Connaught Engineering
Full name | Connaught Engineering |
---|---|
Base | Send, Surrey, United Kingdom |
Founder(s) | Rodney Clarke Mike Oliver |
Noted staff | Kenneth McAlpine |
Noted drivers | Stuart Lewis-Evans Stirling Moss Prince Bira Kenneth McAlpine |
Formula One World Championship career | |
First entry | 1952 British Grand Prix |
Races entered | 18 |
Constructors' Championships | 0 |
Drivers' Championships | 0 |
Race victories | 0 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
Final entry | 1959 United States Grand Prix |
Connaught Engineering, often referred to simply as Connaught, was a Formula One, Formula Two and other sports car divisions constructor from the United Kingdom.[1] Their cars participated in 18 Grands Prix, entering a total of 52 races with their A, B, and C Type Formula 2 and Formula 1 Grand Prix Cars. They achieved 1 podium and scored 17 championship points. The name Connaught is a pun on Continental Autos, the garage in Send, Surrey, which specialised in sales and repair of European sports cars such as Bugatti, and where the cars were built.[2]
History
In 1950, the first single-seaters, the Formula 2 "A" types, used an engine that was developed by Connaught from the Lea-Francis engine used in their "L" type sports cars. The engine was extensively re-engineered and therefore is truly a Connaught engine. The cars were of conventional construction for the time with drive through a preselector gearbox to a de Dion rear axle. In 1952 and 1953, the Grand Prix races counting towards the World Championship were to Formula 2 rules so drivers of these cars could take part in those events as the table below shows.[3]
Connaught designed a new car for the 2½ litre Formula 1 of 1954 which was to have a rear-mounted Coventry Climax V8 engine (the "Godiva"), but when the engine was not proceeded with, a conventionally arranged "B" type was designed using an Alta engine developed into 2½ litre form. The first cars were built with all-enveloping aerodynamic bodywork but later rebodied conventionally (as the photos below show). In 1955, driving a Connaught in this form, Tony Brooks scored the first win in a Grand Prix by a British driver in a British car since 1923, in a non World Championship race at Syracuse. Thereafter the "B" type has been known as the "Syracuse" Connaught and the name was used for the car presented in the 2004 revival.[3]
In 1962, Jack Fairman attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in a Connaught race car, but failed to find the necessary speed to make the field.
Sports cars
Prior to the single-seat racing cars they built a small number of road going sports cars developed on the Lea-Francis Sports Chassis, which achieved considerable competition success. These were of types L2 and L3, and three examples of the stark Cycle Winged L3/SR Sports Racer. Two sports cars, based on the A Type Formula 2 cars, the ALSRs were also built for competition work.
In 2004, the Connaught name was revived by Connaught Motor Company for their Type D Syracuse and Type D-H hybrid sports cars.
- An ex-Rob Walker Racing Team Connaught Type B Formula One car
- Connaught Type B, 1955, at the National Motor Museum
- A Connaught Type D Syracuse
Complete Drivers' World Championship results
(key)
*Constructors points not awarded until 1958
± = Indicates a shared drive
See also
References
External links
- Connaught Motor Company
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Constructors whose only participation in the World Championship was in the Indianapolis 500 races between 1950 and 1960 are not listed.