Ogle Design
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
design consultancy company, founded in 1954 by David Ogle
David Ogle
David Ogle MBE, DSC was a British industrial designer and car designer. He founded the design consultancy company Ogle Design in 1954....
, based in Letchworth
Letchworth
Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The town's name is taken from one of the three villages it surrounded - all of which featured in the Domesday Book. The land used was first purchased by Quakers who had intended to farm the...
, Hertfordshire.
History
- 1954 Ogle Design was founded and produced many successful designs of industrial and household products.
- 1959 The company became involved in transport design and small scale car production.
- 1962 Ogle was killed in a car crash involving one of his SX1000 cars, Tom KarenTom KarenTom Karen is a British industrial designer of Czech origin. He was Managing Director and Chief Designer of Ogle Design from 1962 until 1999. He oversaw design of the Bush Radio TR130 radio, the Raleigh Chopper, the Bond Bug, the Reliant Scimitar GTE, the Anadol A1 , an award-winning series of...
took over as Managing Director and Chief Designer of the company, and car production ceased. - 1974 Separate divisions were formed for product and transport design.
- 1999 Oct. Ogle Models and Prototypes sold the design business to Ogle Noor.
- 1999 Ogle Noor formed.
Transport products
- The iconic ChopperRaleigh ChopperThe Raleigh Chopper is a children's bicycle, a wheelie bike, manufactured and marketed in the 1970s by the Raleigh Bicycle Company of Nottingham, England. Its unique design became a true 70s cultural icon, and is fondly remembered by many who grew up in that period...
bicycle for Raleigh, launched in 1970 - For the Birmingham Small Arms-Triumph motorcyclesTriumph MotorcyclesTriumph Engineering Co Ltd was a British motorcycle manufacturing company, based originally in Coventry and then in Solihull at Meriden. A new company, Triumph Motorcycles Ltd based in Hinckley gained the name rights after the end of the company in the 1980s and is now one of the world's major...
company- The BSA Rocket 3
- The Triumph Trident T150
- For the Reliant Motor Company:
- The Scimitar GTEReliant ScimitarReliant's first Scimitar was a coupé based upon the styling of a Daimler SP250 prototype and the chassis of a Reliant Sabre. It was first displayed in 1964. It was powered by a 2.6 L Ford straight six from the Ford Zephyr / Ford Zodiac...
, launched in 1968. - The Bond BugBond BugThe Bond Bug was a small British two seat, three wheeled sports car of the 1970s. Following the purchase of Bond Cars Limited, Reliant commissioned Tom Karen of Ogle Design to design a fun car. It was a wedge-shaped microcar, with a lift-up canopy and side screens instead of conventional doors...
, launched in 1970, available in orange and lime green. - The RobinReliant Robinthumb|right|250px|1975 Greek advertisement for Mebea Robin The Reliant Robin is a small three wheeled car formerly manufactured by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England...
, launched in 1973.
- The Scimitar GTE
- The Plaxton Panorama I of 1964
- The Plaxton Panorama ElitePlaxton Panorama EliteThe Plaxton Panorama Elite was a successful design of coach bodywork built between 1968-1975 by Plaxton of Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. A wide-doorway variant called the Plaxton Elite Express was also built. Collectively, they are commonly referred to as the Plaxton Elite.It was preceded by the...
of 1968 - The Duple DominantDuple DominantThe Duple Dominant was a design of coach bodywork built by Duple between 1972 and 1982. It had an all-steel structure.-Chassis:Duple Dominant bodywork was built on different chassis types including:*Albion Viking EVK55CL*AEC Reliance...
coach body launched in 1972 - The Plaxton ParamountPlaxton ParamountThe Plaxton Paramount was a design of coach bodywork built by Plaxton. It first appeared at the 1982 British Motor Show and was built until 1991....
range of coach bodies, both 3200 and 3500 series - The Leyland Road Train range of Design Award winning truck cabs.
- For George LucasGeorge LucasGeorge Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
- Luke Skywalker's XP-34 LandspeederLandspeederLandspeeders are fictional antigravity craft used through the Star Wars movies and Star Wars Expanded Universe. They are depicted both in civilian and military capacities, and several versions have been merchandised as toys and models.-Origin and design:...
- Luke Skywalker's XP-34 Landspeeder
- For the Otosan Automotive Company (Turkey)
- The AnadolAnadolAnadol was Turkey's first domestic mass-production passenger vehicle, and the second Turkish car after the ill-fated Devrim sedan of 1961.Anadol cars and pick-ups were manufactured by Otosan Otomobil Sanayii in Istanbul between 1966 and 1991....
A1 (FW5) launched in 1966
- The Anadol
Car production
The first was the 1.5 based on an extended Riley
Riley (automobile)
Riley was a British motorcar and bicycle manufacturer from 1890. The company became part of the Nuffield Organisation in 1938 and was later merged into British Leyland: late in 1969 British Leyland announced their discontinuance of Riley production, although 1969 was a difficult year for the UK...
1.5 chassis with BMC B series
BMC B-Series engine
The BMC B-series was a straight-4 internal combustion engine family, mostly used in motor cars, created by British company Austin Motor Company. The pre-cursor of the "B" series engine was a 1200 cc OHV engine which was used in the 1947 Austin A40 Devon. This A40 Devon engine was based on a...
1500 cc engine. The two door, four seater coupé styled body was built of glass fibre. It was capable of nearly 90 mi/h and eight were made with a price tag of £1574.
Made in greater numbers was the 1962 SX1000 based on the Mini
Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
. The first cars were built by grafting the Ogle glass fibre body to a customer supplied Mini. The conversion cost £550 plus the customer supplied base car. Later in 1962, complete cars became available with the 997 cc Cooper version costing £1176. Any of the Mini engines could be specified up to the Mini Cooper S unit which topped out at 110 mi/h. It is thought that 66 were made. Following David Ogle's death, it was decided to cease car production with the remaining parts being used up. A batch intended for the United States were converted to right hand drive and sold onto the home market. It is thought the last one left the factory as late as 1964. The moulds were sold in 1966 to Norman Fletcher, a boat builder in West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
, West Midlands, who exhibited a Fletcher GT at the 1967 Racing Car Show.
The final car was the SX250, an updated Daimler Dart built in 1962. Two were made but Daimler
Daimler Motor Company
The Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...
was not interested and the design was sold to Reliant where it became the basis of the Scimitar GT which was launched in 1964.
The Ogle SX1000 is available again from Nostalgia Cars.http://www.nostalgiacars.co.uk/