Thanks mate. I cropped the last image a little tight, but this one shows there being no carby side throttle cable, hence my assumption the cables/supports were throttle related:

[Linked Image]

May have been a concept sketch before production perhaps?

As far as the chronology is concerned, I'm glad you are getting something from the post. For clarity, here is a short summation of the dates:

24/8/57 � First advertisement for the Victa Automatic appears
4/12/57 � Women�s Weekly advertising campaign commences for the Automatic
25/2/58 � The �new� Victa Special first advertised
12/3/58 � Final Women�s Weekly advert appears mentioning the availability of an alloy based �Standard� version. The Victa Special is advertised along-side the Automatic.
13/3/58 � Last mention of the Automatic appears in an advertisement suggesting the �new� Rotomo to be the flagship product
29/8/58 � Both the Special and the Standard (Rotomo) are advertised, with the conspicuous absence of the Automatic

Can you tell me where the model release dates are located, Blue? That kind of irrefutable data will help build a more complete chronology, so I would love to get my hands on it!