2010 Aston Martin GT4

This is a photograph that I took during the early morning qualifying for the Aston Martin GT Challenge race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2017.

It's Robin Marriott in his 2010 Aston Martin GT4 which is an updated version of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24 and has a 4,735cc V8 engine.

1929 Bentley 4½ litre

This is a photograph that I took before the start of the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1979.

It's the1929 Bentley 4½ litre of Mr J J Denby and the programme of the event said this about the car:

174        Mr J. J. Denby, Kirkham Abbey, York.

              1929 Bentley 4½ litre open tourer. 25 h.p. 4-cylinder.

Tfhis car is used all the year round and has appeared on B.B.C. North once or twice. Has been on location for various films. Maintained by the owner for the last 16 years.

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 458 Speciale, a high performance variant of the 458 Italia. It has the 4,497cc version of the F136 V8 engine with twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. 3,000 of the cars were built between 2013 and 2015.

1928 Frazer Nash Ford

This is a photograph that I took during the Oulton Park Trophy Race for Special Pre-War Sports Cars at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Hawthorn Memorial Trophies meeting in July 2015.

It's the 1928 Frazer Nash Ford of Jonathan Cobb about which the programme of the event says '....with Jonathan Cobb a likely front-runner in his Ford-engined Frazer Nash....'. The entry list in the programme of the event says that it has 3,320cc engine.

2002 Bentley Arnage

This is one of the vehicles that took part in a classic car show on the market square in Hyde in September 2021.

It’s a 2002 Bentley Arnage.

It has a 6,750cc twin-turbo V8 engine.

883 of these cars were produced in 2002, and a total of 7397 between 1998 and 2009.

1933/36 Aston Martin Le Mans

This is a photograph that I took at the Knickerbrook chicane during a scratch race at the Vintage Sports Car Club’s meeting at Oulton Park in June 2008.

It’s the 1933/36 Aston Martin Le Mans of Tony Armstrong which should have a 4-cylinder inline 1,493cc engine, but the programme of the event says that its capacity is 1,850cc and it is supercharged. There’s no other mention of the car in the programme but I’ve found several online references to it, though none of them give any information about the engine. The car following it appears to be the 1926 Bugatti Type 35B of Mike Preston.

1950 AEC Regent III

This is one of the vehicles that took part in the Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1990.

It's a 1950 AEC Regent III and the note about the vehicle in the programme of the event reads as follows;

AEC Regent 3RT, Weymann, 1950                                                                                LLU 613

London Transport RT

Enetered by B Simmons, Baguley, Manchester

Starting as a Greenline bus in 1950 this bus passed to London Country. London Transport purchased the bus back in 1972 and it was one of the last 13 RT's in service in 1979.

1960 Elva 200

This was one of the cars entered for the Coys of Kensington Formula Junior Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000.

It’s the 1960 Elva 200 of Grant Stephen and has a 1,098cc BMC Cosworth engine.

1903 Oldsmobile Curved Dash

 This is a photograph that I took at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 2006.

It's a 1903 Oldsmobile Curved Dash, over 19,000 of which were built between 1901 and 1907, and it has a single cylinder 95 cu. in. (1,560cc) engine. There were several other cars of  early 20th century vintage parked nearby but no mention of them in the programme of the event. The programme does give a list of the Concours d'Elegance entrants which were gathered together just outside the paddock. A check of the DVLA record for AM256 says that vehicle details could not be found.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph that I took  during the HGPCA Race for Pre-1961 Grand Prix Cars at the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association's meeting at Donington Park in May 2004.

It's Alexander Boswell's in his 1952/55 Ferrari 625, originally a Ferrari 500, chassis #0482, built as a 4-cylinder 2 litre Formula 2 car and used in World Championship races in 1952 and 1953 when they were run to Formula 2 regulations. The new Formula 1 regulations specifying a 2½ litre engine came into force in 1954 and this car was given a 2½ litre unit to convert it to a Ferrari 625. It later had a 4-cylinder 3-litre Ferrari 735 engine installed and was raced in Australia by Peter Whitehead.

1904 Renault VB

This is a photograph that I took on Quay Street in Manchester at the Lancashire  Automobile Club’s Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run on a very rainy day in June 1967.

It’s the AA’s 1904 Renault VB with Park Phaeton coachwork, and the programme of the event had this note about the car:

 

14.      Automobile Association, London.

             (Driver – Mr. W. G. Thompson).

