Cooper Jaguar T38

This car competed in the twelve lap 1950's Sports Car Race at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies race meeting at Oulton Park in June 1993.

It's the 3.4 litre straight-6 1955 Cooper Jaguar T38 of John Pearson, chassis CJ-3-55, one of three cars built by Cooper for endurance sports car racing. One of the cars competed in the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hour race, but retired after 4 hours with an oil leak.

Here's the car rounding Lodge Corner during the race followed by the 1956 Aston Martin DB3S of Tony Smith.

NSU Spider

I've shown photographs previously of the pre-war C-Type & D-Type Auto Unions and other vehicles that Audi took to the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Donington Park in May 2001, and here's another car that was shown and demonstrated that day.

It's an NSU Spider, produced by NSU between 1964 and 1967, and the first production car to be powered by a rotary engine, first conceived by Felix Wankel. Wankel has now become the generic term for the rotary car engine. The Spider's engine had a capacity of 498cc, produced 54bhp and could reach almost 100mph. The photograph here was taken on the inside of Coppice Corner.

Emeryson 500cc F3

This car competed in the '500cc Formula 3 Cars' class in the Historic Formula Junior Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's Autumn Historic Car Races meeting at Oulton Park in September 1992.

It's a front-wheel drive 500cc Formula 3 Emeryson but it's not listed in the programme of the event, so sadly I don't know who owned the car or who drove it that day.

Here's the car rounding Lodge Corner during the race.

On 1 March 2016 I showed a photograph of the 1961 Emeryson F1 car.

ERF LAG

This lorry took part in the Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1998.

It's a 1973 ERF LAG with Gardner 100 diesel engine. I understand that the '100' refers to the bhp of the engine, in which case it would seem to be a 6LW 102hp 6-cylinder 8,370cc engine. The programme of the rally said this about the vehicle:

ERF LAG 160-12, 1973                                                                                                                          RTS 457

Entered by     Geoff Davison, Old Glossop

Purchased by Joseph Grant Ltd. of Broughty Ferry Scotland, never used being dry stored until 1991 when

purchased by D.G.Davies & Sons who have rallied it since in the original owners livery.

Mercedes

This car accompanied several 1920's and 1930's Mercedes-Benz cars on a demonstration run round the Silverstone circuit at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting in July 1994.

It's one of the three 2-litre supercharged 4-cylinder 1924 Mercedes cars that took part in the Targa Florio race in Sicily that year. One of those cars, driven by Christian Werner, won the race, but I've seen two conflicting reports about final placings of the other two cars. Christian Lautenschlager finished in either 10th or 11th place, and the car driven by Alfred Neubauer (later Mercedes-Benz team manager in the 1930's and 1950's) was either 15th or 16th.

Royal Enfield

When I was a youngster there was a variety of British motorcycle manufacturers, one of which was The Enfield Cycle Company which produced the Royal Enfield motorcycle. The last English-made Royal Enfield was built in 1967, but production continued in India where they had been made under licence since 1955, and they are still being built there as I found out when I spotted one in a local filling station recently.

It's a Royal Enfield Classic 500, and it's finished in a very retro-looking Redditch Green colour.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a car I saw recently near the Manchester United football ground. I grabbed a photograph as it came past me on Wharfside Way, then another couple as it was held up going into the football ground's car park.

It's a Ferrari F430 Scuderia Spider 16M, a special edition of the F430 Scuderia, and produced to mark Ferrari's 16th victory in the Formula 1 Constructor's World Championship in 2008.

The car has a 4.3 litre V8 engine.

Only 499 of these cars were built, to be sold to selected clients, and the plaque on the right-hand side of the real panel commemorates the 16th Constructor's title.

HWM

This car took part in the 10-Lap Race for Pre-1961 Racing Cars at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Trophy Vintage Car Races meeting at Oulton Park in August 1992.

It's Kirk Rylands' HWM, described in the programme of the event as a 1952/57 car with an engine capacity of 3,442cc (the car had been given a Jaguar engine, hence the '52/57'). HWM competed in Formula 2 races from 1950 to 1953, and in the last two of those years the World Championship for Drivers was run under Formula 2 rules. I showed photographs of one of the 1951 cars on 31 December 2012 and 4 June 2017. By 1952 the cars had become uncompetitive and a revised model, as pictured, was introduced, but this car was also largely outclassed by the opposition. The best result they achieved was probably when Paul Frère and Peter Collins finished in second and third places to Emmanuel de Graffenried's Maserati A6GCM in the ADAC Eifelrennen race at the Nürburgring in 1953.

