JUNE 1969 HOGARTH ROUNDABOUT, CHISWICK
Go back in time just over 50 years and we arrive at this scene, with plenty of Minis, Fords and… wait, is that a Toyota Corolla?
Although the photographer here is clearly focused on construction of Hogarth Roundabout’s distinctive single-lane flyover, allowing eastbound traffic on the A316 to quickly join the A4 on their way into central London, readers won’t be surprised to learn that we’re far more fascinated by the cars that can be spotted. There are some real rarities to be found – together with one that you might not expect.
We can scarcely believe that in a scene featuring not one, but two Citroën DSs, these revolutionary French cars are not the main talking point. That accolade belongs to the slightly anonymous-looking two-door saloon to the left of the DS Safari estate fitted with a roof rack. It would be easy to confuse it for a Ford given the number of similarlybadged saloons pictured. However, the dimensions are wrong for it to be either an Escort or a Cortina. That’s because it’s a first-generation Toyota Corolla, introduced in 1966.
Although Toyota entered the UK car market in 1965, sales were very slow to take off so the Corolla would have been more alien to British eyes than either of the spaceship-like DSs.
The Corolla debuted with a fivebearing four-cylinder overheadvalve 1100 engine, rated at 60bhp and capable of 87mph. A fourspeed all-synchro manual gearbox was standard but, like our pair of Citroëns, clutchless motoring was optional, in this case via Toyoglide automatic transmission, which according to the original sales brochure ‘makes every driver an expert’. But an expert in what?
Both DSs are roughly a year old given that they feature the Robert Opron frontal restyle, lending both a rather shark-like appearance. This also means that they couldn’t have been built in nearby Slough; production of British-built DSs began in 1956, but ended in 1965.
It’s hard to tell whether the Mini in front of our Japanese curio is a MkI or a MkII, given that what generally distinguishes the two is the size of the rear window (it’s larger on the second-generation model). Those wing mirrors would almost certainly have been added by the car’s owner.
To the Mini’s left is a fourthgeneration Ford Zephyr/Zodiac. It’s hard from this angle to distinguish which variant it is, but the lack of a sunroof means that it’s definitely not an Executive.
That’s an Austin 3-Litre behind the aforementioned Toyota. Released in 1967 as the replacement for the A110 Westminster, it was a rather ungainly-looking thing as a result of it retaining the central structure of the smaller 1800. Fewer than 10,000 were built as a result.
And anyone who doubts that there is always an enthusiast base for ‘improving’ Issigonis’ baby need only admire the customised van behind the 3-Litre, complete with psychedelic bonnet pattern.
There’s another fourth-generation big Ford in the bottom-right corner edging onto the roundabout, but the basic grille and single pair of headlamps indicate that it’s a Zephyr 4, that digit denoting its 2.0-litre V4 engine. The Zephyr 6 had a 2.5-litre V6 while the Zodiac had a 3.0-litre V6. Next to it is yet another Mini and a Commer FC/PB van.
It’s difficult to make out the vehicles furthest from the camera, but we can just about see a Ford Transit that’s about to enter the roundabout from the westbound A4. Priced just £542 when it was released in 1965, it soon became the commercial of choice for many small businesses, law-abiding or otherwise – Scotland Yard dubbed it ‘Britain’s most wanted van’ in 1972.
Behind the Transit in the righthand lane are (surprise, surprise) two more Minis, but in the left-hand lane we can just about make out a Volkswagen Type 2. VW would have had a strong foothold in Britain by 1969, Wolfsburg having exported its 100,000th Beetle to our shores exactly five years prior to when this shot was taken. Speaking of Beetles, there’s one parked up outside of Fuller’s Brewery.
Beer has been brewed at Fuller’s historic Griffin Brewery site since 1816 and aside from its alcoholic beverages it’s famous for having the UK’s oldest wisteria plant. Fuller’s has 380 pubs and hotels across southern England, including The George and Devonshire, which is just out of frame on the right-hand edge of this shot, in-line with the two-tone Ford Anglia 105E Deluxe.
Other classics that grab our eyes are the white Vauxhall Victor FD passing the Regent petrol station and which would have served as Luton’s riposte to the aforementioned pair of MkIV Ford saloons. Behind the Victor is a Vanden Plas 4-Litre R – R denoting its Roll-Royce engine; not its ubiquitous V8, but a fourlitre straight-six, good for a 100mph maximum speed. Elsewhere, truck buffs will have spotted the Atkinson (Borderer, perhaps?) artic and roobar-equipped Ford D- Series.
There’s now a Tesla Garage opposite Fuller’s – one of 16 currently in the UK, apparently. Although that’s still far more than the number of first-generation Corollas left on our roads…