2022 Lamborghini Huracán STO

A few days ago I showed some photos of a Maserati MC20 Cielo at the H R Owen showroom in Stockport. H R Owen are also Lamborghini dealers and here's a car that was outside their premises that day.

It's a 2022 Lamborghini Huracán STO which is a variant of the Huracán that's been uprated for track use and has the same 5,204cc V10 engine as the Huracán Evo and Huracán Perfomante.

Motorcycles at Silverstone

These two motorcycles took part in the Mike Hailwood Memorial Trophy race at the Silverstone Historic Festival meeting in August 2001.

Both machines competed in the Formula F750 Motorcycles class and the one nearest the camera is the 1972 Ducati SS of US rider David Barrett, whilst on the far side is Simon Walsh's 1970 Triumph Trident.

Lotus 23B & Lister Jaguar

I took this photograph during qualifying for the Gentlemen Drivers Sports Racing Challenge race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2005.

Leading in the 1962 Lotus 23B is Mike Doyle, closely followed by Crispin Harris in his 1958 Lister Jaguar. The Lotus 23 was introduced in 1962 to compete in the smaller classes of sports car  racing and was used with engines with capacities ranging from from 750cc up to 1600cc. The programme of the event shows this car as having a 1,598cc engine, presumably the Ford Kent derived 4-cylinder inline Cosworth unit. It proved to be an extremely successful car and about 130 examples of the Lotus 23, 23B and 23C were produced between 1962 and 1963. The Lister Jaguar has the 3,781cc version of the Jaguar XK6 engine. Brian Lister started producing sports cars in 1954 first with an MG engine and later with a Bristol engine, but he had the most success with the 1957 car which used the Jaguar D-type engine. The first version of this car was known at the time as a Lister-Jaguar, but after the 1959 car was given a smoother aerodynamic body designed by Frank Costin (and designed to use the Chevrolet Corvette powerplant) the more bulbous earlier car became known as the Lister Knobbly.

1959 Triumph TR3

This is a photograph I took at the Northern Classic Car Show at Belle Vue, Manchester in September 1985.

It's a 1959 Triumph TR3, a car sometimes known as a TR3A because the wider grille on the later models make it look a different vehicle to the original TR3. The original Triumph TR3 was produced between 1955 and 1957 with a 1,991cc straight-4 engine, and later versions from 1957 to 1962 with the 1,991cc engine, but with the option of a 2,138cc engine from 1959.

Jaguars

I took this photograph of two Jaguars at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting in July 2000.

On the left is a 1950 Jaguar XK120 with the 6-cylinder inline 3,442cc Jaguar XK engine. The car on the right appears to be a Jaguar D Type and the DVLA records say that it is a 1956 Jaguar XKSS D Type, first registered (presumably in its converted form) in 1990, with a 3.8 litre engine. The original XKSS cars were produced in 1957 when Jaguar converted 25 unsold D-Types into road cars, although 9 of these cars were destroyed in a fire at the Browns Lane factory before they left the production line.

1902 Warwick 6hp Stanhope

This is a photograph I took at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Boulogne and Hawthorn Trophies Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 2005.

It was with a group of cars that looked as if they should be entered in the Cheshire Life Concours D'Elegance, but none was listed as such in the programme of the event. This is a 1902 Warwick 6hp Stanhope Four-Seater and the DVLA record says that it currently taxed and has a 700cc engine. The car was sold at auction by Bonhams in 2021 and the online description of the car gives this information about it:

'Like many of its contemporaries, Springfield, Massachusetts-based Warwick could trace its roots back to cycle manufacture in the 19th century. In 1901, the company diversified into motor manufacture, but continued under-capitalisation and fierce competition from mass-producers such as Oldsmobile led inevitably to its demise in 1905. The Warwick Cycle & Automobile Company's first product was a De Dion Bouton-engined Runabout. Early cars had the option of 3½hp or 5hp engines, and in 1902 Warwick announced the Folding Front Seat Stanhope powered by the more powerful 700cc 6hp De Dion Bouton engine.

Taken off the road in 1930, this Stanhope arrived in the UK from the USA in 1988 in remarkable 'barn find' condition (photographs taken on its arrival are on file). Most major components were present apart from the gearbox. Its new owner, engineer Roger Egginton, embarked on a painstaking and most comprehensively documented restoration. Having failed to locate an original gearbox, Roger built his own transmission using such photographs as existed for guidance with dimensions taken from the gearbox mountings on the chassis and using suitable available alternatives. The car now has a three-speeds-and-reverse transmission. A later carburettor was fitted during the course of restoration.'

2000 Ferrari 550 Maranello

This was one of the Ferraris I saw 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 Ferrari F133 engine and is one of 3,083 produced between 1996 and 2001.

2002 Williams FW24

This is a photograph I took at the Donington Park Museum in September 2014.

