But it was the car’s handling that absolutely entranced me. It seemed unbelievably modern and sophisticated given its age. I felt I could place it anywhere and while it would slide happily enough, it was one of those cars that actually rewarded a ‘fast in, fast out’ approach. You could carry speed like no other 1950s sportscar I’ve driven was so precise on turn-in you could really commit to a corner, even the fast and undulating curves that characterise Goodwood.
Lack of power aside, it only had one flaw, which was that it was hideously sensitive to set up. You could set it up for the dry beautifully, and you could make it work well enough in the wet, but if you encountered both conditions on the same track well, to be blunt, you were screwed.
It happened to me at the TT in, I think, 2011. I was sharing the car with Richard Attwood and as we lined up dark clouds were gathering. But I’ve always been told to play the cards you have, not those you think you might be dealt, so we left the car with an almost full dry set up. Big mistake. I went first and while the light drizzle I encountered during my stint was not enough to make the track more that slightly damp on line, the moment you went off-line to try to overtake someone, the car was all over the place. So I just drove around maintaining position before handing over to Richard just before the heavens really opened. He kept it pointing in the right direction because he’s Richard Attwood, but had a miserable time doing it. In the end we came 11th, which in those conditions was a far greater achievement than it sounds, and all the credit is Richard’s.
The Costin Coupe races on at the TT to this day, indeed I’d be interested to know if there’s another car that’s done a greater number of the UK’s most prestigious historic car race, but has never come closer to winning than it did that day back in 2013. Back then Chris had handed it to Anthony who held the healthy lead he had inherited right up to the moment, you guessed, it the rain came down whereafter he was hunted down by Simon Hadfield in the slower but softer Aston Martin DP212 and that was that. Maybe 2019 will be year it finally gets the job done.
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.