1928 DeSoto Race Special.

This is a photograph that I took at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in August 1992.

It’s not mentioned in the programme of the event but I found a Bonhams sales catalogue online which gives the following information about the car:

 

1928 DeSoto Race Special

2,790cc Chrysler Flathead 6-Cylinder Engine

Approx. 45bhp

2 Edmunds Carburettors

Direct Drive

Front and Rear Live Axles with Leaf Springs

Rear Drum Brakes

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph that I took during practice for the Shell Ferrari Historical Challenge race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's Christoph Stieger in Engelbert Stieger's 3 litre 1972 Ferrari 312P, chassis 0888. It has a 2,991cc flat-12 engine, often referred to as the 312PB (the ‘B’ for Boxer to differentiate it from the earlier V12-engined 1969 312P).

2019 Bentley Bentayga

I took these photographs on the Manchester United car park in January 2022.

It’s a 2019 Bentley Bentayga and has a 3,996 cc twin-turbo V8 engine. Production of this luxury SUV started in 2015.

1971 McLaren M19A

This is a photograph That I took at the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.

It's a 1971 McLaren M19A which was designed by Ralph Bellamy and has a 2,993cc V8 Ford Cosworth DFV engine. It was campaigned by the McLaren team in the 1971 and the first three races of the 1972 season. In the 1971 season the car was plagued with reliability problems and finished in sixth place in the World Constructors' Championship with Denny Hulme the most successful driver, finishing in thirteenth place in the World Drivers' Championship with two fourth places, a fifth and a sixth. In 1972 Denny Hulme was again the leading McLaren driver with a second place in Argentina then a win in South Africa in the first two races before driving the McLaren M19C at Monaco and for the rest of that season. He finished in third place in the World Drivers' Championship that season behind Emerson Fittipaldi and Jackie Stewart.

Richard Seaman Memorial Historic Trophy Race 1965

This is a photograph that I took at the start of the Richard Seaman Memorial Historic Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s meeting at Oulton Park in June 1965.

Number 14 is the 1936 ERA R9B of Peter Waller, 27 is the 1936 Frazer Nash of Arthur Gibson and 20 is Basil Bowman’s 1939 Talbot Lago.

1924 Grand Prix Sunbeam

This is a photograph that I took at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

It’s a 1924 Grand Prix Sunbeam which has a supercharged six-cylinder inline 1,988cc engine. Behind it is the 1925 Sunbeam Tiger with a 3,976cc V12 engine.

1937 Frazer Nash BMW 328

This is a photograph that I took at a classic car show organised by car dealers Gordon Ford of Stockport in July 1987.

It’s a 1937 Frazer Nash BMW 328 which has a 6-cylinder inline 1,971cc engine. The Frazer Nash company, AFN Ltd, started to import and assemble BMW cars in 1934 and sold them under the name of Frazer Nash-BMW.

1954 Cooper Mk IX

This is the 1954 Cooper Mk IX of D.Price which competed in a 5 lap Scratch Race for 500cc Racing Cars at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1984.

After the Second World War motor racing in the UK was slow to re-start, partly because of petrol rationing and the cost of running a suitable car. Home-built ‘specials’ powered by 500cc motorcycle were created to provide a reasonably cheap way means of getting involved in the sport. John Cooper and Eric Brandon, with the assistance of John’s father Charles, decided in 1946 to build two cars, and in 1947 in the second post-war race meeting to be held Eric Brandon won the first race to feature 500cc cars. In 1950 this 500cc class of racing was adopted by the FIA as a new Formula 3, and John and Charles Cooper went on to build a series of these 500cc cars, eventually graduating to Formula 2, then Formula 1 culminating in Jack Brabham winning the World Drivers’ Championship in 1959 and 1960 in the 2½ litre Cooper Climax. There's a 500 Owners Association for all 500cc Formula Three enthusiasts, with lots of information about the different marques that took part.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph that I took at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

This is a photograph that I took at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017. It's a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and has a 6,262cc V12 Ferrari F140 FC engine with an output of 740PS at 8,250 rpm. It was in production from 2012 to 2017.

1907 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost

This is a photograph that I took at the Broad Street/Cross Lane roundabout in Salford of one of the cars that took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1965.

It's the 1907 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost of  James P. Smith and the programme of the event had this note about the car:

18.   1907 Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost. in Belgium,

Engine and chassis made at Cooke Street, Manchester, in 1907; 4½ in. bore x 4½ in. stroke; overdrive on the 4th speed. The second oldest Silver Ghost Rolls-Royce in Britain. Had two owners since 1907. Has completed numerous rallies in Belgium, Germany, Holland and Italy, driven by the present owner.

