Archibald James Butterworth (19 June 1912 – 12 February 2005) was an inventor and racing motorist who, in 1948, designed and constructed the ''A.J.B. Special'', a

four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer ca ...

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, ...

car. He was winner of the

Brighton Speed Trials The Brighton Speed Trials, in full The Brighton National Speed Trials, is commonly held to be the oldest running motor race. The first race was held 19–22 July 1905 after Sir Harry Preston persuaded Brighton town council to tarmac the surface ...

in 1949 and 1951. After a serious accident in 1951, he gave up competition, but continued to supply race car engines of his own design, notably to

Bill Aston William Aston (29 March 1900 – 4 March 1974) was a British racing driver who participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, in 1952 when the championship was run to Formula Two rules, for his own team Aston Butterworth. Career Prior t ...

for the

Aston Butterworth Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

car and

Archie Scott Brown William Archibald Scott Brown, known as Archie, (13 May 1927 – 19 May 1958) was a British Formula One and sports car racing driver from Scotland who had a prodigious racing ability despite only having one hand. He became known as motors ...

for the Elva-Butterworth sports racing car.

Early life

Educated at the

Mount St Mary's College Mount St Mary's College is an independent, co-educational, day and boarding school situated at Spinkhill, Derbyshire, England. It was founded in 1842 by the Society of Jesus (better known as the Jesuits), and has buildings designed by notable ar ...

, attended

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, but left to join the army: Irish Guards, then RASC-MT as driving instructor. Posted to special unit in Egypt. Left the Army in 1937 but returned at start of WW2. After Dunkirk he spent the duration of the war, and up to 1950, on armament design, when he established Butterworth Engineering, of Frimley, Surrey. He raced a

Bentley 4½ Litre The Bentley 4½ Litre is a British car based on a rolling chassis built by Bentley Motors. Walter Owen Bentley replaced the Bentley 3 Litre with a more powerful car by increasing its engine displacement to . A racing variant was known as the Blo ...

from 1946 and became a member of the BRDC in 1947.

The A.J.B. Special

The A.J.B. Special, dubbed S2, was built for £300 in 1948. The car was powered by a war-surplus air-cooled Steyr V8 engine. Butterworth was inspired by Sydney Allard's Steyr-powered single-seater, which went on to win the

British Hill Climb Championship The British Hill Climb Championship (BHCC) is the most prestigious Hillclimbing championship in Great Britain. Hillclimbing in the British Isles has a rich history, for example, the hillclimb held at Shelsley Walsh, in Worcestershire, England is t ...

in 1949. The A.J.B. ran on a mixture of: "80/12/8

methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the formula C H3 O H (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often abbreviated as MeOH). It is ...

benzole In the United Kingdom, benzole or benzol is a coal-tar product consisting mainly of benzene and toluene. It was originally used as a 'motor spirit', as was petroleum spirits. Benzole was also blended with petrol and sold as a motor fuel under tra ...

, petrol." The A.J.B. was entered for the hill climb at Stanmer Park, Brighton, Sussex, held on 5 June 1948 but was a non-starter. Key: FTD = Fastest Time of the Day; non-S/C = Unsupercharged. At

Shelsley Walsh Shelsley Walsh is a small village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, on the western side of the River Teme. For administrative purposes it is presently located in the Teme Valley ward of the county’s Malvern Hills district. In the 2011 ...

on 22 September 1951: "An unfortunate accident happened to A.J. Butterworth when the A.J.B. hit the bank at Kennel Bend, tore off a rear wheel and left the road. Butterworth was badly hurt." The ''Manchester Guardian'' reported: "A.J. Butterworth, the racing driver, of Frimley, near Aldershot, was injured when his A.J.B. car (4,425 c.c.) crashed down a steep bank at the Midland Automobile Club's hill-climb at Shelsley Walsh Hill in Worcestershire on Saturday. A wheel of his car caught a guttering on the edge of the track and came off. Butterworth was picked up unconscious and was stated at Worcester Royal Infirmary on Saturday night to be in a serious condition. ''Motor Sport'' published a photograph of Butterworth in the #79 A.J.B. leaving the road at Shelsley Walsh. He recovered from his injuries.

The 'Butterball Special'

Bill Milliken visited Prescott Hill Climb in England in 1951, where he saw the A.J.B. in competition. An offer to purchase the car was declined, but subsequently accepted following Archie Butterworth's accident at Shelsley Walsh. The remains of the A.J.B. were exported to the U.S.A. early in 1952, rebuilt and renamed the ''Butterball Special'', a play on Butterworth's name. The rebuild was carried out in Buffalo, New York: "It has since been extensively redesigned with longer wheelbase, new rear suspension, improved steering, brakes, chassis and body. This work was performed in the Flight Research and Vehicle Dynamics Department of Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory under the direction of William Close." The car was then driven in competition by Bill Milliken: Key: FTD = Fastest Time of the Day. In autumn 1957 the car was shipped to the

Four Wheel Drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer cas ...

Company Museum in

Clintonville, Wisconsin Clintonville is a city in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,591 at the 2020 census. The area that became Clintonville was first settled in March, 1855. History Clintonville lies within ancestral Menominee territo ...

. The car was still there in 2010 (see photograph).

Aston Butterworth

For 1952 Butterworth teamed up with Bill Aston to build the

, an F2 car that competed in Grand Prix races, but was unreliable. Butterworth built the 1,986 c.c. air-cooled, flat-four-cylinder motors.

Kieft Butterworth

At the 1954 Motor Show in London

Kieft Cars Kieft Cars, founded by Cyril Kieft, was a British car company that built Formula Three racing cars and some road going sports cars in a factory in Derry St, Wolverhampton.''The Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present''. By G.N ...

displayed a motor described by

Bill Boddy William Boddy, (22 February 1913 – 7 July 2011) was a British journalist who was the editor of ''Motor Sport'' from 1936 to 1991. After 1991 he still contributed regularly to ''Motor Sport'' magazine, continuing a career that lasted eighty- ...

as: "the Kieft/Norton air-cooled flat-four 1½-litre which gives over 100 b.h.p." This was a version of the Butterworth motor fitted with Norton cylinder heads. Ian Richardson successfully used this engine during the 1970s in the Moonraker drag racing motorcycle.

Elva Butterworth

drove the Elva-Butterworth Mk III sports-racing car in a support race at the Silverstone International Trophy meeting in 1957 where: "The Elva-Butterworth retired with a broken valve-Butterworth will have difficulty living this down but, in fact, it was an exhaust valve and not a Butterworth flap valve which dropped."

Tojeiro Butterworth

The Tojeiro-Butterworth sports-racing car was built by R.C.C Palmer over a period of more than three years to 1960. Although built as a race car, it was never raced. Only one example was produced. "Mr. Palmer was especially keen to get the cooling right as he felt that inefficient cooling was part of the trouble with the Elva-Butterworth which Archie Scott-Brown (sic) drove on several occasions."''Motor Sport'', August 1960, Page 664. The car was road registered XNK 900.

Later life

Following the death of his friend Archie Scott Brown in 1958, Archie Butterworth was less involved in motor racing. He was instrumental in founding the British Sporting Rifle Club in 1962.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* John Bolster, ''Specials'', Pages 31–33, G.T. Foulis & Co Ltd, Reprinted 1971. {{DEFAULTSORT:Butterworth, Archie British hillclimb drivers Brighton Speed Trials people Formula One people 1912 births 2005 deaths People educated at Mount St Mary's College