LOSE YOUR SELF IN 1965
FIRST EDITION OF PUBLIC EYE
Possibly British television’s nest detective serves, ITV’S Public Eye showcased Alfred Burke as the cynical and weary ‘enquiries agent’ Frank Marker. Sadly, only ve of the original 1965-68 ABC episodes survive, although there is a complete run of the 1969-1975 Thames stories. Public Eye’s creators Roger Marshall and Anthony Marriott deliberately avoided ITC ‘International Man of Mystery’ scenarios, as Marker attempts to sustain a business on ‘six guineas a day, plus expenses’. Burke was cast in the lead, because Marshall believed ‘he didn’t look like a private detective’ and was ‘just another face’ in a crowd’.
VICTORY FOR THE MINI COOPER
Timo Mäkinen and his co-driver Paul Easter won the Monte Carlo Rally in the Morris Cooper S, registration AJB 44B. Motor Sport reected on their achievements: ‘The nal question must be “How did a Mini manage to win?” and the answer to that is simply the skill of the driver and co-driver, the brilliant organisation of the BMC team, the excellence of the car’s design, the skill of the mechanics that built it and serviced it, and lastly the money that BMC were prepared to spend in order to reap the publicity that comes when you win the Monte.’
BOND LAUNCHES THE 875
The 875 was a signi cant change for Bond, with a rear-mounted Hillman Imp engine in place of the FWD Minicar Mark G’s Villiers powerplant. The latest Bond also featured Rootes Group allsynchromesh four-speed transmission and independent suspension, while the top speed was 82mph. However, John Surtees exceeded 100mph when he drove an 875 around Brands Hatch. The price was £496 19s 7d, and Autocar praised the ‘good brakes and unexpectedly safe handling’. They also found ‘cornering is very stable, and there is little to remind one that there is only one wheel at the front’.