- - - - - - - - - - - 1967 - - - - - - - - - - -
The first half of 1967 passed with not even a hint of what was about to be released by Epoch. They had dropped hints in the years leading up to this that they would release something exciting, but no matter how hard journalists and industry pried, there was absolute silence from the company this year. Then, in October, at the British International Motor Show at Earls Court, London, the Epoch stand featured nothing but a sleek and sporty shape hidden by a black sheet. The contours of the car underneath was like no other Epoch ever released before, and hinted at something truly special. When the time was ripe, the CEO of Epoch held a small presentation (although the audience was anything but small) and went through the history of the brand. Each of the models that they had produced was discussed before coming to a conclusion about where the company stood that day. Announced as a birthday present to itself, the CEO stepped forward and pulled the sheet off the car and announced the Epoch Artemus 3000, limited to only 200 produced and, much to everyone’s surprise, to be sold for cost-price at $1,487 ($11,153 adjusted)
Whilst there was no shortage of praise to be heaped upon the Artemus for its looks and road presence, it was also a very capable sports car underneath as well. With a mid-mounted 2996cc (183cui) 60-degree OHC V8 (tweaked version of the M20 V8), fed by a single 4-barrel carb and featuring a tubular exhaust manifold, the focus of the car was unquestionable. Peak power was quoted as 129kW (178HP) at 6400rpm, which was not amazing on paper compared to many other sports car offerings (especially those from the US), but achieved this with Epoch’s signature guarantee on quality and reliability foremost. The car was also designed and built to be light and nimble, with this being both Epoch’s first recorded use of a monocoque chassis on a production car and first recorded use of double-wishbone suspension front and rear, meaning that its conservative power output was utilised to its full potential when driving this sub-1100kg (2425lbs) machine. All of this combined to give the Artemus 3000 a 0-100 time of just under 7.3 seconds and a top speed of 200km/h (124mi/h). Most people saw the car and the performance figures and assumed that it would be an uncomfortable track-focused vehicle, or an uncompromising and challenging car to drive, but this was not true at all. Epoch had not sacrificed everything in the pursuit of performance, but rather had attempted to deliver a complete package that could be used as a pure sports car, but also to cruise about in a reasonably relaxed manner. The interior of the Artemus was trimmed in quality materials and contained features and comforts that would not be out of place in a premium sedan, as well as offering a radio as standard.