Vehicle Description
1952 Connaught A-Type
This car is a very historic Connaught A-Type Formula 2 single
seater that raced in period for the Connaught works team and the
legendary Scottish racing team Ecurie Ecosse.
The Connaught project originated from Continental Autos, a company
run by engineers Rodney Clarke and Mike Oliver and received
financial backing from Kenneth McAlpine. Clarke and Oliver had
intended to specialise in Bugattis but began to build their own
cars when it became clear that Bugatti would not re-start
production post-war. The earliest Connaughts were the small L
series sports cars, which utilised Lea-Francis components and
appeared in competition from June 1949. They were soon followed by
the prototype A-Type single-seater, which debuted at Castle Combe
in October 1950 where McAlpine took 2nd place behind the HWM of
Stirling Moss. Development of the prototype continued throughout
the 1951 season and by 1952 the company felt confident enough to
build six further cars, which were eventually intended for private
sale. One of these cars was chassis A-6, the example offered
here.
By the start of the 1952 season the new A-Type cars all had an
increased engine capacity, revised big end bearings, suspension
bushes had been replaced by steel universal bearings and the
exhaust now incorporated a four-branch manifold. On July 15th 1952
Chassis number A-6 had its competition debut at the British Grand
Prix at Silverstone where it formed part of a four-strong line-up
of A-Type Connaughts. In a magnificent performance by the Connaught
Racing Syndicate all four cars finished with Dennis Poore coming
4th and Eric Thompson in chassis A-6 coming home in 5th place - a
result which was all the more remarkable given it was Thompson and
Poore's first race in a Grand Prix. The next important event for
Connaught was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza held on September
7th. On this occasion Stirling Moss drove A-6, qualifying fastest
of the British drivers and placing 9th on the grid, a position he
held for almost half the race until a broken pushrod top forced his
retirement. A little under three weeks later A-6 was back in
action, this time for the Madgewick Cup at Goodwood where Thompson
was back behind the wheel. Unfortunately he was involved in a
collision with the ERA of Moss and Dennis Poore's A-Type on the
first lap and retired. In spite of this disappointment for
Thompson, it was not all bad news for Connaught with Ken Downing,
driving chassis A-3, coming home 1st. Thompson and A-6 were next
seen at Charterhall for the Newcastle Journal Trophy on October
11th where they finished but some way down the field. At the end of
1952 Chassis A-6 was displayed on the Connaught stand at the Motor
Show and it was here that it was purchased by Major Edward Gordon
Thomson, a friend and benefactor to David Murray, for the Ecurie
Ecosse team to use in the 1953 season.
Its first outing for the Scottish team was on 6th April at Goodwood
where Sir James Scott-Douglas finished 11th in the Lavant Cup
against stiff competition including the likes of Moss, Rolt,
Salvadori and Whitehead. Scott-Douglas took the car north to
Charterhall the following week and then on 18th April Ian Stewart
drove A-6 to victory at Ibsley. Stewart and Scott-Douglas both
shared the driving at the Daily Express Trophy Meeting held at
Silverstone on 9th May where they placed 9th in one heat and 17th
in the final. Throughout May of 1952 Stewart continued to campaign
the Connaught achieving a 2nd at Thruxton and a 1st at Snetterton
in the Formula Libre race. Stewart was again at Snetterton on 27th
June but rear axle problems caused him to retire just two laps from
the end of the race. Another retirement at Silverstone in July
brought A-6's 1953 season to a close. The 1954 season began on
April 3rd and it was Jimmy Stewart who drove A-6 on this occasion
securing an excellent 2nd at Castle Combe. Leslie Thorne was the
pilot of A-6 at the 19th April Goodwood meeting and he achieved a
creditable 6th in the Chichester Cup but sadly did not finish in
the Glover Trophy. He made up for this poor result the following
week with a 3rd at Snetterton during an AMOC race meeting. Over the
remainder of the 1954 season Thorne was the principal driver,
although Peter Hughes also drove at Charterhall and Goodwood in
September.
At the end of 1954 the car was sold on and eventually went into
long term storage, a fact which no doubt contributed to its
excellent degree of preservation. By 1989 chassis A-6 had been
purchased by a Mr Burrell who initiated a major recommissioning and
testing programme before entering it into historic races at
Silverstone, Donington and Curborough over 1989-1991. Interestingly
the car also featured in an episode of Top Gear at this time when
it was driven at Boreham by Tiff Needell. In 2005 it was fully
restored and made race ready by JD Classics and then entered into
some of the world's most prestigious events including the Goodwood
Revival in 2009, and Monaco and Goodwood once again in 2010.
The car is now available again for the first time in over 10 years
and comes with a fantastic provenance and history file including
period photographs and original booklet that documents testing
results of this car and another Connaught. In race-ready condition
it comes with a good spares package and offers an exceptional
opportunity to acquire a genuine Ecurie Ecosse competition car that
would be welcome in historic races the world over. Please contact
us for further details.
