Richard Wooley meeting
 

Hi all,

I understand that at the national meet a couple of weeks back, there was an opportunity for some to have a chat with the 75 designer.

Just wondered if there are any interesting facts etc that came from him about the car, and how he feels about the following it now has?

Interesting fact, the handbrake compensator was designed to stretch :eek: :getmecoat:

Richard Wooley and Ian Podgson were at an evening do at Studly Castle on the Saturday night after POL organised by a different 75/ZT club.

See here

I cant remember too much, as I had a sherbert or too :o

I can remember him saying his wife actually chose the colours for the 75 Interiors, and that even though he has gone to design many other cars, none have ever looked so much like the original concept drawings than the 75.

I even got a groupie signature :o :D (actually the missus asked for it)

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...1&d=1398951877

Whoops! Faux Pas alert! I thought it was arranged via this club....

It was not arranged by the OC, but by the Enthusiasts.
I was able to attend as well, Richard Woolley mentioned, among other things, that the 75 was the car he was the most proud of over his entire career, or rather the one that had a special place in his heart, as it's the one project that stayed true to the original sketck and vision all along, all the way up to the finished product 5 years later. And as he mentioned, this is rather rare in the industry, as compromises always have to be made...
The other reason for the 75 to be so special to him is that the project allowed him to meet his future wife, who designed the colour trims for the interior.

I recall him also explaining that as an artist/designer, how humbled he was that a design he conjured up has become so loved by so many, 20yrs after it was first sketched.
I felt at the time his eyes might glaze over, such was his passion and emotional connection with this design.
As Simon already mentioned, Richards wife designed the six interior colour schemes for the 75.
He did explain that by the time BMW bought Rover and turned up for a look around the projects Rover Cars were working on there was always intervention to change things, and the 75 was a pretty much finished article at the time. The BMW head honcho who was the man to please took one look at the 75 and simply gave it the thumbs up as it were. The only intervention by BMW to the original design was to utilise the BMW rear Z axle, which Rover re-worked to suit the front wheel drive platform.

A fantastic evening, one i'll remember for a long time.

I really wish i was there gutted that i wasnt. Hopefully i will bump into him somewhen(not in a stalkerish way):D

It must have been fascinating to learn about the genesis of our cars from Richard Woolley himself - and to hear what the design meant - and evidently still means - to him, all these years later.:}

Perhaps our Club could arrange an event when Richard could give a talk on the early history? I feel sure this would attract quite a lot of interest?

All the best, Nicholas/Zircon

Just Zircon I like this idea to a meeting in honor of Desainer