1954 50s fifties Siva Edwardian FORD 103E Popular. Dr Who BESSIE is a fifties old-style replica open-topped sedan yellow KIT CAR. Tardis Roadster en route to Lytham Hall classic car show, Lancashire, UK
Image details
Contributor:
ZarkePix / Alamy Stock PhotoImage ID:
2JMMJKTFile size:
28.8 MB (1.8 MB Compressed download)Releases:
Model - no | Property - noDo I need a release?Dimensions:
3888 x 2593 px | 32.9 x 22 cm | 13 x 8.6 inches | 300dpiDate taken:
7 August 2022Location:
Lytham, UkMore information:
This image could have imperfections as it’s either historical or reportage.
The Earth-based transport for Jon Pertwee’s third Doctor was a bright yellow vintage car replica which starred in many episodes of the cult sci-fi show across two decades. Bessie was fitted with space-age modifications fit for the Doctor’s adventures, including remote control which allowed him to drive her from a distance as well as an anti-theft force-field. Bessie The Siva Edwardian, built on the chassis of a 1954 Ford Popular, first appeared in the Doctor Who and the Silurians episode in 1970 when the Doctor was stranded on planet Earth and exiled by the Time Lords without the use of his TARDIS. With a need to stay mobile in his fight against monsters and villains, the Doctor adopted Bessie as his four-wheeled transport. Even when a new car, the Whomobile, appeared on set as a dramatic winged creation, Bessie remained essential for tackling such foes as humanoids, giant spiders, intelligent reptiles and the hypnotic Master. Tom Baker drove Bessie in his first episode in 1974, using the car to help defeat a giant robot. After a hiatus, the car reappeared in 1983 in The Five Doctors, when Peter Davison’s Doctor encountered four other versions of himself. Dusted down for another adventure with Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor in Battlefield in 1989, Bessie’s last hurrah on the small screen came in 1993 with the charity special episode Dimensions in Time. Bessie Bessie may look like a vintage car but in reality is a 1954 Ford Popular 103E, fitted with a fibreglass tourer body made by Siva Engineering of Dorset. The four-seater Siva Edwardian body was available in kit form from 1969 until the mid-1970s, along with a two-seater Roadster model, allowing any keen DIY mechanic to transform their second-hand Ford 7Y 8hp, Anglia or Popular into a replica of a much older machine and re-live the good old days of motoring. Bessie The original chassis, suspension, engine and transmission from the Ford were all retained in the build of the Siva Edwardian.