Modified description courtesy of Bonhams Auction House:
THE ADAMS BROTHERS PROBE 16
The two bothers Dennis and Peter Adams were well established with respect to "futuristic" car construction, based on their contributions to the design and racing success of the British sports car manufacturer Marcos. Dennis was very much the designer of the duo, while Peter more the 'under the skin' engineering wizard. In 1969, they set out to produce the M-505 Probe 16 - both designed and built by the Adams Brothers - to represent "An investigation into extremes of styling". Just three examples were made, two of which were severely neglected - this one (AB/3) is the most original and unrestored, having been owned by a single owner since 1983.
Of the three M-505 Probe 16's built, the first example was sold to famous American songwriter Jim Webb and is believed to have been damaged significantly over the years and is currently needing restoration. The second Probe 16 completed carried chassis number AB/3, which is the car offered here. It was completed in 1969 and exhibited at that year's London Motor Show, held in October at the famous Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London. With the intention to initiate a British Styling showpiece stand at the Earl's Court '69 Motor Show, the Daily Telegraph Magazine cooperated with the Institute of British Carriage and Automobile Manufactures to show the Probe 16 on the IBCAM stand, where it obtained a tremendous reception and won the design award as the Best British Styling Exercise. Powering the Probe 16s was a BMC 1.8-Liter OHV inline 4-cylinder engine, tuned by British JanSpeed, and mounted transversely in the chassis.
This Probe 16, chassis no. AB/3, was originally sold to bassist Jack Bruce, whom then gave it to Corky Laing as a birthday present. It later became the property of Canadian collector and car designer Dr. Clyde Kwok, before being purchased by the previous long-time Canadian car collector and British motorcar enthusiast, in 1983. Probe 16 AB/3 has since been kept in authentic and original state and remains the most original of the three examples produced.
The third (and only other) Probe 16 (AB/4) has been displaced at the "Pollock Auto Showcase" in USA until it was returned to the U.K. around 1990, by Colin Feyerbend, where it was undergoing a complete rebuild and restoration.
The M-505 Adams Brothers Probe 16 starred in the 1971 film "A Clockwork Orange", by the late filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, as mode or transportation for 'the gang of Droogs' and was nicknamed Durango 95. According to documentation obtained from Dennis F. Adams, the car rented to Kubrick's production company was chassis AB/4, which has since been restored. Chassis AB/3 was recently invited to form part of the 'Hollywood Dream Machines – Vehicles of Science Fiction and Fantasy' exhibit at the famous Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, as the Durango 95 from A Clockwork Orange.
