UFO 1 – Ed Straker’s Car

The Gerry Anderson television live-action series UFO (1970 – 1973) featured many spectacular vehicles, including spaceships, tracked land assault wagons, and a submarine which could launch a supersonic jetfighter while underwater.

As was common with Anderson productions, the majority of these vehicles were highly detailed miniature models.

But the sleek gold-coloured futuristic car belonging to Ed Straker – the head honcho of S.H.A.D.O (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation), played by Ed Bishop – was real!

The car was designed by special effects man Derek Meddings and Ford Motor Company stylist Len Bailey and built by by the famous Alan Mann Racing Company (builders of the world-famous Ford GT-40 racing cars and the mecahnical star of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Beneath the aluminium bodywork lurked a modified Zephyr Zodiac Mk IV, fitted with the engine and gearbox from a Cortina GT.

When production on UFO ended, the car – along with UFO 2, driven by Colonel Paul Foster (Michael Billington) in the series and also built by Alan Mann Racing – was acquired by Ian Linscott, who had a franchise with ITV allowing him the option to buy any special props which came up for sale.

In the 1970s, Radio 1 DJ Dave Lee Travis – the “hairy cornflake” himself – became the proud owner of the car: “I bought it on a whim, the same way you might go out and buy a new stereo system. I loved the series and to actually own the car was something very special”.

Dave had the car resprayed, new seats fitted, and some signwriting (reading “UFO”) applied to the sides of the vehicle, matching the lettering used in the TV series’ opening titles.

“The inside of the car was nothing special,” he explained. “the most interesting part was that the centre console was high up alongside you, making it very difficult to change gear”.

Another feature of the car that wasn’t quite what it appeared on the screen was the gull-wing doors, which were manually operated – not electronic. Because the large doors were counterbalanced, opening and closing them was a two-man operation!

Visibility was restricted through the perspex windows, and access to the boot was only from inside the car.

Dave owned the car for two years, intending to hire it out for promotional use, but with his radio commitments increasing, he had little time to devote to the car and finally sold it to an enthusiast from Birmingham.

The car was repainted in white and airbrushed with scenes from the UFO series. It then sat in a warehouse for years until it was given to one of the owner’s employees.

Sadly, the car was left to the elements until it was rediscovered in 2001 by longtime Gerry Anderson fan and filmmaker Jeff Smart while making a documentary called The Future Was Fantastic.

Unfortunately, the owner had no interest in restoring the car or selling it to someone who would.