FAB 1 (TB2015)

FAB 1 is a pink, six wheeled saloon car owned by Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, and driven by her manservant Parker. It was presumably, judging by the IR emblem, designed by International Rescue.

FAB 1 is designed to be swift, solid and functional for Lady Penelope's dangerous missions, while also looking posh and sensible enough to suit Her Ladyship as a fancy aristocrat. The inside is bright and cream, and the high-tech driving console is organized so that the driver is seated in the middle of the vehicle, rather than to the side (reminiscent of a fighter-jet, but in car terms it's similar to high-profile vehicles like the McLaren F1). FAB 1 doesn't just stop at being a car either, it has the ability to fly and swim.

Specifications[]

Height: 4.8 feet
Length: 20 feet
Wingspan: 6.2 feet
Wingspan (inc. wings): 5.9 feet
Top Speed (land): 260 mph
Top Speed (underwater): 184 mph
Top Speed (air): 3,000 mph

Design[]

FAB 1’s shape is essentially a box consisting of three sections, with the two outer sections being identical, only mirrored. The outer sections are pink in colour and are slightly curved at the top of their boxy shape. At the front of these sections are rectangular headlights that can be lowered to reveal the flamethrowers. On top of these sections are the squared wing mirrors, which rise out of the body when the car turns on, positioned just in front of the car’s interior. On the side of these sections are the six wheels, four at the front and two at the back. Each wheel has solid silver coloured rims, with thin black tires. In between the front and rear wheels are the doors, which are only as large as the sections and do not hold the side windows for the interior. The back of these sections hold the slim rectangular brake lights, positioned with the length going vertically. Underneath each section at the back are the exhausts, with two exhaust pipes on each side. The back of these sections connect to each other underneath the middle silver section. The back of the silver section holds the black licence plate that reads ‘FAB 1’. The section continues to the top of the car to the interior of the car. The interior extends outside the main body of FAB 1, giving the presence of a glass bubble. The bullet proof glass bubble has a pink metal frame to keep it in place. This also allows the side glass pieces to rise out of the way when the doors are opened. The front of the silver section extends to the same length as the pink sections. At the very end of this section is a miniature rocket in place of Rolls Royce’s usual Spirit of Ecstacy. At the front of the silver section is the square grill, which has many pieces of equipment behind it. Above the grill is an engraved ‘iR’, signifying FAB 1 being an International Rescue vehicle. At the bottom of the silver section is black licence plate that reads ‘FAB 1’. Underneath the main body are the car’s wings, which are used for its flight capability. These wings are mostly pink in colour, with a silver rim along the front of the wings. When folded in, a small section of the wing is shown underneath the doors and acts as a step for FAB 1’s driver and passengers.

Interior[]

FAB 1’s interior is located in the middle of the car’s body and has a rounded square floor plan, with a mostly cream colour scheme. The driver's seat is positioned at the middle of the interior, surrounded by an array of controls. Directly in front of the driver is the steering wheel, with a heads up display behind it showing various pieces of information. Above this display is a holographic display used for communications. To the right of the steering wheel are three switches that activate the speed burst, flight mode and smoke dispensers. Underneath these switches are three buttons that activate the tacks, oil dispensers and flamethrowers. These switches and buttons are covered by a clear plastic cover. To the left of the steering wheel are four buttons that activate the forward and rear missiles. In front of the driver, next to the heads up display are the aerial and underwater control cylinders, with two cylinders on each side. In between the cylinders on the right are two buttons. The one above toggles FAB 1’s stealth mode and the one below turns the car on and off. To the right of the driver are three gauges that show speed, fuel level and RPM. Underneath these gauges are the buttons that lock and unlock the two doors on the side. To the left of the driver is a large lever that controls the throttle. Under this is an array of switches that controls the equipment contained in FAB 1, such as the magnetic grill and the robotic extension arms. Underneath these switches is a holographic communicator that is used by the passenger, who will be sitting in one of the three seats positioned behind the driver.

Equipment[]

FAB 1 has many pieces of equipment to assist in rescue and espionage situations. The grille in the front of the car can become an electromagnet strong enough to hold a tractor. The grille can be lowered to reveal an array of equipment, such as the robotic extension arms along the side of the open section, the forward missiles along the top, and the grapple along the bottom. The headlights can be lowered inside the car to reveal the flamethrowers. The underneath of FAB 1 possesses dispensers that release oil and tacks to stop vehicles from following the car. The exhausts also release a smoke screen and the rear missiles. FAB 1 can also generate a speed burst to help in getaway situations, and a dampening field to prevent anyone from eavesdropping on any conversations in the car.

FAB 1 has a stealth mode, designed for undercover missions. This mode switches the pink on the car to black so that it can blend in easier and is less noticeable at night. As well as this, the stealth mode prevents FAB 1 from being traced by equipment such as radar and sonar.

FAB 1’s flight mode allows the car to fly. This lowers the front grille, which helps with the car’s air intake. The wings positioned underneath the car swing out and the middle two wheels are brought into the body of the car. The front two and back two wheels are extended out and are positioned diagonally. This is because, once the flight mode is activated, the silver rims open to reveal thrusters, which allows FAB 1 to maintain altitude.