It's the 2002 Williams FW24 which was driven by Ralf Schumacher that season with his team mate Juan Pablo Montoya in the number 6 car. The car was designed by a team led by Patrick Head and based on the 2001 FW23 with the power supplied by a 2,998cc V10 BMW engine. Juan Pablo Montoya didn't win any of the races, but had a large number of top four finishes to end up in third position in the World Drivers' Championship while Ralf Schumacher won the Malaysian Grand Prix (where Montoya finished in second place) but he didn't quite match his team mate's high placed finishes and ended up in third position in the Championship. Williams took second position in the World Constructors' Championship which was won by Ferrari with their driver Michael Schumacher winning the Drivers' Championship title.

1947 Thornycroft Sturdy Tower Wagon

I took this photograph at the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1995.

It's the Greater Manchester Transport Society's former Manchester Corporation Transport 1947 Thornycroft Sturdy Tower Wagon. It was used to access the overhead wires used by the tramcars and trolleybuses that were in constant need of maintenance and repair. I've not been able to find out much information about the vehicle except from the DVLA record that says it has a 5,400cc petrol engine. The rally organisers have taken advantage of the vehicle's tower to lift the PA speakers high so that they can be heard across the whole of the site.

1970 Datsun 240Z

I took this photograph during the HSCC 70's Roadsports Championship Race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2004.

Leading this group is Paul Stafford in his 1970 Datsun 240Z followed by the 1972 Alfa Romeo 2000GTV of Jonathon Hartop and the 1972 Lancia Fulvia Sport of James McAllister, with Will Finn's 1974 Alfa Romeo 2000GTV bringing up the rear.

1948 Alfa Romeo 158

This car took part in the HGPCA Pre-1952 Grand Prix Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the 1948 Alfa Romeo 158 of Carlos Monteverde and was driven in the race by Willie Green. The Alfa Romeo 158 was originally designed in 1938 to compete in the pre-war Voiturette class of racing and has a 1,479cc supercharged straight-8 engine. It also competed at the Coys meeting at Silverstone in 1997 when a note in the programme said this:

'The final two seasons of pre-war voiturette racing were dominated by Alfa Romeo's Tipo 158, a scaled-down version of one of its GP designs. Whenever it ran it won, leaving the Maserati and ERA opposition to fight over the pickings. Alfa carried on in the 1940s where it had left off before the war, for the 'Alfetta', as it was known, now complied with the new Grand Prix regulations. It retired in one 1946 race, but from then on was unbeatable until, famously, an unblown 4.5 litre Ferrari dealt the death blow here at Silverstone in 1951.'

This is the only Alfa Romeo 158/159 in private hands, and it was given by Alfa Romeo to Michel Poberejsky (who had raced under the name Mike Sparken) in exchange for the ex-Lord Doune 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Le Mans Berlinetta which had competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour race that year. Michel Poberejsky later sold the car to Carlos Monteverde, and later went to Carlo Vöegele.

Three each of the Alfa Romeo 158 and 159 cars still exist, and this one is chassis 158.107 and has engine 159.227 - the others are as follows:

158

Chassis 158.005 on display in the Alfa Romeo Museum at Arese with engine 158.102.

Chassis 158.109 on display in the Biscaretti Museum, Turin.

 

159

Chassis 159.109 on display in the Alfa Romeo Museum as a chassis without bodywork, with engine 159.211.

Chassis 159.111 on display in Alfa Romeo Museum.

Chassis 159.112 on display in Alfa Romeo Museum and used in events.

2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo

I had to go to St Marys Way in Stockport recently and while I was there I had a look in the showroom of the Maserati dealer H R Owen and this is what I found.

It's a 2023 Maserati MC20 Cielo, introduced in 2022 as the open-top version of the MC20.

It has the same 3 litre Maserati Nettuno V6 engine as the coupé.

1961 Lotus 18

This was one of the competitors in the HGPCA Pre '66 Grand Prix Cars race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2003.

It's the 1961 1475cc Lotus 18 of Mark Griffiths. The mid-engined Lotus 18 was a replacement for the front-engined Lotus 16 and the first such car to be built by Lotus, and was used in Formula 1, Formula 2 and Formula Junior racing. Mark Griffith's car is chassis 914 and was built as a Formula 1 car with a 1475cc Coventry Climax FPF engine. It was shown in the programme of the event as a Lotus 18/21, but I understand that the 18/21 was a Lotus 18 that had been rebodied with the streamlined body of a Lotus 21.

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph at  Luffield Corner during the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association Sports Car Race at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's Willie Green in Pete Waterman's 1958 Ferrari 250 TR which has the Gioacchino Colombo designed 2,953cc V12 engine  and is chassis #0742 TR.

1929 Morris Cowley 14/28 Flatnose

I took this photograph on the Exchange Station car park in Manchester of a car about to start the Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1992.

