Created in 1978 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Ford Motor Company
A silver model of Henry Ford’s iconic Model T automobile (nicknamed Tin Lizzie), hand-crafted in loving detail by London’s finest silversmiths, with:
– bonnet opening to reveal engine compartment
– seat squabs lifting to reveal fuel tank
– compartment containing eight finely crafted tools
– hinged doors
– folding windscreen
– functioning steering-wheel, controlling front wheels
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T, generally regarded as the world’s first affordable automobile, was named Car of the Century in December 1999. Over 15 million were produced between 1908 and 1927.
First built in Detroit, with a four-cylinder engine generating a top speed of 45 mph (70 km/h), the Model T was originally available in red, grey, green or blue – then, from 1914, in mandatory black. Production peaked at 10,000 cars a day in 1925, by when the Model T was made throughout the world (British production site was Trafford Park, Manchester, next to Old Trafford football ground). In May 1929 Henry Ford signed an agreement with Soviet Russia to build a car-plant in Nizhny Novgorod to produce the Model T’s successor, the Model A, along with Ford AA trucks.
Our silver car was made by Garrard to mark the 75th anniversary of the Ford Motor Company in 1978. Six new, full-sized Model Ts, based on the original designs, were built to mark Ford’s centenary in 2003.
