Whomobile The Whomobile ( AUDIO : " Glorious Goodwood " ) was a futuristic - looking vehicle designed by the Third Doctor . It was similar to a hovercraft and was capable of flight . History . The Third Doctor first used the Whomobile to search for the secret base of Operation Golden Age . ( TV : " Invasion of the Dinosaurs " ) Sarah Jane Smith used it to travel to Goodwood Motor Circuit , West Sussex , where she encountered Dalek s . ( AUDIO : " Glorious Goodwood " ) At some point , the Whomobile was put in mothballs . It was taken out when the Remoraxian s took over a UNIT seabase . The Doctor and Sarah Jane took the Whomobile to quickly get to the base . ( COMIC : " In With the Tide " ) It was later used in the pursuit of a man named Lupton after he had stolen the Doctor ' s Metebelis crystal at the behest of the Eight Legs . ( TV : " Planet of the Spiders " ) Legacy . The Eighth Doctor once reflected to Mary Shelley that he used to have a hovercar with a ' brilliant number - plate ' ( AUDIO : " Army of Death " ) . Behind the scenes . The name . The vehicle was not created for " Doctor Who " , but was personally commissioned by Jon Pertwee , who retained possession of it after his tenure as the Doctor . Pertwee gave it the name " Whomobile " during press interviews , but it was also known — again , off - screen — as " Alien " . Had the vehicle been named in " Doctor Who " , it almost certainly would " not " have been called " the Whomobile " , as this violated producer Barry Letts ' strong conviction against making plays on the programme ' s title . " The Doctor Who Technical Manual " referred to it simply as " the Doctor ' s Car . " The name was spoken in an audio drama featuring Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen recorded for the audio story " Glorious Goodwood " . As a real - life vehicle . The Whomobile ( reg : " WVO 2M " ) was one of Jon Pertwee ' s personal vehicles . He retained possession of it until nearly the end of his life . The Whomobile was hastily written into the script of " Invasion of the Dinosaurs " , where it replaced an army motorcycle as the Doctor ' s transport around the deserted London . The Whomobile ' s roof / door section had not been completed at the time of filming , so a motor - boat windscreen was fitted to make the car legally roadworthy . The vehicle was classified technically as an " Invalid Tricycle " . When Pertwee demonstrated the vehicle to Peter Purves on the Monday 7 January 1974 edition of " Blue Peter " during his tenure , he revealed that the vehicle was roadworthy and legal , though he mentioned that the BBC forbade him or any of the crew from removing it from the studios except for outside shoots . It was capable of a top speed of 105 mph ( roughly 169 kph ) . Footage of this is available on the DVD release of " Invasion of the Dinosaurs " . As documentary subject . Jon Pertwee presented the Whomobile in the documentary " 30 Years in the TARDIS " . Other appearances . Jon Pertwee , in costume and in character as the Doctor , appeared with the Whomobile in " Billy Smart ' s Children ' s Circus " on the afternoon of Sunday 4 November 1973 ( broadcast Sunday 6 January 1974 ) . The " Doctor Who " theme music played as the Doctor drove the vehicle into the circus ring , with Gabriella Smart , sister of young ringmaster David Smart Jr . , in the passenger seat . The Doctor then chatted briefly with David , before driving off with Gabriella to help find her lost performing dog s .