Weird ONES - After seeing the Porsche 910S Custom Car of Jack Zimmer, here is another car that is no less unique. Have you ever heard of a unique car called Ikenga GT that was made in England in the late 1960s? Maybe not many people ever heard it, moreover know about its whereabouts now. The rumour said that one of the Ikenga GT car series was under ownership of a Middle Eastern rich sheik, but its current location was unknown.
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| 1969 Ikenga GT MK III inspired by the Igbo culture of Eastern Nigeria and also featured with various sophisticated things like CCTV and a foldaway steering wheel plus Gucci luggage in the trunk. (Picture from: Askmen) |
David Gittens named the car after a spirit that is often represented by a horned statue in his ancestral Igbo culture. The name Ikenga represents human achievement, accomplishment and success. It said that the unique Ikenga GT car series was built from 1967 to 1969. As the futuristic cars featured with such an advanced closed-circuit television, a foldaway steering wheel, and Gucci luggage in the trunk.
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| David Gittens posed along with his creation car named the 1968 Ikenga GT MkII. (Picture from: AutoJosh) |
The first version of the car, the Ikenga GT MK I, built on a McLaren-Elva Group 7 chassis, was completed in 1967. Furthermore, the next cars consisted of several models, ie 1968 Ikenga MK II and 1969 Ikenga MK III, even he also built a trike concept called Manatee in 1996. It was built as one of the most advanced vehicles ever produced at the time, and after completion the Ikenga GT is covered by Car and Driver magazine, and was dubbed as the "World's Wildest Street Racer" at the time.
Besides its two maker mentioned above, it also supported by the same talented team of mechanical and technical wizards who developed voice actuated furniture for computer hardware. And the team supporting the development Ikenga GT motorcars reflected the wonder and excitement of London, England in the mid-sixties: creative, visionary, dynamic, outrageous, inventive, and multicultural; a truly awesome experience.
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| The first version of the car, the Ikenga GT MK I, built on a McLaren-Elva Group 7 chassis, was completed in 1967. (Picture from: AutoJosh) |
A core vision of the Ikenga auto venture was to express my creative abilities, and make contributions in motor vehicle concepts, as an expatriate American of African-European descent; launching a successful business idea onto a life stage deemed off-limits to the culture in the 1960s.
As quoted from Wikipedia, the Ikenga GT's assembly studio was located in London's Kensington district became the creative base from which to grow the vision of a prototype auto design studio. In October 1968, during the Earls Court Motor Show, the Ikenga MkII was displayed at the Banking Hall at Harrods. This location was chosen due to there being no provision for displaying experimental or prototype vehicles at the motor show venue.
There're 30,000 people saw the car at the Banking Hall, including one who offered $53,000 for the prototype, and a Saudi prince who commissioned a unique version of the car to be called the "Bird of Peace" at a cost of $35,000, unfortunately this special does not appear to have been built. *** [EKA [19052020] | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DWIJ.ORG | ASKMEN | WIKIPEDIA | AUTOJOSH | BROWNCARGUY ]
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