1949 Bedford OB Duple Vista

This was one of the vehicles taking part in the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1990.

Not listed in the programme of the event, it's a 29 seater 1949 Bedford OB Duple Vista apparently provided new to McKinlays of Prestonpans in 1949 where it had the registration number SS 7376. Later it was with Tours (Isle of Man) where it was given the number 1949 MN and was then acquired by East Yorkshire Motor Services where it was again re-registered as KSU 381. I've also seen a photograph of the vehicle in Shetland taken in 1973 when it was with Sandwick Transport, and still had the original SS 7376 registration number. I believe it again has this original number, though it retains the East Yorkshire livery.

1957 Maserati 250F

This is a photograph that I took in the paddock at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1973.

It’s Neil Corner’s 1957 Maserati 250F which has a 6-cylinder inline 2,493cc engine. The car is chassis #2528 and was campaigned mainly by Jean Behra in the 1957 season, but also driven that year by Juan Fangio and Harry Schell. It has been owned and raced by the Corner family, Neil and his son Nigel, since 1972. The car competed in the Allcomers Scratch Race at this meeting.

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR

The five times World Drivers Champion Juan Manuel Fangio was featured at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994 with a display of some of the cars that he drove in the 1940s and 50s, and the car below was one that was in that display.

Not the actual car that Fangio drove, this is the Mercedes-Benz 300SLR with which Stirling Moss and co-driver Denis Jenkinson won the 1955 Mille Miglia - Fangio, driving solo, finished in second place over half an hour behind in second place in an identical car. The car is being driven here by John Surtees in a parade of the cars from the display, in which Stirling Moss drove one of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz W196 Grand Prix Cars.

1993 Volkswagen Corrado

This is a car that I spotted in Hyde when going for my morning newspaper one day in May 2019.

It’s a 1993 Volkswagen Corrado, a car that was in production from 1988 to 1995 with a choice over that period of five different engines. This one has a four-cylinder inline 2,861cc engine.

1960 BRM P48

This is a photograph that I took in the paddock at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in September 1960.

It shows two of the three BRM P48s that took part in the race, number 14 was driven by Jo Bonnier, who finished the race in fifth place and number 15 was Dan Gurney’s who was sixth. The third BRM was driven by Graham Hill who ended up in third place. The race was won by Stirling Moss in a Lotus 18.

The  BRM P48 was an unsuccessful rear-engine version of the P25 and this was the last season for the 2½ litre cars. BRM competed in the 1961 season with the P48/57, a car that was basically a P48 fitted with a 1½ litre engine, which was no more successful than the P48. The next season, however, a new car, the P57 with a new 1½ litre V8 engine, was built and with this car Graham Hill won the 1962 World Championship.

Friday's Ferrari

This is one of the cars I photographed at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a 2015 FerrariF12Berlinetta and has a 6,262cc V12 Ferrari F140 FC engine with an output of 740PS at 8,250 rpm. It was in production from 2012 to 2017.

1910 Humber

 

This is a photograph that I took at the Broad Street/Cross Lane roundabout in Salford of one of the cars that took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1963.

It’s the 1910 Humber of M. Stothert and the programme of the event had this note about the car:

 

27.   1910 Humber

A special sports car made for a motor show in 1910 by putting the 20 h.p. engine in the 12 h.p. chassis. Unfortunately the wheels have been rebuilt for modern tyres.

1957 Kurtis KK500G Offenhauser

I took this photograph during practice for the Hawthorn Trophy Race for Post-War Racing Cars at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2019.

It's the 1957 Kurtis KK500G Offenhauser of Stuart Harper, which was shown in the programme of the event as a 4.2 litre Kurtis Indy Roadster. This is the car that Ray Crawford took to the Indianapolis 500 race in 1957 and 1958 as the Meguiar Mirror Glaze Special, but failed both times to qualify for the race. Ray Crawford took part in the Race of Two Worlds round the banked oval at Monza with the car in both 1957 and 1958, one-sided exhibition events that pitted American Indianapolis cars against a motley collection of European cars. The race in both years consisted of three heats with the winner being the best car over the three races. In 1957 Ray Crawford's results in the heats were seventh, fourth and retired, and in 1958 tenth, eighth and fourth.

1951 Fordson E83W

This is a photograph that I took in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1990 at the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally.

It's not listed in the programme of the event but it’s a 1951 Fordson E83W pickup truck which has a four-cylinder inline 1,172cc engine. The vehicle was in production from 1938 to 1957.

Maserati 3200

This is a photograph that I took at a display by the car dealers Graypaul in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

It’s a Maserati 3200, a car that was in production from 1998 to 2002 and had a 3,217cc V8 engine.

