| As a young boy, Peter’s passion was aeroplanes. According to his mother, Marcheritta, he was able to identify every plane – military or civilian – from any country in the world. As an adult, his passion transferred to cars; the faster, the better. Here are the cars that he owned during his lifetime (genuine photographs of the actual vehicles in all but one instance). |
Above: Peter’s mother, Marcheritta, with her car – a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia. It was this vehicle that sparked his life-long love of cars.
Above: Marcheritta’s inscription on the back of the photograph to her son.
The cars listed below are in order of when Peter owned them, and not when they were made.
1951 JOWETT ‘JUPITER’
“While appearing in ‘Hamlet’ in London, my friend and fellow actor, Andrew Faulds, would often tootle around Hyde Park in the Jowett picking up birds.” Peter Wyngarde
0-60 in 16.5 seconds
Top Speed: 145mph
N.B. This isn’t the exact car that Peter owned.
1931 STUDEBAKER DICTATOR
Colour: Green
0-60 in 16.5 seconds
Top Speed: 145mph
Peter wrote the car off while speeding to Southampton to see his future wife, Dorinda Stevens!
1939 LAGONDA DROPHEAD ‘RAPIDE‘
Colour: Green
0-60 in 8.9 seconds
Top Speed: 110mph
Peter purchased this car from the nephew of A.A. Milne – author of the Pooh Bear books.
1953 TRIUMPH TR2
Colour: White
0-60 in 12 seconds
Top Speed: 107mph
Peter drove a white TR3A in the film, Night of the Eagle/Burn, Witch, Burn
1954 Bristol 404
Just 52 404s were ever made.
Colour: Silver
0-60 19.9 seconds
Top Speed: 110mph
Click here for more information on this car
1962 BRISTOL 404 COUPÉ
Colour: Red
0-60 in 12 seconds
Top Speed: 109mph
Peter purchased this car with the fee he received for the film ‘Night of the Eagle/Burn, Witch, Burn’.
1959 AUSTIN-HEALEY ‘FROGEYE’
Colour: Iris Blue
0-60 in 19 seconds
Top Speed: 85mph
Photo: Pictured outside Peter’s home in Earls Terrace, London.
1953 BENTLEY R-TYPE CONTINENTAL SPORTS SALOON
Colour: Black
0-60 in 13.2 seconds
Top Speed: 101.7mph
Click here for more information on this car
1954 BRISTOL 405 CONVERTABLE
Colour: Maroon
0-60 in 13 seconds
Top Speed: 105mph
Photo: Peter in his beloved Bristol
1975 TRIUMPH TR7
Colour: Racing Green
0-60 in 9.1 seconds
Top Speed: 114mph
Photo: Pictured outside Peter’s home in Earls Terrace, London.
1984 TVR TASMIN
Colour: Red
0-60 in 7.8
Top Speed: 110mph
Photo: Pictured at Bisley Shooting Range, Woking.
1984 Porsche 911
Colour: White
0-60 in 3.9 seconds
Top Speed: 205
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ARTICLE
In April 1972, Peter tested drove a Lotus Seven S4TC sports car for the (West) German entertainment magazine, Bravo.
A HOT THING FOR JASON KING
Anyone who wants this speedster needs strong nerves; the Lotus 7 is as airy as a Formula 1 racing car and narrow as a sardine can. At the wheel of the 18870 Mark two-seater from England, Peter Wyngarde felt like a jet pilot. Why? He tells here…
“This is the hottest car I’ve ever ridden in! Peter Wyngard,e alias Jason King, could hardly part with the 122 HP Lotus that he had driven across Munich for a day.
“At every traffic light I was surrounded by onlookers,” he laughs. “But not because they wanted autographs. The car interested them much more. This time, the Lotus was clearly the bigger star of the two of us.”
The most original two-seater in Europe comes – like almost all “tough men’s cars” – from England. The fact that the Lotus 7 looks like a racing car that has lost its way from the racing circuit into city traffic is thanks to its designer. It’s Colin Chapman, the boss of the famous Lotus Renselle.
“Externally, the speedster reminds me of a sports car from the thirties,” says Peter. “The resinous polyester body of the speedster is only 98 centimetres high and has neither doors nor bumpers.
“You have to squeeze into the cockpit in racing driver style”, explains the actor. “You have to be a skilled gymnast to do that. I had to put both feet on the seat, crouch down and push my legs under the steering wheel from that position. I can telly you, I ended up with a few bruises!”
Peter laughs: “It gets tense when you turn the ignition key and the dull roar of the engine sounds. When the accelerator pedal is pressed, the car turns into a jet fighter in a fraction of a second. It accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in seven seconds; an indescribable feeling – the thrust is so strong, that you are pressed back into the seat.
“From 80mph onwards, the breeze in the cockpit became a hurricane that tore the cigarette out of my mouth. I felt as if I was sitting on the deck of a ship with the wind at force eight. And a little later, on an uneven road, the tightly sprung racer turned into a raging bone cruncher. Every bump in the street had the effect of constantly kicking my seat from below. For a few seconds, I longed for my Bristol sports car, built in 1959, or for my Bentley Coupé back. But only until the next straight, because then the discs in my spine will recover from the worst impacts.
“The consumption of this disguised racing car is limited; around 13 litres per 100 kilometres is not too much for a 122 hp engine, with the help of which the Seven effortlessly shows it’s rear to more powerful sports cars…”
Translated by Tina Wyngarde-Hopkins
Click below for more about Peter and his love of cars…
PETER WYNGARDE: The Official Website 