1999 Crosslé 9S-Ford "late run series"

David Strange, 1999 Crosslé 9S, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Benouville 2016.

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Crosslé, Hollywood, Northern Ireland.  Crosslé was founded in 1957 by John Crosslé and still operates from its original factory.  They claim to be the longest established specialist constructor of racing cars in the World. Many famous drivers competed in Crosslé cars including Nigel Mansell.  The original Crosslé 9S was conceived in 1965 to compete in 2 litre Group 6 sports car racing.   In 1966 drivers such as Peter Gethin and John Watson drove them, achieving some success at circuits such as Dunboyne in Northern Ireland and Crystal Palace.  The cars also raced in the USA.  Since the late nineties Crosslé have been producing late run series 9S cars from the original factory.  There has been an Irish Championship for them and since 2005 the HTP version can also be raced in Historic racing.  The cars have a tubular steel spaceframe and fibre glass body.  Various engine options are available including 2 litre BMW, Ford Twin Cam or Ford Zetec.  

Ligier JS49-Honda CN

Bruno Berton, Ligier JS49, Course de Cote de Sancerre 2016

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Automobiles Martini, Magny Cours, France.  In 2004 Guy Ligier acquired a majority shareholding in Martini and started building cars at their factory using his Ligier brand name.  One of the cars they produced since 2007 for amateur sports car racers is the Ligier JS49.  It is built to CN regulations and sold in Europe and USA.  It competes in hillclimbs, VdeV racing, Britsports and SCCA C sports.  It has an aluminium chassis, composite body, 6 speed sequential gearbox, and a 2 litre Honda V-tech engine producing 240bhp.  The car won the 2008 VdeV championship.

1967 MGC GT Sebring

Darren Brock, MGC GT Sebring, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Bénouville 2016.

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MG, Abingdon, England.  The MGC was a more powerful 2.9 litre 6 cylinder version of the MGB and was produced from 1967 to 1969.  To promote the model the BMC competition department developed an endurance racing version.  They reduced the weight by replacing the steel body panels with those made of aluminium.  The engine had an aluminium head and triple weber carburettors.  About 6 of these cars were made plus additional spares.  The first outing for the competition version of the 6 cylinder car was the 1968 Sebring 12 hours.  Amazingly the car finished 10th overall and first in its class driven by Paddy Hopkirk and Andrew Hedges.  The car also finished 6th overall in the 84 hour Marothon de la Route at the Nurburgring driven by Hedges, Tony Fall and Julien Vernaeve.  The last major race for the car was the 1969 Sebring 12 hours where Hopkirk and Hedges finished in 15th place overall. 

1987 Alpine Renault V6 GTA Turbo

Tim Jeffrey, 1987 Alpine Renault V6 GTA Turbo, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Benouville 2016. 

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Alpine, Dieppe, France.  This was the first car produced by Alpine after the purchase by Renault.  It was an update of the A310. It had either a 2.8 litre Renault V6 engine or a smaller 2.5 litre V6 turbocharged engine. The latter produced 200bhp and powered the car to a top speed of over 150mph and a 0-60mph time of just over 6 seconds.  The car was lightweight with glass fibre and polyester body panels.  The body was quite aerodynamic and was a 2+2 coupé.  The handling was reputedly quite good.

1929 Frazer Nash Super Sports Special

Mark Roper, 1929 Frazer Nash Super Sports, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Benouville.

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AFN Ltd, Iseleworth, England.  The Frazer-Nash  Super Sports was produced from 1928 to 1930. They normally had 1.5 litre 4 cylinder engines but the one pictured has a Ford 3.3 litre engine.

Austin Seven Specials

Richard Wyatt, 1931 Austin Seven Special, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Bénouville 2016.

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Austin Seven Specials, UK.  The Austin Seven was a reasonably priced car produced from 1922 to 1939.  It had a 750cc engine.  Partly because it was a cheap available car pre-war and partly because of the 750 Motor Club after the second World War, many Austin Seven Special have been built.  Above is a single seater version raced regularly by Richard Wyatt.  Below is a Pigsty Special also based on the Austin 7.

Paul Geering, Austin Seven Pigsty Special, Course de Cote d'etretat-Benouville 2016.

1931 MG Midget Montlhéry C-Type

Chris Cadman, 1931 MG Montlhéry, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Bénouville VHC 2016.

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MG, Abingdon, England.  In February 1931 George Eyston achieved over 100mph at Montlhéry in a modified MG Midget.  This led to the revised 2 seater C type Midget being known as the "Montlhéry".   The car had a 750cc supercharged engine and even the road car could achieve 90mph. 0-60mph was in about 20 seconds which was good for the era in a car of this capacity.  In 1931 this car would cost you £575.  It was wonderful little sports car of the early thirties. They were entered in many races and won a number of them such as the 1931 RAC Tourist Trophy driven by Norman Black.  They were raced at Le Mans and Brooklands as well. Great to see one today.

1929 Morgan Super Aero

Sue Darbyshire, Morgan Super Aero, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Bénouville VHC 2016.

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Morgan, Malvern, England.  The Morgan Super Aero was a motor cycle engines three wheeler that was a cheap fast car in the twenties.  The exposed motor cycle engine was ahead of the of the front axle and powered the single rear wheel.   As well as good performance they benefitted from being taxed like a motor cycle.  They can be powered by various 2 cylinder engines including JAP, Blackburne, Anzani and Harley Davidson.   They had a two speed gearbox. The Super Aero had a tubular steel chassis and lowered streamlined bodywork.  In the twenties ad thirties they were regularly used in trials, hillclimbs and on racetracks such as Brooklands and Donington Park.  This tradition continues.  Sue Darbyshire has been competing successfully with this car for around 15 years which has a 1.2 litre engine.

1953 Cooper Bristol T23 Mk2

Stephanie Wilton, Cooper Bristol T23 Mk2, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Bénouville 2016

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For more photos of the 2016 Etretat speed hill climb, click on the link above.

Cooper, Surbiton, England.  This was the car that Cooper produced for the 2 litre Formula Two of the early fifties that became the Grand Prix Formula in 1952 and 1953. The Mk2 had a tubular space frame and front engine rear wheel drive like most cars of the time but unlike the F3 Cooper that preceded it.  The T23 was an upgrade of the T20  which had a box frame chassis.  Mike Hawthorn used the F2 Cooper Bristol car to great effect in 1952 and earned his 1953 works Ferrari drive as a result.   The Bristol 6 cylinder engine produced about 135bhp and was developed from the pre-war BMW 328 engine.  Top speed of the car was about 140mph which was not enough to beat the contemporary Ferraris and Maseratis very often.  Best GP result for the Mk1 was third place in the 1952 British GP of 1952 driven by Mike Hawthorn.  He also won the Lavant Cup at Goodwood and International Trophy at Silverstone.  in 1953 Ken Wharton won at Charterhall and Bob Gerard won at Castle Combe and Snetterton but these were minor races.

1938 Morgan F4 Three Wheeler

Nancy Thomas, Morgan F4 Three Wheeler, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Benouville VHC 2016.

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Morgan, Malvern, England.   The F4 was a 3 wheeler produced by Morgan from 1933 to 1952.  It was called the F4 as it had a four seater body.  A 933cc Ford 4 cylinder motor was used at the front to power the rear wheel.  They were taxed as motor cycles and thus attractive to those on tight budgets until mass produced cheap 4 wheelers began to take their market..  This was the Morgan that moved away from the exposed motor cycle engines seen on previous models.  The chassis was steel.  Lovely to see one take part in a Hill Climb even though this was a Morgan known for its reliability rather than performance.