1938 Auto Union D-Type

This is a photograph I took at Donington Park in May 2001 at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting on the straight between the Old Hairpin and Starkey's Bridge.

It's a 1938 Auto Union D-Type which Audi had brought to the meeting together with a 1937 Auto Union C-Type and various other vehicles which were displayed in the paddock, and some of which took part in demonstration runs round the circuit. The Auto Union D-Type chassis was based on the previous year's C-Type, but the engine was of a completely new V12 design. With the displacement limited to just three litres it had a capacity of 2,986cc and a Two Stage Roots-Type Supercharger producing 420 bhp at 7000 rpm. Another major change was the move of a single central mounted fuel tank to two side-tanks, which enabled the driver to sit further back in the chassis. There were only four races in the 1938 European Grand Prix Championship, three of which were won by the Mercedes Benz W154 and one by Tazio Nuvolari in an Auto Union D-Type.