Hampton Motor Group - Round 2 Prologue
May 30th, 1958 - As the company celebrated its 10th anniversary, Toby outlined the plans for the company’s lineup for 1960. After a brief period of deliberation, he came up with the following suggestion:
Ferret - Engine to be enlarged to 1.8 litres, 3-speed automatic transmission available as option and manual gearbox to be upgraded to 4-speed; coupe and estate added to range.
Shrike - Engine to be enlarged to 2.0 litres, more standard equipment offered overall; convertible added to range.
Peregrine - Engine to be enlarged to 3.5 litres and tuned for better performance; range to be expanded to include 2-seater convertible and 2+2 coupe.
Valiant - Engine to be enlarged to 3.0 litres (3.2-litre version optional), automatic transmission to be upgraded to 3-speed and manual transmission to be upgraded to 4-speed; coupe and estate added to range.
Full-size luxury saloon (name to be determined) - New model, built on extended Valiant platform and powered by detuned Peregrine 3.5-litre engine.
In addition, all passenger cars will be offered with 4-wheel disc brakes, either as standard or as optional equipment, from 1960 onwards, and advanced safety equipment will be integrated into their construction. Front disc brakes will also be made optional on Transtar and Nevis.
When he showed this proposal to his fellow employees and colleagues, they unanimously approved it, since they were very enthusiastic about his grand plan for the company. Given that there were now more customers than ever before who were willing to buy a car with their own money, especially more upmarket ones, it seemed fitting that the Hampton Motor Group should target the upwardly mobile, especially in America. He began with the following speech:
“Greetings, everyone. It has been a full decade since this company was established. Back then, this factory had only just risen from the rubble, and a few years before that, I was being shot at from all sides during the D-Day offensive. Now, however, this country and its people are in better shape than they were in any previous year of this century.”
Toby’s colleagues roared with applause. He continued:
“It is therefore clear to us that, for the sake of upholding our reputation, our existing lineup of cars must be updated for the next decade, with more power and standard equipment without incurring excessive increases in price, and it will also be accompanied with at least one new model, which is currently under development as we speak. Given that other manufacturers around the world are also updating their model ranges, the timing of our updates could not be better, for it will allow us to remain competitive for longer. In a few years’ time, the world will marvel at the fruits of our labour. Until then, keep calm and carry on… working on our vehicles.”
As his ever-loyal employees returned to their stations, Toby returned to his office, sat down in his chair and whistled God Save The Queen quietly, before taking a nap and dreaming of the day when his company would make its next big breakthrough.
