1967 until 1976 as the performance version of its Falcon model range. Its production was resumed by a joint venture in 1992 and 1997 with Tickford, and then again between 2003 and 2014 with Prodrive, the latter being marketed as the FPV GT & GT-P. The Falcon GT is inextricably linked with the history of Australian sports sedan car production and with the evolution of Australian motor racing.The Falcon GT lineage includes many Bathurst wins and motorsport accolades over its entire production run.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tickford Vehicle Engineering</span> Former Australian automotive company

Tickford Vehicle Engineering (TVE) was a company responsible for numerous automotive projects and upgrades for Ford Australia between 1991 and 2002. In 1999, TVE setup Ford Tickford Experience (FTE) as a competitor to Holden Special Vehicles (HSV). In 2002, the operations changed to Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV), coinciding with Tickford's global operations being bought out by Prodrive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aston Martin DBX</span> British luxury crossover

The Aston Martin DBX is a crossover SUV produced by British luxury car marque Aston Martin since 2020. It is the first SUV the company has made. It has been described as both a "full-sized" and as a "mid-sized" vehicle.

References

  1. Aston Martin Lagonda, Newport Pagnell Historical Society accessed 5 April 2019
  2. Newport Pagnell's finest bodies. Ian Morton, The Times, Saturday, 9 August 1997; pg. 7[S1]; Issue 65964
  3. p.77, Michael Sedgwick, Cars of the Thirties and Forties, Hamlyn, London 1975 ISBN   0600321487
  4. Dennis C Mynard, Salmons & Sons, The Tickford Coachbuilders, Phillimore, Chichester / Tempus, 2007 ISBN   1860774229 ISBN   978-1860774225
  5. The David Brown Corporation Limited. The Times, Thursday, 19 April 1956; pg. 18; Issue 53509
  6. Tickford in Australia Retrieved from www.webarchive.org on 28 November 2008
  7. "T-Series" Information Retrieved from www.tseries.info on 28 November 2008
  8. drive.com.au (4 October 2016). "Jaguar F-Type Project 7". Drive.
  9. Ford Tickford Experience set for Launch in October Also engineered the greatest LPG system even designed in Australia.Archived 28 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.autoweb.com.au on 28 November 2008
  10. FTE Questions & Answers Retrieved from www.internetarchive.com on 28 November 2008
  11. "Production Breakdown".