Friday's Ferrari

This car took part in the Shell Ferrari Historical Challenge race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

According to the programme of the event car number 1 is Engelbert Stieger's 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, which was due to be driven in the race by Christoph Stieger, but the number 1 above is Engelbert Stieger's 3 litre 1972 Ferrari 312PB, chassis #0888. The blue car number 51 at the top left of the photograph is Engelbert Stieger's 3 litre 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO which took part in the Coys of Kensington Ferrari GT race and is chassis #3589GT, and the number 38 car at the side of the 312PB is Ernst Schuster's 2 litre 1956 Ferrari 500 TRC, chassis #0660MDTR, which also took part in the Shell Ferrari Historical Challenge race.

Maserati 250F

Maserati was the featured marque at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005, and particularly the 250F Formula 1 car of the 1950s. Twelve examples of this model, together with a few pre-war cars, took part in a special Celebration Maserati Invitation Race and pictured below is one of the cars that took part.

The programme of the event records that, with the exception of the Bugatti Type 35, the Maserati 250F had the highest production of any other Grand Prix car with 28 built, plus twelve further replicas. This car is one of those replicas, one of the ten built by Cameron Miller, and is chassis CM8. The car was at that time owned by Georg Kaufmann and driven in the race (and also the Ron Flockhart Memorial Trophy race) by Hansruedi Portmann.

Maserati 3500 GT

This car was in the Maserati Club's display area at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993.

It's a Maserati 3500 GT and the registration plate appears to be from the Republic of Ireland. The 3500GT was produced by Maserati from 1957 to 1964 with a 3½ litre straight-6 engine and a body designed by Carrozzeria Touring. This particular car's chassis number is 101-1172.

McLaren M1B

This is one of the cars that competed in the Historic Motor Racing News Gentlemen Drivers Sports Racing Challenge race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2005.

It's the 1965 McLaren M1B driven in the 60 minute race by Chris Wilson and Richard Pilkington. A note in the programme of the event says this about the car:

'Stubbier evolution of Bruce McLaren's Elva built M1A, with body styled by artist Michael Turner, the model served privateers well for years in USRRC and early CanAm events. Chris Wilson's car, with its 4.7 litre Ford engine, was raced by Keith St John in Radio London colours in British events of the mid-1960s.'

Here's the McLaren during the race at Britten's chicane behind a Lister Knobbly that isn't listed in the programme, but is one of the three 'Sanction' cars built in 1990. It's the third of these cars and was originally owned by Tony Ditheridge, but later by Mark Gibbon, and has a 5.7 litre V8 Chevrolet engine. Behind the McLaren is the 1.7 litre Elva Mk7 of John Wilkes.

On 26 February 2017 I showed a photograph of Chris Wilson driving a McLaren M1B - presumably this car with a slightly different central stripe - at the same corner at Oulton Park in the Gold Cup meeting a year earlier.

Vinot et Deguingand

This car was labelled as a Vinot A'Dejanon in the programme of the Lancashire Automobile Club's Silver Jubilee Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in May 1987.

It's actually a 1919 Vinot et Deguingand 15/20, and the note in the programme says this about the car:

1919 Vinot A'Dejanon

(Anthony Hutt, Lytham St Annes)

This rare French model began life as an

ambulance, but when bought, despite its

outwardly good condition, had obviously been

used as a chicken shack. This is its first

Manchester to Blackpool after a total rebuild. It

is right hand drive in the manner of many

French cars of that period - France did not 

adopt left hand drive until a few years later.

The photograph was taken in the Exchange Station car park at Manchester prior to the start of the run, and its registration number is CK 1937.

Connaught L2

This car competed in the race for 1950s Sports Racing Cars at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting in September 2004.

It's Roger Seymour's 1948 Connaught L2, the first Connaught built, and was powered by a 1,767cc Lea Francis engine. The car was one of the auction lots in a sale by H&H Classic Car Auctioneers in July 2016, and here's how they described the car at that time.

On 19 August 2015 I showed photographs of its sister car that I'd taken at Oulton Park in July 1992, MPH 996.

