Thomond -
1970s design
The 1970s 'Thomond' design
In the early 1970s,
Dick Humphreys' son
Richard Humphreys
made designs for a prototype car
with a novel high-visibility windscreen and seating design.
He called it the "Thomond"
after the Thomond car his father built.
He built a full-size mock-up of the car.
He got some interest and press coverage.
But he did not actually build a car in the end.
Original design and wooden mock-up:
- Since he left school, Richard sketched out staggered seating designs.
- In 1970-1971 he sketched out his
original Thomond design,
addressing the problem of:
(a) pillar obstructing view,
and: (b) how to lay out staggered seats.
- In 1971 he made a timber prototype.
This was kept in his house in Mount Merrion.
- He corresponded with some British car firms.
He took the mock-up over on a trailer to England.
Showed it to
Rootes
and Rover.
- Article in
Motoring Life,
Oct 1972.
-
Developed design.
Continued correspondence.
New design:
- In
mid-late 1970s, he changed the design.
He realised there was a problem with having one big door.
In a crash, it could easily get jammed, and people wouldn't be able to get out.
- Changed design to two separate doors.
Novel hinge system, out and upwards.
Doesn't need much width to open door.
Prototype:
End of project:
- Not sure how it ended. Richard had many projects!
- The
timber mock-up prototype ended up in a barn in Kingswood.
- Not sure what happened to the Crumlin prototype.
The Thomond design as drawn on the cover of
Motoring Life, Oct 1972.
This was just a design.
No prototype looking like this was built.
See
larger
and
full size.
The staggered seating plan.
From
p.3
of the 1972 article.
The McLaren F1 (1992),
often called the greatest car ever made,
had a central driver seat, central steering wheel,
and
two staggered passenger seats set back a bit from the driver.
See full size.
From Road and Track.
References
