Up Prescott 2000 Times – Bugatti Type 57S Corsica Roadster #57375

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Charles Henry Stammers, Joseph and Robert Lee, and Albert Wood founded the Corsica Coachworks in Corsica St, Kings Cross London soon after the 1914/18 war. They made bespoke coachwork to clients needs without the aid of a designer meaning that each body they made was unique.

Corsica were responsible for building bodies for eight Bugatti Type 57S chassis, two coupes, two 4-seater tourers and four open 2-seaters of which all but one of the Coupe’s have survived.

Bugatti Type 57S, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Chassis #57375 was built in 1936 and delivered to Nicholas Embericos on September 1st. Mr Embericos drove the car in the 1936 Tourist Trophy at Ards and retired from the race and the sport after a collision with the Delahaye driven by Marcel Mongin.

The #57375 was sold to a Mr Ramponi and then Ronnie Symondson who kept the car for 40 years and is said to have taken the #57375 up Prescott hill climb nearly 2000 times.

Bugatti Type 57S, Goodwood Festival of Speed

When Mr Symmondson’s health began to fail he sold the car to one of Britain’s most respected restorers and racers Neil Corner.

The first of the two Type 57S Corsica Roadsters is seen here at Goodwood Festival of Speed several years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “Up Prescott 2000 Times” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a rare Japanese car used for sprinting. Don’t forget to come back now !

Third At La Turbie & Pau – Maserati 8CM #3009

Joining Whitney Straight Ltd as debutant entrants on Grand Prix scene in 1934 was Ecurie Braillard a team run by Countess Nelly Braillard who’s drivers included her younger brother Louis Braillard, who has beaten the up and coming Whitney Straight in the 1933 Grand Prix d’Albi, Benoit Falchetto and Raymond Sommer.

Maserati 8CM, VSCC, Spring Start, Silverstone

Like Whitney Straight Ltd Ecurie Braillard opted for the Maserati 8CM buying two of them including #3009 featured today, in these photographs taken at last weeks VSCC Spring Start meeting at Silverstone, which were supplemented by a Bugatti Type 51.

Maserati 8CM, VSCC, Spring Start, Silverstone

Unlike #3011 which was the subject of a book by Denis Jenkinson information on #3009 is a little more difficult to find. Of the references I have found is one in which Louis drove #3009 to third fastest time in the 1934 La Turbie Hillclimb in Provence France.

Maserati 8CM, VSCC, Spring Start, Silverstone

At the end of 1934 Louis was injured in an accident on the St-Lô Hillclimb apparently after insisting the teams other 8CM’s, #3015, brakes were switched from hydraulic to mechanical operation. His injuries were compounded by a skiing accident early in 1935 which saw him follow Whitney Straight into early retirement aged just 29. Ecurie Braillard, for whom Louis’s brother in law Benoit Falchetto had won the the 1934 Grand Prix de Picarde and a Libre race at Montlhéry aboard #3015, disbanded at the end of 1935.

Maserati 8CM, VSCC, Spring Start, Silverstone

Luigi ‘Gigi’ Soffietti bought #3009 from Ecurie Braillard for the 1935 season and recorded a 3rd place with it in the 1935 Grand Prix run on the streets of Pau in Southern France.

Maserati 8CM, VSCC, Spring Start, Silverstone

Current owner Sean Danaher, seen in the white fire suit, is recorded as having spent between 1990 and 1999 restoring #3009.

Thanks for joining me on this “Third At La Turbie & Pau” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a Bugatti. Don’t for get to come back now !

Why Don’t You ? – LECo MG Mk II

Back in the 1950’s when the A3 was the main road connecting the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth with London Fred Sturges and Peter Tompkins ran Liss Engineering Company in the village bearing the same name about 1/3rd of the way twixt Portsmouth and London in the Hampshire country side.

After Peter wrote off his 1937 MG TA the pair built a special recycling the engine and gearbox and fitting it to a
chassis frame built from tubing supplied by budding Grand Prix outfit Connaught Engineering. The body was built up from an aluminium nose discarded by the Vanwall Grand Prix Ferrari that had been secured with the help of Mike Hawthorn during a test session at Goodwood.

LECo MG Mk II, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Today’s featured vehicle was commissioned for the 1954 season by Margret and Captain Richard Ashby who after returning from an overseas posting attended a meeting at Goodwood where they were less than impressed with the standard of driving.

ERA and BRM founder Raymond Mays overhearing the Ashby’s derogatory comments asked ” “If you feel you could do better, why don’t you have a go?”