Lamborghini Miura

This was one of the cars displayed by the Lamborghini Owners Club at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's a 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400S, powered by a 3,929cc V12 engine. According to the Lamborghini Registry the car was registered in London on 9 August 1968 and was the 241st Miura produced, the chassis number being 3670 and the engine number 2205.

On 11 April 2016 I showed a photograph of two Miuras at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in 1996.

Friday's Ferrari

This car took part in the Aston Martin GT Challenge race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2017. They used to call this an Intermarque race, but it's now apparently called 'Multimarque'.

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 3.6 litre V8 engine. It doesn't say in the programme of the event which version this is, but presumably it's the Challenge.

Stanley Steamer

This was one of the Concours D'Elegance entrants at the VSCC's Boulogne and Hawthorn Trophies Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 2005.

It's Mark Clark's 20hp 1907 Stanley Steamer H5 but, apart from a list of the Concours entrants, there's no mention of it in the programme of the meeting.

I came across the car being driven round the paddock a couple of times during the day.

The chassis number is 3708, and it's listed here in the Stanley Register Online. In September 2007 it took part in an 40 mile run of Edwardian cars from Donington Park, and on 17 March 2016 I showed a photograph that I took in the paddock on that occasion.

Kurtis 500S

This car took part in the HGPCA Race for Pre-1959 Drum-Braked Sports Cars at the HGPCA's Donington International Historic Grand Prix meeting in May 2004.

It's Christopher Keen's 1954 Kurtis 500S, shown in the programme of the event as having a 283 cu in (4.6 litres), presumably Offenhauser, engine.

Here's the car in the middle of the pack approaching the Old Hairpin during the race.

On 23 February 2016 I showed photographs of this car during a VSCC meeting at Oulton Park in June 2006.

HWM Jaguar

This car was driven by Noel Cunningham-Reid in the sports car race at the British Grand Prix meeting at Silverstone in July 1956.

It's one of the two HWM Jaguars built by George Abecassis and John Heath in 1955, XPE 2, chassis #025 being George's car and John Heath's was given the number HWM 1. After John Heath's fatal accident in the 1956 Mille Miglia George Abecassis gave up racing and the car was campaigned for the rest of that season, and the next two years by Noel Cunningham-Reid, Peter Blond and Roy Bloxham.

Mercedes Benz 300SL

I saw this car recently in Hyde outside a Garage/MoT Test Centre.

When people mention the Mercedes Benz 300SL I immediately think of the Gullwing W198 model produced between 1954 and 1963 with the straight-6 2,996cc M198 engine. This, though, is the R107/SL model that Mercedes Benz made from 1985 and 1989 and has the straight-6 2,962cc M103 engine.

The registration number starts with 'F' and was therefore originally issued to a car first registered between 1 August 1967 and 31 July 1968.

Pontiac Firebird

The Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2004 included the HSCC 70's Roadsports Championship Race for the Wespray Castings Trophy, and the competitors included this car.

This is a 1978 Pontiac Firebird at Foulstons (now Britten's) chicane during the race, the entrant and driver being Robin Gray according to the programme of the event, although this Pontiac Owners Club website says that the owner was Neville Day. The car is shown in the programme as having a 6,600cc engine, so it's the Pontiac 400 cu in V8 unit.

ERA E-Type

This car competed in the Historic Seaman Trophy Race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophy meeting at Donington Park in June 2003.

It's Duncan Ricketts' 1938 ERA E-Type, chassis GP1, here with a 1,980cc 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.

I featured the ERA E-Type GP1 previously, on 21 June 2016.

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

It's a 1970 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona, chassis #13593, and I suspect that it was one of the cars in the Coys auction which took place that weekend. The history of VRY 506H is shown in this undated auction description by Brightwells Classic Motoring Auctions.

Leyland Panther

This bus was present at the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1993.

It's a Leyland Panther PSU3 with a Roe body provided new to Kingston upon Hull Corporation in June 1966, where it served for 15 years. It's not listed in the programme of the event.

Cooper T86C Alfa Romeo

On 5 March 2016 I showed a photograph I'd taken of a 1968 Cooper T86B BRM at Donington Park in 2005. It was one of two cars built to accommodate the BRM V12 engine after the Maserati V12 unit used in the original Cooper T86 had proved to be unsuitable. Here are a couple of photographs  that I took at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2003 of the third car built in 1968, the Cooper T86C with an Alfa Romeo engine.