Sunbeam 12/16

I took this photograph at the Northern Classic Car Show at G-Mex, Manchester in August 1989.

It's a 1913 Sunbeam 12/16, but there's no mention of it in the brochure of the event. This is the only information I have been able to find about the car.

Aston Martin DB3S

I photographed this car at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1993 waiting in the paddock to go onto the track to take part in a practice session.

It's Hubert Fabri's 3-litre straight-6 1955 Aston Martin DB3S. Starting in 1953, ten cars were built for the works Aston Martin team and growing demand for a production version caused Aston Martin to build a series of 'customer' cars starting in 1955. OXE 472 was one of three customer cars delivered to Australian Tony Gaze's Kangaroo Stable in that year and is chassis DB3S/102 (the other two were DB3S/103 & DB3S/104 and were registered as OXE 473 & OXE 474). DB3S/104 was sold by Sotheby's in 2009 and here is their description of Lot 562 at that auction.

Frazer Nash High Speed

I took this photograph at Mc Lean's corner during the Invited Pre-1961 Sports & GT Cars Race at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

It's Ned Spieker in his 1948 Frazer Nash High Speed leading the 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 of James Campbell. The Frazer Nash, which is chassis 421/100/004, has a 2-litre Bristol engine and was originally delivered to a Frantisek Dobry of Czechoslovakia in December 1948. After Harold Adlington and Norman Culpan finished in third place at the 1949 Le Mans 24 Hour race in Frazer Nash High Speed chassis 421/100/008 subsequent cars were known as Frazer Nash Le Mans models.

I showed a photograph of James Campbell's Aston Martin DB2/4 on 3 October 2015.

Jaguar D-Type

This is a photograph I took of a car that competed in the sports car race at the Aintree 200 meeting in April 1960.

It's Mike Salmon's 1955 Jaguar D-Type, chassis #XKD504, originally a Jaguar works car but later campaigned by Ecurie Ecosse. Sotheby's related the history of XKD504 when it was offered for auction in September 2013.

Austin Healey

This photograph was taken at the HSCC's Summer Race Meeting at Oulton Park in July 1992 and shows three Austin Healeys that took part in the HSCC Classic Sports Car Championship race at that event.

The car on the left is the 1961 Austin Healey 3000 of David Summerson, a car that was produced between 1959 and 1967 with a straight-six 2,912cc engine, although the programme says this car had a capacity of 2,996cc. The other two cars are both examples of the Austin Healey 100/6, the predecessor of the 3000 and produced from 1956 to 1959. It also had a straight-six engine with a capacity of 2,639cc. The middle car is the 1958 car of Rob Wilson, a car that the programme says has an engine of 2,962cc, and the car on the right is Eddie Falkous' 1957 model which has a 2,996cc engine according to the programme.

Friday's Ferrari

Saw this car recently being refuelled at a local filling station.

It's a 4.3 litre V8 Ferrari F430, a car produced between 2004 and 2009.

The '55' on the number plate suggests that it was first registered between 1 September 2005 and 28 February 2006.

Maserati Birdcage

Three Maserati 'Birdcage' cars took part in the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association Sports Car Race at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992, one 2-litre T60 model and two of the 3-litre T61's. All three are pictured below.

The car above and below is Nick Mason's 2-litre 1959 Maserati T60 and is chassis #2466.

This is Lindsay Owen-Jones' 3-litre 1960 Maserati T61. chassis #2458.

Above and below is Jeffrey Pattinson's 3-litre 1961 Maserati T61, chassis #2453.

The programme of the event said this about the 'Birdcage' Maseratis:

'Maserati's final fling on the international stage was with their legendary 'Birdcage' models, so named because of the multitude of small tubes which made up their chassis. They proved faster than anything else in 1960 but also more fragile, though the quasi-works Camoradi team managed to win the gruelling 1000km at the Nürburgring that year and again in 1961.

The car entered here by Lindsay Owen-Jones is an ex-Camoradi T61, used once or twice by Stirling Moss (but not in his Nürburgring victory). Nick Mason's is a 2-litre version, a T60 rather than a 2.9-litre T61, originally campaigned by Scuderia Serenissima.'

Mercedes-Benz W154

I recently showed a photograph of a 1939 Mercedes-Benz W154 in the museum at Donington Park where it was on display for a while after being restored in Tom Wheatcroft's workshops there for the National Technical Museum of Prague. On 13 October 2015 I showed photographs of another of these cars that Mercedes-Benz had taken to Donington Park in 2008 to make some demonstration runs during the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophy meeting. Here are three more photographs of the car I took at that meeting.