             1904 Renault 4398c.c.

The AA are entering, for the first time, their 1904 Renault which they acquired just over a year ago. Its previous owner, Mr. Paul Waring, was a well-known collector of Veteran Cars and the car is being preserved in his memory and as a representative of the Motoring Age in which the AA was founded. The brass plaque on the car tells, in brief, the history :- The Paul Waring Renault. This 1904 Park Phaeton 20/0 h.p. Renault was owned by Mr. Paul Waring, who painstakingly restored it in every detail prior to his tragic death in 1964. In his memory it is being preserved for posterity, and the delight of the motoring public of every age, by the Automobile Association. The Renault, which has now been given the registration number AA1, is a magnificent vehicle, being both impressive and graceful. It seats seven comfortably, and is powered by a four-cylinder 4½ litre engine (100 x 140 mm.) rated at 24.8 h.p. It has a three-speed quadrant-change gearbox behind the cone clutch, and the final drive is by a central propellor shaft to a “live” back axle. Its maximum speed is about 50 m.p.h. and it does 20 miles to the gallon. Known as a “Park Phaeton” model the coachwork was specially built by Rothschild et Cie of Paris and won a gold medal at the Paris Salon in December 1904. It was originally bought by Elizabeth, Lady Cheylesmore, who used it as a town carriage. She was at one time Lady-in-Waiting to the late Queen Mary who is said to have ridden in the car on numerous occasions. On the occasion of the fiftieth Paris Motor Show, the Renault led the procession with General de Gaulle as a passenger down the Champs Elysées. It also featured prominently in the film, “Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines” and has successfully completed the London to Brighton run on at least sixteen occasions.

 

Behind the Renault is a 1904 Siddeley, about which the programme says:

 

16.      Mr. G. A. Estler, Whiteleaf, Bucks,

             1904 Siddeley two-seater.

Car delivered to King & sons of Bournemouth in November 1904. Then the colour was Navy blue, lined yellow. Purchased by my uncle from R. G. J. Nash in 1934 and in use by the family ever since. Has competed in many Brighton Runs and finished thirteen times. The engine is horizontal and  the drive by a largr single chain. The car was manufactured by the Wolseley Company and is identical to a contemporary Wolseley apart from the bonnet and radiator. Three similar cars are known to the Veteran Car Car Club.

1950 Alfa Romeo 158

This car competed in the HGPCA Pre-61 Front Engine Grand Prix Cars race at the Silverstone Classic meeting in July 2010.

It's not shown in the entry list for that race, but it's Carlo Vögele's 1939 Alfa Romeo 158. At around that time I went to a meeting at Donington Park where this car appeared and a note in the programme of that meeting said this about the car:

'The 158 Alfetta, a voiturette, of Carlo Vögele with its Columbo designed straight-eight engine first appeared in 1938 at the Coppa Ciano where the three cars entered and came first, second and seventh. With only a single stage supercharger, the engine was said to develop 195bhp at 7500rpm. A Formula One Grand Prix car from 1948, in its final form in 1951 the engine had two-stage supercharging, developed something like 400bhp plus after the superchargers had taken some 135bhp, and did 1.6mpg, according to David Hodges. This car had independent suspension all round with trailing links at the front.'

1954 Maserati 250F

This is a photograph that I took at the Aston Martin Owners Club’s Autumn Historic Car Races meeting at Oulton Park in September 1992.

It's indistinguishable from a 1950s Maserati 250F, but it's one of 12 replicas built by Cameron Millar and this one has the chassis number CM8. Cameron Millar acquired a genuine Maserati 250F in 1964 (originally 2501, later renumbered 2523) which he kept and raced for 8 years. In this time he purchased all the remaining cars and spare parts belonging to the Scuderia Centro Sud who had competed with the 250F in the 1950s, and also the chassis jigs from the Maserati factory. He then set about creating this series of replicas, using as far as possible genuine period parts, which are so well crafted that the FIA has allowed them to race alongside the genuine Maserati 250F and its contemporaries in competitive historic racing event. It was driven in the Historic Car Championship Race at this meeting by the owner Robin Lodge.

1962 Lotus 24

This is a photograph that I took at Aintree on practice day for the British Grand Prix in July 1962. It was actually a colour slide that had deteriorated, but I’ve managed to restore it to a recognisable picture.

