Bonhams is selling an incredibly rare British Ogle SX1000 at an online auction. It is believed that no more than 20 copies have survived to this day, and the one up for sale not only spent 57 years in the same family, but also has very low mileage.
David Slingsby Ogle was undoubtedly a remarkable man. He died prematurely, but lived with passion and worked tirelessly. After the war, Ogle studied industrial design at the Central School of Art and Design in London. Brief appearances on Murphy Radio and Bush Radio followed, after which he developed the UK’s iconic TR82 transistor radio and SRP31D record player. By 1954, Ogle had founded his eponymous design firm.
However, the industrial design work soon fell by the wayside as Ogle concentrated on auto design: he developed a beautiful concept based on the 1.5-liter Riley engine, known simply as the Ogle 1.5. It was this project that helped Ogle Design gain a reputation as a serious coachbuilder with an eye for quality that most of its British competitors lacked. Therefore, when the SX1000 appeared in December 1961, the new product was received with great enthusiasm.
When ordering the Ogle SX1000, customers were required to provide their own BMC Mini. The cost of the modifications was £536 5s, almost doubling the total cost of the donor car. Despite all this, demand was quite high. So much so that BMC subsequently agreed to supply Ogle with a Mini Cooper chassis on the condition that the Mini name not be used for any marketing purposes. From this point on, all SX1000s were supplied turnkey and priced at £1,190.
But in 1962, disaster struck. Ogle was driving down the A1 to Digswell Hill for the SX1000 prototype racing demonstration at Brands Hatch. The speed was approximately 130 km/h when his car crashed into a slow moving van. The miniature Ogle caught fire. Ogle died at the scene. He was only 40 years old and left behind a wife and four small children. After this tragedy, several partially completed SX1000s were completed, but then production ended in 1963. It is believed that only 69 cars were produced by that time.
The car offered for sale was registered in the name of Mr. D. O\’Connor in November 1963. Between 1963 and 1967 the SX1000 passed through the hands of several dealers before Warwick Catt bought it in May 1967 and became the car’s second registered owner, in whose family the car spent 57 years.
Warwick made a number of modifications. These included the installation of a 1275 cc engine with a polished head and optimized manifold. This was complemented by a pair of HS4 SU carburetors, a larger radiator and more efficient front brake calipers. After modifications, the car was used as a weekend car.
After Warwick’s death he left Ogle to his nephew Martin. Unfortunately, Martin passed away shortly after Warwick, meaning the Ogle then passed to Martin’s widow, who remains the car’s custodian today. The original plan was to send the car to the Yeovil Motor Museum. However, changing circumstances are now forcing him to leave his home of 57 years and look for a new owner.
The Ogle SX1000 carefully hides its underpinnings, with only the Mini wheels and chrome hubcaps giving some hint of the underlying chassis. As you’d expect from a designer of David Ogle’s caliber, the SX1000 offers plenty of eye-pleasing detail. From the relatively large four headlights to the side moldings that flow into the swells of the taillights.
Ogle was able to perfect the process of making curved fiberglass body parts. This, coupled with the factory application of 8 layers of cellulose to each body, helped Ogle live up to its reputation as a quality manufacturer.
The salon also looks stylish. The bright scarlet carpets and trim panels pair perfectly with the black Microcell bucket seats and green exterior paint. Inside, we see a scattering of instruments from Smiths, Lucas and Jaeger, as well as a stunning 15-inch Clifford wood-rimmed steering wheel.
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