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1956 Australian Tourist Trophy
The 1956 Australian Tourist Trophy was a 100-mile motor race for sports cars,Australian Tourist Trophy (Entry list), First Day Programme, Australian Tourist Trophy (1956), page 47 staged at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 25 November 1956. It was the first in a sequence of annual Australian Tourist Trophy races, each of these being recognised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as the Australian Championship for sports cars.National Titles, 1961 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 53 The race was won by Stirling Moss driving a Maserati 300S.Athol Yeomans, ''Moss in walkover win, Behra second'', Wheels (magazine), January 1957, pages 60 & 61. Class Structure Cars competed in five classes based on engine capacity: * Open * 2701 - 3000cc * 1501 - 2700cc * 1101 - 1500cc * Up to 1100cc Class awards were restricted to Australian residents only.First Day's Race Results, Second Day Programme, Australian Grand Prix (1956), page 11 Results {, clas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sports Cars
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by many manufacturers around the world. Definition Definitions of sports cars often relate to how the car design is optimised for dynamic performance, without any specific minimum requirements; both a Triumph Spitfire and Ferrari 488 Pista can be considered sports cars, despite vastly different levels of performance. Broader definitions of sports cars include cars "in which performance takes precedence over carrying capacity", or that emphasise the "thrill of driving" or are marketed "using the excitement of speed and the glamour of the (race)track" However, other people have more specific definitions, such as "must be a two-seater or a 2+2 seater" or a car with two seats only. In the United Kingdom, early recorded usage of the "sports car" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Pitt (racing Driver)
William Pitt (1926–2017) was an Australian former racing driver and motor racing official. For most of his racing career Pitt was associated with Jaguars, competing with XK120 and D-Type sports cars, a Mark VIII rally car and a Mark 1 touring car with the assistance of Queensland's Jaguar agents Cyril and Geordie Anderson of Westco Motors. Pitt first became involved in racing as an official at the 1948 Australian Grand Prix, but gradually moved into competing himself. By the mid-1950s he was a front running sports car driver. Pitt co-drove a Jaguar XK120 to a four lap victory in what for 48 years was Australia's only 24-hour motor race, the 1954 Mount Druitt 24 Hours Road Race, driving with Geordie Anderson and Charles Swinburne. In 1956 Anderson purchased a Jaguar D-Type in which Pitt placed fourth behind two factory-entered Maseratis and a Ferrari in the Australian Tourist Trophy at Albert Park in November of that year.John Blanden, Historic Racing Cars in Australi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin-Healey 100
The Austin-Healey 100 is a sports car that was built by Austin-Healey from 1953 until 1956. Based on Austin A90 Atlantic mechanicals, it was developed by Donald Healey to be produced in-house by his small Healey car company in Warwick. Healey built a single Healey Hundred for the 1952 London Motor Show, and the design impressed Leonard Lord, managing director of Austin, who was looking for a replacement for the unsuccessful A90. Body styling was by Gerry Coker, the chassis was designed by Barry Bilbie with longitudinal members and cross bracing producing a comparatively stiff structure upon which to mount the body, innovatively welding the front bulkhead to the frame for additional strength. In order to keep the overall vehicle height low the rear axle was underslung, the chassis frame passing under the rear axle assembly. Lord struck a deal with Healey to build it in quantity; bodies made by Jensen Motors were given Austin mechanical components at Austin's Longbridge plant. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triumph TR2
The Triumph TR2 is a sports car produced by the Standard Motor Company in the United Kingdom between 1953 and 1955. It was only available in roadster form. The car had a 121 cid (1991 cc) four-cylinder Standard wet liner inline-four engine from the Vanguard, fitted with twin H4 type SU Carburettors and tuned to increase its output to .Buckley,Martin. ''The Illustrated Book of Classic Cars''. Anness Publishing, 1997, 2003, pp. 242–3. The body was mounted on a substantial separate chassis with coil-sprung independent suspension at the front and a leaf spring live axle at the rear. Either wire or disc wheels could be supplied. The transmission was a four-speed manual unit, with optional top gear overdrive. Lockheed drum brakes were fitted all round. A total of 8,636 TR2s were produced. It was replaced by the TR3 in 1955. History Standard's Triumph Roadster was out-dated and under-powered. Company boss Sir John Black tried to acquire the Morgan Motor Company bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coventry Climax
Coventry Climax was a British forklift truck, fire pump, racing, and other specialty engine manufacturer. History Pre WW1 The company was started in 1903 as Lee Stroyer, but two years later, following the departure of Stroyer, it was relocated to Paynes Lane, Coventry, and renamed as Coventry-Simplex by H. Pelham Lee, a former Daimler Company, Daimler employee, who saw a need for competition in the nascent piston engine market. An early user was GWK (car), GWK, who produced over 1,000 light cars with Coventry-Simplex two-cylinder engines between 1911 and 1915. Just before the First world war, First World War, a Coventry-Simplex engine was used by Lionel Martin to power the first Aston Martin car. Ernest Shackleton selected Coventry-Simplex to power the tractors that were to be used in his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914. Hundreds of Coventry-Simplex engines were manufactured during the First World War to be used in generating sets for searchlights. Post WW1 In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cooper T39
