Ten important cars you need to see at Revival

ERA B-type R5B 'Remus'

English Racing Automobiles (ERA) was founded in the latter half of 1933 by Humphrey Cook, Raymond Mays and Peter Berthon. Based in Bourne, Lincolnshire, ERA established itself as one of the leading pre-War racing car marques. R5B was purchased by Prince Bira in 1936 and, running a 1.5-litre specification engine, it won the Albi Grand Prix that year. Perhaps Remus' most notable post-War owner was head of the Old Masters department at Christie's auction house, the Right Hon. Patrick Lindsay, who purchased Remus in 1959, and went on to dominate Vintage Sports Car Club races throughout the 1960s and '70s. Lindsay’s son Ludovic continued to race Remus into the early 2000s when, like his father, he enjoyed much success in the car. It is wonderful that Remus will be not only be taking part in the Revival Winners Parade, but also racing in the Goodwood Trophy.

Lotus-Climax 18

The 1961 Grand Prix season was a seminal year in Stirling Moss’ career after wins in the Monaco and German Grands Prix. He only finished third in the Drivers’ Championship, behind Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips, but it was the way in which he won at Monaco that has gone down in history as one of the greatest Grand Prix drives of all time. Taking the lead on lap 14, Moss soon had the faster Ferraris of Richie Ginther and Hill in pursuit, but the Englishman posted qualifying-like lap times for the majority of the race and held on for a famous win. The Rob Walker car here is the one that Moss drove to victory in those two Grand Prix and is a regular competitor in historic events today. It’s particularly poignant to have the car at the Revival this year so that it can take part in the Rob Walker Racing demonstrations.

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Aston Martin Project 212

This is the first of the famous Aston Martin Project cars, built in 1961 for the following season. It ran second in the 1962 Le Mans 24 Hours, with Graham Hill and Richie Ginther at the wheel, before retiring with piston problems. During the race the drivers experienced high-speed lift so the tail was shortened and a spoiler added for 1963. It was then rebuilt by the works in 1964 and fitted with a 4.2-litre engine and 15-inch wheels. It won the Wiscombe Hillclimb with Mike Salmon driving the car and the pair went on to finish second in the Brighton Speed Trials. Used for club racing between 1968 and ’81, it was then raced in the first Revival meeting in 1998.

Jaguar E2A

This unique prototype was a stepping stone between Jaguar’s D-type and the E-type. As well as being an engineering prototype, it had potential as a long-distance race car. On this basis, US race team owner and Jaguar importer Briggs Cunningham entered the car in his team colours for the 1960 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Dan Gurney and Walt Hansgen. It lasted six hours before the brittle 3-litre engine failed, and the car was withdrawn, but not before equalling the fastest lap, which was no mean achievement. E2A raced in the States with mixed fortune through the rest of the 1960 season, attracting top drivers including Bruce McLaren and Jack Brabham. Its single outright win came in August, once again in the hands of Walt Hansgen, at the Long Island circuit, Bridgehampton. On returning to Coventry at the end of that season, E2A retired from active racing. The following year it helped out as a test vehicle for the development of the Dunlop Maxaret braking system, the world’s first ABS system.

Riley One-Point-Five

The Riley One-Point-Five may not have grabbed the headlines in the inaugural season of the British Saloon Car Championship, at least not until the final round of the year, but it was still successful in its own right. While it is remembered as being the car of choice for the Jack Sears and Tommy Sopwith head-to-head challenge to decide the first ever BSCC champion, Les Leston took the One-Point-Five to class honours on no fewer than three occasions.

Ferrari 250 GT SWB 'Breadvan'

Equipped with the Comp/61 pack in period, chassis no. 2819 eschews the usual ‘SEFAC hot rod’ moniker thanks to its remarkable coachwork. Run to second in the 1961 Tour de France by Ecurie Francorchamps, the car was sold to Count Volpi’s Scuderia Serenissima outfit at the end of the year. Volpi – denied a new Ferrari 250 GTO by Enzo thanks to his part in the abortive ATS F1 effort – tasked Giotto Bizzarrini with upgrading chassis no. 2819 into a GTO beater ahead of the 1962 season. Making wholesale changes to the body, suspension and engine, Bizzarrini’s distinctive Kamm-tail design – put into metal by renowned coachbuilder, Piero Drogo – was dubbed the ‘Breadvan’ by English-speaking media. At Le Mans, chassis no. 2819 initially raced away from the GTOs however, a driveshaft failure in the fourth hour led to its retirement.

Lotus-Climax 25

While the Lotus 25 was not the first Grand Prix car to use a monocoque design, Colin Chapman’s seminal creation was the first to truly exploit the benefits of this chassis construction. Using a similar technique to the Elan road car, the 25’s chassis consisted of two aluminium box sections (one running down either side of the car) joined by the floor. Compared to the spaceframe Lotus 24 (created alongside the 25 in case the monocoque design wasn’t successful), the 25 was both lighter and stiffer, allowing Chapman to run the car with softer suspension, aiding its slow-speed cornering. Used exclusively by Jim Clark during the 1963 season, chassis R4 won seven Grands Prix in the hands of the Scottish ace (Belgium, Holland, France, Britain, Italy, Mexico and South Africa). This level of domination brought both Clark and Lotus maiden world titles, changing the face of Grand Prix car design in the process.

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Ford GT40 Prototype

The story of Ford’s battle against Ferrari at Le Mans in the 1960s is well told: Henry Ford II, annoyed with Ferrari’s late refusal to let him buy the Italian company, decided to beat the Prancing Horse where it would hurt the most – the Le Mans 24 Hours. The American company did exactly that and won the 24-hour race every year from 1966 to ’69 with its GT40. The car here is chassis number 105 and was a prototype test and development car. It was raced at Reims in 1964 by Richard Attwood and Jo Schlesser, and was driven extensively at Goodwood during testing duties with the 1970 Le Mans winner at the wheel, alongside Roy Salvadori and Sir John Whitmore. Look out for the original nose – the one used before Len Bailey started work on the aerodynamics, a job that would stop the tendency for the front to ‘lift’ at speed.

Austin A105

The car that took ‘Gentleman’ Jack Sears to the top of the table in the inaugural British Saloon Car Championship, this Austin was an incredibly faithful servant to the eventual champion. Not only did Sears take the first championship crown, but was also the first driver to win a BSCC race, at Brands Hatch on a grey, windy Easter Monday. Winning all but one race that year, Sears was locked in a season-long duel in class with Jeff Uren’s Ford Zephyr, before going on to face Tommy Sopwith, who had won his class with an identical number of points to Sears, in a head-to-head duel in Riley One-Point-Fives.

Cooper T43

This car marked the beginning of a design revolution in Formula 1 when Sir Stirling Moss won the 1958 Argentine GP in incredible circumstances. The team quickly discovered that their tyres were only supposed to last 40 laps, and the race was 80 laps long. As the T43 didn’t have knock-off hubs, a tyre change would take ages. Stirling started the race in seventh, but was soon in fourth place, and got past Hawthorn’s Ferrari to take third just as his clutch broke, leaving him stuck in second gear. By a massive stroke of luck, a stone was thrown up and jammed the gear change interlock device, giving Stirling back his gears. His opponents were convinced he would have to pit for tyres, but Stirling conserved them by cutting the corners and running on the grass and oily parts of the track. Soon the canvas started to appear as the rubber wore away, but Stirling prevailed and won the Grand Prix with nearly bald tyres. Apparently, Enzo Ferrari couldn’t believe his ‘masterpieces’ had been beaten by this thing with its engine in the wrong end…

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Photography courtesy of Motorsport Images.