Friday's Ferrari

This is a car I photographed at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997. It's a 1962 Ferrari 250GTE serial number 3611GT, rebodied with a Drogo body from 2735GT and with a Ferrari 275GTB engine. Here's what www.barchetta.cc has to say about the car.

The photograph below, which I took a few seconds before the one above, shows one of the perils of taking photographs in a crowded paddock before the advent of digital photography. At least with a digital camera you can always delete the last image and try again.

Cooper Bristol

When I was 11 or 12 years old I remember a set of dinky toy 1950s racing cars: an Alfa Romeo 158 in Italian racing red, a Talbot Lago T26 in French blue, a Maserati (4CL I think) in the Swiss racing colours of red with a white flash, a light green British HWM, a Ferrari 500 in Argentinian colours of blue and yellow and last but not least a Cooper Bristol in dark British racing green. More than any of the others I am reminded of those dinky toys each time I see a Cooper Bristol.

The photographs below are of three Cooper Bristols taken at the Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1982.

This car's not shown in the programme of the event so I don't know who drove it that day

 A MkII model of 1952, driven in the Cheshire Building Society Allcomers Race by H S Clifford

R J S MacPherson driving his 1953 MkII

Jaguar E-Type

The Jaguar E-type won at Oulton Park in 1961 on its first competitive outing in a car driven by Graham Hill. The Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2012 included two races for the 'J.D.Classics Pol Roger Champagne E-Type Challenge' and the programme of the event had this to say about the races:

'Conceived last year by Jaguar Heritage and the Historic Sports Car Club, the E-Type Challenge celebrated the 50th anniversary of one of the finest sports cars ever built. Now, in its second season, the E-Type Challenge returns to Oulton Park for a double-header this weekend.

Initially the plan was for the E-Type Challenge to be a one-year only series to mark the special anniversary, but in response to overwhelming competitor demand it has been continued this year. The fact that the cars are up to fifty years old makes the story all the more remarkable.'

Here are photographs of four of the cars I took during one of those races at Lodge Corner:

This is the 1963 car of Michael Wilkinson

Chris Scragg's 1962 car

This is the 1961 car shared in the two races by Michael O'Shea and David Hall

Peter Burton in his 1962 car

Friday's Ferrari

One of the cars in the 'Ferrari Feature' at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992 was this 1953 Ferrari 375 MM Scaglietti.

The programme of the event says this about the car:

'375 MM Scaglietti

Originally a PF Spyder, this car was rebodied by Scaglietti, probably in 1954/55. It is the only 375 MM ever produced with bodywork by Scaglietti. Raced in Swedish GPs of 1954 and '56, finishing second in '56.'

The serial number of this car is 0366AM

Vauxhall Cresta

A 1959 Vauxhall Cresta PA on the 'Vauxhall PA, PB, PC & E Series O.C. and Vauxhall Victors O.C.' stand at the 13th Northern Classic Car Show on 28th & 29th August 1994 at The G-MEX Centre, City Centre, Manchester (now the Manchester Central Convention Complex).

The show guide says this about the Vauxhall Cresta club:

' The Vauxhall PA PB PC & E Series Owners Club was formed in 1981. The club is international having over 500 members from as far afield as South Carolina, USA to Perth, Australia. We publish a quarterly magazine updating events, parts and cars for sale etc., news, views and topical articles of interest. Members cars have been featured of late in several classic car magazines, adverts and films. We hold regular meetings around the country and have representatives in several areas. We try to attend as many national shows as possible, together with many local shows and hold our own national and regional shows. We are an Associated club with the RAC offering discount on their membership and also approved by Swansea DVLA to recover original registration numbers.'

Packard Cavalier

The Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally organised by the Greater Manchester Transport Society always attracts a few American cars, but not usually as old as the one shown below, photographed at Heaton Park in September 1996.

It's a 1954 Packard Cavalier, not shown in the programme of the event but the 'SK' in the registration number YSK 470 indicates that it was originally registered in Caithness. Caithness, by the way, is as far north as you can get on the mainland of Britain, the major towns being Thurso and Wick, but the most well-known place in Caithness is undoubtedly John o' Groats.

Friday's Ferrari

This is the 1950 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta of Sally Mason-Styrron seen at the Silverstone Historic Festival meeting in August 2001. Why the number plate is upside down I don't know. At one time the model number Ferrari gave to his cars was the displacement of one of the cylinders so as the car originally had a 12 cylinder engine of 1995cc capacity it was given the designation 166. At some stage, however, it's apparently had a new engine fitted, the programme of the meeting showing the capacity as 2300cc. The bodywork was a revolutionary shape at that time and it was likened by one observer to a 'little boat', or 'barchetta' and the name stuck. The serial number of the car is 0040M.