Editing Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle (section)

==Origin and design==
In 2002, [[Gerry Anderson]] explained how the vehicle's safety features were borne out of his "preoccupation" – demonstrated in various aspects of ''Captain Scarlet'' – "with things not being what they seemed&nbsp;...With a flick of a switch the walls of these buildings would collapse to reveal this astonishing vehicle inside. I knew kids would find that exciting."<ref name="Archer and Hearn"/> He quickly regretted his decision to make the seats rear-facing, commenting: "&nbsp;... we began to realise that the audience was going to say, 'Why are these people facing backwards?' So we wrote an explanation into the [[The Mysterons|first script]]. Then I realised that not everyone would have seen that episode so we had to put explanations in again and again."<ref name="Archer and Hearn"/>

{{Quote box|quote=There were moves afoot to have rear-facing seats in airliners. In the event of a crash-landing the passengers would be forced into their seats as the plane decelerated, as opposed to being hurled forwards&nbsp;... I thought, 'I'll be very smart here and on this futuristic SPV we'll have seats facing backwards'.|source=&mdash;&nbsp;[[Gerry Anderson]] on the concept<ref name="Archer and Hearn">{{Cite book | last1 = Archer | first1 = Simon | author1-link=Simon Archer (author)| last2 = Hearn | first2 = Marcus | title=What Made ''Thunderbirds'' Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson | year = 2002 | publisher = [[BBC Books]] | isbn = 978-0-563-53481-5 | pages = 149–150}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=La Rivière|first1=Stephen|author1-link=Stephen La Rivière|title=Filmed in Supermarionation: A History of the Future|year=2009|publisher=[[Hermes Press]]|isbn=978-1-932563-23-8|page=156}}</ref>|align=left|salign=right|width=22%}}

The SPV was designed by special effects director [[Derek Meddings]] based on a brief description given in the Andersons' original script for the first episode, which specified only that the SPV was a high-speed [[Armoured fighting vehicle|armoured vehicle]] with reversed seating (and therefore no [[windscreen]]), running on a removable "lightweight power unit".<ref name="Bentley21"/><ref>Meddings & Denham 1993, p.&nbsp;90.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Century 21 Script Book|editor1-first=Chris|editor1-last=Bentley|year=1995|publisher=[[Fanderson]]|chapter=''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'': 'The Mysterons'|page=12}}</ref> Noting that the occupants faced backwards and viewed the road through a TV monitor, Meddings said that "all [this] meant to me was that I could design the vehicle without windows."<ref>{{Cite magazine|magazine=Action TV|issue=6|date=Spring 2002|publisher=The Shipley Print Company|location=Leeds, UK|title=Colours of the Spectrum|last1=Jones|first1=Keith|editor1-last=Richardson|editor1-first=Michael|page=32}}</ref> For added realism, these were replaced with grilles and air vents.<ref name="Meddings&Denham, 94-95">Meddings & Denham 1993, pp.&nbsp;94{{ndash}}95.</ref>

To fulfil his vision of a "menacing, shark-like" assault vehicle, Meddings added a [[Car tailfin|tail fin]] to the design.<ref name="Meddings&Denham, 94-95"/> He also incorporated a broad front bumper, intended to be [[Shock absorber|shock-absorbent]], and five pairs of wheels (in two sizes), as he thought that vehicles with a large number of wheels "looked more interesting on screen."<ref name="Meddings&Denham, 94-95"/> He said that he was pleased with the SPV design because he believed that it "could be filmed from any angle".<ref>Bentley 2017, p.&nbsp;81.</ref>

Several filming models were built. They were made of either [[balsa]] or [[hardwood]] in a range of scales, the largest being {{Convert|24|in|cm}} long.<ref name="Bentley21">Bentley 2001, p.&nbsp;21.</ref>