The photographs above and below were taken in the pit garage where the car was being prepared for the demonstration runs.

Here's Tony Dron at Redgate corner during one of the demonstration runs.

Merlyn Mk6A

This car took part in the HSCC Guildford Estates Classic Sports Car Championship race at the Historic Sport Car Club's Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1987.

The programme of the event says that it's a 1963 Merlyn Mk6A, entered by Schwarz Herbs & Spices and driven in the race by Nick Wheatley. The Colchester Racing Developments list of Merlyn models, though, says that the Mk6A was produced between 1964 and 1966. The Mk6/6A used a variety of engines, chiefly the Lotus-Ford 1.6 litre unit, but the programme doesn't show which engine this car has, merely that the capacity is 1,594cc. Visually the Merlyn Mk6A is very similar to the Lotus 23 and Brabham BT5.

Bugattis

There were four Bugattis entered in the Lancashire Automobile Club's annual Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1991 and two of them are pictured below in the Exchange Station car park in Manchester before the start of the Run.

This is Mike and Hugh Dickson's 4-cylinder 1,496cc 1926 Bugatti Type 40, chassis number 40652, and the programme of the event said this about it:

123   1929 Bugatti Type 40

          Reg: UF 4524    4 cylinder    1496cc

          (Hugh Dickson, London W14)

Jointly owned by Mike and Hugh Dickson,

it was first entered on the Run in 1987.

This is the cockpit of Barry Parkinson's 4-cylinder 1,496cc 1926 Bugatti Type 37, and the only other information about the car in the programme is that its registration number is DS 6894.

On 29 October 2015 I showed a photograph of this car at the 1986 Run.

Cooper-Alta

I photographed this car at the Silverstone Classic meeting in July 2010.

It's David Clewley's 1953 Cooper-Alta, and it took part in the HGPCA Pre-61 Front Engine Grand Prix Cars race.

The car is a Cooper T24, derived from the T20 and T23 cars that used the much taller Bristol engine and so the front air intake is smaller and the nose of the car is lower and extends further forward than the Bristol-engined cars. It has a 1,996cc straight-4 Alta engine and was driven by Stirling Moss in the 1953 season.

CGV

This was one of a group of Edwardian cars in the paddock at the SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2007.

There was no information about it in the programme of the event, but it's a 1904 CGV and has a 4,944cc engine. The CGV company was formed in 1901 by Fernand Charron, Leonce Giradot & Emile Voigt, and was based in Puteaux to the north-west of Paris.

The cars were gathered in the paddock to take part in a run for Edwardian cars, and the programme said this about that run:

'Edwardian Run

At 9.30am on Saturday up to 15 Edwardian cars (1905-'19)

will leave the paddock on the third 40 mile Grand Prix Run.

The run, organised by Ron Birkett, was set up in 2005 to

mark the centenary of the first GP in Dieppe.'

Friday's Ferrari

This car is taking part in the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers Race at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in July 1987.

It's Neil Corner in his 1960 Ferrari Dino 246 F1 car dropping down into the dip after Lodge Corner and heading towards Deer Leap. The car was originally chassis #0007, but renumbered to #0788F after it was fitted with a 3 litre engine for Tasman races in New Zealand in the hands of Pat Hoare. It was restored to its original condition when Neil Corner obtained the car in 1978, although the programme of this event showed it to have a 2,990cc engine instead of the 2,417cc engine originally fitted.

The 1958 Ferrari Dino 246 F1 was the last front-engined car to win the World Drivers Championship in the hands of Mike Hawthorn. Neil Corner's car was the last such car to win a World Championship race - the 1960 Italian Grand Prix which many of the top teams boycotted because it was run in the combined road and banked oval track at Monza which they considered to be dangerous. The Ferrari wan't the last front-engined car to compete in a World Championship race, however, as the last race of the 1960 season was the United States Grand Prix at Riverside which Enzo Ferrari decided not to contest. The only front-engined cars in that race were the Scarab of Chuck Daigh and the Maserati 250F of Bob Drake.

To be strictly accurate, the last front-engined car to compete in a World Championship race was the Ferguson P99 4-wheel drive car that competed in the 1961 British Grand Prix, but was disqualified for receiving a push-start after the engine had cut out at Bechers Bend.

Surtees TS9B

This is one of the participants in the Grand Prix Masters race at the Silverstone Historic Tribute meeting in June 2004.

