History - Pt3

THIS PAGE PICTURES: This is the very first road registered Cyclone, using a 1.8-litre Vauxhall engine running twin carbs. This would later get a Calibra Turbo engine.

Under the rear deck was now a Calibra Turbo engine delivering 220bhp. And there was another Cyclone on the scene - the car that Terry and Leigh had assembled as their next race car. This car showed the first of a number of design developments that would come to the Cyclone over the coming months. The Vauxhall wing mirrors were now replaced with bespoke items which vastly improved rearward visability. The centre tunnel was also narrower thanks to a chassis tweak to improve cockpit space. But it wasn't until car three that the singnificant changes came...

Production Cyclones would feature all fibreglass side panels as opposed to the half GRP, half aluminium design of the first two cars which resulted in a visible panel line. More significantly, the nosecone was reworked to include a numberplate mounting plinth and narrower grille sections. On the long bonnet the styling around the bonnet vent was greatly improved and tiny 'nostrils' were located in the high pressure points just inside of the lights. These fed air into the under bonnet storage compartment, which was a largely weather sealed area from which ducting took air to the fresh air vents on the dash. When moving, the air was forced through the system highly effectively.

These nostrils were further developed on later cars, along with revised front mudguards and a fibreglass tub to drop into the floor of the front storage bin to improve its capacity. The wing mirrors were also further tweaked to improve visibility.

Within months of driving the turbo car, I placed an order for a similar spec car with the factory. I'd just sold a Transformer Stratos replica - I was in the money, and I couldn't wait.

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