Tag Archives: Aston Martin

A Motorsports Gathering – The Quail

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On Friday I had a look at some of the Great Ferrari’s at The Quail Concours d’Elegance, some of the other vehicles present are featured today.

Wales, La Bestioni Beast, The Quail

Towards the end of last year I looked at one of a matching pair of matching Rolls Royce Boattail Speedsters by Gary L Wales, Gary is seen above right standing next to one of his latest Retro Design creations La Bestioni Beast a 1919 LaFrance Speedster.

Bugatti Type 57G, The Quail

Going straight to the top 3 museums to visit in the USA is the Simeone Automotive Museum in Philadelphia who own this Bugatti T57G the car driven by Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist to victory by 7 laps at Le Mans in 1937.

Lincoln Continental Cabriolet, The Quail

The 1948 Lincoln Continental like the Cabriolet above was the last US production model ever built with a V12 motor.

Jaguar XK 120, The Quail

On the May 30th 1949 the bubble top on this prototype Jaguar XK 120 was bolted over the head of Norman Dewis who proceeded to record a two way timed average run of 132.6 mph on an empty stretch of motorway twixt Ostend and Jabbeke in Belgium.

Aston Martin DB2 Coupe, The Quail

The Aston Martin DB2 Coupé above was originally sold as a right hand drive vehicle to a Swedish customer Sölve Relve in 1951, it has also belonged to Swedish racing driver Sture Nottorp. In 1960 Yngve Eriksson bought the car and had the body work face lifted with a larger grill, fared headlights larger rear window and had the steering moved from the right to the left.

Bosley GT, The Quail

Of all the cars featured today the story of the 1953 Bosley GT is perhaps the most remarkable of all, aged just 21 Robert Bosley a horticultural farmer from Mentor Ohio, was dissatisfied with his XK 120 and Oldsmobile Rocket 88 and so he set out to build a dream machine in 1952. Robert had no design experience and taught himself self how to build the car including the fibre glass body as he went along using auto parts that dated back to the 1930’s. The motor he chose was a six carb Chrysler Hemi which gave the striking unique car a claimed top speed of 160 mph !

Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Ghia, The Quail

So far as I have been able to discern the Alfa Romeo above is ‘the’ unique 1953 1900C SS Coupé with coachwork by GHIA, if you know different please do not hesitate to chime in below or on the GALPOT FB page.

Jaguar XK 140, The Quail

GALPOT contributor Geoffrey Horton’s immaculate 1955 Jaguar XK 140 FHC SE/MC is seen above keeping some exotic company.

Chevron B16, The Quail

The Chevron B16 above appears to have been built in 1970, no other information is available on the car which appears to have been withdrawn from the Bonham’s Auction, if you know why please do not hesitate to chime in below.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for taking and sharing today’s photographs.

Thanks for joining me on this “A Motorsports Gathering” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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To Turbocharge Or Supercharge – Halford Special / Aston Martin #1916

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In 1922 Bamford & Martin built 2 cars to compete in the French Grand Prix, the spare engine for this project was fitted to Razor Blade in 1923.

Cheyne, Halford Special, VSCC, Prescott

Bamford & Martin also built a number of vehicles for customers to race and the Halford Special carrying the chassis number #1916 and the registration number OR 1 was one of these. In 1923 W G Barlow is known to have competed with #1916 at the Aston Clinton Hill Climb, from which Bamford & Martin adopted the “Aston” and merged it with “Martin” to arrive at the ‘Aston Martin’ Marque name, and at Brooklands where he finished 4th in the JCC Spring meeting.

Cheyne, Halford Special, VSCC, Prescott

Captain G E T Eyston, later of Thunderbolt Land Speed Record Fame, drove #1916 in a Voiturette, (up to 1.5 litre / 91.5cui) race at Boulogne where he crashed. Major Frank Halford, who along with Eyston had competed with Razor Blade bought the wreck and replaced the 55hp four cylinder motor with a new 1.5 litre / 91.5 / cui twin plug, twin overhead cam, 12 valve, six cylinder motor of his own design. The Major fitted the motor with a turbocharger, probably the first to fit such a device to a racing car, but it proved unreliable in testing and so he reverted to using Roots type super charger driven off the crankshaft to produce 95 hp.