It's Peter Austin's 1971 Surtees TS9B, a car raced by the Surtees team in the 1971 and 1972 seasons. It raced in the 1971 season as a TS9 and was uprated to a TS9B for the 1972 season. It's chassis 004 and this oldracingcars.com website shows the racing history of the car from 1971 to 1975.

Bentley 3/8 litre

This car was in a team of Bentleys that took part in the 2 hour long VSCC Pre-War Sports Car Team Relay Race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2006.

It's the 1927 Bentley 3/8 litre of Adam Singer, and the original 3 litre Red Label Tourer is described in this history of the car when it was put up for auction in 2003 by H&H Auctioneers. It was apparently bought at that auction for a client by Stanley Mann Racing and was in need of a complete rebuild, during which it was given the 8 litre engine.

Porsche RSR

This car took part in the Gordon Russell Furniture Inter-Marque Championship Race at the Jaguar Drivers' Club's 6th Cheshire Cats' Trophy meeting at Oulton Park in April 1987.

It's Mike Holland's car, listed in the programme of the event simply as a Porsche RSR and having an engine capacity of 3,500cc. It competed in the Porsche team against teams of AC Cobras. Aston Martins, Ferraris and Jaguars.

Here's the car during the race at what was then Foulstons chicane, but is now known as Britten's.

Lola T70 Spyder

This car took part in the 1960s World Endurance Cars Italy v Rest of the World race at the Silverstone Historic Festival meeting in August 2001.

It's Colin Parry-Williams' car, listed in the programme of the event as a 1965 Lola-Chevrolet T70 Spyder with a 5,700cc engine. It appears to be the ex-John Mecom Racing chassis SL70/13, originally fitted with a 4.7 litre Ford V8 engine. The car later passed through various hands before being bought by Colin Parry-Williams in 1981, being restored and fitted with the Chevrolet engine in 1997.

I showed photographs of two other Lola T70 Spyders on 24 April 2016 and 12 March 2017.

OSCA MT4

This car competed in the 1950s Drum-Braked Sports Racing Cars race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005.

It's Tony Pickering's 1953 1,495cc straight-4 OSCA MT4, built by the Maserati brothers' new company set up after their split from Adolfo Orsi, to whom they had sold the Maserati company.

Jaguar E-Type

This car took part in the Inter-Marque Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's Historic Car Races meeting at Oulton Park in September 1986.

It's Malcolm Hamilton's 1964 3.8 litre Jaguar E-Type, competing in a team of Jaguar E-Types against teams of Aston Martins and Porsches. This was round eight of the Championship and the programme of the event records that after seven rounds the Jaguar team was in the lead, and Malcolm Hamilton had the second best driver's points total behind one of the Porsche team. The photograph was taken at Lodge Corner.

Friday's Ferrari

Ferrari was the featured car at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997 and this is one of the cars featured in the Ferrari display.

It's a 1949 Ferrari 166 chassis #011F that had been raced in the late 1940s and early 1950s in Argentina by Juan Manuel Fangio and José Froilán Gonzáles. It was built with a 1,995cc V12 engine and was originally used in Formula 2 racing, but became eligible for World Championship races when they were contested by 2 litre cars in 1952 and 1953. The 'YPF' decal on the side of the car denotes the Argentinian state energy company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales.

Guy Arab

This bus appeared at the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1996.

It's a 1951 Guy Arab Mk III, and the programme of the event said this about the vehicle:

Guy Arab Mk III, Roe Body, 1951                                                                     MTJ 84

Entered by      S.M.Torres, c/o Ebor Trucks, Acaster Malbis, York

Former Operator - L.U.T.  Ex. Lancashire United 440, this vehicle was repainted over the winter and

appeared at The Museum of Transport's L.U.T. weekend in May this year.

Aston Martin DBR4

This car was amongst the competitors in the Ron Flockhart Memorial Trophy Race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2004.

It's David Wenman's 1959 Aston Martin DBR4, driven in the race by Barrie Williams. Originally built as a 2½ litre Formula 1 car, the programme of this event showed it to then have an engine capacity of 2,892cc. Four of these cars were built and this one is chassis number 2.

Tatra 603

I took this photograph of a car I spotted down a side-street in Ashton-under-Lyne when I was on my way to work one morning in May 1993.

It's a Tatra 2-603 II, a rear-engined car that was produced by the Czechoslovakian company from 1968 to 1975 and had a 2½ litre air-cooled V8 unit. It's a rare car in this country, and I've not seen one of these models before nor since this one.

On 24 December 2014 I showed a photograph of a Tatra T87 that I'd taken at Silverstone in 1997.