It's the UDT Laystall Racing Team's 1962 Lotus 24 which was driven in the race by Innes Ireland. The Lotus 24 was a spaceframe car offered to customers instead of the monocoque Lotus 25 used by the Lotus works team, and was powered by the Coventry Climax FWMV 1,496cc V8 engine. Innes Ireland qualified the car in third position on the grid, but because of some wear in the gearbox it was rebuilt overnight by the mechanics. During the warming-up lap before the race one of the selector forks in the gearbox broke and the mechanics quickly removed the top to remove the broken parts before the start leaving Innes Ireland with no second or third gear. When the flag fell he couldn't find any gear and sat on the grid as all the other cars dodged round him and went on their way. The car was then wheeled to the pits and the mechanics spent several laps getting the gearbox to work, Innes Ireland starting the race on lap 10 with only 1st, 4th and 5th gears but he soldiered round to finish in 16th and last place 14 laps behind the winner, Jim Clark.

1932 Austin 10

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

It’s a 1932 Austin 10 and should have a 4-cylinder inline 1,125cc engine, though the DVLA record says 1,141cc. It was introduced in 1932 and production lasted, with upgrades, until 1947.

1959 Lola FJ

This is a photograph that I took at Lodge Corner during the Lenham Storage Formula Junior Championship race at the HSCC Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1987.

It’s David Grant in his 1959 Lola FJ which has a 4-cylinder inline Ford Kent 1,098cc engine. Formula Junior was introduced in 1959 as a class of racing where younger drivers could be introduced to single-seater racing. It ended when Formula 2 and Formula 3 were re-introduced to the racing scene for the 1964 season. Formula Junior has continued to be featured at historic racing events.

Friday's Ferrari

This is  a photograph that I took at the Ferrari Racing Days event at Silverstone in September 2017.

It's a 2013 Ferrari FF which has a 6,262cc V12 engine and is the first production Ferrari with four-wheel drive. A total of 2,291 vehicles were produced  between 2011 and 2016.

1958 Leyland Titan PD2/40

This is a photograph that I took at the Greater Manchester Transport Society’s Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally in Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1988.

It’s not listed in the programme of the event but it’s a vehicle from their own Museum of Transport, a 1958 Leyland Titan PD2/40 with a Burlingham body, which entered service in 1958 and was withdrawn in 1975.

1954 Cooper-Norton

I took this photograph during the Scratch Race for 500cc Racing Cars at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1982.

It's Paul Schroeder in what the programme of the event says is a 1954 Cooper-Norton, probably a MkVIII.

1958 Lister Monza Jaguar

This car took part in the Flockhart Trophy Race at Donington Park at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting in June 2008.

It's the 1958 Lister MonzaJaguar of Rod Jolley with a 6-cylinder inline 3,781cc Jaguar engine that was built for Ecurie Ecosse to run in the Race of Two Worlds at Monza. The Race of Two Worlds was conceived as an annual exhibition event to be run on the banked oval at Monza and contested by two teams of cars from the USA (USAC cars as in the Indianapolis 500 race) and from Europe (F1 World Championship cars). Because of safety concerns and costs (and a lack of enthusiasm amongst the European F1 teams) the event only lasted for two years, 1957 and 1958, being won by the American cars on both occasions. Ecurie Ecosse entered a team of three Jaguar D-types in the 1957 race, and in 1958 two Jaguar D-types and this single seat Lister Jaguar built especially for the race and consequently known as the Lister Jaguar Monzanapolis. The building was completed in the paddock at Monza leaving insufficient time to paint the aluminium body of the car before the race, but it was later painted Ecurie Ecosse blue. It was subsequently  returned to the original unpainted finish.

1957 Maserati 300S

This car competed in the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It’s Burkhard von Schenk’s 1957 Maserati 300S, a model that was built from 1955 to 1959 to compete in the 3-litre class of the World Sportscar Championship. The Maserati 300S has a 6-cylinder inline 2,991cc engine and Burkhard von Schenk’s car is chassis #3082.

1925 D.F.P.

This is a photograph that I took during a Handicap race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1973.

The entry list for this race in the programme of this event says that number 178 is the 1925 D.F.P. of W.R.Halkyard and it has a 1,098cc engine. A further note in the programme says "Other unusual cars in the handicaps include No. 178, W.R.Halkyard's 1925 D.F.P., a make made famous before the first World War by W.O.Bentley".