Clan Crusader

Chris Littler, Clan Crusader, Saint Goueno Masters Hillclimb, 2017.

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For more photos of the 2017 Saint Goueno Masters Hillclimb, click here.

Clan Motor Company, Washington, County Durham, England.  The Clan Motor Company was formed by some ex-Lotus employees, Paul Haussauer and John Luff, in the early seventies.  The aim was to produce a GRP monocoque sports car for the road using the Sunbeam/Hillman Imp engine, transmission and gearbox. The Imp engine was of course based on a Coventry Climax unit.  John Frayling came up with the design and the Clan Crusader was born.  It was made in the North East due to regional funding.  The car was produced from 1971 until 1973 before the company went bust. This was a shame as it was a nice lightweight sports car with a top speed of nearly 100mph and a 0-60mph time of under 13 seconds.  It was also economical and racing driver Gerry Marshall drove from Glasgow to London averaging 68mpg.   Over 300 Crusaders were sold including just under 20 competition versions.  The competition versions were successfully rallied including wins by Alan Conley on the 1972 Tour of Mull and 1973 Derwent Star Rally.  On the circuits they were also raced with success in GT and Modsports events by Johnny Blades, Kenny Allen and Terry Carthy.    In 1982 a new version of the clan was produced under different ownership in Northern Ireland but this project also went bust in 1987.

Cadillac ATS-VR GT3

Johnny O'Connell, Cadillac ATS-VR GT3 winning at Sonoma 2016 in the Pirelli World Challenge.

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For more photos of GT cars at Sonoma in 2016, click on this link. 

Cadillac, GM, New York, USA.  In Europe we know Cadillac as a luxury car maker but in the USA they have had a successful racing program for many years.  The ATS model is a compact luxury sedan that has been in production since 2013.  For the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge Cadillac has built a FIA GT3 version of the ATS-V coupe powered by a 3.6 litre twin-turbocharged V6 producing 600hp.  Cadillac have chosen to built a GT3 model for the first time so that they can if they wish sell and race versions of this car worldwide and thus build the brand.  The body is a production one but with reinforcement and a safety cage.  There is also the addition of an aero package to add downforce.   Top speed is around 170mph. Johnny O'Connell won the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge GT class in this car and came fourth in 2016.  His team mate, Michael Cooper came third in 2016. Between them they have nine victories.  

1973 Jensen- Healey

A Jensen-Healey racing in the Youngtimer Touring Car Challenge at Dijon in 2016 driven by Kim Christensen.

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For more photos of the Youngtimer Touring Car Challenge at Dijon in 2016, click on the link above.

Jensen Motors, West Bromwich, England.  This two seater convertible sports car produced between 1972 and 1976 was the best selling Jensen of all time.  The design was a join venture between Donald and Geoffrey Healey and Jensen Motors. Production was at Jensen's West Bromwich plant,  A lightweight alloy 2 litre 16 valve Lotus 907 4 cylinder engine was the powerplant. Performance was just under 120mph top speed with a 0-60 mph time in about 8 seconds.   Jensen-Healeys raced mainly in the USA where they were successful in winning the SCCA class D Production Car Championship in both 1973 and 1974.   Some continue to race today.

1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso

Eric Hamoniau, Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, Tour Auto 2016

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For more photos of the 2016 Tour Auto, click on the link above.

Ferrari, Maranello, Italy.  Lusso means luxury in Italian and thus the 250 GT Lusso is a larger and more luxurious version of the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta.   It was not intended for racing but still some examples competed in the Tour de France (one finished 24th in 1964) and theTarga Florio (another finished 13th in 1964) in private hands.  It had a 0-60mph time of around 8 seconds and a top speed of around 150 mph.   Designed by Pininfarina, it had two seats, a steel Scaglietti body with some aluminium panels, and was powered by the 3 litre V12 engine similar to other 250s. Production was limited to 1963 and 1964.  A really beautiful car of which about 350 were made.

1963 Abarth-Simca 1300 GT

The Teisserenc's Abarth-Simca 1300 GT, Tour Auto 2016

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Abarth, Turin, Italy. The Abarth-Simca 1300 GT was produced from 1962 to 1965.  It was based on a Simca 1000 after Simca went to Abarth to get a faster version of their basic car.  With the new Abarth aerodynamic aluminium body, based on the Bialberobore,  it is difficult to see any resemblance to the original Simca.  The engine was a new straight four1300cc dry sump twin cam unit designed by Abarth..  Disc brakes were standard.  It was of course rear engine rear wheel drive.  It was capable of over 140mph and could do 0-60 in about 6 seconds!   A very desirable small sports coupé in terms both of looks and performance.  Not surprisingly they were very successful on the race circuit, apparently scoring 90 victories in 1963 alone. They race with their boots open to help cool the engine.

1973 Ferrari Dino 246GT

Ferrari Dino 246GT, Tour Auto 2016

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For more photos of the 2016 Tour Auto, click on the link above.

Ferrari, Maranello, France.  Dino was a marque that Ferrari set up as an affordable sports car.  They had a yellow Dino badge rather than the famous prancing horse.  Nowadays the Dino 246GT is accepted as a Ferrari by all except the absolute purists.  The Dino was named after Enzo Ferrari's son who died young.  The 246GT was a 2.4 litre 6 cylinder engined mid-engined coupé.  Although the preceding 206GT was the real racing car, the 246GT did appear at a number of big and small events in privateer hands.

Marcos GT

Marcos GT, Boullay-Thierry 2014

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For more pictures of a car club from Chartre's outing in 2014, click on the link above.

Marcos, Bradford upon Avon, England.  Jem Marsh and Frank Costin founded Marcos and they produced some beautiful GT cars like the one pictured with a variety of engines from Ford, Triumph and Volvo.  A peculiarity of the Marcos GT was its plywood chassis, although in later models it was changed to the more conventional steel. Another unusual feature was the movable padals that made it a good sports car for tall drivers. The body was fibre glass.  The GT started it life in 1963 and continued until the company went bust in 1971.  Marcos GTs were raced by many including Jem Marsh himself who even tried but failed to qualify one at Le Mans.

Renault Sport Megane Trophy

Dominique Laure, Renault Megane Trophy, Dijon-Prenois 2016, Coupe de France des Circuit, GT race.

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For more photos of this 2016 meeting at Dijon-Prenois, follow the link above.

Renault Sport, Les Ulis, France.  This is a special racing car produced for the Renault Eurocup and is just a silhouette of the road car.  It has a badge engineered Nissan 3.5 litre V6 engine, a glass fibre body and a racing tube frame chassis.  As well as the Eurocup they race in a number of other series and the Dubai 24 hours.  Dominique Laure has some success with his in the Coupe de France des Circuits.