historic formula One outfit Vanwall is back, and it’s planning a continuation series of six track-only racers, built to the same specification as the 1958 formula One world championship winning VW 5 driven by the great Sir Stirling Moss.
The continuation models will be powered by a reproduced version of Vanwall’s very own race engine of the time. The British firm has sourced its original 1950s blueprints and will faithfully replicate its 2.5-litre four-cylinder unit, which will have the same 270bhp output.
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The unit was designed in the 1950s by an engineer from the Norton motorcycle company and, essentially, it was four single-cylinder Manx motorbike engines with a shared cooling system and a custom-made cylinder head. The engine was introduced for the 1954 formula One season, but its tiny 2.0-litre capacity meant it struggled to keep up with the competition.
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Vanwall steadily improved the design of its engine over the coming years, gradually increasing its capacity and reliability until it became a competitive 270bhp 2.5-litre unit. It was still down on power against the likes of the V6-engined Ferrari 246 or the straight-six powered Maserati 250F – but the Vanwall’s superior chassis helped secure the victory.
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The racer’s respectable road holding was the work of Colin Chapman, who designed the Vanwall’s suspension and chassis – and eventually went on to found Lotus Cars. Unlike most of its contemporary competitors, Vanwall also shunned the usual drum brake setup for a set of in-house designed discs, which helped Moss out-brake the Ferraris.