Cheyne, Halford Special, VSCC, Prescott

Fitted with a new two seater body #1916 the Major raced the car in 1925 only to find the radiator was too small. After it was replaced with a larger one, a second 120 hp motor fitted with a Berk supercharger was also used in the car which was renamed Halford Special. In 1926 the Major drove his Halford Special to 3 victories at Brooklands on the long and short tracks and “podiumed” on at least half a dozen further occasions.

Cheyne, Halford Special, VSCC, Prescott

Captain Eyston bought the Halford Special in 1927 and won another race at Brooklands before finishing 4th in the French Grand Prix run at Monthléry. During the 1930’s Viscount Ridley dismantled the Halford Special fitting one of the motors to his Bugatti Type 35 and the other into a speed boat which sank to the bottom of a lake, where it remained for two years.

James Cheyne, seen at the wheel of the Halford Special at Prescott, collected all the pieces and rebuilt the Halford Special in the 1970’s, since when it survived an accident at Silverstone in 2008.

Turbocharging eventually started making an impact on racing, first in the Cummins Diesel Special at Indy, in 1952 and ’53.

Thanks for joining me on this “To Turbocharge of Supercharge” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psychoontyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Poetry and Motion – Aston Martin Razor Blade

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During the course of the coming month “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” will be celebrating the centenary of Aston Martin with posts featuring the marque on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays and on Thursdays I’ll be celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Corvette, Friday’s will be devoted to Ferrari’s and Tuesdays to Automobilia.

Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford founded Bamford & Martin in 1913 to sell Singer cars. The first car built by Bamford and Martin was given the marque name Aston Martin in 1915, but because of the Great War of 1914 – 1918 it did not go into production. The Aston name was adopted from the Aston Hill near Aston Compton where Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin were regular successful competitors.

Shaw, Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

During a period of post war financial turmoil and several bankruptcies up until 1926 Bamford & Martin built 55 cars for sale along with ‘Razor Blade’ which was built for in an attempt to become the first car to record an average speed of 100mph over one hour in a light car at Brooklands, however AC Cars pipped Martin & Bamford to the post recording 101.39 mph (163.17 km/h).

Shaw, Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

The chassis was specially made, but many of the remaining parts were standard Aston Martin items. The 55 hp 1.5 litre / 91 cui four cylinder motor, based on half a 1921 Ballot 3 litre / 183 cui 8 cylinder motor, was a spare Aston Martin had built for their 1922 French Grand Prix car.

Shaw, Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

The body work, built by the De Havilland Aircraft Company, is just 18 1/2″ wide at it’s widest point making it one of the, if not the, narrowest racing cars ever built. Originally an aerodynamic bubble was fitted on top of the cockpit and the car was temporarily known as “The Oyster”, but Lionel Martin could not find drivers diminutive enough to fit inside. SCH Davis managed to lap Brooklands consistently between 103 mph and 104 mph, faster than the one hour record set by AC Cars, but had to give up their record attempt because the front offside tyres repeatedly came off.

Shaw, Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

Major F.B. Halford was the first driver to race Razor Blade, crossing the line first in a handicap race, 5th on handicap, during the B.A.R.C. August Meeting at Brooklands and the following month the following poem appeared in the The Light Car and Cyclecar magazine :-

Major F. B. Halford
(The intrepid driver of the “razor blade” Aston-Martin racer)
With razor blades we’re all acquainted;
Some are good, others painted.
Halford Smiles; he’s found a winner;
Diet follows – make him thinner.

Later in 1923 the Major set a standing kilometer class record of 66.54 mph, while Herbert Kensington-Moir drove Razor Blade to a standing mile class record of 74.12 mph.

Halford Special, Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

Razor Blade is seen in these photographs at Prescott Hill Climb with Colin Shaw at the wheel, above Razor Blade is seen next to the Halford Special built by Major F. B. Halford on an Aston Martin chassis which I’ll be looking at in greater detail tomorrow.

Thanks for joining me on this “Poetry and Motion” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now.

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Mr Consistency – Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance

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Last month Geoffrey Horton trailered his immaculate Jaguar XK140 FHC SE/MC over to Hillsborough for the Concours d’Elegance, while he was there he kindly took today’s photographs to share with us.

Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Among the many participants was this magnificent supercharged Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Grand Sport of the type than won the Mille Miglia in 1929 an 1930 and the Spa 24 Hours race, so far as I know no one has ever come up with a definitive reason why these cars raced with front red light covers, if you know please chime in below.