It's a 1929 Morris Cowley 14/28 Flatnose - so called to differentiate it from the more well-known Bullnose. Cowley was a suburb of Oxford where the manufacture of Morris cars started in 1919 and the names 'Cowley' and 'Oxford' were used for a variety of Morris vehicles from that time up until the 1970s. The programme of the event says that it was entered for the Run by Mark Lewis of Crumpsall, Manchester.

1959 Cooper Monaco

This is a photograph that I took in the paddock at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2002.

It's the 1959 Cooper Monaco that Frank Sytner drove in the BRDC Historic Sportscar Championship race, and the photo was obviously taken early in the day as the race number (1) hadn't yet been painted on the car. The Cooper Monaco, also known as the T49, was powered by engines ranging from 1,100cc to 2,000cc and this one has a 4-cylinder inline 1,960cc Coventry Climax engine. The name 'Monaco' was given to the car to mark Maurice Trintignant's win in the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix in a Cooper Climax T45. It was the successor to the smaller centre-seat Cooper T39 'Bobtail' that the company had produced since 1954. This undated history of the car was produced by william i’anson ltd when the car came up for auction, presumably in 2020.

1933 MG J2

This is a photograph I took at the Northern Classic Car Show at Belle Vue, Manchester in September 1984.

'

It's a 1933 MG J2 Sports and has a 4-cylinder inline supercharged 847cc engine. 2083 examples of the J2 were built between 1932 and 1934.

1961 Maserati Tipo 63

This was one of the competitors in the Shell Historic Ferrari Maserati Challenge race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

It's Byron Sanborn in his 1961 Maserati Tipo 63 setting out from the pit lane during a qualifying session for the race. The Tipo 63 was a rear-engined car based on the Tipo 60 and 61 'Birdcage' Maseratis and fitted with a V12 3-litre engine developed from the 250F V12 2½ litre unit.

1960 Aston Martin DB4

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2002.

It's a 1960 Aston Martin DB4, one of 1,185 that were produced between 1958 and 1963, together with 19 of the DB4GT Zagato models. The body of the DB4 was designed by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan and it had the 6-cylinder inline 3,670cc engine created by Tadek Marek.

1962 Lotus 25

I took this photograph at the Donington Park Museum in October 1989.

It's a 1962 Lotus 25 with a 1,496cc V8 Coventry Climax FWMV engine. The Lotus 25 was raced by Jim Clark in the 1962 season but its initial unreliability leading to retirement in four of the races meant that he could only finish in second place to Graham Hill's BRM in that season's World Drivers' Championship. He won the Championship the following year though and finished in third place in 1964 driving the Lotus 25 in the early part of the season before switching to the Lotus 33 for the second half of the season.

Friday's Ferrari

This is one of the Ferraris I saw at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTS4, 122 of which were produced between 1971 and 1973. It has the Gioacchino Columbo designed 4,390cc Ferrari Tipo 251 V12 engine.

1927 Bugatti Type 35B

This was one of the competitors in the Ten Lap Scratch Race in Memory of Sir Henry Seagrave for Vintage Cars at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in August 1996.

It's Julian Majzub in his 1927 Bugatti Type 35B which has the 8-cylinder inline 2,262cc engine. The Type 35 was the most successful of the pre-war Bugattis and the about 37 examples of the Type 35B were produced in the mid to late 1920s.

Beamish Open Air Museum

In August 1996 when returning home from a holiday in Scotland we paid a visit to the Beamish Open Air Museum in County Durham and this is one of the photographs I took there.

Apparently it's a replica of a 1913 Daimler motorbus and the Beamish Transport Online website says this about it:

'In 1987 a replica of 1913 Daimler CC motorbus J2503 was delivered to the Museum from its builders.  It was based on one of at least fifteen vehicles supplied to the Gateshead & District Tramways and purchased to extend the Gateshead Tramway network of routes beyond their terminals, in particular at Low Fell.  The extension of this route to Chester-Le-Street was a significant as it shortly led to the establishment of the Northern General Transport Company (NGT) in 1913, who took over the bus operations as a separate subsidiary of the parent company, the British Electric Traction Company.  J2503 initially carried the 1913 livery, being overhauled and turned out in NGT livery in 2012, ahead of the NGT centenary the following year.'

1961 Lotus Elite

This was one of the competitors in the HSCC Classic Sports Car Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in September 1993.

It's the 1961 Lotus Elite of Christopher Ross which has a 1,216cc 4-cylinder inline Coventry Climax FWE engine. 1,030 of these cars were built between 1957 and 1962, although some sources say there were 1,047.

1959 Cooper T51

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting of July 1994 at Silverstone featured a tribute to Juan Manuel Fangio and there was a display of some of the cars with which he was associated. At the side of this display were a few cars that didn't compete in any of the races at the meeting but which that took part in demonstration runs during the meeting and this is one of the photographs I took of some of them.