The Cooper T39, nicknamed the "Bob-Tail", is a successful lightweight, mid-engined, sports car, designed and developed by Owen Maddock at Cooper Cars, for sports car racing in 1955. The car debuted in active racing competition at the Easter race in Thruxton in 1955, being driven by Ivor Bueb, and was later entered into the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans, being driven by John Brown and Edgar Wadsworth, but was unfortunately not classified, because even though the car managed to complete 207 laps around the 8.4-mile Le Mans circuit, it didn't manage to finish within 70% of the winners' race distance. However, between 1956 and 1962, it did manage to rack up and tally an incredible streak of domination and competitiveness, scoring 91 total wins and clinching 236 podiums finishes; an incredible record. It was powered by the Coventry-Climax four-cylinder engine. Development Shortly after the end of the Second World War, the British racing car designer Charles Cooper and his son John ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Brabham
Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a Royal Australian Air Force flight mechanic and ran a small engineering workshop before he started racing midget cars in 1948. His successes with midgets in Australian and New Zealand road racing events led to his going to Britain to further his racing career. There he became part of the Cooper Car Company's racing team, building as well as racing cars. He contributed to the design of the mid-engined cars that Cooper introduced to Formula One and the Indianapolis 500, and won the Formula One world championship in 1959 and 1960. In 1962 he established his own Brabham marque with fellow Australian Ron Tauranac, which in the 1960s became the largest manufacturer of customer racing cars in the world. In the 1966 Formula One season Brabham be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aston Martin DB3S
The Aston Martin DB3S is a sports racing car that was built by Aston Martin. Following the failure of the heavy and uncompetitive Aston Martin DB3 designed by Eberan Eberhorst; William Watson, employed as Eberhorst's assistant, presented an alternative design to John Wyer, Aston Martin's competitions manager, whose assistance was needed as Eberhorst could well oppose being up-staged. In total 31 cars were made, with 11 works cars and 20 cars being sold for customer use. The DB3S was introduced in 1953 and it proved significantly more successful than the Aston Martin DB3. Although the DB3S failed at Le Mans they went on to score a 1–2 at the Tourist Trophy at Dundrod in the 6th round of the inaugural World Sports Car Championship to help Astons to 3rd in the championship. As well there was a win in the non championship Goodwood 9 Hours. 1954 was a less successful season with a third place in the Buenos Aires 1000 km being the high point. However the cars failed at the Sebri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austin-Healey 100S
The Austin-Healey 100 is a sports car that was built by Austin-Healey from 1953 until 1956. Based on Austin Atlantic, Austin A90 Atlantic mechanicals, it was developed by Donald Healey to be produced in-house by his small Donald Healey Motor Company, Healey car company in Warwick. Healey built a single Healey Hundred for the 1952 Motor Show (UK), London Motor Show, and the design impressed Leonard Lord, managing director of Austin Motor Company, Austin, who was looking for a replacement for the unsuccessful A90. Body styling was by Gerry Coker, the chassis was designed by Barry Bilbie with longitudinal members and cross bracing producing a comparatively stiff structure upon which to mount the body, innovatively welding the front bulkhead to the frame for additional strength. In order to keep the overall vehicle height low the rear axle was underslung, the chassis frame passing under the rear axle assembly. Lord struck a deal with Healey to build it in quantity; bodies made by Je ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaguar Cars
Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars until its operations were fully merged with those of Land Rover to form Jaguar Land Rover on 1 January 2013. Jaguar's business was founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922, originally making motorcycle sidecars before developing bodies for passenger cars. Under the ownership of S. S. Cars Limited, the business extended to complete cars made in association with Standard Motor Co, many bearing ''Jaguar'' as a model name. The company's name was changed from S. S. Cars to Jaguar Cars in 1945. A merger with the British Motor Corporation followed in 1966, the resulting enlarged company now being renamed as British Motor Holdings (BMH), which in 1968 merged with Leyland Motor Corporation and became British Leyland, itself to be nationali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hersham & Walton Motors
Hersham and Walton Motors (HWM) is the world's longest established Aston Martin business, having acquired the franchise in 1951. As a racing car constructor, HWM competed in Formula One and Formula Two, and in sports car racing. Motor Racing Hersham and Walton Motors was founded in 1938 by John Heath, an excellent race driver and talented engineer. Heath was joined by George Abecassis in 1946. Together, they moved the business into a building based on New Zealand Avenue in Walton on Thames which was previously used by Vickers during the war as part of their aircraft construction facility. George Abecassis and John Heath went racing together from 1946 and in 1948 they built a streamlined sports racing car on the chassis of a Sports Alta, and thus embarked upon the construction of racing cars and racing sports cars at the Walton-on-Thames works. The 1948 car gave them encouraging results and so new car, this time called an HW-Alta, was constructed and raced in 1949; this car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lex Davison
Alexander Nicholas Davison (12 February 1923 – 20 February 1965) was a racing driver who won the Australian Grand Prix four times between 1954 Australian Grand Prix, 1954 and 1961 Australian Grand Prix, 1961 and won the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1957. He drove Hersham and Walton Motors, HWM-Jaguar, Ferrari, Aston Martin and Cooper Car Company, Cooper-Climax grand prix cars. Davison won Class A of the 1960 Armstrong 500, forerunner of the Bathurst 1000, driving an NSU Prinz. He competed at the 1961 24 Hours of Le Mans with Bib Stillwell in an Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato. Davison and Stillwell were invited to race for the Essex Racing Stable due to their involvement with Aston Martins in the Australian racing scene. Davison had finished second in the 1960 Australian Grand Prix and fourth in the Australian Gold Star Championship in an Aston Martin DBR4/300. Their Le Mans adventure ended prematurely when a blown head gasket saw them retire on lap 25. Davison won the G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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