Challenger-ERA: The 'Emperor's' racer returns to Goodwood
Like many pre-war racing cars, the Challenger-ERA had a chequered life. Initially intended to have its own one-off engine, it was given a different engine that was later replaced by something entirely new, then it was converted to a two-seater sports car and after that it went to California. Then it went missing.
Now, following a 14-year rebuild by current owner Duncan Ricketts, it’s back to the specification it originally raced in and made its competition ‘debut’ at the 77th Members’ Meeting.
The car was built by Reg Parnell, the racing driver who would go on to earn the nickname the ‘Emperor of Goodwood’ thanks to the speed and success he had at the venue, and finished in 1939 when the threat of war meant that plans to build a one-off engine were ditched in favour of an ERA B-Type engine. In that configuration, it had one outing at Prescott before the onset of war.
Reg Parnell kept hold of the Challenger throughout the conflict, as well as a number of other racing cars. As the war drew to a close, the Challenger was ready to go again. The ERA engine had to be returned so instead a much larger straight-eight Delage unit went in its place. At the same time, the steering was moved ahead of the axle and a small trap door in the nose of the new bodywork was added, granting access to the supercharger.
Eventually the car was converted to a two-seater and fitted with a Lagonda engine, and from there it was shipped to California before disappearing entirely for several decades. There were theories that it was in the Lagonda club, and eventually ERA fan Bill Morris found it and Duncan bought it. It came as a bare chassis complete with suspension, but not much else. The two-seater body is now fitted to another chassis, while the engine, gearbox and other mechanical parts were also missing.
Duncan was unfazed, setting about making the parts that no longer existed. “Making the brakes was quite easy,” he says, as if just anyone could do it. “They’re similar to the ERA’s – the castings are different, but it’s all based on a Lockheed set-up.” He concedes that making the hubs was “a bit of a job”, but one that was made simpler when he sourced the original drawings. The suspension radius arms also needed to be fabricated as they’d been chopped off to complete the two-seater conversion.
When it comes to the big bits of the car’s mechanical make-up – engine, gearbox, differential – that’s all relatively straightforward, as it’s the same as the ERA B-Type that Duncan also has. The block was bought from someone who had discarded it, thinking it would never run again, but Duncan got it working. “It should be reliable, and the pre-selector gearbox is a known quantity too.”
We caught up with Duncan just after practice and ahead of the race, so he had some initial feedback on the car. “Although it’s very similar to the ERA – it has the same wheelbase and track – the other car is more powerful, but this is really quite joyful to drive. The ERA is lovely to drive, too, but it’s more challenging. Every lap is building to a better lap than the one before. I could knock another five seconds off but I just don’t want to push it that hard yet, I just want to get it through the weekend.”
There couldn’t have been a more fitting occasion for the Challenger-ERA to make its comeback than in race named after the man who created it, the Parnell Cup.
Photography by Pete Summers.