1934 Fazer-Nash TT Replica

A nice opposite lock slide from Paul Weston at the Etretat Hill Climb in 2017 in his 1934 Frazer-Nash TT Replica.

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Frazer-Nash, Isleworth, England.  Founded by Archibald Frazer-Nash in Kingston in the twenties, this car company went into financial difficulties and was acquired by the Aldington brothers and moved to Isleworth.  The Aldington brothers were good marketeers and named the new models after the major iconic events  in which their cars competed.  Thus the TT Replica was named after the Tourist Trophy in which Frazer-Nash competed from 1928 to 1931, although with little success.  The TT Replica was thus based on the 1931 car but the replica did better than the original as it finish ninth overall and second in class driven by Harold Aldington averaging just under 69mph.  This was when the TT was run on the Ards Circuit in Northern Ireland. The TT Replica was sold between 1932 and 1938 and over 80 were produced.   It was sold with a variety of engines; 1.5 litre 4 cylinder Gough, 1.66 litre 6 cylinder Blackburne and 1.5 litre 4 cylinder Meadows.  There were also various wheelbase chassis options.  Like other pre-war Frazer Nash cars the transmission was chain-drive.  Handling was definitely in the oversteer department as demonstrated above.   The TT Replicas achieved their most notable success in the Alpine Trials between 1932 and 1934. In these three years they gained the distinction of becoming the only English car and only non-supercharged car to not suffer the loss of a mark three years in succession.  A great achievement.   The 6 cylinder cars could achieve a top speed of 90mph and achieve a 0-60mph time of around 15 seconds.  In 1934 models were available from about £500.

1936 MG TA Midget

Peter Edney, 1.35 litre 1936 MG TA Midget, Etretat Hill Climb 2017.

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MG, Abingdon, England.  The TA Midget was introduced in mid-1936 and continued to be produced until early 1939.  It was powered by an in-line four cylinder 1.3 litre 52 hp pushrod engine through a four speed gearbox that drove the rear wheels.  The body of the 1936 car shown here is a 2 seater roadster.  Other bodies were available later.  Top speed was just under 80mph but it took over 20 seconds to get from 0-60mph.  In the UK it originally went on sale for £222.  It was a bit bigger than the previous Midget but had a more powerful engine.  Not popular with the MG purists at first, it was become a very popular small sports car and over 3,000 were sold.  Initially it was called the T type until the TB was introduced.

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.

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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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.

1976 Matra-Simca Bagheera S

Liz Owler, Matra Simca Bagheera S, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Benouville 2016.

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Matra-Simca, Romorantin, France.  The Bagheera was a seventies mid-engined rear wheel drive 3 seater sports car produced mainly from Simca components.  The body was polyester mounted on a steel chassis.  Engines were either 1.3 litre or 1.5 litre Simca 4 cylinders made in Poissy.  It had a top speed of around 116mph and took about 12 seconds for 0-60mph.  The car drove well but the steel chassis rusted badly.  

1960 Cooper T56 Formula Junior

Alan Harrison, Cooper T56 Formula Junior, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Bénouville 2016.

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Cooper, Surbiton, England.  The was the second Cooper Formula Junior car, replacing the T52,  and raced in 1960 and 1961. It looked very much like the contemporary Cooper F1 car.  There were both works cars and those sold to privateers.  Steve McQueen raced one in the USA.  In Europe Tony Maggs won eight races and tied Jo Siffert in the  European Formula Junior Championship driving one.  Many other famous drivers drove them including Denny Hulme, Richard Attwood, John Love, John Rhodes, Ricardo Rodriguez, and Walt Hangsen. They normally had 1.1 litre Ford Cosworth or BMC engines.

Volkswagen Scirocco GTi Grp2 (1st Generation)

Viviane Bonnardel, VW Scirocco, Course de Cote du Mont Dore VHC 2016.

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Volkswagen, Osnabrück, Germany.  This is a first generation VW Scirocco that was produced from 1974 to 1981 with a body designed by the Italian, Giorgetto Giugiaro.  Over half a million were produced of this small sporty coupé. They had front engines and front wheel drive.  The cars had engine capacities between 1.1 litres and 1.7 litres.  All engine variants were 4 cylinders. In 1977 the Jaegermeister team competed in the European Touring Car Championship with a Group 2 version. The car above now runs in the French Mountain Hillclimb championship for historic competition cars and its driver won the championship in 2014 and 2015 in this VW Scirocco.

