"Көктемгі Роллс-Ройс: "Thunderbirds" сериалындағы FAB 1"

Pink Rolls Royce in "Thunderbirds" TV series
the fictional car

In the original Thunderbirds (1965–66), as well as the feature films Thunderbirds Are Go (1966) and Thunderbird 6 (1968), FAB 1 is depicted as a modified Rolls Royce. Owned by International Rescue agent Lady Penelope Creighton Ward, the car is usually driven by her butler, Aloysius Parker. The driver sits in a central position at the front of the passenger compartment, which is covered by a bulletproof bubble canopy. FAB 1 was modified by Brains, the inventor of the Thunderbirds machines, to include weaponry and gadgetry such as front and rear mounted machine guns (although grappling hooks are seen to shoot out of the rear in the episode "The Perils of Penelope"). The car is also equipped with a smoke screen canister and oil slick dispenser, extendable tyre studs (for increased traction), and hydrofoils and skis (for travel on water and snow).

On the choice of make, series co creator Gerry Anderson said: "Considering [Penelope's] personality, and the role she played in International Rescue, it could only be a Rolls Royce." AP Films (APF) approached Rolls Royce Limited, which consented to the use of its brand. In 2004, Rolls Royce's head of public relations in the 1960s said that the company "couldn't see any harm in [APF's] request, and as the series was aimed at children we thought it would be good for the cars – give them a modern image and, you never know, inspire a child to own one, one day." In return for its co operation, the company asked that all on screen references to the make of the car use the full brand name "Rolls Royce", rather than the abbreviation "Rolls". To distinguish the look from that of real life cars, designer Derek Meddings gave FAB 1 a six wheel drive. He said that his decision to place two sets of wheels at the front, instead of at the back, was motivated purely by aesthetics: "My excuse [ ] was that the engine was so big and powerful it needed them, but it wasn't done for any technical reason." Several shooting models were built in various sizes, the smallest being a miniature and the largest a puppet size version, measuring , to accommodate the human scale marionette characters. The latter – constructed from plywood, aluminium and chrome plated brass – cost approximately £2,500 to build in 1966 (£2500.0 in 1964 is equivalent to about <calculated amount> in recent years in ). This was used for close ups of the larger model, including shots of the car firing its machine guns and a stock photograph of the bonnet featured in the series' closing titles.

In the 2004 live action film, Thunderbirds, FAB 1 is still pink and powered by a six wheel drive. Its glass canopy is tinted, and it is now capable of flight as well as travel on land and sea. Prior to flight, the car's boot panels open, exposing the gas turbine engine; the wings then extend from the undercarriage. During flight, the rear set of wheels folds into the main vehicle body to prevent unnecessary drag. The passenger compartment doubles as a life raft in the event of an emergency at sea, while buoyancy tanks hidden in the body panelling ensure that the compartment remains afloat after it has broken away from the rest of the vehicle.

Rolls Royce Motor Cars and its owner BMW declined to be involved in FAB 1's re design. This led production company Working Title to approach Ford, who accepted the commission and adapted the car from its eleventh generation Thunderbird. According to Working Title's head of marketing, Rolls Royce had pushed for the vehicle to be "one of their standard cars – and that would have been too sedate. If you're transferring something like this to the big screen, you have to make it bigger and better." He also called FAB 1 a "crazy missed marketing opportunity" for Rolls Royce given the car's prominence in the film. Following its appearance in the film, the car was put on display at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire.

In the remake series Thunderbirds Are Go, FAB 1 is given a slightly different design that still retains a Rolls Royce silhouette and is as close to a Rolls Royce as possible without actually being one. It has the classic pink color scheme from the original, but the color is no longer solid throughout the body, as the hood and trunk covers are now a grey silver (resembling the real Rolls Royce Ghost "FAB 1" charity car). The headlights are more streamlined and the wheels are larger, though the tires are thinner. It still retains the same role it has in the original series with new features compared to its original counterpart, being capable of flying much like its live action counterpart and can also travel under water. All machine guns have been removed, including the one in the grille, and replaced with explosives such as missiles and torpedoes but still retains the smoke screen and oil slick dispensers.

In 1968 (not 1966, as many mistakenly believe), a 22 feet (7 m) replica of FAB 1, based on a "Chinese six" (four front, two back) Bedford VAL coach chassis, was built to transport Gerry and Sylvia Anderson to the premiere of Thunderbird Six in London. Concerned that the vehicle could distract motorists and even cause traffic accidents, the local police asked the museum's owner, Peter Nelson, not to drive it on public roads. Nelson described the car as "utterly scary [to drive] at any sort of speed." Gerry Anderson would later commission a second full sized FAB 1 replica. This vehicle was a modified Rolls Royce Silver Spirit, with the bonnet line extended to house the six wheel drive, complemented by double Ackermann steering. It did not have the bubble canopy or centre mounted steering of the original, and apart from the pink paint job and re trim, the passenger compartment was stock Rolls Royce. This model attended Anderson's funeral on 13 January 2013. The UK vehicle registration "FAB 1" was first issued in July 1946. It was later assigned to a white Jaguar XJ6 before the number was purchased by broadcaster Chris Evans in 2012 for £75,000. In 2013, the registration was temporarily assigned to a bespoke pink Rolls Royce Ghost that had been donated for use in raising breast cancer awareness.

FAB 2, Lady Penelope's private yacht, appears in the Thunderbirds episode "The Man from MI.5". At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Parker has lost the ship in a game of poker. FAB 3, Penelope's racehorse, is kept at the Ascot stables and is the winner of many derby races.