Tornado Cars was founded in 1957 by Bill Woodhouse and based in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, UK. The first model was the Typhoon Sports, available either as a body for fitting to Ford 8/10 chassis (following a then current market trend for "specials" based on these mechanical components) or with a Tornado designed and manufactured chassis to which a range of engines and transmissions could be fitted. About 400 of this model are believed to have been made through to 1962. A similarly styled Tempest model featuring a Ford Anglia 105E engine and independent wishbone front suspension was introduced around 1960-61, but only around 15 were produced. In 1962, the company introduced the Talisman 2+2 coupe carrying an attractively styled fibreglass body on a more sophisticated tubular steel chassis with Ford 1,340cc or 1,500cc engines in various states of tune. This model was available either in component form or factory finished and was praised for having lively performance combined with good ride and handling characteristics, and a high standard of finish. Cash-flow problems forced the company into liquidation in 1964 after just 186 Talismans had been made.
