1965 Shelby Cobra

This is a photograph that I took at the Knickerbrook chicane during qualifying for the Guards Trophy race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2017.

It’s the 1965 Shelby Cobra of Paul Gibson which has a 4.7 litre Ford V8 engine.

1930 Bentley 4½ litre

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It's a 1930 Bentley 4½ litre, but despite being called a 4½ litre car the capacity of the 4-cylinder inline engine of the Bentley 4½ litre is only 4,398cc. The DVLA record of GF 3372 says that the car is currently taxed to the end of December 2026.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph that I took of one of the F1 Ferraris that took part in a series of demonstration runs at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in June 2003.

It's a Ferrari 412 T2, one of the cars that contested the 1995 Grand Prix season in the hands of Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger. The World Championship was won that season by Michael Schumacher in a Renault powered Benetton B195 with Jean Alesi in fifth place and Gerhard Berger sixth. The only Grand Prix victory for Ferrari that season was Jean Alesi's win in the Canadian Grand Prix, and he also had four second place finishes. Gerhard Berger's best results were six third place finishes.

 

The programme of the Donington Park meeting doesn't record the names of any of the drivers taking part in the demonstration runs.

1901 De Dion Bouton 4½hp Voiturette

This was one of the entrants in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1981 and is pictured in Manchester before the start of the run.

I no longer have the 1981 programme, but it was also in the 1980 Run when the programme of the event included this note about the car:

 

3. Major A.Pownall, Wilmslow, Cheshire

1901 De Dion Bouton 4½ h.p. Voiturette

This single cylinder car was assembled in America and spent its life there until 1972, when it was imported into this country.

 

The DVLA record says that the car currently has a SORN.

1974 Bitter CD

Erich Bitter built his first car in 1973 based on an Opel floorplan and running gear, and between 1973 and 1986 he built 395 Bitter CD's and 488 SC's. Three of these cars were displayed by the Bitter Owners Club at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018 and this is one of them.

It’s a 1974 Bitter CD, and was described as follows:

 

'395 examples of the CD were built by Baur of Stuttgart for Bitter between 1973 and 1979. This CD is the only CD in the UK and was a personal import. The car is based on a shortened and stiffened Opel Diplomat chassis and fitted with a 5354cc American V8  (short block Chevy) and will achieve a top speed of 130mph. This was the 10th CD built and exported to South Africa by GM to try and establish the Marque there but no others followed. It was brought to the UK from South Africa in 2015 by its current owner. There are now less than 200 CD's left, mostly in Germany with a few in the Netherland, Belgium and the USA.

The car is owned by Andrew Grace.'

1979 TVR 3000M

This is a photograph that I took at Britten’s chicane during the HSCC Roadsports Championship Race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2005.

Julian Barter in his 1979 TVR 3000M is leading, closely followed by the 1970 TVR Tuscan of Jim Baynham.

1960 Maserati T61

This is a photograph that I took at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

It's the cockpit of the 1960 Maserati T61 of Lindsay Owen-Jones, chassis #2458 which has a 4-cylinder inline 2,890cc engine. The T61, and the 1,989cc T60 were generally known as Maserati Birdcage cars because of the intricate tubular space frame chassis, and in common with many of these cars 2458 started off life in the USA, in this case with Lloyd "Lucky" Casner's Camoradi team. After passing through various hands in the USA it was acquired by Lindsay Owen-Jones in 1992. Sixteen examples of the T61 were produced between 1959 and 1961.