Solved - NEH 4956: Bohanna-Stables Diablo - 1972

[Carnut]

What's this, by whom, from when - for 1 point?:

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[Lofotleif]

This is the concept which evolved to the AC 3000me. Called; The Diablo by Robin Stables & Peter Bohanna. Unveiled at the London Racin Show in 1972

[Carnut]

This is the concept which evolved to the AC 3000me. Called; The Diablo by Robin Stables & Peter Bohanna. Unveiled at the London Racin Show in 1972

Indeed it is, powered by an Austin Maxi 1.8 litre 4-cylinder engine.
It was bang up-to-date when shown in 1972 but took many years due to development and Type Approval difficulties to reach production in 1979 as the Ford V6-engined AC 3000ME, by which time it was somewhat outdated.  It must be considered a flop with only 71 cars built by AC Cars then another 30 in an Alfa V6-engined incarnation, before it was put out of its misery in 1985.  I always rather liked it and thought it deserved better.

Well done.

Un-modified puzzle pic:

[sixtee5cuda]

Another one that has been resting in my queue for a while.  It was a nice design, too bad they weren't able to develop it in a timely fashion.

[Djetset]

As a kid I used to walk past this car every day on my way to and from school in Marlow, Bucks.  I got to know Peter Bohanna quite well, and would occasionally help him out when he received a (rare) order for one of his Imp-based Bohanna Stable Nymph kits.  The Diablo was brown (!) and I sat in a few times, but never travelled in it as it hadn't run for years.  It was the best thing to do with an Austin Maxi though... 

[Carnut]

Fascinating.  I remember seeing it (every year!) at the Motor Show in the 1970s but I recall the colour as being beige, but maybe I'm just thinking of the AC model I have in my model cabinet..

It deserved more than the puny Maxi engine but I don't think Ford's venerable V6 Essex engine was the answer; that was a heavy old lump which only produced about 120 bhp and never had any charisma, though it was widely used in cars like the Reliant Scimitar and numerous other glass fibre cars; they all suffered from poor performance as a result in my opinion.
What AC really needed to do was slip a lightweight V8 into it, like the Rover 3.5 litre, and lift performance on to a par with TVRs and make a PROPER sports car!