1995 Reynard 95D-Mugen Honda

Geoffrey Schwartz, Reynard 95D, Course de Cote du Mont Dore 2016.

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Reynard, Bicester, England.  Reynard was at one time an extremely successful racing car manufacturer.  It produced 11 of the Reynard 95D for Formula 3000, Formula Nippon and Formula Holden.  In the 1995 F3000 series Reynard took the first two places in the championship with Vincenzo Sospiri beating Ricardo Rosset.  Both used Ford Cosworth engines.   In the Nippon series Reynard finished second with Toranosuke Takagi driving and scoring 3 wins.  This car had the Mugen Honda engine.  Since then the cars have been used as hillclimb cars with some success.

Simca 1100 Ti

Francois Durat, Simca 1100 Ti, Course de Cote du Mont Dore VHC 2016.

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Simca, Poissy, France. The 1100 was a small hatchback car built by Simca from 1967 to 1982.  It had a 4 cylinder Simca engine mounted at the front and powering the front wheels.   The Ti model was a sporty version with a larger 1,300cc engine.  This model was available from 1974 to about 1978. They were of course raced and rallied, particularly in France, and this one continues today to do hillclimbs.  Top speed was around 170kph and 0-60mph was around 12 seconds.

1976 Marcadier Proto

Gilles Cursoux, Marcadier Proto, Course de Cote du Mont Dore 2016.

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Marcadier, Lyon, France.  One of the cars of André Marcadier, it has the mechanical parts of  a Simca Rallye 2 and dates from the mid-seventies.

1976 Axone 1600 FL

Jacky Bonnot, Axone 1600 FL, Course de Cote du Mont Dore VHC 2016.

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Axone Compétition, Bourgogne, France.  The car is the work of Chantal and Jacques Bonnot and their friends in l'Abergement Ste Colombe .   The first Axones were produced around 1972.   I believe two Axone 1600s were built in 1975/1976.  All seem to have been used mainly for French hillclimbing as they are Formula Libre cars. They have tubular chassis with 1.6L Renault Gordini engines and a Hewland gearbox.  Top speed is 220kph.

FIAT 128 3P

Renato Vitale, Fiat 128 3P, Course de Cote du Mont Dore VHC 2016.

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Fiat, Turin, Italy.  The 128 range lasted from 1969 to 1985 and was European Car of the Year in 1970. It was a front wheel drive, front engined small car that had many variants and set a trend many were to follow.  The 128 3P was produced from 1975 to 1979 and was a 3 door coupé that replaced the sports coupé.  There were both 1.2L and 1.3L variants.  They were not very fast with a 0-60mph time of around 15 seconds and a top speed of a little over 80mph in unmodified form.  Lots of course were raced in minor races and occasionally the European Touring Car Championship.

NSU 1200 TT

NSU 1200 TT, Course de Cote du Mont Dore VHC 2016, Jean-Pierre Hoffmann.

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NSU, Neckarsulm, Germany.   This NSU 1200 TT was a small 2 door touring car car of the late sixties and early seventies. It was part of the NSU Prinz range This was the time when NSU was acquired by the Volkswagen Group and merged with Audi. Eventually this led to the NSU range being discontinued.  The 1200 TT had the 1,200cc air cooled 4 cylinder OHC engine of the NSU 1200 but the smaller body of the NSU 1000.  Thus it had better performance.   The engine was rear mounted and powered the rear wheels.   This model had the horizontal black stripe in the chrome bar between the dual headlights.  A number were raced and rallied and there was a special competition model the TTS which had the front mounted oil cooler.

Opel Commodore GS/E

Daniel Louis, Opel Commodore GS/E, Course de Cote du Mont Dore VHC 2016.

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Opel, Rüsselsheim ,Germany.    The GS/E was a sporty 2 door coupé version of the Commodore with a more powerful version of the 2.8 litre 6 cylinder engine.  This is the "B" version of the Commodore that was produced from 1972 to 1977.  It was used in touring car racing in the seventies.   One finished third in the 1973 Spa 24 hours.