There's nothing in the progamme of the event about these cars, but the car in the background is a Cooper T51, the model with which Jack Brabham won his first World Drivers' Championship in 1959. Nearest the camera is a Jaguar C Type that another photograph I took shows to have the number 18, which is the number borne by the winner of the 1953 Le Mans 24 Hour Race driven by Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton, and if it is that car it is chassis number XKC051. Alongside it is the 1959 Aston Martin DBR1, chassis DBR1/2, that won the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hour Race in the hands of Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby.

1951 Leyland Beaver

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

It's not shown in the programme of the event and the only information I recorded at the time was that it was a Leyland Beaver. The only thing I can find out about it now is from the DVLA record which says that it was manufactured in 1951 and has not been taxed since October 1997.

1958 BRM P25

This car competed in the Twelve Lap Race for Pre 1959 Front Engined Racing Cars at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies Meeting at Oulton Park in June 1993.

It was entered and driven by the Hon. Amschel Rothschild and although universally known as the BRM P25 I've found this information in a Bonhams description of the car when it came up for auction in 2007:

'BRM’s in-period Project 25 classification covered the engine design alone, the spaceframe chassis structure comprising Project 27. While this Lot offers the eighth of the team’s 2½-litre 4-cylinder Type 25s to be built, this car was the third to use the `1958 spaceframe Project 27 chassis in place of an original semi-monocoque design which had been used for the preceding five cars. Those semi-monocoque BRM Type 25s built from 1955 to 1957 are recorded within the team archive as cars ‘251’ to ‘255’. The subsequent six pure spaceframe cars built 1958-1959 were then referred to as ‘256’ to ‘2511’, even though their Project 27 chassis frames were numbered in sequence ‘27/1’ to ‘27/6’. Hence, this car was referred to in contemporary BRM team records – which survive today – as ‘258’, while its specific chassis frame stamping reads – again perfectly correctly – ‘27/3’.

Friday's Ferrari

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997 featured a special display of Ferraris in the paddock where I took this photograph.

In the centre is a 1951/2 Ferrari 375 4.5 litre Formula 1 car, chassis 04, which was modified to take part in the 1952 Indianapolis 500 race. Four of the cars were entered for the race but three, driven by Americans Johnny Mauro, Bill Vukovich and Danny Oakes, failed to qualify. The fourth car, driven by Ferrari team driver Alberto Ascari, qualified but did not finish the race due to a failed rear wheel bearing. The Indianapolis 500 race at that time was one of the races which counted towards the Formula 1 world championship, which in 1952 (apart from Indianapolis) was for the smaller-engined Formula 2 cars because all the previous year's Formula 1 teams except for Ferrari had pulled out of racing. Because he was qualifying for the Indianapolis race Ascari missed the Swiss Grand Prix, the opening round of the Championship but was then victorious in the remaining six Grands Prix in his Ferrari 500 and became the 1952 World Champion.

The car to the right is a 4.9 litre 1956 Ferrari 410S, chassis 0598CM, two of which were originally built to take part in the Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico. That race, however, was cancelled and the only time the cars raced for the official factory team was in the Buenos Aires 1000 km race, but both the cars retired with transaxle failure after which they were sold to private teams.

On the left is a Ferrari 335S, chassis 0700, which was one of the cars used by Ferrari in the 1957 World Sports Car Championship series. It was whilst driving one of these cars that Alfonso de Portago suffered the fatal accident which effectively ended the Mille Miglia.

1912 Delaunay Belleville

This is one of the cars that took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car run in June 1983 and is pictured in Manchester before the start of the run.

It's a 1912 Delaunay Belleville (shown in the programme of the event as a Delahay Belville) which has a 6-cylinder inline 2.7 litre engine. A note in the programme  says this about it:

'1912 Delayay Belville

Reg: 9197 EH 6-Cylinder 25hp

(Derek John Casson, Lancaster)

This eye-catching rarity spent most of its life in New York's Grand Central Park. Imported into Britain in the late 1970's, it has a body by Brewster of New York.'

Looking for further information about this car I came across a 2019 auction description by H&H Auctions saying that the car is a Type IA6 Phaeton and its first owner was heiress Evalyn Walsh McLean who was apparently the last private individual to acquire the renowned 45-carat Hope Diamond.

1958 Lister Knobbly

This was one of the competitors in the Classic Car Invitation Race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at a typically wet Oulton Park in September 1992.

It's the 1958 Lister Knobbly of David Clark with what the programme of the event says is a 5,300cc engine. Lister Knobblys were produced with both Jaguar and Chevrolet engine and this car may well be chassis BHL127 which had a Chevrolet engine and was owned at one time by David Clark.