Cadillac 30 Limousine

This was one of the participants in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1991 and is pictured in the Exchange Station car park in Manchester before the start of the run.

It's a 1911 Cadillac 30 Limousine, a car that was based on the 1907 Model G, and was produced from 1909 to 1911. The 1911 model had a 286.3 cu (4,692cc) engine. The programme of the event had this note about the vehicle:

1911 Cadillac 30 Limousine

Reg:  DS 8678  4 cylinder  30hp

(C.R.Unsworth, Ashton-in-Makerfield)

Imported from a San Francisco museum last August, this "Open Drive" Cadillac has four separately cast cylinders, each with its own copper water jacket. It sports Fisher Coachwork, and is driven today by William Ellam.

Amilcar CO

This car took part in the 'Cars Built before 1935' class in the HGPCA Pre-1961 Grand Prix Cars race at the Historic Sports Car Club's Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2002.

It's the 1927 Amilcar CO of Belgian Paul Grant, and has a supercharged 1100cc 6-cylinder inline engine. Manufactured in St Denis, Paris the Amilcar concern was founded in 1921 and the factory closed in 1934 but in that time it built up a short but successful racing history. There's an Amilcar register that was formed in 1955 and you can read about it here.

Friday's Ferrari

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 2000 celebrated 50 years of Formula One and today's photograph shows two cars in the pit lane setting out as part of a parade of cars round the circuit marking the event.

There were two Ferrari Dino 246 F1 cars listed in the Pre 1961 Grand Prix Cars Race in the programme of the event, that of Nigel Corner, chassis #0007, number 52 in the race, and Robin Lodge's car, chassis #0006. Robin Lodge has two cars listed for this race, the Ferrari and his recently re-created 1954 Lancia D50, both numbered 42, because of a doubt about the eligibility of the Lancia to take part. In the end Robin Lodge drove the Lancia and the Ferrari took part in the race driven by Willie Green, and it looks as if it was renumbered as 54 - the highest numbered car in the race programme being 53. The blue car behind the Ferrari is the 1949 Talbot Lago T26C of Tony Bianchi that took part in the Pre 1952 Grand Prix Cars Race, and is chassis #110 008.

Supermarine Spitfire

Because of the proximity of East Midlands Airport (the circuit is just across the road from one end of the runway) aircraft taking off or landing are a familiar sight during meetings at Donington Park. Most of the meetings I've attended there have also included a short flying display during the lunch break, and the SeeRed meeting in September 2006 was no exception.

I made a note at the time that this was a Supermarine Spitfire PR Mk XIX which was a photo reconnaissance version of the aircraft, and this one bears the black and white stripes that were painted on allied aircraft to reduce the chances that they would be fired on by friendly forces during and after the Normandy Landings. It appears to be the aircraft that is now registered G-RRGN.

Porsche 935

This car competed in the AMOC Intermarque Championship race at the Aston Martin Owners Club Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 2002.

It's Richard Chamberlain's 1974 Porsche 935, shown in the programme of the event to have a 3,200cc engine. The car was apparently converted from a 1974 Porsche 911E and appears to have a 3,164cc twin-turbo Flat-6 Porsche 935 engine.

Aston Martin C-Type Speed Model

I photographed this car in the paddock at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

It's an Aston Martin C-Type Speed Model, but although it has a racing number it isn't listed in the programme of the event. The number on the car appears to be '12', and car number 12 in the Pre-War Sports Car Race was the 1935 Aston Martin Ulster of Simon Draper, which he was due to share with David Clark. As Simon Draper also owned an Aston Martin C-Type it's possible this car was switched for the Ulster. The Speed Model was developed from the Ulster with the straight four 1,481cc engine enlarged to 1,949cc. The new car was intended to be entered in the 1936 Le Mans 24 Hour race where the homologation regulations required 25 models to be made, but in the end the Le Mans race was cancelled due to a general strike in France. The works Speed Model cars were quickly sold but the other cars proved difficult to sell because of a perceived lack of power. In the end the last 8 chassis were given the more streamlined body as seen above and these vehicles were dubbed the C-Type. The DVLA record say that FZ 8212 is a 1940 car and the engine has a capacity of 1,998cc.

Maseratis

These two cars competed in the Historic Seaman Trophy Race at the VSCC's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in September 2005.

The nearest car is Stephan Rettenmaier's 1934 Maserati 8CM, chassis #3020. The Maserati 8CM had a strengthened version of the 4CM chassis with a supercharged 2,991cc straight-8 engine and was raced by the Maserati team from 1933 to 1935. The car behind it is the 1934 Maserati 6C34, chassis #3023, of Josef Rettenmaier which has a supercharged 3,724cc straight-6 engine and was the first six-cylinder car made by Maserati. Five cars were built between 1934 and 1935.