Lotus Eleven

I photographed this car at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

This Lotus Eleven was in the paddock, but it didn't compete at the meeting. The Lotus Eleven, with body designed by Frank Costin, was produced from 1956 to 1958 and was fitted with a variety of engines, chiefly the 1,098cc Coventry Climax FWA and the 1,172cc Ford 4-cylinder engines. Around 270 cars were built in that time. I don't have much information about this particular car except that it has, or at least at one time had, a Coventry Climax 1,460cc engine. The DVLA, incidentally, now has no record of the 47 KML number plate.

Aston Martin DBR4

Two of these cars, originally known as the Aston Martin DBR4/250, took part in the Flockhart Trophy Race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2006.

This is the 1960 Aston Martin DBR4 of David Wenman, and was driven in the race by John Clark. Originally with a 2,493cc straight-6 engine, the programme of the event gave the capacity of this car as 2,892cc.

On 2 August 2017 I showed a photograph of David Wenman's car at Donington Park in September 2004.

This is Hubert Fabri's car and the programme gives the engine capacity as 2,992cc, the car being powered by an Aston Martin DB3S sportscar engine. On 7 May 2016 I showed a photograph of this car at Donington Park in June 2008.

Austin Healey 100

This car took part in the Park Place Thoroughbred Sports Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's Historic Car Races meeting at Oulton Park in September 1986.

It's Andrew Usher's 1954 Austin Healey 100 pictured going into Old Hall Corner at the end of the start/finish straight. Two versions of the Austin Healey 100 were produced from 1953 to 1956, the BN1 from 1953 to 1955 and the BN2 from 1955 to 1956, the main difference being that the BN2 had a four-speed gearbox instead of the three-speed of the BN1. Both the BN1 and BN2 were powered by the 2,660cc 4-cylinder inline engine of the unsuccessful Austin A90 Atlantic. Logically Andrew Usher's car should be a BN1 model, but the two-tone paintwork was only introduced with the BN2, and the car also has the louvered bonnet of the 100M that was a high-performance version of the BN2. The programme of the event gives the registration number of this car as VFM 580, but it's much more likely to be UFM 580, a car that I featured on 25 June 2015.

Alpine A310

I photographed this car in one of the car parks at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

It's an Alpine A310, a car that was a successor to the Renault-based Alpine A110 and was produced between 1971 and 1985. The first model, built from 1971 to 1976, had a 4-cylinder inline 1,605cc Gordini-modified engine, later increased to 1,647cc. In 1976 the car was restyled and received a more powerful 2,664cc V6 engine. I've no details about this particular car, but it appears to be one of the V6-engined models and has a German registration, the HF on the number plate indicating that it comes from the town of Herford in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Friday's Ferrari

I took this photograph at McLeans Corner during the HGPCA Race for Pre-1961 Grand Prix Cars at the Historic Grand Prix Cars Association's International Historic Grand Prix meeting at Donington Park in May 2004.

It's Tony Smith in his 1960 Ferrari Dino 246 F1 car, originally with a 2½ litre engine in line with the then current Formula 1 regulations, but the programme of this event says it has a 2,952cc engine - presumably the Columbo V12 unit as fitted to the 250 series cars in the 1950s & 60s.

On 24 February 2017 I showed a photograph of this car in the paddock at Donington Park in September 2005.

Cooper F2

This car competed in the HSCC Pre '65 Historic Grand Prix Car Championship race at the HSCC's Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1986.

Shown in the programme of the event simply as a 1,460cc 1956 Cooper F2 it's finished in the Rob Walker colours of dark blue with a white noseband. The entrant is shown in the programme as Gerry Hann and the driver as Alan Miles.

Cooper records for the early F2 cars are not comprehensive, but if it's a 1956 car it should be a T41 and have a Coventry Climax FWB engine. Of the four T41s built in 1956 the first two were works cars, then one for Rob Walker and one for Ken Wharton. The works cars do not appear to have been given chassis numbers at that time, but it is believed that the Rob Walker car was F2-1-56 and Ken Wharton's F2-2-56. Two T41s were built in 1957 for New Zealand drivers to race in South Africa and numbered F2-1-57 and F2-2-57, and Gerry Hann's car is apparently supposed to be F2-2-57, although there is a suspicion that it should really be F2-1-56.

Here's the car during the race on what appears to be the pit straight.

Austin 16/6 Burnham

This car is pictured in the Exchange Station car park in Manchester before the start of the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran & Vintage Car Run in June 1986.

It's the 1928 6-cylinder inline 2,249cc Austin 16/6 Burnham, and the programme of the event said this about the car:

1928 Austin Burnham 16/6

Reg: CW 8471  6 Cylinder  15.9 hp  2200cc

(Jerome Fellows, New Longton, Preston)

An early example of this 6-cylinder model, it

has been in constant use for much of its life.

Only four owners from new, the previous

owner having had the car for 27 years.