A CAR club is appealing for information about a classic 1950s vehicle which may have been owned by someone high up at Poole Pottery.

The Metropolitan was an American-designed car manufactured in the UK by Austin.

Gareth Jones, who deals with DVLA matters for the Metropolitan Owners Club, was correcting a registration date for a member when he discovered that the vehicle was first registered to Carter & Co of Poole, which became Poole Pottery.

He said the car features “out of the ordinary” design features which he believes were in keeping with similar design concepts from Poole Pottery at the time.

Mr Jones said the Metropolitan was designed for town and city use in place of America’s usual large cars. It was impractical to build it in the US because America’s production lines were geared to bigger vehicles.

Pre-1957 models were for export only, but they could be bought in the UK from 1957-61. UK models were produced in two-tone colours, in hardtop and convertible versions.

Mr Jones said: “The cars were always a rare sight in the UK, and were considered to be comparatively expensive, not very practical, and quirky.

“They were often owned by celebrities or ‘arty types’ and generally considered to be more appropriate for ladies in a two car owning family at a time when owning even one car was something of a luxury.”

Only around 70 examples are known to be still in roadworthy condition.

The car in question, VRU 641, was registered on December 20 1957 to Carter & Co and is believed to have been supplied by Haverys Central, although it might instead have been supplied by Hartwells Ltd of Hamworthy.

Mr Jones said registering a vehicle so late in the year was unusual, as it would mean the car was classified as a year old within 11 days – so he wonders whether it was bought as a Christmas present for a Poole Pottery VIP.

“The car would certainly not have been considered to have been a typical company car – far from it,” he said.

Mr Jones approached Robert Barnsley, a Poole Pottery collector, who showed him Poole Pottery designs whose geometric patterns resemble the side body mouldings on the car and whose colour schemes have similarities.

The car was in the Derbyshire area from around 1963, so it could have been in the ownership of Poole Pottery from December 1957 until then. It now belongs to Robin Linteren of Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

It is currently being restored and is set to return to the road in 2015.

Anyone who remembers the car, or who may have any photographs, or any knowledge of the supplying dealer, should contact Mr Jones on 01656 660558 or email him at weymannman@ aol.com