Silverstone 1998 - 1950’s Sports Car Race

This is a photograph that I took at Luffield corner during the 1950’s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1988.

The car disappearing on the left hand side is Peter Hardman's 1957 Aston Martin DBR1 and following that is Nick Linney's green & yellow Lister Jaguar Knobbly, hidden behind which is Alan Minshaw's 1959 Maserati T61. Number 10 is Martin Stretton in Peter Scott’s 1955 Maserati 300S and behind that is Rob Walton’s White & Blue Maserati T61. The silver car following this group is Don Shead’s Kurtis 500S. In the background, from left to right, are Tony Smith's Aston Martin DB3S, Ron Gammon's Lotus Eleven, David Heynes' Lister Jaguar and Adrian Hall's Lotus MkX Bristol.

1953 Kurtis 500S

This car competed in the 1950s Sports Racing Cars race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2011.

It's the 1953 Kurtis 500S of Geraint Owen which is chassis KK45 and has a 331 cu in (5,424cc) Chrysler V8 engine.

Frank Kurtis is best known for the Indianapolis 500 race winners of the 1950s, but he also built the Kurtis roadsters that were basically Indianapolis 500 cars with a two seater body. These were very successful in the USA, particularly on the winding circuits of the West Coast where they frequently beat the more sophisticated imported European cars.

1954 Kurtis 500S

This car took part in the Louis Vuitton 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in August 1996.

Frank Kurtis is probably better known for his cars that ran in the Indianapolis 500 race in the 1950s,  winning of five occasions, but he also built the small engined (by American standards) cars that dominated American midget car racing which took place round a ¼ mile or ½ mile oval track. He also built the Kurtis roadsters that were basically Indianapolis 500 cars with a two seater body and these were very successful in the USA, particularly on the winding circuits of the West Coast where they frequently beat the more sophisticated imported European cars. The Kurtis 500S was powered by a variety of American V8 engines, most frequently a 331 cu in Cadillac unit, but the programme of this Silverstone event doesn't identify the make of engine, just that the capacity is 4,900cc which is about 300 cu in. It was entered for the race by Don Shead and driven by James Shead.

Kurtis 500S

I photographed this car at the Donington International Historic Grand Prix meeting in May 2004 where it took part in the HGPGA Race for Pre-1959 Drum-Braked Sports Cars.

It's the 1954 Kurtis 500S of Christopher Keen, and the only car in the programme of the event where the engine capacity is shown in cubic inches rather than cubic centimetres. It shows a capacity of 283 cu in (about 4.6 litres) which appears to indicate the Offenhauser 283 Chevrolet V8 Small Block engine.

On 21 June 2017 I showed two other photographs of the car at this meeting.

Kurtis 500S

This car took part in the HGPCA Race for Pre-1959 Drum-Braked Sports Cars at the HGPCA's Donington International Historic Grand Prix meeting in May 2004.

It's Christopher Keen's 1954 Kurtis 500S, shown in the programme of the event as having a 283 cu in (4.6 litres), presumably Offenhauser, engine.

Here's the car in the middle of the pack approaching the Old Hairpin during the race.

On 23 February 2016 I showed photographs of this car during a VSCC meeting at Oulton Park in June 2006.

Kurtis 500S

I photographed this car at the VSCC's Boulogne and Hawthorn Trophies Race Meeting at Oulton Park in June 2006.

It's a 1954 Kurtis 500 S and was entered in the 50's Sports Car Race by Christopher Keen

Here's Christopher Keen during the race at Britten's chicane, followed by the Aston Martin DB3S of Hubert Fabri.