Cheetah Cub, a children's toy car based on a 1950's Jaguar.
This single sheet flyer for the Cheetah Cub child's racing car is dated April 1965. For the child who found that propelling a traditional pedal car, such as the weighty Austin J40 or one of the many different types produced by Lines Brothers under the Tri-ang label, was too much like hard work, then perhaps this was the answer. For instead of relying on pedal-power for propulsion, the Cheetah Cub featured a 75cc Villiers petrol engine beneath its swooping fibreglass bodyshell, styled along the lines of the Jaguar D-Type sports/racing car no less.
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The car measured 6ft 2ins in length, and 2ft 8ins wide. A two-seater (very sociable), the car came with self-coloured bodyshells in Red, Pompadour Blue, British Racing Green, or White. The upholstery was Rexine, in either Red or Grey, while the floor was covered in "Carvel" carpet according to the flyer. Accelerator and brake pedals were fitted, as was an electric horn - perfect for rousing Granny from her sleep - and a perspex wraparound screen, a la D-Type. It even came with a tool kit - handy for working on the four-stroke Villiers engine and its automatic clutch arrangement. The maximum speed of the Cheetah Cub was governed to 14 mph, more than enough I'd have thought. The wheels measured 3.00" x 5" at the front, with wider 3.50" x 5" rims at the rear, fitted with pneumatic tyres.
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Glass Fibre (Birmingham) Limited, of Albion Road, produced these cars, and had the following to say about them:
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"Based on the famous D Type Jaguar, the Cheetah Cub is any child's dream car. With the small petrol driven engine it will give him all the thrills of the race-track driving in complete safety. The Cheetah Cub handles like a real sports car. It is exceptionally stable, the steering is light and positive, and powerful brakes override the motor at all speeds. The Cheetah Cub is controlled by brake and accelerator pedals, and a racing type steering wheel - a master switch is incorporated. It's a real pleasure to drive. The Cheetah Cub has a colour impregnated glass fibre body and a strong steel tubular chassis. It has been designed for a long life with very little maintenance, and is a sound engineering job from bonnet to boot. Give your child a Cheetah Cub - it will be the most exciting present of his life."
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By the mid-1960s the Jaguar D-Type was quite an old design, having begun life in 1954, so how long the Cheetah had been in production for by the date of this flyer (1965) I'm not sure.
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References found elsewhere suggest that Glass Fibre (B'ham) Ltd was also involved with, or quite likely the parent company of, Watsonian Ltd, the sidecar manufacturer. In the 1950s the firm produced a limited number of similarly-powered children's cars, in the style of a Ferrari single-seat racing car.
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I know a young boy who would be very happy to find one of these - his dad wouldn't mind either!
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