Kieft Climax

I photographed this car in the pit garage at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2006.

It's shown in the programme of the event as Alan Couper's 1959 Kieft Climax, with an engine capacity of 1098cc. I've not been able to find out much about this car, but it differs from photographs I've seen of all the other Kieft 1100 sports cars, which have a front grille like the one that I featured on 31 January 2016. I suspect the car above may be the one described in this H&H Auctioneers offering of 26 July 2006. If it is, then it's chassis #K321.

Sunbeam 3-litre

This car's pictured in the Exchange Station car park in Manchester approaching the start-line of the Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1990.

It's John Tattersall's 1925 Sunbeam 3-litre, except that the short entry in the programme seems to cast doubts about the engine capacity:

138     1925 Sunbeam 3-litre

            Reg: YN 7831  6 cylinder  3,500cc

            (John Tattersall, Burnley)

I've looked through all the pre-war Sunbeam cars and the nearest I can find to 3½ litre engines are the Sunbeam 25 of 1927 to 1932, which was 3618cc, and the Sunbeam 20 of 1931 to 1933 and the Sunbeam 25 of 1934 to 1935, which were both 3317cc. I suspect the figure in the programme was a misprint - the Sunbeam 3-litre actually has a capacity of 2916cc.

McLaren M1B

Here's a car taking part in the HSCC Classic Racing Cars Race for the Retro Track and Air Trophy at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2004.

It's Chris Wilson at Foulstons chicane in his 1965/6 4.7 litre McLaren M1B. This car is chassis #30/09 which was put up for auction by H&H Auctioneers in 2013, and you can read what they had to say about it here. I've shown photographs of the McLaren M1B previously on 8 January 2015, 7 February 2016, 22 June 2016 and 7 December 2016.

Jaguar XJR-15

This was one of the display cars at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's a 1991 6 litre V12 Jaguar XJR-15, 53 of which were produced between 1990 and 1992. It was conceived by Tom Walkinshaw as a road-going version of the XJR-9 that won the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hour race and built specifically to take part in the three-race Jaguar Sport Intercontinental Challenge series that took place as support races for the Grands Prix at Monaco, Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps in 1991. This particular car was driven by Derek Warwick who won the first race at Monaco, failed to finish at Silverstone and finished 14th and last at Spa-Francorchamps. The series was won by the German Armin Hahne with two fifth places then a win in the final race.

Friday's Ferrari

This car took part in the Ron Flockhart Memorial Trophy race at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005.

It's Tony Smith's 1960 Ferrari Dino 246 F1, chassis #0788F, and it's the car in which Phil Hill won the last Formula One Grand Prix race to be won by a front-engined car. That was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in 1960 when the major British teams boycotted the race because it was run using the combined road and banked oval circuit which they deemed to be unsafe.

Toyota Aygo & Co-wheels Car Club

I'd walked past this car at various times over the last few weeks at Salford Quays and never really got round to finding out what the 'Co-wheels car club' was.

So a couple of weeks ago I took these photographs of the car and looked up the club on the Internet. It turns out that it's a club that you pay to join and have the use of a car that you have to pre-book for a specified period - by the hour or day. You pay a joining fee and agree a minimum £5 monthly spend, then pay for the period of hire plus a mileage charge. You don't have to pay for any petrol you may have to put in the car whilst you're using it, this is covered by the mileage charge. I've not costed it out to see if it's cheaper than hiring a vehicle the traditional way, but if you don't have a car and don't have the need to use one all that frequently I would imagine that it's much less cheaper than buying one.

Co-wheels car club - check it out.

This car, by the way, is a Toyota Aygo Second Generation, and the '66' on the number plate indicates that it was first registered between 1 September 2016 and 28 February 2017.

Lola Mk1

I took this photograph at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2003 where this car was entered in the BRDC Historic Sports Car Championship race.

It's Peter Austin's 1960 Lola Mk1. These cars were produced by Lola Cars from 1958 to 1962, initially with a 1100cc Coventry Climax FWA engine. The programme of the event shows that this one has an engine of 1490cc and it appears to be chassis #BR-19. On 7 July 2015 I showed a couple of photographs of the Lola Mk1 of Brian Ashby at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in September 1986.

Lister Corvette

This car competed in the BRDC Historic Sports Car Championship Race at the Silverstone Historic Tribute meeting in June 2004.

It's the 1959 Costin-bodied 5.3 litre Lister Corvette of Julian Bronson, which was originally built for Mike Anthony. Next to it is the 1956 Ferrari 750 Monza (chassis #0568M) of Carlos Monteverde that I featured on 27 June 2014.

Ferocious looking beast!

Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS

This car took part in the Vintage Seaman Trophy Race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

It's the 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS of Nicolas Rossi, which I've featured previously, on 28 Janusry 2015 at the 2007 SeeRed meeting at Donington Park. The car next to it is the 1946 1100cc Cisitalia D46 of Richard Pilkington which I featured on 10 September 2014.

BRM P57

Here are a couple of photographs I took during practice for the Aintree 200 race in April 1962.

