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The Whomobile was created in the UK, 1973 after being specially commissioned by Jon Pertwee (The 3rd Dr Who in the BBC TV Series "Dr Who") from
designer Peter Farries. Farries at the time was Chairman of the Nottingham Drag and Custom Club. In January 1973 Jon Pertwee was opening a Ford Main Dealers branch in Nottingham (UK) and he saw an early restored
Model T Ford called "The Californian Hot Rod" that could do 0-60 mph in 3 seconds. Pertwee found out that it was created by Peter Farries and so asked him to design a custom-built car that would suit his futuristic
character in the Dr Who series. Powered by a 975cc Hillman Imp Sports engine specially prepared by Chrysler UK the vehicle could reach 105 mph and averaged around 50 mpg.
The vehicle (Reg No WVO 2M) was 14 feet long and 7 feet wide with large fins extending five foot from the ground. The body was made from fibreglass
and constructed in just two sections which was a task considered impossible by other designers at the time. This was then mounted on to a steel box section chassis that incorporating a sheet steel floor pan for
added strength. An 8 inch rubber skirt was attached to the underside of the body which concealed the wheels (two at the back, one at the front) to give the illusion that the vehicle was a hovercraft.
The vehicle had no doors, to gain access you climbed in over the wing. Inside the Sci-fi look continued with a TV screen and a fake "computer bank"
of flashing lights to the left of the TV. It also featured a silver radio cassette player. Both the radio and TV were serviced by twin electric aerials that rose from the back of the car at the flick of
a switch. Due to UK law the TV had a cover that had to be in place when the vehicle was in use on public roads.
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