10th April 2001
FBS Cars Media Information Release 4 

FBS Census V6 on Target for this Summer

  
FBS cars is ready to start customer delivery of the Census V6 sports car in July this year. The 170hp, 930kg, front engine, rear wheel drive Census has already attracted customers with the first two months’ production (two cars) sold. The company plans to deliver seven cars this year; forty in 2002 and seventy per year from 2003.

Limited testing of the base specification demonstrator will be available from May. Full testing of both the base and upgrade specification demonstrators will be available from June.

Notes for Editors

The FBS Census is an innovative two seat, V6 powered convertible with radical styling and class leading dynamics. The base model (from £25,975 OTR) is designed to appeal to the purist driver and so has unassisted brakes & steering. The upgraded specification (from £26,675 OTR) has PAS & servo. Both versions are available with a range of trim and engineering upgrades. Every car will receive Single Vehicle Approval before delivery so each customer will have considerable freedom in specifying their own car. Every purchaser will be invited to the factory to individualise the layout of their car.

See http://www.fbs-eng.co.uk/price.htm for full pricing and warranty details.

The dynamics of Census were designed without compromise. Key features include: stiff steel structures (developed using Finite Element Analysis); double wishbone suspension featuring optimised kinematics & compliance with camber compensation & passive rear steer; unassisted brakes & steering (PAS & servo optional).

Census does not compromise on safety, its class leading brakes & steering help the driver respond to danger. In the event of a collision, the occupants are protected by our three stage safety strategy: energy absorbing GRP panels; deformable steel tube subframes; heavy gauge steel monocoque safety cell. The whole car is packaged with generous crush spaces. Crash safety has been investigated by computer simulation.

Practicality is not ignored. With its full size doors; fully adjustable seats and steering column; and useable luggage spaces, Census is a realistic every day car. The soft top folds away out of sight under the rear deck.

Census is intended to minimise environmental damage; it is economical to build & use and has the same European exhaust and evaporative emissions control systems as a mass production car.

The chassis was carefully designed and extensively tested before the body was added, a test and development programme with the production specification vehicle is now in progress.

The Census exterior styling concept was by Giovanni Doglioli, an MA Automotive Design student at Coventry University’s School of Industrial Design.

Further information and pictures can be found on our web site: http://www.fbs-eng.co.uk

or contact:

Andrew Barber, telephone: 07767 225 286 or 01280 841 918 email: andrewbarber@fbs-eng.co.uk

Robin Hall, telephone: 0280 841 900