1995 Audi A4

This is a photograph that I took at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2018.

An article in the programme of the event says that the British Touring Car Championship was celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2018 and there were a number of touring cars in the paddock which didn’t take part in the touring car race at this meeting, but there’s no mention of them in the programme. This is one of those cars, and it appears to mark to the 1995 Championship which was won by Frank Bielsa in an Audi A4.

Avro Vulcan

This aircraft was part of the static display at the RAFA Woodford Air Show in June 1994.

It’s an Avro Vulcan bomber, 136 of which were built between 1956 and 1965 at Woodford. They were in service with the RAF from 1957 to 1982 and this one, Vulcan B.2 XM603, is now in the Avro Heritage Museum at Woodford.

Ferrari F430 Spider

I took this photograph at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a Ferrari F430 Spider, a convertible version of the F430 which replaced the Ferrari 360 and was itself succeeded by the Ferrari 458. It was produced between 2005 and 2009 and has the 4,308cc Ferrari F136 E V8 engine.

1953 Jaguar C-Type

I took this photograph at Lodge Corner during the Jack Fairman Cup race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2018.

It's David Brazell’s 1953 Jaguar C-Type which has the 3,442cc 6-cylinder inline Jaguar XK engine. The car is actually a replica based on a 1952 Jaguar XK120, chassis no. 672178.

1925 Lancia Lambda

I took this photograph at the Lancashire Automobile Club’s Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1985.

I no longer have the programme for the 1985 Run, but the car also took part in 1990 when the programme of the event said that it was a 1925 Lancia Lambda and was entered by John Muschamp of Keighley, West Yorkshire. It has a 2,570cc V4 engine and the DVLA record says that has been untaxed since November 2023.

1938 ERA E-Type

I took these photographs in the paddock at the Silverstone Classic Festival meeting in July 2010.

It's the 1938 ERA E-Type of Duncan Ricketts, chassis GP1, here with a 1,988cc supercharged engine but originally with a 1½ litre unit. This and its sister car, chassis GP2 were the only two E-Type ERAs built. Only one other ERA was built later and that was the  G-Type, designed after the Second World War to compete with a Bristol 2 litre engine as a Formula 2 car, but actually competed in the Formula 1 World Championship races in 1952 when they were run under Formula 2 rules. That car later became the basis for the Bristol 450 sports car that competed at Le Mans in 1953, 1954 and 1955.

1935 Standard Avon 'Le Mans' Special Tourer

This is a car that I saw in one of the car parks at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2017.

It’s a 1935 Standard Avon 'Le Mans' Special Tourer, 1 of only 9 ‘Le Mans’ style examples manufactured by Avon.

It’s based on the Standard 9 and has a 4-cylinder inline 1,056cc engine’

1949 Leyland Titan PD1/3

This is a photograph that I took at the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1993.

I didn’t make a note at the time about this bus, but it appears to be one of the Greater Manchester Transport Society’s own vehicles, a 1949 Leyland Titan PD1/3, about which the programme of the event had this note:

 

Leyland Titan PD1/3, Metro-Cammell H30/26R,1949                                                                   JNA467

Manchester City Transport 3166

Entered by P.F.Wotton, Littleborough

Operated by M.C.T. until 1969, this vehicle carries bodywork to Manchester’s own design and is the sole survivor of a batch of 100 identical buses. It operated both North and South of the city during its career.

1929 Riley Brooklands

This car took part in the Pre War Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It was driven in the race by Richard and Geoffrey Bradford and is a 1929 Riley Brooklands with a tuned version of the Riley Nine's 1,087cc 4-cylinder inline engine. The Riley Nine was designed by two of the Riley brothers, Percy and Stanley, and the Brooklands was the work of John G Parry Thomas and Reid Railton who shortened the chassis by some 15 inches and fitted an undershield the full length of the car. The engine had high compression pistons, special camshafts and 2 carburettors, increasing its output to 50bhp.

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph at the Knickerbrook chicane during the Aston Martin GT Challenge race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2017.

It's the 2000 Ferrari 360 driven in the 50 minute race by Matthew Wilton and John Cowen. There were two versions of the Ferrari 360, the Modena and the Challenge, as well as a Spider version, each with a 3,586cc V8 engine. It doesn't say in the programme of the event which version this is, but presumably it's the Challenge.

Mercedes 190 SE

I came across this photograph recently which I had taken outside the car showroom of Stewart Wilson in Hyde.

I don’t remember taking it, but I had labelled it as a Mercedes Benz 190SE. The ‘C’ in the registration number is for cars produced between August 1985 and July 1986, so presumably Stewart Wilson was involved in Touring Car racing at that time, but I’ve not been able to find out anything about it.