The M-505 Adams Brothers Probe 16 is a low, mid-engined sports car built in England in 1969. Its designers, Dennis and Peter Adams, had worked for Marcos and described the car as “an investigation into extremes of styling”. Only three were made, and all three still exist.
Adams Probe 16 at a glance
| Designers | Dennis and Peter Adams, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire |
|---|---|
| Design brief | “an investigation into extremes of styling” |
| Year | 1969 |
| Engine | Austin 1800, mid-mounted and tuned |
| Height | 34 in (86 cm) |
| Wheels | 12 in front, 15 in rear |
| Entry | sliding glass roof |
| Built | three cars, AB/2 to AB/4 |
| Left-hand drive | one car only (AB/2) |
| Film appearance | “Durango 95” in A Clockwork Orange, 1971 |
based on one source (English Wikipedia). No free photographs of the Probe 16 were available, so the page uses the existing picture of the record.
History of the Adams Probe 16
Design
The Probe 16 was drawn by Dennis and Peter Adams, former designers at Marcos, at their works in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire. The car was conceived in 1969 as a study in extremes of styling: a wedge only 34 inches (86 cm) high, with a mid-mounted tuned Austin 1800 engine behind the seats. It rode on 12-inch wheels at the front and 15-inch wheels at the back, and the driver got in through a sliding glass roof rather than conventional doors.
The three cars
Only three Probe 16s were ever produced, and all three survive. The first, chassis AB/2 with the registration MJO 145H, went to the American songwriter Jimmy Webb; it was painted Wedgwood Blue, had a black interior and was the only left-hand-drive car of the three. It also differed in the position of its fuel fillers, in cut-outs in the rear wings and in its tail lamps, and it appeared on the cover of the UK Telegraph Magazine in October 1969 and at the Montreal Motor Show.
The second car, AB/3 (PWV 222H), was sold to Jack Bruce, bassist of Cream, who later gave it to his Bruce & Laing partner Corky Laing as a birthday present. Originally red with a black interior, it was the only car of the series to carry the large Adams Brothers badge on its nose, and it was shown at the Earl’s Court London Car Show in October 1969. It has since been restored and is back on the road.
The third, AB/4 (JFB 220H), was the Adams brothers’ own demonstration car, originally silver with a red interior. It spent years in the Pollock Auto Showcase collection before being sold around 1985, after which it was dismantled, repainted yellow and stored. It remained unrestored until a full restoration by the British specialists Club Autosport.
On film
Robin Gibbons lent his Probe 16, AB/4, to Stanley Kubrick for his 1971 film A Clockwork Orange, where it appears as the “Durango 95”. In 2004 the same car was nominated for restoration in the “Restoration Rip-off” feature of Top Gear, but lost the vote to Paddy Hopkirk’s Mini. The Probe 16 was not a one-off exercise in shape alone: the Adams brothers had already built the Probe 15 before it, and the design led on to the Probe 2001.
The Probe series
The earlier Probe 15 is believed to have been made in a single example, which is still intact in Switzerland. The later Probe 2001 was built between 1970 and 1972 by the Probe Motor Company with WT Nugent (Engineering Ltd). Chassis AB/1 was converted from a Probe 15 and chassis AB/5 was used for the Probe 2001, so the Probe 16 numbering sits between the two other cars of the family.
Design and features
- Extreme lowness: 34 inches (86 cm) tall, with the roof at about the height of a contemporary bonnet.
- Mid-mounted Austin engine: a tuned 1800 unit behind the cockpit.
- Mixed wheel sizes: 12-inch wheels in front, 15-inch at the rear.
- Sliding glass roof: the only way in and out of the cockpit.
- Three cars only: each with its own trim, details and history.
Adams Probe 16 versions
- Probe 16 AB/2: the left-hand-drive car sold to Jimmy Webb, in Wedgwood Blue.
- Probe 16 AB/3: Jack Bruce’s red car with the Adams Brothers nose badge.
- Probe 16 AB/4: the silver demonstration car, later the Durango 95.
- Probe 15: the earlier Adams brothers model, thought to be a single car in Switzerland.
- Probe 2001: the later model of 1970–1972, built with WT Nugent.
The Probe 16 is one of the rarities in the Adams collection, alongside the other cars of the marque.
Sources
- Probe 16, English Wikipedia: design, chassis histories, film appearances, Probe series