Cadillac V16,Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Another car from 1930 was this Cadillac V16, first V16 powered car to enter production in 1930, which lasted until 1940.

Bentley 3 1/2 litre, Thrupp & Maberly,Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

The plaque in front of this 1934 Derby built Bentley 3 1/2 litre with coachwork by Thrupp & Maberly says that it was built for Lord Feversham, I believe he may also have been known as the 3rd Earl of Feversham a politician who served as the Conservative government whip in the House of Lords at the time the car was built.

Jaguar XK120 DHC, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Among the stuff competition in Geoffrey’s class was the Jaguar XK12O DHC.

Allard K2, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Only just noticed this 1951 Allard K2 has appeared on this blog before, Jay Wollenberger snapped it at last years Danville Concours d’Elegance.

Ford 500 Sunliner, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

In my mind, anyone driving around in a gargantuan land yacht like this 1957 Ford 500 Sunliner just has to have a smile on their face, if they don’t it should be made compulsory.

AC Bristol Ace Zagato, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Several vehicles with Zagato bodies were present like this 1957 Bristol powered AC Ace. This unique car, as in only one, with trade mark Zagato double bubble roof apparently counts Grand Prix race winner Jo “Seppi” Siffert amoungst it’s previous owners.

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Despite having covered enough laps to finish 9th at Le Mans in 1961 Frenchman Jean Kerguen and Jacques Dewes retired from the race and therefore recorded a did not finish in this 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT one of only 19 built with a Zagato body.

ALFA Romeo, Giulietta Sprint Special, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Launched in 1959 the ALFA Romeo Giulietta Sprint Special was built as production racing car to compete against the likes of Porsche’s 356, the example seen here was built in 1966.

Jaguar XK140 FHC SE, Hillsborough Concours d'Elegance

Finally our man Geoffrey got to drive up the ramp of honour to collect a second place finish with his Jaguar XK140 FHC. Belated congratulations and many thanks to him for sharing his photographs.

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

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RIP – Allan Simonsen

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Simonsen, Poulsen, Nygaard. Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE, 6 Hours of Silverstone

Allan Simonsen, who was born in Odense Denmark, won the Danish Formula Ford Championship in 1999. When the money for his open wheel aspirations ran out he found he was in demand as a driver of GT cars and ended up running in 30 to 40 events a year across the globe driving models from Ferrari, Porsche and more recently Aston Martin.

Such was his enthusiasm and the demand for his services that in 2007 by missing the last race Le Mans GT2 Series he gave up his chance to become champion in order to drive in the Australian GT Series which he won outright the same year with a pair of Mark Coffey Racing Ferraris.

Two years later Allan Simonsen won the 2009 Asian Le Mans GT2 series driving a Ferrari F430 for Team Farnbacher. Allan also competed in the Australian International V8 Supercar Championship and made seven starts at Le Mans with a best finish of second in class in a Farnbacher Ferrari.

Known as a ‘cheeky chappie’ Allan teamed up for a full season in LMGTE Am driving an Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE with fellow Danes Christoffer Nygaard and Kristian Poulsen for 2013. Their car is seen winning the LMGTE Am class at Silverstone in April above.

Having qualified for LMGTE Am class pole at Le Mans and with a victory well within the teams grasp Allan lost his life while at the top of his game after an accident at Tetra Rouge on lap two of the 24 hour classic last Saturday.

His family bravely asked the Aston Martin team to race on in Allan’s memory when informed of the tragedy. A Danish flag flew at half mast for the remainder of the race while overall race winner and fellow Dane Tom Kristensen dedicated his victory to the memory of his fallen friend.

Condolences to Allan’s family and friends.

RIP Allan Simonsen 1978 – 2013.

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Wall Of Noise – Aston Martin AMR 1 #01 & #03

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In 1989 Group C sports car racing reached new heights popularity among manufacturers when Aston Martin joined in the fun as a manufacturer. Aston Martin Tickford had supplied motors for the Nimrod Group C cars that were run from 1982 until 1984. They also supplied the even less successful EMKA Productions and Cheetah teams which ran sporadically from 1983 to 1985.

Aston Martin AMR1, Le Mans

The seeds of the 1989 program were laid after an agreement between Aston’s owners Victor Gauntlet and Peter Livanos that Aston Martin should go the whole hog and manufacture a Le Mans challenger wholly in house. A month after they announced their plans Ford took a controlling interest in Aston Martin and to the surprise of Gauntlet and Livanous agreed the racing program should continue on condition that it did not interfere with Aston’s production vehicles and that it would require no finance from Ford recommending a separate company should be set up to run the racing operation.

