1955 Vanwall

The Donington Grand Prix Collection at the Donington Park museum included a comprehensive display of Vanwall F1 cars. This is a photograph of one of those cars that I took on a visit there in September 2014.

It's the 1955 Vanwall that was driven in the 1955 season by Mike Hawthorn, Ken Wharton and Harry Schell. The engine was designed by Norton engineer Leo Kuzmicki, and was basically four Manx single-cylinder 498cc motorcycle engines which by 1955 has been bored out to a capacity of 2489cc. The car only managed one finish in the 1955 World Championship races, a ninth place in the British Grand Prix shared by Ken Wharton and Harry Schell. A couple of wins and a few podium finishes were recorded in minor British events. The way the Vanwalls were displayed on this visit to the museum was far better than on the previous occasions that I’d been there, but they still hadn’t got the lighting quite right.

Friday's Ferrari

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

It's a Ferrari F12Berlinetta and has a 6,262cc V12 Ferrari F140 FC engine with an output of 740PS at 8,250 rpm. It was in production from 2012 to 2017.The markings on the car indicate that it took part in the Best of Italy Race and Tour in 2017.

1952 Lancia Aurelia B20

This car took part in the HSCC Pre ‘60 Historic Sports Car Championship Race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Spring Historic race meeting at Oulton Park in May 1987.

It's the 1952 Lancia Aurelia B20 of Tim Burrett. The B20 Series I car was introduced in 1951 with a 1,991cc V6 engine, followed by the Series II car, 721 of which were produced between 1952 and 1953 and which had a more powerful version of the same engine. The programme of the event says that this car has the 2,451cc V6 engine that was only introduced with the Series III car in 1953.

1925 Rolls Royce Phantom I Sedanca de Ville

This is a photograph that I took at a small car show in Aston-under Lyne in March 1987.

It's a 1925 Rolls Royce Phantom I Sedanca de Ville which has a 6-cylinder inline 7,668cc engine. The Phantom I replaced the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost in 1925 and was itself replaced by the Phantom II in 1931.

1950 Kieft F3

This was one of the competitors in the Formula 500 class in the Lenham Storage Formula Junior Championship race at the Historic Sports Car Club’s Spring Historic Race meeting at Oulton Park in May 1986.

It’s the 1950 Kieft of Malcolm Carter, Kieft being one of the most successful of the 500cc Formula 3 manufacturers alongside Cooper. There's a thriving 500 Owners Association with details of lots of the cars that have competed in 500cc racing since it started in 1946. In the background are two cars that took part in the same race, both of them Formula Junior cars. Number 4 is the 1960 Lola FJ Mk 2 of Josie Tolhurst and number 17 the 1961 Gemini Mk 3A of Bill Burrows.

1956 Jaguar D-Type

This is a photograph that I took at Luffield corner during the Classic Car Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

Leading is Frank Sytner in Anthony Bamford's 1956 Jaguar D-Type, a former Ecurie Ecosse car, chassis XKD603. I can't identify the car behind him but the following red car is the 1960 Maserati T61, chassis 2458, of Lindsay Owen Jones and in the background is the 1957 Maserati 250S of Robin Lodge, chassis 2432.

1959 Ford Anglia 100E

This is a photograph that I took at the Northern Classic Car Show at G-Mex, Manchester in August 1987.

It's a 1959 Ford Anglia 100E which has a 4-cylinder inline 1,172cc sidevalve engine. The Ford Anglia was produced from 1939 to 1968 with four different models, the 100E being the third of these, 345,841 of which were built between 1953 and 1959.

1925 AC/GN Cognac Special

This car competed in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy Race and the Historic Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1984. It is pictured here on the approach to Lodge Corner during one of these races.

It's the 1925 AC/GN Cognac of Ron Footitt which is one of several Specials that were constructed in the 1920s and 30s using the chassis of a GN Cyclecar and either an AC or a Frazer Nash engine. The car was built by a Mr S.A.Cohen and 'Cognac' is an acronym composed from the maker’s name –  Cohen, the fact that it had a GN chassis and an AC engine that gives CO-GN-AC.

Friday's Ferrari

This was one of a host of Ferraris at the Ferrari Racing Days meeting at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a 2009 Ferrari California with a 4,297cc 32 valve V8 Ferrari F136 engine, and body designed by Pininfarina.

1931 Alfa Romeo 8C Monza

This is a photograph I took 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 Rodney Felton in his 1931 Alfa Romeo 8C Monza which has an 8-cylinder inline 2,557cc supercharged engine.

1960 AEC Regent V

This was one of the buses that took part in the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1990.

It's not listed in the programme of the event but it's a 1960 AEC Regent V provided new to Sheffield Corporation, and has an Alexander H37/32R body. It was purchased for preservation in 1976.

