Friday's Ferrari

This was one of the cars in the paddock at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a 2001 Ferrari 550 Maranello, which has a 5,474cc V12 engine and is one of 3,083 produced between 1996 and 2001.

1997 BMW Z3

This was one of the cars taking part in the Hyde Classic Car Show on the Market Square in September 2021.

It's a 1997 BMW Z3 with a 1,895cc 4-cylinder inline engine.

The car was introduced in 1995 and production ended in 2002.

The quarters of the inner circle on the BMW badge display the state colours of BMW's home state of Bavaria – white and blue.

1905 Rolls Royce 10hp

This was one of the exhibits at the Northern Classic Car Show at Belle Vue, Manchester in September 1984.

It's a 1905 Rolls Royce 10hp, a twin cylinder car which was the first produced by the company set up by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. I no longer have the brochure of the event so I don't know if it contains any more information about the car, but I understand that it is chassis 20154. There are four examples of this car known to exist and this one is owned by Bentley Motors.

1952 Connaught A-Type

This was one of the competitors in the Historic Car Championship Race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's Autumn Historic Car Races meeting at Oulton Parkin September 1992.

It's Tony Smith's 1952 Connaught A-Type, chassis A8. The car was designed and built by Connaught Engineering's Rodney Clarke and Mike Oliver with a 1,960cc engine based on the Lea Francis 4-cylinder 1,767cc unit, and competed in 1952 and 1953 Grand Prix races which were run under the 2-litre capacity formula. A8 was part of the Connaught Works team in 1953, being mainly driven by John Coombes, Stirling Moss and Prince Bira.

1953 Tojeiro Bristol

This car competed in the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It's Nick Wigley's 1953 Tojeiro Bristol, with a 1,971cc straight-6 engine derived from the pre-war BMW 328 and originally built by John Tojeiro for Cliff Davis. This is the car that inspired the AC Ace Bristol, which in turn led to the Ford V8-engined AC Cobra.

1950 AEC Regent III

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

It's not listed in the Programme of the event, but it's a 1950 AEC Regent III that was originally in the fleet of the Halifax Joint Omnibus Committee which was taken over by the West Yorkshire Transport Executive in 1974.

1923/17 Bequet Delage

This car competed in Richard Seaman Memorial Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in August 1992.

It's the 1923/17 Bequet Delage of Alexander Boswell which Maurice Bequet and his business partner Roland Coty, with the assistance of the Hispano Suiza factory, constructed in 1926. They started with the chassis of a 1923 Delage 2LCV into which they installed the 11,959cc Hispanio Suiza V8 engine from a 1917 World War Two Spad fighter plane. It raced in the Grand Prix de la Baule where it finished in third place, but did not contest any more Grand Prix races as it didn't comply with the regulations then in place. After competing in minor events with some success for several years the partners sold the car in 1936. It was eventually acquired by Nigel Arnold-Forster who restored the car in 1980 and he drove it for several years at vintage racing events.

Friday's Ferrari

This car competed in the Shell Historic Ferrari Maserati Challenge Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

It's the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione of German driver Gerhard Schwing and is chassis #1887GT. This is the competition version of the Ferrari 250 GT, one of 74 built by Scaglietti, with an aluminium alloy body and the Gioacchino Colombo designed 2,953cc V12 engine. The blue car number 57 beside it is the similar 1960 Ferrari 250GT SWB Competizione of Dutch driver Bart Rosman and is chassis #2179GT, which was originally campaigned by the Belgian Ecurie Francorchamps.

2019 Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spyder

I came across this car when I was having a wander around Salford Quays back in April.

It's a 2019 Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spyder

It has a 5,204cc V10 engine

The Lamborghini Huracán made its debut in 2013 and the EVO Spyder was introduced in 2019

It has a claimed top speed of 202mph

1959 Gemini Mk2

This car competed in the MRC Monoposto Formula Junior Championship Race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Summer Race Meeting at Oulton Park in July 1992.

It's the 1959 Gemini Mk2 of David Noble and has a 1,098cc engine. About thirty Gemini Mk 2s were built, four powered by Ford Cosworths and all others by BMC A Series engines.