Aston Martin AMR1, Le Mans

Aston Martin and Ray Mallock, using the Ecurie Eccose name with whom he had won the junior Group C2 championship in 1986 created a new company called Proteus Technology Ltd known as Protech. Protech was to be funded for six years to the tune of £26 million by the Livanos family. Callaway Engineering was engaged to develop the 5.3 litre Aston Martin Virage V8 motor into first a 600 hp 6 litre / 366 cui motor and later a 700 hp 6.3 litre unit.

Aston Martin AMR1, Le Mans

The team hoped to have the first cars, designed by Max Bostrom, racing towards the end of 1988 and when the deadline passed they prepared themselves for a start at the first Group C race of 1989. An accident during testing meant the team were without a car to take to the first race of 1989 and so attracted a US$ 250,000 fine for missing the race.

Aston Martin AMR1, Le Mans

The AMR1’s first appearance was at Dijon where AMR1/01 driven by David Leslie and Brian Redman finished a distant 17th. At Le Mans which was a non championship event two cars were entered the #18 AMR1/01 for Redman, Micheal Roe and Costas Los while the #19 AMR/03 was driven by Leslie, Ray Mallock and David Sears.

Aston Martin (Callaway) RDP87, Le Mans

Despite circulating in a wall of noise equal to anything heard in the NASCAR Sprint Cup the AMR1’s were short on horsepower and overweight the #18 qualified 32nd while the #19 could only qualify 40th. The #19, seen at Arnage below, eventually retired with electrical issues early on the Sunday morning of the race while the #18 soldiered round to an 11th place finish.

Aston Martin AMR1, Le Mans

In the next race, at Brands Hatch, Redman and Leslie scored the teams best result a 4th place finish. Aston Martin finished the season 6th behind Mercedes-Benz, two private Porsche teams, Jaguar and Nissan but ahead of the factory Toyota team.

During the course of 1989 Bernie Ecclestone convinced the FIA that the future of Sports Car racing lay with 3.5 litre engine rules as required in Formula One from 1991. Aston Martin had no choice but to withdraw at the end of 1989 as they had no suitable engine and Ford had given the nod to Jaguar to use it’s own Ford Cosowrth HB V8 Formula One engine, and running the unfinished Aston Martin AMR2 for a year made no sense.

My thanks to fausto at The Nostalgia Forum for finding the link to the AMR2 wind tunnel models.

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

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Dealer Pressure – Aston Martin DP 212

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Following the success of the Aston Martin DBR1 at Le Mans and the 1959 World Sports Car championship the Aston Martin team refocused it’s attentions on an ill timed Grand Prix effort that folded by the end of 1960, by which time the front engined Aston Martin DBR4 and DBR5 were completely out classed by rear engined cars.

Aston Martin DP212, Goodwood Revival

Under pressure from dealers to come up with a new racing program David Brown sanctioned the development of the DP 212 for the 1962 Le Mans 24 hours.

The cars was built using an Aston Martin DB4GT frame with a 345hp 4 litre / 244 cui six cylinder motor and a sensuous slippery long body to suit the potential of 4 mile Mulsanne straight at Le Mans.

Graham Hill and Richie Ginther were engaged to drive the car at Le Mans where it had a brief moment of glory leading the opening lap of the 24 hour endurance race with Graham Hill at the wheel, however from there on the car dropped down the field over the next six hours until it retired from 9th place with piston failure following an oil pipe fracture.

The original bodywork was found to experience stability problems at speed and after aerodynamic tests was replaced with a Kamm tail of the sort that was later used on the back of the Aston Martin DB6.

Subsequently DP212’s only other appearance was at the 1963 Le Mans test weekend where Jo Schlesser, Bruce McLaren, Lucien Bianchi and William Kimberly drove the car which recorded 5th fastest time. By the 1963 Le Mans 24 hour race the DP212 had been replaced by the DP 214 and DP215 models.

DP212 was later converted to a road car with even larger 349 hp motor and driven in a variety of events by Hon.John Dawnay, later Viscount Downe, and Mike Salmon the later winning the 1974 Classic Car Championship with it.

Thanks for joining me on this “Dealer Pressure” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a Le Mans winner from Germany. Don’t forget to come back now !

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