Maserati 450S

This is a photograph I took at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's not mentioned in the programme of the event and as far as I can recall there was nothing on display saying anything about the car, but it appears to be a replica of a Maserati 450S. It's similar to the 300S but has a bulge on the hood to accommodate the V8 engine. The DVLA record unfortunately no longer recognises the registration number VNT450. Later in the day I took a photograph of what I assumed was the same car as it drove past me in the paddock:

It's a different car though, as it doesn't have a registration number on the nose of the car and has louvres in the bodywork behind the front wheel.

But there was a genuine Maserati 450S at the meeting which competed in the 1950s Sports Car race - that of Thomas Bscher which I featured on 28 July 2015.

1935 MG Q-type & 1933 MG J4

This is a photograph I took in the paddock of two cars that competed in the Richard Seaman Memorial Historic Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1973.

Number 51 is Colvin Gunn's 1935 MG Q-type special of Colvin Gunn which has a 939cc supercharged engine and number 52 is the 1933 MG J4 of Colin Tieche which has a 746cc supercharged engine.

1914 Crossley Staff Car

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

I no longer have the programme of the event, but it's a 1914 Crossley Staff Car and the 1990 programme of the run gave this information about it:

 

'1914 Crossley

Reg: NA 557  4 cylinder  20 hp

(G.D.Moores, Denton, Manchester)

This Royal Flying Corps staff car is one of only

two known to exist in Britain. Originally built in

Manchester, it spent much of its life in India,

and returned to the UK in 1969. It has twin-tyred

rear wheels and has been a class winner many

times on this Run.'

1978 Fittipaldi F5A

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

It's the1978 Fittipaldi F5A of Richard Barber, sometimes called the Copersucar after its first major sponsor, and has a 2,993cc V8 Cosworth DFV engine. Fittipaldi Automotive was formed in 1974 by Brazilian Wilson Fittipaldi and his younger brother Emerson, winner of the 1972 World Drivers' Championship. The F5A is a modification of the 1977 F5 and is the car that was driven by Emerson Fittipaldi in 1978, sharing ninth place in the World Drivers’ Championship with Gilles Villeneuve, his best result being second place in the Brazilian Grand Prix. The Fittipaldi team finished in seventh place in the World Constructors’ Championship.

Friday's Ferrari

This car competed in the Aston Martin GT Challenge race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2017.

It's the 2000 Ferrari 360 driven by Matthew Wilton and John Cowen in the 50 minute long race and has the Tipo F131 3,586cc V8 engine. Although it doesn't say so in the programme the car is probably the Challenge version of the Ferrari 360.

1962 BRM P578

I took this photograph at the Donington Park Museum in October 1989 showing the the car that brought BRM its only World Drivers' and Constructors' Championships.

It's the 1962 BRM P578 which Graham Hill drove in the 1962 and 1963 seasons, although the 'stack-pipe' exhaust system was quickly revised as the pipes had a tendency to drop off quite frequently. The Great Racing Cars of the Donington Collection says this about the car:

'The ‘Stack-Pipe’

BRM’s Championship winner

Sir Alfred Owen made it clear to BRM’s personnel that 1962 was to be their make-or-break season. They had won their first, and so far only, Grand Prix victory at Zandvoort in 1959, and now the expensive new 1½ litre V8 engine had to prove itself successful. It did, and Graham Hill won his first Grand Prix at Zandvoort, went on to win again in the German, Italian and South African rounds, and ended the season as World Champion Driver. British Racing Motors won the World Constructors’ Championship; honour was satisfied, and the concern survived. BRM’s prototype P56 V8-engined car appeared in practice for the 1961 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where it impressed as one of the sleekest and smallest Formula 1 cars of its time. The engine was a 90-degree twin-overhead camshaft V8 with Lucas fuel injection, designed by Chief Engineer Tony Rudd, and initially it offered about 188bhp at 10,500rpm. The prototype P56 car introduced a neat and light multi-tubular spaceframe chassis with strikingly handsome bodywork, and the type began the 1962 season with individual megaphone exhausts swept-up from each cylinder bank. These won it the name of the ‘Stack-Pipe BRM’, and Hill won the first heat of the Brussels GP with it, then went on to win at Goodwood and then in an epic near dead-heat with Jim Clark’s Lotus-Climax at Silverstone. The stack-pipe exhausts regularly came adrift, and were replaced by a complex low-level system at Spa. Hill fought a season-long battle with Clark, and his American team-mate Richie Ginther drove ably to take third place in Germany and second to Hill in BRM’s great day at Monza. BRM V8 engines sold well to private customers, and the P56s raced on through 1963 when Hill won the Monaco and United States GPs and Ginther excelled once more. The pair chased Clark home in the World Championship table. By that time, people had stopped laughing at BRM!'