1957 Maserati 300S

This car took part in the Louis Vuitton '50s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

It's the 1957 Maserati 300S, chassis #3074, of Mark Knopfler and has a 2,991cc 6-cylinder inline engine that was based on the 2½ litre unit of the 250F Grand Prix car with a longer stroke, and took part in the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 and 1957. The car was originally bought by Brazilian driver Antonio Mendes de Barros and stayed in South America till the 1970s when it was acquired by Australian Bruce Spicer, then via Bob Jane and John R Sheppard to Kerry Manolas. In 1994 it was bought by Mark Knopfler. The number 10 car behind the Maserati is Hartmut Ibing's 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO.

Auto Union Typ 650 Sokol

I took this photograph on a visit to the Donington Park Museum in October 1989.

The car was at displayed as an Auto Union E-Type that was designed in 1939 to challenge the Mercedes Benz W165 1½ litre voiturette that had won the 1939 Tripoli Grand Prix, but the completion of which had been halted by the outbreak of the Second World War. Tom Wheatcroft was said to have acquired it as a chassis with engine, and a body was designed and built to show how the car would probably have looked had it been completed in 1940. Audi later acquired the car and it was taken back to Donington Park with several other vehicles - including a 1937 Auto Union C-Type and 1938 D-Type - to take part in a display and track demonstrations at the VSCC's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting in May 2001.

The Auto Union factory ended up in East Germany after the war and all the racing cars and equipment were removed to Russia. There are suggestions that this car is of post-war East German or Russian manufacture, possibly with the help of pre-war Auto Union design technology, but Audi seemed to be sure enough of its Auto Union origins to have included it in the display at Donington Park in 2001, though I can't find any mention of it in the commemorative 'The Return of Auto Union' brochure or the programme of the event.

1927/30 Frazer Nash Super Sports

This car competed in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in July 1987.

Seen here at Lodge Corner it's A.Boswell's 1927/30 Frazer Nash Super Sports. The only information about the car in the programme of the event is that it had a 1,991cc engine.

1903 Wolseley

I took this photograph in Albert Square, Manchester on the first running of what became the Lancashire Automobile Club's annual Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1963.

The cars were flagged off by the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Sir Robert Thomas, in front of the Town Hall to the left of this photograph. I no longer have the programme of the event and the only information I have about this car is that it's a single cylinder 12hp 1903 Wolseley and the registration number is AT45.

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 1998.

It's the 1950 Ferrari 166/195 MM Touring Barchetta of Dudley & Sally Mason-Styrron, which was driven in the race by Sally, and is chassis #0040M. A note in the programme of this event in 1992 says this about the car:

'166/195 Barchetta

Front engined V12; 2.3 litres; 160-180 bhp at 7000rpm; ifs/double wishbones/transverse leaf springs. Rigid rear axle/semi-elliptic leaf springs. The dual model designation reflects the fact that it started out as a 2-litre car in the 166 series and finished up with a 2.4 litre engine from the 195 series. The 'Barchetta' - literally 'little boat' body is by Touring. It ran in the 1950 Mille Miglia, 4th overall (G.Bracco/U.Maglioli) and finished 12th overall. 5th in class (Luigi Villoresi) in the Targa Florio that year.'

1966 Landar Mk VI

This car competed in the HSCC 2 Litre GT Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Spring Race meeting at Oulton Park in May 1987.

Two brothers, Peter and Clive Radnall came up with the idea of putting a tuned Mini engine in the rear of a lightweight race car and the first of these vehicles was named the Landar R1. A series of cars followed culminating in the Landar R6 - at this meeting it was shown as a Landar MkVI and was driven by Terry Carthy. The only other information about the car in the programme of the event is that it had a 1,293cc engine. When the Radnall brothers ceased production of the cars the moulds were sold in the USA and it is thought that more of the cars were built there.

1959 MGA

This was one of the exhibits at the Northern Classic Car Show at Belle Vue, Manchester in September 1983.

It's the 1959 MGA with which Ted Lund competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1959, 1960 and 1961. In 1959 he was partnered by Colin Escott but retired after 21 hours with a broken gearbox. In 1960 again with co-driver Colin Escott he finished in 12th place and won the under 2 litre class, then for 1961 he had a new co-driver, Bob Olthoff but their race ended after 2 hours with engine problems.

Aston Martin Owners' Club

 

This is the start of the Park Place Thoroughbred Sports Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners' Club's meeting at Oulton Park in September 1986.

Leading is the Triumph TR3 of Reg Woodcock with three Aston Martin DB4's in pursuit. There were five green DB4's in the race and three red ones and I can't identify the drivers of the cars pictured. Bringing up the rear is Robin Longdon in Les Leston's famous Lotus Elite 'DAD10', or 'Daddio' as it was affectionally known.