LECo MG Mk II, Quattlebaum, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

Like the LECo Mk I The Ashby’s Mk II featured a chassis made from materials supplied by Connaught.

It appears the Mk II was originally powered by a Morris motor but by 1956 this had been replaced by an MG XPAG motor, the final body shape is said to have evolved with “repairs” necessary during it’s competition history.

LECo MG Mk II, Quattlebaum, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

The Ashby’s are both known to have competed with the LECo Mk II in events at Goodwood, Crystal Palace, the Brighton Speed Trials and Bo Peep Hill Climb in Firle East Sussex.

Of the cars known results Richard won at least one event at Goodwood in September 1956 while Margret scored 5th places in two races at the same venue in June 1957.

LECo MG Mk II, Quattlebaum, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

American Alex Quattlebaum is seen driving the Ashby’s LECo to victory at Castle Combe at last years Autumn Classic which was the conclusion of a European Tour that included events at Spa, Zolder, Dijon, Silverstone, Oulton Park, Donington, Goodwood and through the streets of Oporto, Portugal.

Alex also owns the third LECo, built in 1956 with a Tojero like body, which is the only other LECo known to exist.

Thanks for joining me on this “Why Don’t You ?” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Maserati Monday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Another Maxi Powered Prototype – Gilbern T11

Last year when I was wondering around the car park at Crystal Palace for the Motorsport at the Palace event I stumbled across this stunning car which at first glance thought might be one of 80 Piper GT’s but in fact turned out to be a much rarer but contemporaneous prototype Gilbern T11.

The T11’s body work was designed by Trevor Fiore, who designed the similarly rear engined Monteverdi Hai, like the Diablo prototype that became the AC 3000 ME was powered by a Austin Maxi 4 cylinder motor mounted amidships in the steel chassis.

Gilbern T11, Motorsport At The Palace, Crystal Palace

It turns out that three chassis were built but the body work was never completed for any of them despite being tested up to 120 mph at Castle Combe.

The cancellation of the T11 was due to a combination of factors including expansion at the Gilbern factory and uncertainty over future regulations governing sports cars.

Gilbern T11, Motorsport At The Palace, Crystal Palace

The example seen here is the only one ever finished, owner Gordon Johnston ended up making a fresh body for the car alongside devising interior trim and many other ‘minor details’.

Gordon eventually completed and registered the worlds only Gilbern T11 after eight years work, as a 1970 model in 2009.

Thanks for joining me on this “Another Maxi Powered Prototype” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at an MG XPAG powered special. Don’t forget to come back now !

Complete Set Of Tools – Ferrari 250GT/L #5353GT

Last in the current series of Ferrari 250 GT/L Lusso series of blogs in the example seen by Geoffrey Horton at Danville Concours d’Elegance last year.

Ferrari 240GT/L Danville Concours d'Elegance

The red interior helped me identify this vehicle as probably being chassis number #5353GT built in 1964.

02 Copyright Geoffrey Horton 2013-23

Little is known about the car prior to 2010 when it was offered for sale with 61,000 Kms on the clock for $575,000.

Ferrari 240GT/L Danville Concours d'Elegance

The current owner has shown this car at several Concours d’Elegance events and won the KCBS Award at Palo Alto Concour’s d’Elegance last year.

Ferrari 240GT/L Danville Concours d'Elegance

Unlike the 250 GT Lusso #5143GT I looked at a couple of weeks ago #5353GT was last sold with a complete set of tools.

Thanks for joining me on this “Complete Set Of Tools” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a prototype Gilbern. Don’t forget to come back now !

Metric Vs Imperial – Chevrolet Impala Convertible

The fourth generation Chevrolet Impala launched in 1965 ditched the GM X frame B body in favour of the GM perimeter frame B body and became the most successful US seller ever with over 1 million units sold.

Chevrolet Impala Convertible, Goodwood Revival

The fourth generation Impala’s received annual face lifts and the one seen here at Goodwood is a 1968 model that was imported to the UK from possibly Norway in 1978.

Chevrolet Impala Convertible, Goodwood Revival

Amusingly if one was to check the registration of this vehicle on the DVLA website it shows that the official motor size is 307cc, which should of course read 307 cui or 5000 cc. This 200 hp motor could be ordered with either two-speed Powerglide or three-speed Turbo Hydramatic transmission.

Chevrolet Impala Convertible, Goodwood Revival

New features on the ’68 Impala included hidden windscreen wipers, and triple “horseshoe” shaped taillights, I remember the latter making a big impression on me when I first saw them aged about 10 in 1969.

