Thunderbirds creator's car from 'doomed' show is sold

The model car sold for more than £7,000 at auction

A radio-controlled model car made for a "doomed" TV show by the Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson has sold at auction for £7,380.

The sports car was produced for 1973 show The Investigator, which never made it beyond a pilot episode.

A model amphibious speedboat from the series which was also up for sale failed to reach its £6,000 reserve.

The successful bidder, Mark Galbraith, said he was proud to own "a piece of history".

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Both items were expected to fetch up to £8,000 each at Sworders auctioneers in Stansted Mountfitchet on Wednesday.

The Investigator did not make it beyond a 1973 pilot

Gerry Anderson on the set of The Investigator with the car

Mr Galbraith, a dealer and enthusiast from Rawtenstall in Lancashire, said he hoped the seven foot (2.2m) car would fit in his van when he made the 220 mile journey to collect it.

"I'm a bit of a geek and I've been looking for a one-off piece like this for some time," he said. "There won't be another one.

"Unfortunately my budget couldn't quite stretch to the boat," he said.

Mr Black, director at Sworders Fine Arts auctioneers, said he was "thrilled with the level of interest" in the car and hoped to "secure a good home for the second".

The amphibious speedboat failed to reach its £6,000 reserve

The Investigator, which charted the adventures of two teenagers shrunk to a third of their size, was abandoned as the concept was considered "too far-fetched" and the remote controlled models were prone to radio interference.

It was seen as a rare failure for Anderson, who also created shows such as Stingray and Terrahawks which used "supermarionation" - a sophisticated form of puppetry. He died in 2012, aged 83.

His son, Jamie Anderson, the managing director of Anderson Entertainment, said the series was "doomed to fail from the start".

"It was a combination of puppetry and live action, but it lacked the science fiction context that made previous shows so successful," he said.