They're both of the BRM P57 that Graham Hill drove in the race. The original 1961 version of the P57 had a 4-cylinder 1½ litre Coventry Climax engine as a stopgap until BRM's new V8 unit was available and that model - as pictured here - was originally designated as a P578. The chassis number of this car is 5781.

Graham Hill qualified in second place on the grid, but retired after 45 laps of the 50 lap race with a broken piston. In July of that year Graham Hill came back to Aintree with the same car and finished in fourth place in the British Grand Prix, ending the season as World Champion. On 7 August 2013 I showed some photographs of both BRM cars at that race.

Lotus 58

The Force Pre-1972 Grand Prix Cars race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2002 included classes for Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula 5000 cars. The photograph below shows one of the cars in the Formula 2 class.

It's the 1968 Lotus 58 FVA of Malcolm Ricketts. This car was designed by Colin Chapman with DeDion front and rear suspension to try to keep the wheels vertical when cornering, in order to take advantage of the increased grip offered by the wider tyres that had been introduced in 1967. The wedge-shaped profile of the car also helped in this respect. The car was due to be tested by Jim Clark when he returned from the Hockenheim Formula 2 race, but sadly he was killed in an accident in that race and the testing was eventually carried out by Graham Hill and John Miles. They reported that although the handling of the car was excellent it was just too slow, so the project was shelved and the car was never raced in period.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a car that took part in the Italian Historic Car Cup race at the Silverstone Classic meeting in July 2010.

It's the 1966 Ferrari Dino 206S of Harry Leventis, chassis #0834. According to the programme of the event Harry Leventis was due to share the driving in this race with Richard Attwood, but the barchetta.cc record says that Nick Leventis drove the car. On 7 September 2012 I showed a photograph of this car at the 2004 SeeRed meeting at Donington Park.

W H Bowker Ltd

When I went to the Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rallies at Heaton Park, Manchester in the 1980s & 90s there were usually one or two lorries present bearing the name 'W H Bowker Ltd'. 1998 was no exception and here's a photograph I took at the rally in September of that year.

There's little information in the programme of the event about these lorries, other than that they were both entered in the rally by C J Gardner of Oswaldtwistle, Lancs. The one on the left is a 1967 Atkinson Silver Knight with a Gardner 6LXB diesel engine of 10½ litres producing 180hp. The lorry on the right is a 1934 Leyland Beaver TSC9.

Elva MkIII

I photographed this car in the pit garage at the HGPCA's Donington International Historic Grand Prix meeting in May 2004 where it competed in the HGPCA Race for Pre-1959 Drum-Braked Sports Cars.

It's American Alex Quattlebaum's 1957 Elva MkIII with a 1460cc engine, which seems to indicate a Coventry Climax unit.

Sunbeam

Here are two Sunbeams that took part in the AMOC Lighthouse Anglo-American Thoroughbred Challenge race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's race meeting at Oulton Park in May 2002.

This is Christopher Draycott's 1725cc 1965 Sunbeam Alpine Series 5. I've not featured the Series 5 car before, but I showed a photograph of the Sunbeam Alpine Mk1 Alpine Rally Works Team cars on 25 August 2016. There is a Sunbeam Alpine Owners Club for owners of the car.

This car is Chris Beighton's 4940cc 1965 Sunbeam Tiger, so it should be a Mark I with a 4.3 litre engine. I showed a photograph of another Sunbeam Tiger on 15 December 2014 when I pointed out that the Wikipedia article said that there were few surviving cars in standard form. As with the Sunbeam Alpine, there is also a Sunbeam Tiger Owners Club.

Rover

Some of the Rovers on display at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2016.

The Rover SD1 was produced with a choice of 4 different engine sizes plus a diesel version, this is a 1978 2600 with a 2.6 litre straight-6 engine.

This is a Rover 3500S, one of the P6 Rovers, with the 3½ litre V8 engine.

Another P6 Rover, this time a 1971 Rover 2000SC, with a 2 litre straight-4 engine.

This one's another of the SD1 Rovers, a 1985 Rover 2300S, with a 2.3 litre straight-6 engine.

An older car here, the 1937 Rover 16, a P2 model. The note against the windscreen reads:

Rover Sports Register Ltd

Northern Section

1937 Rover 16 (P2)

In the 1930s the Rover company gained the reputation for quality that it held for many years and the P2 range was one of the foundations of that reputation. Available in a number of engine sizes from a 10 (4-cylinder 1389cc) to a 20 (6-cylinder 2512cc) via 12, 14 and 16, saloon and sports saloon body styles were produced together with some tourer (convertible) versions.

Production was suspended in 1940 but, in common with many companies, Rover recommenced manufacture of their pre-war models after the cessation of hostilities. The P2 range was replaced by the visually similar but mechanicallu updated P3 in early 1948.

This particular car is a 1937 P2 saloon which was supplied in October of that year to a Solicitor, E,O,Foster, by High Street Garage, Cheadle, Staffordshire. It was taken off the road in 1960 and returned, following restoration, in 2001. As a result it has only covered 20,000 miles from new. The current owner has had some further restoration work undertaken.

