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THE ROTHMANS 50,000 RACE
Jun 13th
THE ROTHMANS 50,000
The late Brands Hatch boss, John Webb was a real motorsport showman, innovator and pioneer. His career was peppered with a variety of well-known events, championships and a variety of stunts. STEVE HOLE tells the story of the Rothmans 50,000.
The late John Webb was a master of motorsport marketing and publicity. He also knew how to put on a show, even if sometimes they sounded too wacky to be true. One such event that took place at Brands Hatch on August 28, 1972 (August Bank Holiday) was a race with a £50,000 prize fund (approximately £461,260, allowing for inflation, today), More >
THE STORY OF ENRICO NARDI – MUCH MORE THAN JUST EXQUISITE STEERING WHEELS
May 29th
STEVE HOLE tells the story of Enrico
Enrico Nardi was born in 1907 in Bologna and began his automotive career with Lancia in 1931 before moving to Etceterini Auto Avio Costruzione in Modena as a test driver.
In 1937 Enrico Nardi moved to Modena to work for Enzo Ferrari and a lifelong friendship was forged. Nardi was Ferrari’s first test driver.
Nardi was a top racer of the day, a gifted engineer, a racing mechanic, and a practical joker although he could be awkward.
The highlight of his driving career was competing in the Mille Miglia before building his first car, the Nardi-Monaco Chichibio More >
THE STORY OF BRP AND YEOMAN CREDIT
May 16th
STEVE HOLE tells the story of British Racing Partnership and Yeoman Credit, who pioneered sponsorship in motorsport, being the first team to give up the identity of the team and cars in return for sponsorship money, who became the YEOMAN CREDIT RACING TEAM.
One of the pioneers of motorsport sponsorship came from Joseph Samengo-Turner’s Yeoman Credit operation, founded in 1955. By 1959, Joseph’s sons – Paul, William and Fabian – were running Yeoman. In a nutshell, Yeoman was one of the earliest exponents of car finance and many of the country’s major – and minor – car dealerships offered their HP policies.
The More >
THE STORY OF GEOFF MONTY
May 1st
STEVE HOLE tells the story of the remarkable Geoff Monty, a renowned motorbike exponent but also a dealer for the Unipower GT.
Geoff Monty was a remarkable chap – motorcycle racer, motorcycle constructor, rider sponsor, retail bike dealer and repair shop and Unipower GT dealer for Kent and surrounding areas.
Geoff originated from Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey and opened his first motorcycle business in Hampton Road, Twickenham in the mid-fifties. In addition to modifying and repairing customer bikes, Geoff also designed, built and raced his bike, the GMS (Geoff Monty Special).
This was more than a simple tune-up of a proprietary motorcycle as he designed More >
THE TICI STORY
Apr 4th
STEVE HOLE tells the story of the brilliant ‘Commuter City Car’, the TiCi
The TiCi was created by Anthony Hill, Design RCA, a 34-year-old (in 1971) design consultant and lecturer based in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
Hill was a talented chap with a Royal College of Art pedigree. He’d previously designed a motorcycle and several domestic and industrial appliances and had also done consultancy work for the likes of Ford Motor Company and Hawker Siddeley. Clearly, a clever man.
There were also things as diverse as wheelchairs, locomotives and even a trimaran on his CV. He also had a desire to create his own ‘commuter city More >
FUNKY CHICKENS, PRICELESS ASTONS AND A STABLE THAT WASN’T A STABLE – THE STORY OF JOHN OGIER
Mar 21st
STEVE HOLE tells the story of JOHN OGIER
[standfirst] Sir John Lionel Eardley Ogier goes under the radar these days but deserves recognition for his contribution to British motorsport and the automotive industry in general. One thing is certain, despite his importance information is hard to come by, but Sir John Ogier sure was a fascinating man, with an amazing story. We are indebted to Ogier’s son, James for his invaluable help with this feature.
Ogier was born in India on October 23, 1920 (an interesting fact is that his brother, Michael was born on the same day in 1921), but was educated More >
MARCELO GANDINI, LEGENDARY AUTOMOTIVE DESIGNER, RIP
Mar 14th
We were very sad to hear about the death of legendary designer, Marcelo Gandini this week, aged 85.
Marcelo Gandini photographed in 1976, while working for Nuccio Bertone (unknown photographer – Wikipedia).
STEVE HOLE gives a potted career rundown of one of the greatest designers to pick up a pencil.
Gandini was the son of an orchestral conductor and working as an interior designer, when he approached another great designer, Nuccio Bertone, for a job in 1963. Bertone was impressed but was dissuaded from giving young Marcelo a job by his then chief designer (yet another great), Giorgetto Giugiaro who didn’t like him.
Lancia More >
STRADA 4/88 – THE ITALIANATE SOUNDING TWO-SEATER FROM SUFFOLK
Mar 7th
STEVE HOLE tells the story of the STRADA 4/88. Pix courtesy of www.adrianflux.co.uk
A real curiosity this one. It wasn’t a kitcar but was very specialist. The Strada 4/88 was the brainchild of a Suffolk carpet shop proprietor called John Hillier, from Woodbridge with vital input from his engineer friend, John Brighty.
The two had met in the late sixties and Brighty had ‘form’ as he’d previously worked at Bill Last’s Trident Cars, a marque that Hillier supplied Wilton carpeting to.
Between them, they developed what became the Strada 4/88 with design from none other than BMC designer Harris Mann (Austin Princess, ZT More >
THE STORY OF TRIPLEX & PILKINGTON AUTOMOTIVE
Feb 15th
STEVE HOLE TELLS THE STORY OF TRIPLEX SAFETY GLASS & PILKINGTON GLASS
Founded in 1912 by Reginald Delpech who was based in Kent. He devised a method of producing toughened and laminated glass for aviation, rail and automotive uses. He was ahead of the game and a real pioneer.
If you’ve ever suffered a broken windscreen, did you ever wonder how the broken glass seems to hold itself together like a windscreen-shaped jigsaw puzzle? That is what Triplex invented and the so-called ‘triplex’ adhesives which is the result of bonding more than one sheet of glass together. usually via polyvinylbutyric (PVB) membranes. The glazing More >
MARCOS CHECKER MINI COOPER MK1 TRIBUTE
Feb 8th
STEVE HOLE tells the story of the Marcos Checker Mini
A relatively little-known model from Marcos Sales was this Cooper S Mk1 Tribute. It was commissioned by Marcos’ dealer in Japan, Checker Motors in 1995.
A claimed limited edition of 100 cars – although I don’t think they made anywhere near that number – in either BRG with white roof or white with a BRG roof.
They were nicely built and were powered by special Richard Longman-tuned 1300 A-Series engines, with big valve cylinder head, gas-flowed inlet manifold, Kent 285 cam, twin SU HS4 carbs and a performance exhaust.
Exterior featured 10in steels or More >
