John Talbot was having lunch in a nearby restaurant when he saw in front of him a painting of a beautifully designed motor car. He recognised it and its surroundings immediately. The car was Bluebird I. It was on Verneuk Pan, a salt pan in the Northern Cape. It was here that Sir Malcolm Campbell made an unsuccessful attempt to break his own world land speed record. (He broke the world land speed record five times during his lifetime.) Aesthetically and aerodynamically the car was a masterpiece. When he was knee high, John, like many other boys his age, was enthralled by the exploits of Sir Malcolm Campbell and the successes of the Bluebird. He had always wanted to do something like that. Now, at a very ripe age, opportunity presented itself. As part of his perceived electric vehicle empire, he had developed a concept electric roadster code-named "Torpedo." Torpedo was an aerodynamic design with a very small frontal area and propelled by a ducted fan. Pictures of it can be seen in Figures 1.2 to 1.5 of his book Motoring without gasoline.

Ducted fan propulsion for motor cars has a lot to recommend it. Ducted fans can operate directly from the three-phase grid. The thrust can be controlled by controlling the angle of attack on the runner blades, using a variable pitch input stator. No electronic processing of the supply is required. However, ducted fans are further removed from the ordinary. For the time being it was decided to convert Torpedo to be driven by the wheels. The ducted fan was removed and the vehicle was stretched to give it four seats. In the latter form it looked more like a bird and the name Red Eagle was coined. It was equipped with the 69zulu suspension and roll control (see Fig 5.3 page 27 of Motoring without gasoline). It is a three wheel car and the suspension enables it to roll and yaw into a bend, giving it cornering characteristics comparable with those of the best four wheel cars.

Red Eagle is electrically powered, using Talbot Electric System 4. System 4 uses a type of road insert that contains an electrical conductor. It is designed to be intrinsically safe. A direct current (DC) voltage is applied to the conductor. The conductor is contained in an insulator which is retained in a groove in the road by two parallel metal strips, which serve as a return for the electric current. An onboard inverter provides variable frequency three-phase power for the two 25kW three-phase motors driving the rear wheels. Each wheel has its own motor, which enables the use of a simple electronic differential. The motors are 400Hz as used on ships and certain types of aircraft. They are small and light and are coupled to the wheels through a reduction gear. Speed is controlled by controlling the frequency of the three-phase alternating current.

Passenger accommodation is in tandem, motor cycle style, except that each passenger has a backrest and safety harness. Entry and egress is via a hinged cover, fighter aircraft style. It has four seats.

It is a three-wheel car with the 69zulu suspension which enables it to yaw and roll into a bend (see Motoring without gasoline, Fig. 5.3, page 27). This gives it cornering characteristics comparable with those of the best four wheel cars. The body is a spheroid with a very low drag coefficient and very small cross-sectional area. There is a foot well and a cover for the head. The body has a very small frontal area, which contributes to the high performance.