Chevrolet Impala Convertible, Goodwood Revival

The Impala was still the biggest seller in 1968 of the 710,900 Impala’s sold 24,730 were convertibles.

Thanks for joining me on this “Metric Vs Imperial” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again for Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

VSCC Spring Start – Silverstone

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I awoke at 3:40am on Sunday full of anticipation, the weather forecast was good, the dawn chorus was getting underway as I prepared my sandwiches and daylight was lighting up the day as I headed towards Silverstone with my friend and regular GALPOT contributor Tim.

M4, Eastbound

We took the fast route in order to get to the circuit early, meeting up with friends for breakfast in the canteen we were saddened to learn of the death of Lotus Elan driver Alan Fleming in Hockenheim the day before and that Garry White had been seriously injured driving a GN Gnome the same day at Silverstone.

Lotus 49 R8, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Tim and I took a wonder round the paddock in the morning where we were astonished to find the late 1968 Lotus 49 R8 as raced by Graham Hill, Richard Atwood, Jo Bonnier and most successfully by Dave Carlton in South Africa to two local F1 championships, form the center of a Bonhams display. The car is expected to fetch between £700,000 and a million at Goodwood in June.

Standard, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

While we were working our way through the paddock the vehicle above wafted through the crowd, I was surprised to learn it appears to be powered by a Standard Vanguard motor, if you know anything else about the car please chime in below.

ERA 80th Anniversary Trophy, Gillies, Morris, Topliss, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The racing got underway with the ERA 80th Anniversary Trophy which was one by Mark Gilles aboard the green wheel lifting 1934 ERA seen leading the ERA 11B of David Morris which retired leaving Nicholas Topliss in the #5 blue ERA R4A to finish second.

FJHRA , Goodliff Woodhouse, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The battle for honours in the front engined Formula Junior race lasted the whole race with Simon Goodliff in his red 1960 Lola Mk2 managing to hold off the green 1959 Elva 100 driven by Mark Woodhouse.

Riley, Super Rat, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Pete Candy driving the 1936 Riley Super Rat seen in the paddock above won the 8 minute Short Scratch Race for pre war cars.

HGPCA Pre 66, Griffin, Moreton, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The action continued with the second race for pre ’66 Grand Prix Cars which was won by John Romano who clocked up his second win of the weekend in his 1964 Brabham BT11. Above Alex Moreton in his 1961 Lotus 21 is about to lap Paul Griffin in his 1959 Cooper T51 on his way to a seventh place finish.

Maserati 6CM, Lockie, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

It’s always great to see one of my former race instructors, from 1989/90, take part in an event above one such was Calum Lockie who is seen driving a 1938 Maserati 6CM to victory in the pre 1941 Continental Trophy race.

50's Sports Racing, Horsman, Wood, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Regular readers will have heard me make many references to The Nostalgia Forum who’s knowledgeable members include Peter Horsman seen above driving the #248 Lotus 15 above to victory over the #256 Lister Jaguar of Dr Barry Wood in the 1950’s sports racing cars event.

Tec Mec, Wood, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

Tony Wood lifts a wheel at Becketts above on his way to his second win of the weekend in the Pre ’61 Racing Car event driving the 1959 Tec Mec F415 which readers may remember I looked at in some detail recently.

Pre War Handicap, VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

By comparison the 5 lap pre war Handicap race felt like a race in slow motion, above a couple of Rileys lead a gaggle of cars in the event which was won by Richard Hudson driving a Bentley.

F3 500, Bishop Miller, Kingsland, Turner VSCC Spring Start, Silverstone

The penultimate event of the day was for the 500 cc / 30.5 cui Formula 3 cars this was declared, with Ian Philips the winner, after the; #57 Revis driven by Richard Bishop Miller, #59 Staride Mk 3 of Xavier Kingsland and #86 Cooper Mk 9 of John Turner came to grief at Becketts one lap after the photo above was taken. I am not entirely sure what happened but the out come was that John Turner was thrown out of his Cooper and Richard Bishop Miller had to be cut out of the Revis and both were taken to hospital.

Andrew Mitchel won the final Pre War race of the day driving an HRG but by then Tim and I were negotiating a few diversions on the way home, seeing John Turner falling out of his Cooper having left me feeling considerably the worst for wear.

My thanks to Alan Cox at the Nostalgia Forum for pointing me in the direction of the results pdf.

I hope you will join me in offering sincerest condolences to the the family and friends of Alan Fleming and best wishes for speedy recoveries to Garry White, Richard Bishop Miller and John Turner.

Thanks for joining me on this”VSCC Spring Start” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” and that you will join me again for Americana Thursday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !