1971 Lotus 69

This was one of the competitors in the European Formula 2 race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2004.

It's Andy Middlehurst in his 1971 Lotus 69 and the photo was taken at Clay Hill, just after the Knickerbrook corner. The Lotus 69 was designed to be used in Formula 2, Formula 3 and Formula Ford racing and this car had a 1600cc engine in accordance with the Formula 2 regulations in 1971 - probably the 4-cylinder Cosworth FVA. The Lotus 69 was also used in Formula B racing in the United States.

1932 Crossley Torquay

This was one of the cars that took part in a vintage car run from Stockport to Matlock in July 1985 organised by car dealers Gordon Ford of Stockport.

It's the 1932 Crossley Torquay of Clive Williams which has a 4-cylinder inline 1,087cc engine. The Crossley brothers, of Manchester, were the first British engineers to produce four-stroke power units, having acquired the licence Otto & Langen gas engines in the 1860s. The brothers were asked to produce automobiles European-car importers Jarrott & Letts and the first Crossley car was displayed at the Society of Motor Manufacturers’ Exhibition, at Crystal Palace, in 1904. Crossley reacted to the Great Depression by introducing a 10hp model in 1931, powered by a Coventry-Climax ‘F-head’  (overhead inlet and side exhaust valves) 1100cc engine. This engine was also used by Triumph and Morgan. A sporting version was fitted with twin carburettors. Following a record-breaking drive from London to Edinburgh in the 1932 RAC Rally which finished in Torquay the name ‘Torquay’ was applied to the car.

1951 Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica

I took this photograph in one of the car parks at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2003. The photograph was severely under-exposed but I've managed to make it reasonably recognisable.

It's a 1951 Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica, chassis 421/100/156, originally owned by George Duff and finished in 15th place in the1951 Le Mans 24 Hour Race driven by Eric Winterbottom and John Marshall. Later that year George Duff entered  the RAC Tourist Trophy Race at Dundrod with Eric Winterbottom as his co-driver but Eric Winterbottom died when he crashed on the first lap of the race. The car was later rebuilt by George Duff. A Frazer Nash High Speed Competition Model finished in 3rd place in the 1949 Le Mans 24 Hour Race and about 40 cars were subsequently built as Le Mans Replicas. The 2 litre 6-cylinder engine was developed from the pre-war BMW 328 engine.

1998 Chrysler Pronto Cruizer Concept Car

The 1998 Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone was sponsored by Chrysler and this is one of the cars that they had on display at the meeting.

It's a 1998 Chrysler Pronto Cruizer Concept Car which has a 4-cylinder inline 1.6 litre engine. Originally intended as a Plymouth model it was eventually introduced in 2001 as the Chrysler PT Cruiser following the discontinuation of the Plymouth marque.

1952 Jowett Bradford

This vehicle was on the stand of the Jowett Car Club at the Northern Classic Car Show at G-Mex, Manchester in August 1987.

It's a 1952 Jowett Bradford which has a 1,005cc flat twin side-valve engine, and nearly 40,000 of these were produced between 1946 and 1953.

1933 Aston Martin Le Mans

This was one of the competitors in the Pre-War/50s Sports Car Race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's meeting at Oulton Park in May 2002.

It's David Taylor's 1933 Aston Martin Le Mans which has a 1,495cc 4-cylinder inline engine. The Aston Martin Le Mans was produced between 1932 and 1933 with either 2 or 4 seat body and 130 cars were built in total.

Friday's Ferrari

This is a photograph I took at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997.

It's Paul Pappalardo's 1967 Ferrari 412 P, also known as a P3/P4, which was a customer version of the Ferrari 330 P3. Both cars have a 3,967cc V12 engine, but the 330 P3 has Lucas fuel injection whilst the 412 P has six Weber carburettors - which gives it slightly less power than the fuel injection cars and made the private entries less likely to beat the works cars. Paul Pappalardo's car is chassis #0850 and was originally built for the Belgian Ecurie Francorchamps team. hence the yellow Belgian racing colour. Only two cars were originally built as 412 Ps, #0850 and #0854. Two cars were built as 330 P3s, #0844 and #0848, but were later converted to 412 P specification.