1956 Maserati 250F

This was one of the competitors in the Allcomers Historic Car Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Richard Seaman Memorial Trophies meeting at Oulton Park in June 1971.

It's Richard Bergel's 1956 Maserati 250F with the 6-cylinder inline 2,490cc engine, and like most of the 250Fs has a chequered history. Originally chassis 2522, it was the car with which Stirling Moss won the 1956 Monaco Grand Prix and later that season was renumbered as 2523. Towards the end of the 1956 season it was used as a test bed for the 2½ litre V12 engine but by 1957 the 6-cylinder engine had been put back and the car was later sold to Centro Sud and the chassis number changed once more, this time to 2526.

Here's Richard Bergel in the race heading towards Hilltop, and in the top right-hand corner is what was still called Esso Bend.

1967 Bristol MW6G

This was one of the entrants in the Greater Manchester Transport Society's Trans Lancs Historic Vehicle Rally at Heaton Park, Manchester in September 1993.

It's a 1967 Bristol MW6G with Eastern Coachworks body that was supplied new to the Western National Omnibus Company of Exeter in February 1967 with fleet number 1436. From 1970 it operated on the company's Royal Blue Services and continued in service with the Western National Omnibus Company until 1977. The MW6G was built with a Gardner diesel engine of either 5-cylinders (5HLW) or 6-cylinders (6HLW) and the DVLA record says that HDV 641E has an 8.4 litre unit, which would seem to indicate the 8,370cc 6-cylinder 6HLW engine. The programme of the event said this about the bus:

'Bristol MW6G, ECW C39F, 1967                                                                                   HDV 641E

Royal Blue 1436

Entered by           D Brown, Doncaster

Former Operator - Western National (Royal Blue). The last MW chassis to be built'

It was entered in the Rally again in 1996 when the following information was added:

'This vehicle carries an ECW Series II Coach Body. It was new in 1967 to Western National as a Royal Blue reserve vehicle.'

1962 Lotus 25

This car competed in the HGPCA Pre '65 Grand Prix Car Race at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's the 1962 Lotus 25 of Cedric Selzer with a 1,496cc V8 Coventry Climax FWMV engine that was driven in the race by Chris Alford. The Lotus 25 was raced by Jim Clark in the 1962 season but its initial unreliability leading to retirement in four of the races meant that he could only finish in second place to Graham Hill's BRM in that season's World Drivers' Championship. He won the Championship the following year though and finished in third place in 1964 driving the Lotus 25 in the early part of the season before switching to the Lotus 33 for the second half of the season. Cedric Selzer's car was rebuilt from the remains of Lotus 25 chassis R4 that was destroyed in a crash during practice for the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix when being driven by Trevor Taylor.

1936 Maserati 6CM

This car took part in the Richard Seaman Memorial Historic Trophy Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 1970.

It's the 1937 Maserati 6CM of Ray Fielding with a supercharged 6-cylinder inline 1,493cc engine. It is chassis 1540 and was at one time part of the Doune Motor Museum collection. The red car behind it is Lord Doune's 1930 Maserati 8C, chassis 2514, that was driven by Ray Fielding in the Richard Seaman Memorial Vintage Trophy Race. The programme of the event says this about the car:

'.....also in the third row is a most welcome dark horse in the form of a rare 1930 blown 8C 2½ litre Grand Prix Maserati. This car was brought over from Switzerland by Lord Doune, famous for his Scottish museum of Sports and racing cars and the Doune hill climb course, who has entered the car to be driven by Ray Fielding.'

2018 McLaren 600LT

I took these photographs recently at the White City Retail Park in Stretford, Manchester.

This is a 2018 McLaren 600LT which is based on the 570S and has a 3,799cc twin turbocharged V8 engine.

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 1986 Ferrari 412 which was  last evolution of a car that started as the 365 GT 2+2, then developed into the 400 and 400i. The 412 has colour-coded bumpers and a higher bootline, as well as an enlarged 4,943cc V12 engine producing 340bhp. This was the final version of the engine used in the Daytona.

1949 Morris Minor Series MM

This car was on the stand of the Morris Minor Owners Club at the Northern Classic Car Show at the G-Mex Centre in Manchester in August 1994.

It's a 1949 Morris Minor Series MM, the car designed by Alex Issigonis and has a 4-cylinder inline 916cc engine. Although it appears to be black in this photograph it is a dark shade of maroon. A note in the brochure of the event says this:

'The Morris Minor Owners Club will be displaying a number of cars which covers the production of the Minor models from first to last. The first is a 1949 Lowlight MM convertible in maroon. This car has only been back on the road 6 months and is as near to original as possible. It is owned by the national club secretary.'