The Alfa Romeo engine was the 3 litre V8 unit used in the T33 sportscar, but it proved in testing to be badly underpowered. In 1968 the car was entered for the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, to be driven by Lucian Bianchi, but didn't turn up for either race. A sad end to Formula One racing for the once highly successful Cooper team.

The car was driven in the Force Classic Grand Prix Cars Gold Cup race at Oulton Park by Ron Maydon.

Lister Jaguar

I photographed this car in the paddock at the VSCC's meeting at Donington Park in May 2001.

There's no racing number on it, but it has the name 'Barry Wood' at the top of the door. Car number 59 in the 10 lap scratch race for 1950s Sports Racing Cars is shown in the programme of the event as Barry Wood's 1959 Lister Jaguar with a 3,780cc engine. On 30 July 2015 I showed photographs of this car at Oulton Park.

Vauxhall

I've previously shown photographs I took of various cars at the Footman James Classic Car Show at EventCity, Manchester in September 2016, and here are photographs I took of some of the Vauxhalls there.

This is a 1966 Vauxhall Viva HA 90 Deluxe, one of the first series of Vivas produced between 1963 and 1966 and powered by a 1,057cc 4-cylinder engine. It's the actual car depicted on the Wikipedia article about the Viva HA.

This is a 1964 Vauxhall Cresta PB with the 2,651cc straight-six engine that had been used in the PA. The PB was produced between 1962 and 1965, and from October 1964 had the larger 3.293cc engine and a full-width grille incorporating the headlights.

This is a 1971 Vauxhall Firenza, which was a derivation of the Vauxhall Viva. The Firenza was produced from 1971 to 1975 originally with a 1,159cc 4-cylinder engine, but this car has the 1,256cc engine introduced in December 1971.

This is another Vauxhall Viva, this time with an estate car body, and it appears to be the HC version produced between 1970 and 1979.

This appears to be one of the few Vauxhall Viva HBs to have been given the Brabham tuning modification, and the Wikepedia article about the Viva says this about them:

This time, apart from the standard and 90 stages of tune, there was also, for a brief time, a Brabham SL/90 HB that was purported to have been developed with the aid of world racing champion Jack Brabham. Brabham models were marked out externally by distinctive lateral black stripes at the front of the bonnet that curved down the wings and then headed back to end in a taper at the front doors. This model is almost impossible to find today. This model and the Viva GT are the two most sought after models made. The Brabham model differed from the standard Viva SL/90 in having a different cam-shaft, uprated suspension with anti-roll bars, different exhaust manifolds, and a unique twin-carb manifold, as well as differing interior trim. The Viva GT had substantially different engine and running gear and interior from the standard Viva HB models. It was distinguished by having a black bonnet with twin louvres and being all-over white. Later GTs came in different colours.

There may be some doubt about this car though, as this site seems to question whether TMD 179F is a genuine 'Brabham' conversion.

Lotus 87

This was one of the cars taking part in the Grand Prix Masters F1 Cars 1966-1985 race at the Silverstone Classic meeting in July 2010.

This is David Coplowe's 1981 Lotus 87 that replaced the Lotus 81B after the Belgian Grand Prix for the remainder of the 1981 season and was driven by Nigel Mansell and Elio de Angelis. It appears to be chassis 87/4, advertised for sale here by H&H Classics.

Surtees TS9

This car took part in the Force Pre-1972 Grand Prix Cars race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2002.

It's Frank Lyons' 1971 Surtees TS9, a car that was campaigned by Surtees Racing Team in the 1971 season and superseded by the TS9B for the 1972 and 1973 seasons. I showed photographs of the TS9B on 12 May 2015 and 4 April 2017.

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph at the Donington Park museum in September 2014.

It's the final version of Tony Vandervell's Ferrari Thin Wall Specials, a 1951 Ferrari 375 using Vandervell Product's own Thin-Wall bearings in the 4½ litre V12 engine. On 14 February 2014 I showed photographs of the car that I'd taken on earlier visits to the museum.