BRM P153

The Silverstone Historic Festival of 2001 was a 3-day event, from Saturday 25th August to the Bank Holiday Monday on the 27th. The penultimate race on the Monday was the Silverstone International Trophy Race for Pre-1978 Grand Prix Cars, and the car pictured below took part in that race.

It's the 1970 3 litre V12 BRM P153 of Bobby Bell, chassis number P153/04. On 21 February 2015 I showed a photograph of Mike Littlewood's BRM P153 at the Donington Park SeeRed meeting of September 2006.

Toyota Celica

On 26 October 2016 I showed a photograph of a Mitsubishi FTO that had been abandoned in a parking compound in Hyde and had been there for several weeks. That car subsequently disappeared, but the compound now seems to have become a dumping ground for both cars and unwanted domestic items. Here are some photographs I took recently of a car that's not been there long, and I'm sure that it was fairly intact when I first saw it.

It's a Toyota Celica, and it looks like a 7th Generation model (1999-2006).

The silver car at the far end of the compound doesn't seem to have moved since I first saw it a month or so ago, and it too may have been abandoned.

Interesting that the front wheels have been removed, but apparently just used to prop up the car and the number plates have been taken off, presumably so that the owner can't be identified.

This is the rubbish that has appeared recently in one corner of the compound.

Friday's Ferrari

This is one of the cars taking part in a track demonstration at the ReeRed meeting at Donington Park in June 2003.

It's a 2001 Ferrari F2001, and it was driven on the demonstration run by Ferrari test driver Andrea Bertolini.

Marcos 1800 GT

This car competed in the HSCC Classic Sports Cars and RJB Thundersports Championship Race at the HSCC's meeting at Oulton Park in June 2001.

This is Stuart Tizzard,s 1964 Marcos 1800 GT, with a 1.8 litre Volvo engine.

Greater Manchester Transport Museum

I took this photograph at the Greater Manchester Transport Museum in June 1983.

On the left is the former Rawtenstall Corporation 1950 Leyland Tiger PS2/1 with East Lancs B35R body, which I understand is now in the Bury Transport Museum. On the right is the 1947 Bedford OB that was originally operated by Warburton Brothers (Bury), and is still in the Greater Manchester Transport Museum.

Tyrrell 002

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000 included a celebration of 50 years of the Formula One World Championship which included a display featuring several cars for each decade of that period. This is one of the cars representing the 1970s.

It's the 1971 Tyrrell 003 that was driven by Jackie Stewart in all but the first race in 1971 when he won his second World Championship, and in six races the following season when he was runner-up to Emerson Fittipaldi.

NSU 6/60

When Audi brought an Auto Union C-type and D-type to the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in May 2001 they also brought along other vehicles that are now under Audi's wing, including the one shown below.

This is a 1½ litre supercharged 60hp 1926 Grand Prix car, the NSU 6/60. NSU Motorenwerke produced cars from 1905 to 1969 when the costs of developing the rotary Wankel engine for the NSU Ro 80 crippled the small firm, and it was taken over by Volkswagen which merged NSU with the Audi brand that it had acquired earlier. I can't find out much about the NSU 6/60, except a comment on another website that says:

'During the years 1923-27 the NSU car racing era was at its peak, and several Grand Prix victories were a fact.'

The only records I can find for Grand Prix racing in the 1920s don't show any victories by NSU, and in fact the only race I can find in which the NSU's took part was the 1926 German Grand Prix, when the highest place NSU finished in 5th place, winning the 1½ litre class.

Here's the car at Coppice Corner during a demonstration run.

Rally NCP

As far as I'm aware, this is the only car of this type that I've ever seen. It competed in a Four Lap Handicap Race at the VSCC's meeting at Oulton Park in August 1996.

It's Tony Crowther's 1930 1465cc supercharged Rally NCP. Automobiles Rally produced cars in Colombes, a suburb of Paris, from 1921 to 1933, but was a victim of the economic depression of the early 1930s. The car next to it is Roderick MacPherson's 1953 Cooper Bristol T20.

Jaguar E-Type

The Coys of Kensington Pre-1964 GT Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999 incorporated a compulsory driver change, and this is one of the cars that took part in that race.

It's the 1963 3.8 litre Jaguar E-Type shared in the race by the owner Jean-François Bentz and J Grose of the USA.  The car is chassis #876688,and you can read about it here.

Friday's Ferrari

One of the Ferraris on display at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2016.

It's a 2000 Ferrari 360 Modena, and you can read about this 3.6 litre V8-engined car on the official Ferrari Website.

Alfa Romeo Tipo 179

This is one of the cars I photographed at the Donington Park Museum when I visited in September 2014.

It's a 1980 Alfa Romeo Tipo 179, unsuccessfully raced in that season mainly by Bruno Giacomelli and Patrick Depailler - below is a photograph of the board at the side of the car.

Surtees TS5A

This car took part in the Historic Formula Racing Cars Pre '65 Single Seater Championship race at the HSCC's  Summer Race Meeting at Oulton Park in July 1995.

It's Jon Reakes' 1969 5 litre Formula 5000 Surtees TS5A, chassis #007, a car that was originally run in the US as a Team Surtees car and initially driven by David Hobbs.

Here's Jon Reakes during the race approaching Lodge Corner.