1957 Aston Martin DBR1

This car formed part of a display in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

It's a 1957 Aston Martin DBR1 and is chassis DBR1/2. The DBR1 replaced the DB3S and was designed by Ted Cutting to compete in the World Sportscar Championship and specifically the Le Mans 24 Hour Race. In 1957 DBR1/2 won the Nürburgring 1000km race driven by Tony Brooks and Noel Cunningham-Reid, and in 1958 won the RAC Tourist Trophy race at Goodwood with Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks. In 1959 Aston Martin finally managed to win the World Sportscar Championship, this car winning the Le Mans 24 Hour race driven by Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby whilst Carroll Shelby, Jack Fairman and Stirling Moss took it to victory in the RAC Tourist Trophy race. The Nürburgring 1000km race was won by DBR1/1 driven by Stirling Moss and Jack Fairman.

1971 AEC Swift & 1966 Leyland Leopard

These were two of the participants in the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1995.

On the left is a former St Helens Corporation 1971 AEC Swift and to the right is a former Lancashire United Transport Leyland Leopard. The programme of the event has the following notes about the two vehicles:

AEC Swift, Marshall B44D, 1971                                                                       EDJ244J

St Helens Corporation 244

Entered by     R. Johnson & D.J. Hillan, Haydock

One of seventy two similar vehicles which worked for St Helens Corporation, this vehicle saw use as a terminal transfer vehicle at Liverpool Airport.

Leyland Leopard, Plaxton Panorama, 1966                                                  UTC768D

Entered by     R. Johnson & D.J. Hillan, Haydock

Lancashire United Transport 216

Purchased from an angling club in Atherton in 1991, this vehicle has been re-engined and re-seated.

1970 Lotus 72

The two cars in this photograph competed in the HSCC Seldon Pre '71 Single Seater Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1986.

The number 72 car is a 1970 Lotus 72, chassis 72/R4 and beneath it is a 1971 McLaren M19A, chassis M19A/1, both of which belonged to the then owner of the Oulton Park racing circuit (and Brands Hatch and Snetterton), John Foulston, who drove the McLaren in that race whilst his wife Mary drove the Lotus. The Lotus 72 was designed by Colin Chapman and Maurice Philippe and the McLaren M19A was designed by Ralph Bellamy, both cars having the Ford Cosworth DFV 2,993cc V8 engine. The Lotus was the more successful of the two cars, Jochen Rindt winning the World Driver's Championship in 1970  and Emerson Fittipaldi  in 1972, and Lotus winning the World Constructor's Championship in 1970, 1972 and 1973. The McLaren's best results were a third place in the Driver's Championship in 1972 for Denny Hulme and a third place in the Constructor's Championship the same year for McLaren.

Friday's Ferrari

This car took part in two rounds of the Shell Ferrari Historical Challenge series of races at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It's the 1962 Ferrari 268SP of Bernie Carl and was driven in the races by Gregor Fisken. The car is chassis #0798 and was built in February 1962 as a Ferrari 248SP but by April of that year the engine had been modified to 268SP specifications, which involved increasing the 2,459cc V8 engine to 2,645cc. It was driven in the 1962 Le Mans 24 Hour race by Giancarlo Baghetti and Ludovico Scarfiotti but retired with clutch problems after 18 hours. The number 21 car behind the 268SP is another car that competed in those races. The programme of the event shows it to be a 1954 Ferrari 750 Monza, entered by Paul Osborn and to be driven in the race by Tony Dron. It's got the entrant and driver correct, but it's actually a 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial, chassis number #0468MD. This car has the Aurelio Lampredi designed 4-cylinder inline 1,984cc engine.

2021 Porsche Panamera 4S Hybrid

I went for a Covid booster jab recently and this car was in the car park at the pharmacy.

It's a 2021 Porsche Panamera 4S Hybrid

It has a Twin-Turbocharged V6 2,894cc engine

1926 Bugatti Type 37

This was one of the entrants in the Concours d'Elegance at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies Meeting at Oulton Park in June 1984.

It's Barry Parkinson's 1926 Bugatti Type 37 and has a 4-cylinder inline 1,496cc engine. 290 of these cars were produced between about 1926 and 1930.

2002 Jaguar R3

This is one of the photographs I took during a visit to the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.

