Speedboat and Sportscar from the pilot episode of ‘The Investigator’ to be offered at Vectis Auctions on Thursday 26th September.

Gerry Anderson is forever associated with "supermarionation" - a sophisticated form of puppetry. Having had numerous successes with Thunderbirds, Stingray and Captain Scarlet, amongst others he planned on releasing a new series based around two inexperienced but dedicated teenagers, trained by a mysterious alien intelligence with unknowable powers to tackle international espionage, environmental disasters and political corruption. Sounds like it had a huge amount of potential for mystery, suspense and action, however, for a variety of reasons including the concept being "too far-fetched" and problems with some of the models, the show never went into full production. It was seen as a rare failure for Anderson, who had enjoyed phenomenal success with his previous 18 successful shows.

The two vehicles in the sale where created for the 1973 pilot episode, shot on location in Malta.  The first is a speed boat, in one sixth scale which had to be towed for the live action sequences in the twenty-three-minute pilot episode. The red, eight-wheeled sports car is radio controlled and fitted with a petrol fuelled motor-bike engine. Both were designed by Reg Hill and manufactured by Space Models of Feltham, who had made many of the props for Gerry Anderson's other productions, including Thunderbirds. The Investigator was to be the final Supermarionation production for Anderson. Three Thunderbirds voices were used- Peter Dyneley (Jeff Tracy) as The Investigator, Shane Rimmer (Scott Tracy) as John and Sylvia Anderson (Lady Penelope) as Julie.

 

 

Vectis have previously sold toy protype vehicles produced by the iconic British toymaker Dinky, which were to be marketed alongside the show. Unfortunately, the toy line was also moth balled and therefore these are also incredibly scarce.

These two pieces are extremely rare examples of TV and Film history.

Both the car and the boat have pre-sale estimates of £3,600 to £4,600 each.

For more information please contact Kathy Taylor or Andrew Reed on +44 (0) 1642 750616 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

JM