Bugatti Type 35C

This car took part in the VSCC's Boulogne Trophy Race at the Silverstone Historic Tribute meeting in June 2004.

It's Hubert Fabri's 1928 Bugatti Type 35C with a supercharged 2 litre straight-eight engine, and is chassis number 4871.

BRM

The Owen Racing Organisation entered three BRM P25s for the British Grand Prix at Aintree in July 1959, to be driven by Harry Schell, Jo Bonnier and Ron Flockhart, and a further P25 was entered by the British Racing Partnership team for Stirling Moss to drive.

This is Ron Flockhart's car, chassis number 2511, pictured in the paddock on the Friday practice day. Ron Flockhart qualified in eleventh place on the grid, but retired from the race after 53 of the 75 laps.

Jensen

Here's two cars that I photographed at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2002.

This is a 1956 Jensen 541 powered by the 3,993cc straight-six Austin engine, and is chassis number 5411485206.

This car is a 1971 four-wheel drive Jensen FF which was powered by a 6,277cc V8 Chrysler engine.

On 19 January 2017 I showed photographs of some Jensen cars at the Footman James Classis Car Show Manchester in 2016.

For those of you familiar with Oulton Park, the bridge in the background is the one that crosses the circuit at Clay Hill.

MGA

Here's two cars that I photographed at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011. Both cars took part in the 'Equipe' GTS Series race.

This is the 1959 MGA Roadster of Nick Wilkins

This is the 1958 MGA Twin Cam of Mark Ellis.

HWM

This car took part in the Raymond Mays Trophy race for Pre 1961 Grand Prix Cars at the Silverstone Historic Festival meeting in August 2001.

It's the 1951 HWM of Michael Harting, owner of the HMW company formed in 1950 by John Heath and George Abecassis. The cars raced as Formula 2 cars in 1950 and 1951, and when the World Championship was run to Formula 2 rules in 1952 and 1953 they competed in those races too, but were becoming more and more outclassed by the end of the 1953 season. It was the car in which the likes of Stirling Moss and Pete Collins gained much of their early racing experience. On 31 December 2012 I showed photographs of this car taken at Donington Park in May of 2001.

Austin 40hp Shooting Brake

This car is pictured in the Exchange Station car park in Manchester before the start of the Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1986.

It's Kevin Bann's 1911 Austin 40hp Shooting Brake, and the programme of the event said this about the vehicle:

21     1911 Austin Shooting Brake

         Reg: C 78  4 cylinder  40 hp

         (Kevin Bann, Burnley, Lancs)

This unusual vehicle from the Peter Blake

collection is a shooting brake in every sense of

the word, with a powerful engine for forest

tracks, and a rear fitted with seats and a folding

table. It was also the first car registered in

England with double tyres on the rear for extra

grip. Both are fitted to a single wheel.

It's the car described in this classiccar4you.com article.

Friday's Ferrari

Three Ferraris were amongst the entries at the Aston Martin Owners Club's race meeting at Oulton Park on 13 May 2017 and the one pictured below was entered in the AMOC Intermarque Championship race.

It's a 1995 Ferrari F355 Berlinetta, and the driving was to be shared in the 45 minute race by Geoffrey Lewis and Jason Hindle.

I was on the far side of the circuit at Britten's chicane where the circuit comes from left to right in front of the tyre barrier on the far side of this photograph, then turns left round Island Bend, does a 360 degree turn round the Shell Oils Corner, then heads back towards Britten's chicane. There's a hairpin bend to the right just before Island Bend that cuts out the loop and the chicane, and halfway round the first lap the Ferrari pulled off the circuit at this point and took no further part in the race.

Attila MkIII

This was one of the cars taking part in the HSCC Classic Sports Cars and RJB Thundersports Championship Race at the HSCC's Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in June 2001.

It's Howard Culley's 1964 Attila, described as a MkII in the programme of the event, but I've seen it elsewhere described as a MkIII. I can't find out much about the car, but it was built by Val Dare-Bryan, who formerly worked with Colin Chapman at Lotus, and is powered by a 5 litre Chevrolet V8 engine. Val Dare-Bryan only built about 7 cars, and I understand that they really were named after Attila the Hun, often called the 'Scourge of God'.