It's the 2002 Jaguar R3 with a 3 litre V10 Ford Cosworth engine. Ford had taken over the Stewart Racing Team after the 1999 season and the resulting cars were badged as Jaguars, Johnny Herbert being retained as one of the drivers and teamed with Eddie Irvine. The car didn't have much success, but the team persevered for the next four seasons without any great improvement and were taken over by the Red Bull Racing Team in 2005. The board at the side of the car reads as follows:

2002 Jaguar R3

Pininfarina

 

In 1999 Eddie Irvine finished second in the drivers’ championship. After this he was to spend 3 seasons with Jaguar, until 2002. The second team driver in 2000 was Johnny Herbert, later briefly replaced by Luciano Burti, and in April 2001 by Pedro de la Rosa who also raced for Jaguar to the end of 2002.

For 2001 the car became R2, and for 2002 the R3, both were in effect developed versions of the original design. The best result achieved during 2002 was Irvine’s third place in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in September. This particular car was De la Rosa’s regular car during 2002, and was later used in tests in the Pininfarina wind tunnel. The colours show the air pressure around the car – blue for low, green for neutral, and red for high pressure, which created the downforce to keep the car on the road.

1966 Jaguar XJ13

 

This car was on display in the Paddock at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

There are now several replicas around, but this is the original 1966 Jaguar XJ13, the prototype of a car intended to contest the Le Mans 24 Hour race, and has a 4,991cc V12 engine. By the time the car was ready to be introduced, however, it had already been made obsolete by the Ford GT40 and this and the fact that the regulations were soon to be changed to limit engine capacities to 3 litres meant that it was never actually raced. The car was mothballed until it was brought out in 1971 to publicise the launch of the Series 3 Jaguar E-Type which was powered by Jaguar's first production V12 engine. Jaguar test driver Norman Dewis was taking the car on a high speed run on the MIRA test track when a type burst and the car was severely damaged in the resulting crash, although Norman Dewis luckily escaped unharmed. The car was eventually rebuilt in 1973 and is now part of the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Collection.

1936 ERA R12B

I took this photograph at Lodge Corner during the Richard Seaman Memorial Historic Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1981.

It's the 1936 ERA R12B of Bill Morris, previously one of the White Mouse stable's trio of ERAs driven by Prince Bira, where it was given the name 'Hanuman'. It was originally built with a 2 litre engine as a B-type car, but in 1937 it was rebuilt to C-type specifications, thus becoming R12C, and given a 1½ litre engine. In 1939 the car was badly damaged in a crash during practice at Reims and was rebuilt with a B-type frame, reverting to being R12B and the name changing to 'Hanuman II'. After passing through various hands after the Second World War it came to Bill Morris. Bill Morris had managed to acquire the rest of the wreckage left over from the 1939 crash and using the damaged chassis frame rebuilt the car to its 1939 C-type specifications by 1982. That car was now R12C, as if the 1939 accident had never happened, and was given the original car's name of 'Hanuman'.

1912 Renault

I took this photograph in the Exchange Station car park in Manchester before the start of the Lancashire Automobile Club's annual Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1985.

I no longer have the programme of the event and the only note I made about it at the time is that it was a 1912 Renault. The DVLA record shows that the number AU746 is a Renault with a 735cc engine, but it also says that the car was built in 1921. The DVLA records for older cars such as this don't appear to be terribly reliable.

Friday's Ferrari

Ferrari uses the Corse Clienti Ferrari Racing Days meetings at various circuits to allow a group of specially selected customers to test limited edition cars developed exclusively for the track and to provide feedback on the performance of the cars to Corse Clienti engineers, thus helping Ferrari to develop its cars for the future. The Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017 included a series of test sessions involving the Ferrari FXX-K, the 'K' referring to the KERS kinetic energy recovery system with which the car is equipped. Here's one of the cars pictured at Club Corner during one of the sessions.

This is Peter Mann from the USA in his Ferrari FXX-K, which is based on the LaFerrari. The car is chassis no. 211251 and has a 6,262cc V12 engine that develops 848 hp, to which the 140kW electric motor adds 188 hp.

1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mk I

I took this photograph at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1975.

It's a 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mk I and has the 2,922cc version of the 6-cylinder inline Lagonda engine. The Aston Martin DB2/4 replaced the DB2 and was in production from 1953 to 1957, first with the 2,580cc version of the engine which was replaced by the larger engine in October 1954.