Connaught Engineering, often referred to simply as Connaught, was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

and sports car constructor from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Their cars participated in 18 Grands Prix, entering a total of 52 races with their A, B, and C Type Formula 2 and Formula 1 Grand Prix Cars. They achieved 1 podium and scored 17 championship points. The name ''Connaught'' is a pun on ''Continental Autos'', the garage in

Send, Surrey Send is a village and civil parish in the Guildford borough of the English county of Surrey. Send acquired its name during the Great Vowel Shift from the word sand, which was extracted at various periods until the 1990s for construction and ot ...

, which specialised in sales and repair of European sports cars such as

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...

, and where the cars were built.

History

In 1950, the first single-seaters, the Formula 2 "A" types, used an engine that was developed by Connaught from the

Lea-Francis Lea-Francis was a British motor manufacturing company that began by building bicycles. History R. H. Lea and G. I. Francis started the business in Coventry in 1895. They branched out into car manufacturing in 1903 and motorcycles in 1911. Le ...

engine used in their "L" type sports cars. The engine was extensively re-engineered and therefore is truly a Connaught engine. The cars were of conventional construction for the time with drive through a preselector gearbox to a de Dion rear axle. In 1952 and 1953, the Grand Prix races counting towards the World Championship were to Formula 2 rules so drivers of these cars could take part in those events as the table below shows. Connaught designed a new car for the 2½ litre Formula 1 of 1954 which was to have a rear-mounted Coventry Climax V8 engine (the "Godiva"), but when the engine was not proceeded with, a conventionally arranged "B" type was designed using an Alta engine developed into 2½ litre form. The first cars were built with all-enveloping aerodynamic bodywork but later rebodied conventionally (as the photos below show). In 1955, driving a Connaught in this form, Tony Brooks scored the first win in a Grand Prix by a British driver in a British car since 1923, in a non World Championship race at Syracuse. Thereafter the "B" type has been known as the "Syracuse" Connaught and the name was used for the car presented in the 2004 revival In

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

Jack Fairman Jack Fairman (15 March 1913 – 7 February 2002) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 13 Formula One Grands Prix, making his debut on 18 July 1953. He scored a total of five championship points, all of which came in ...

attempted to qualify for the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

in a Connaught race car, but failed to find the necessary speed to make the field.

Sports cars

Prior to the single-seat racing cars they built a small number of road going sports cars developed on the

Sports Chassis, which achieved considerable competition success. These were of types L2 and L3, and three examples of the stark Cycle Winged L3/SR Sports Racer. Two sports cars, based on the A Type Formula 2 cars, the ALSRs were also built for competition work. In 2004, the Connaught name was revived by

Connaught Motor Company Connaught Motor Company was a manufacturer of high-performance hybrid technology cars and one of the first companies in the world to use this technology. Starting as a pioneer in lightweight technologies and power electronics, the company was re ...

for their Type D Syracuse and Type D-H hybrid sports cars. Image:Connaught Type A Donington 2007.jpg, An ex-

Rob Walker Racing Team Rob Walker Racing Team was a privateer team in Formula One during the 1950s and 1960s. Founded by Johnnie Walker heir Rob Walker (1917–2002) in 1953, the team became F1's most successful privateer in history, being the first and (along with ...

Connaught Type B

car Image:Beaulieu National Motor Museum Connaught Type B (1955) 15-10-2011 13-10-02.png, Connaught Type B, 1955, at the National Motor Museum Image:Connaught Type D GT Syracuse - Flickr - edvvc (1).jpg, A Connaught Type D Syracuse

Complete Drivers' World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) *Constructors points not awarded until
± = Indicates a shared drive

References

External links

Connaught Motor Company
{{Formula One constructors

Connaught Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbh ...

Formula One entrants Sports car manufacturers 1952 establishments in England 1959 disestablishments in England British auto racing teams British racecar constructors Auto racing teams established in 1952 Auto racing teams disestablished in 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans teams

History

Sports cars

Complete Drivers' World Championship results

See also

References

External links