FAB 1’s underwater mode allows the car to travel underwater, like a submarine. This makes the whole car air tight to prevent the car from flooding. The front two and back two wheels are brought into the body of the car, and the middle two are extended out and are rotated 90° so that they face towards the back of the car. This is because the silver rims turn into propeller turbines to allow the car to move underwater.

Launch Sequence[]

FAB 1 is kept in the garage to the side of the Creighton-Ward manor. To launch, Parker walks to the garage in the Creighton-Ward manor, gets in and drives the car out of the garage. Lady Penelope typically waits for Parker to pick her up outside her front door. Once Lady Penelope has sat down in the passenger seat, Parker drives away from the manor.

Appearances[]

Like many characters and vehicles, FAB 1 is first seen in Ring of Fire Part 1. It is briefly stalked and rammed by an unseen villain in a black car, but Parker dispenses oil on the road, causing the black car to crash rather horrifically. FAB 1 continues to show up almost every time Lady Penelope is spoken to.

In Space Race, Lady Penelope, Parker, and Sherbet headed to the Consolidated File Archive, a place where the code to the deactivation of a space mine is located.

In Unplugged, FAB 1 loses power, like all the cars in London, after an electromagnetic pulse disables all the technology in London. Penelope and Parker are quick to discover evidence of the culprits once they exit their car.

In EOS, FAB 1 was present when Lady Penelope received some odd messages from John, who was warning her about EOS.

In Heist Society, FAB 1 emerges from the submerged Reykjavik Express in the North Atlantic Tunnel, with aquatic thrusters deployed, to go after the Hood's submersible. After temporarily losing power when the Hood drops a Transonic Depth Charge on them, Parker reboots the engines and returns to the chase, firing torpedo/missiles, which deploy either side of FAB 1's grille, after the villain.

In The Hexpert, the car was intercepted by the GDF who required Parker for opening an anti matter vault. It was later seen transported in one of the GDF Flyers.

In Designated Driver, Bill and Terry kidnapped Lady Penelope and Great Aunt Sylvia in FAB 1 but Alan and Parker saved them using FAB 0.

In Chain Of Command, Lady Penelope and Parker went in their car to see Colonel Martin Janus.

In Undercover, FAB 1 used a cloaking device which made it black instead of pink. It also changed the iconic "FAB 1" number plate for a more standard plate. Also, this is the first time Lady Penelope got to drive FAB 1.

In Legacy, FAB 1 was pursuing a thug with stolen plans on a motorbike. The car fired a sticky missile at the bike, covering it in a sticky substance before turning back to Creighton-Ward Manor.

In Earthbreaker, FAB 1 was used to take Parker & Penelope to Parkmoor Scrubs Prison in order to visit The Hood.

In City Under the Sea, FAB 1 was used to grab the safe with the plans of Parkmoor Scrubs Prison before The Mechanic did. The Mechanic eventually got away with the plans, but Parker flicked a switch that made the safe they were housed in explode.

In Up from the Depths Part 1, FAB 1 was deployed to investigate how The Hood is communicating with The Mechanic.

In Up from the Depths Part 2, FAB 1 was deployed to pay a visit to The Mechanic, only to find he was a fake drone.

In Lost Kingdom, FAB 1 was used to assist the rescue underwater.

In Weather or Not, FAB 1 was chased by some weather drones which were made by Langstrom Fischler.

In Escape Proof, FAB 1 was used to track down the The Mechanic underground.

In Clean Sweep, FAB 1 was used to transport a key card to John performing a rescue. However, as the altitude of the rescue sight was very high, FAB 1 started dropping from the sky, and the car was saved by Thunderbird 2.

In The Man From TB5, FAB 1 was heading to a charity auction with John, where The Hood ruined the entire party.

In Home on the Range, FAB 1 searched for the intruder near the Gran Roca Ranch with Thunderbird Shadow, but a massive system malfunction made FAB 1 to make a crash landing.

In Rigged for Disaster, FAB 1 was used to transport Lady Penelope, Parker, and Sherbert to an oil rig, and it later assisted a rescue there.

In Brains vs. Brawn, FAB 1 assisted International Rescue by rescuing The Hood who was under attack by The Mechanic.

Compared to the Original[]

FAB 1 retains the classic Rolls Royce silhouette and is as close to a Rolls Royce as possible without actually being one. This is most prevalent at the front with the iconic grille; the car manufacturer's RR symbol is now the similar looking IR symbol, representing International Rescue, whilst a miniature rocket is now in place of the Spirit of Ecstasy. Whilst the classic pink colour scheme returns, the colour is no longer solid throughout, as the bonnet and boot covers are now a grey-silver (heavily resembling the real Rolls Royce Phantom "FAB-1" charity car). The headlights are more streamlined and the wheels are larger, though the tires are thinner.

As for the functionality, all machine guns have been removed, including the one in the grille, and replaced with explosives such as missiles and torpedoes.