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| ©2002 dwij |
The 1968 Ikenga MK ll GT was beautifully appointed with a custom leather interior and Gucci fitted luggage in the boot. It featured phosphor luminescent roof panels for interior lighting, full width fluorescent night lights for city driving and a fold-away steering wheel. Potential buyers began signing up for Ikenga and on a memorable occasion Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia and I visited Charlie's studio to work on the development of a custom vehicle for him to be called Bird of Peace. One of the challenges for our start-up organization, which took us to many European capitals, was raising venture capital for the limited production phase.
As Ikenga's international media coverage soared, Charlie and I worked diligently to finalize a contract with a US group wanting the marketing rights to our six concept cars. What a joy that the option was secured on a summer morning in 1969. However, later that day Charlie's son telephoned; Charlie Williams had just died of a heart attack.
| Ikenga
MK ll 1968 Car and Driver magazine cover story - April 1969 |
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Following it's introduction in 1968, the Ikenga MK ll was featured in many publications and in a motion picture by Malcolm Hart and Michael Margets. It was debuted in the Banking Hall of Harrod's in London, during the week of the British Motor Show at Earl's Court, and attracted thousands of auto enthusiasts who were excited to see this new innovative British/American high performance motorcar. Roger Nathan, the noted formula two designer/engineer/driver, was key to the success of the MK ll and MK lll project as were lots of innovators on the London scene. Initial tests on this MK ll called for a number of technological revisions and stylisting changes which resulted in the highly acclaimed MK lll motorcar that was featured in motorshows across Europe in 1969 and 1970. |