The car was generally known as the P578 to differentiate the 8-cylinder car from the previous season's 4-cylinder P57, but because it had a P56 engine the car itself was known as such by BRM. Behind the P578 is the Donington Museum's 1954 BRM P30, V16 Mk2 No2, alternatively known as V16/05. After the demise of the 4½ litre/1½ litre supercharged Formula One at the end of the 1951 season the Mk1 and Mk2 BRM's were raced in Formula Libre events until 1955, after which the BRM team concentrated on the new Formula One 2½ litre BRM P25.

1972 Lola T300

This is a photograph I took at Old Hall Corner on practice day for the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in May 1972. 

It's Alan Rollinson in his 1972 Lola T300 Formula 5000 car designed by Eric Broadley which has a 5 litre Chevrolet V8 engine and is chassis HU9. Because of a shortage of F1 entrants due to a competing F2 race at Crystal Palace ten Formula 5000 cars were allowed to compete in the Gold Cup race. Alan Rollinson qualified in fifth position on the grid but retired on the 19th lap of the 40 lap race.

1956 Aston Martin DB3S

I took this photograph at Luffield corner during the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

Leading is the 1956 Aston Martin DB3S of Tony Smith followed by Adrian Hall's 1955 Lotus Mk X. The car on the right looks like it may be the Lola Mk1 of Irvine Laidlaw.

1938 Jowett 8

I took this photograph at a classic car show organised by car dealers Gordon Ford of Stockport in July 1987.

It's a 1938 Jowett 8 with a 946cc flat twin side-valve engine. Jowett produced 2,888 of these cars between 1937 and 1940.

1926 Bugatti Type 35B

This was one of the cars that took part in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1972.

It's the 1926 Bugatti Type 35B of Bernard Kane, chassis 4696 that was once owned by Sir Malcolm Campbell. It has the 8-cylinder inline 2,262cc supercharged engine.

1970 Austin 1800 GT

This is one of the vehicles I photographed at the Footman James Classic Car Show Manchester at EventCity in September 2018.

It's a 1970 Austin 1800 and a badge on the rear of the car says '1800 GT', but I can find no mention of a GT model anywhere. Officially a BMC ADO17, the car was also badged as a Morris 1800 and a Wolseley 18/85. It had a 4-cylinder inline 1,798cc engine and was in production from 1964 to 1975.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph that I took at the Ferrari display at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting in July 1997.

On the left is the Ferrari 312 T4, chassis #040, with which Jody Scheckter won the World Championship in 1979. The board in front of the middle car says that it is a 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial and was a factory team car which was used in the Mille Miglia and the Supercortemaggiore race, probably chassis #0414MD. On the right is a 1970 Ferrari712 CanAm Spyder, originally a 512S Spyder it was converted to a 712 CanAm Spyder in 1971. Owned in 1997 by Paul Osborne, it's chassis #1010.

1954 Aston Martin DB3S

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1970.

It's a 1954 Aston Martin DB3S, registration number 63 EMU which is chassis DB3S/7, one of the Aston Martin Works Cars. In 1970 this car was owned by Patrick Lindsay who drove his ERA R5B 'Remus' at this meeting.

1956 Bedford TA Tipper

This is one of the vehicles that took part in the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1988.

It's not listed in the programme of the event, but it's a 1956 Bedford TA Tipper, some 200,000 of which were built between 1953 and 1958.

1964 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe

I took this photograph of a car approaching the Knickerbrook corner at Oulton Park during the RAC International Tourist Trophy Race in May 1965.

It's Jack Sears driving the Alan Mann Racing Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe and he ended the race in seventh place. The race was run in two two-hour long heats with the winner being the car that covered the greatest overall distance. It was won by Denny Hulme in a Brabham BT8, having covered 138 laps, 69 laps in each of the heats. Jack Sears managed 61 laps in the first heat and 66 in the second for a total of 127 laps.

Historic Rally Cars

This was part of a display of rally cars at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

From the left, Audi Quattro, Ford RS2000, Ford Escort and Lancia Stratos.

1914 Ford Model T

This was one of the cars that took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run on a very wet day in June 1984.

It's not shown in the programme of the event but it's a 1914 Ford Model T.

1979 Triumph TR7

I took this photograph at Brittens chicane during the AMOC Intermarque Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2017.

It's David Falkingham in his 1979 Triumph TR7, which according to the programme of the event had a 4.6 litre engine. The TR7 was introduced in 1974 and had a 1,998cc 4-cylinder inline engine and this car morphed into the TR8 with a 3,528cc V8 engine. Presumably David Falkingham's car has the later Rover 4,552cc V8 engine.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph that I took at Silverstone on 24 September 2017 at the Ferrari meeting celebrating Ferrari's 70th anniversary.

The picture shows two of the then current range of cars that were in a Passione Ferrari display. The yellow car is a Ferrari 488 Spider and the silver car is a Ferrari 488 GTB. Both have the F154 CB 3,902cc twin-turbocharged V8 engine producing 670 CV.