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The Ogle Triplex Glassback 10-20 was a concept car commissioned by Triplex in 1977 and followed on from the previous year’s Triplex Ten Twenty Special, as designed by Chris Humberstone. The Princess-based Glassback was a very different beast, though – as it looked much more like a production-reality car, sharing a decent of its external styling with the car it was based upon.
There were some big names involved with creating the 10-20 Glassback, not least Carl Olsen of Ogle Design, who revised the front- and rear-ends of the progressive-looking Princess to create this appealingly-styled (and stickered) shooting brake conversion.
Although the Triplex 10-20 Glassback was a created as a publicity vehicle for the car-glass manufacturer’s latest XXX-branded safety glazing, it was something of a styling tour de force in its own right, while conveniently putting right one of the Princess’s wrongs by adding a fifth door and making it look super-modern by ditching the chrome bumpers.
Some of the car’s features were remarkably prescient – the bold graphics shouted the 1980s, not ’70s. As well as the generously-glazed rear end, the Glassback featured a sunroof fashioned from 2.3mm safety glass (the rest was 3.0mm) – the thinnest ever achieved, according to Triplex. At the same time, the Triplex Hyviz-coated glass also incorporated a built-in aerial and a demisting mesh element.
The front and rear bumpers were made from impact-absorbing polycarbonate that was integrally designed with the car in the manner of mainstream cars a decade hence. Had the 10-20 Glassback been designed by one of the Italian Carrozzeria, it would probably be hailed as an all-time great.
Today, the 10-20 Glassback is just a footnote in BL history, but it deserves wider recognition for its optimistic and forward-looking design. At the time, it not only served to promote Triplex’s safety glass, but it reminded us all that that the Princess deserved a hatchback rear end, more vibrant colors, and to lose its fussy and outdated chrome detailing (drip rails, bumpers, etc.) in favor of a more modern aesthetic.
Source: Triplex 10-20 Glassback - AROnline. https://www.aronline.co.uk/concepts-and-prototypes/triplex-10-20-glassback/ \
Images: oldconceptcars; https://www.aronline.co.uk/
