Double Twelve was the name used for a series of tests of driving skill and speed organised by the Junior Car Club in the early 1930s, which took place at the historic Brooklands site. The event was revived in 2008, and was only cancelled in 2009 because of the general economic malaise at the time, and was reinstated for 2010. I attended for one of the two days over which the event runs in 2010, and loved it, so vowed to return in 2011. Event congestion meant that once again I had to confine my presence to one of the two days, but even that was more than ample to see all sorts of great and rare machinery at this historically significant site. Encouraged by the pictures from last year, this was enough for Dan to choose to join me, and we had a Top Day out, as you can see in the report and pictures that follow:
THE MAIN EVENT
The core of the event, as it was in the 1930s, is a series of driving tests, along with a concours contest, for anyone who wants to enter. In 2011 that is manifest by a number of car clubs and private individuals bringing their cars along to Brooklands, displaying them in this historic site and then participating in the various driving tests that have been lined up. Cars were grouped together into a series of classes, by age and type, and on the day we attended, each car got two attempts at the auto tests. The concours was scheduled to take place on the following day, when there would doubtless be a number of different models on show. Here are some of the highlights of what we saw:
Star of this event in 2010 was the 1937 6C 2300 Aerodynamic Spider, with its unusual body styling and three abreast seating, and the car was present again in 2011.
Another of my favourites of the day was this, a simply stunning Speed Twenty. Just 12 cars were made with this body style, the octogenarian owner (he was older than the car, just!) told me, and he suspects that his is the last survivor. It looks just fantastic, and the owner’s face lit up when I told him that was what I thought!
This DB4 Zagato was for sale. You know what they say about people who ask the price……….. would definitely apply here, as these cars are exceedingly valuable.
The Austin Seven has a good survival rate, and so you can expect to see example of the genre at classic events, and today was no exception. This is a relatively late model saloon car, along with a more sporting version.
Perhaps fewer Big Healeys than one might expect for an event like this, but the model was not completely unrepresented
There were numerous examples of the “classic” 1920s and 1930s Bentleys at the event
Sole example of this marque was this 402 Convertible.
There were only a couple of Bugatti at the event, of which this Type 22 Brescia was captured whilst resting.
One of only a handful of American vehicles at the event was this C3 Corvette.
This late model DS23 was in stunning condition, which probably means that were for it sale it would be one of those cars with a very big price tag indeed on it.
I admit I had to go and look at the badge on this one to find out what it was. An English sports car from the 1950s, I believe.
This is the famous 3HP model driven by Henry Sturmey (founder of “The Autocar” magazine) in 1897, from Lands End to John O’Groats.
This particular Mangusta is not one that I recall seeing at other recent events
A very elegant 235 Convertible, from the last few cars produced by this French marque
212 Inter Vignale
A lone example of the strikingly styled Fiat Coupe and a single example of the Nuova 500.
Another largely forgotten British marque.
The very latest addition to the Jaguar range, the XKR-S, was display in a prominent position near the pedestrian entrance. Whilst there is no doubting the quality of the interior, and the sound that engine makes even when idling, the visual changes really do not appeal. We both thought that it made the car look too much like a Nissan GT-R, and that is not really a Good Thing.
Lots of Lagonda in evidence. The most aristocratic of them, without question, was this stunning saloon car, a 1938 V12 Short chassis saloon.
Parked right by the entrance to the competitors’ marquee was this gorgeous Miura
This Aurelia Spider is one of the cars that we saw at the Auto Italia event a few weeks earlier. The Spider version of this car now has a silly price tag attached to it, compared to the later Convertible model, but when you look at it, perhaps you can see why. It is utterly droolsome.
A 1961 Elite
A Djet. This early 1960s car came to a halt in one of the test routines and had to be pushed off the course.
This W188 model 300S was the top of the Mercedes range in the early 1950s and the cars were very costly, finding sales with heads of state and move stars..
Lots of MG Sports cars, of course.
There was a special class for “Mini, Fiat 500 and other”, and of these it was the Mini that was numerically dominant, with examples of the Cooper, the now rarely seen 1275GT and one modified car with a lowered roof and de-seamed body.
One of the local dealers had a display, and the most attention seemed to be being attracted by the Three Wheeler. This display car is the same one as was premiered at Geneva back in March, and it is a non-runner. The dealer told us that he has yet to drive one, but all the Morgan factory employees who have done so say that it is “a hoot” out on the road.
| MORRIS The ubiquitous Minor  |
RAILTON Another largely forgotten English marque.  |
The less commonly spotted A310 model, along with the earlier A110 model.
Along with Alvis, this is the other archetypal VSCC car, and there were many Rileys, ranging from the pure sports/racing cars to road cars. Of the latter, there were several Monaco and Kestrel models, both within the main event and in the car park.
Although rather large, this car was put through its paces on the test hill and in the various other test routines, and seemed to survive the experience.
A late model SD1 Vitesse, which had Swiss plates from the canton of the Thurgau on it, and had clearly made a long journey to be present at this event.
A Classic English marque from the 1930s, whose cars are now largely forgotten.
Like all cars bearing the Stanley name, this is a steamer. The driver took it up the hill and through some of the test routines. As he came off the banking, it was nearly silent, but with great plumes of “stuff” spewing out of the exhaust pipe that looked like rather more than just steam or water vapour.
This car represented the “Other” in the “Mini, Fiat 500 and Other” class, and is an example of the Subaru 360, the first car ever made by this Japanese manufacturer.
A Dolomite from 1938
A pair of 30/98s, Vauxhall’s impressive sports car of the 1920s.
Type 1 Karmann Ghia
Joining the Napier Railton that lives at Brooklands were some other machines with simply colossal engines, and this made for a very impressive display.
Two different sorts of “test” were available, both of which reflect the original events from the 1930s: some were about speed and here the key venue was the Mercedes test track, whereas the others were about manoeuverability, and it was these latter that we watched for some considerable while. Following an ascent of the famous test hill, drivers returned to the start point by undergoing a series of different routines, involving steering around bales that were relatively close together, conducing a full 360 degree turn up onto he banking, and the last test where the cars had to enter the “garage” represented by hay bales in three different directions, either forwards or backwards before leaving the area in the far diagonal corner. Some cars chose to do more than others in reverse, and some were far more mindful of the ticking of the marshal’s clock than others. There were more than a few squeely brakes, a few crunched gear changes and a couple of cars that failed mid test. It was all a lot of light hearted fun to watch, and equally for for the competitors.
Although most of the interesting vehicles were within the main event itself, a trip around the car park also revealed some cars worthy of inclusion in the report.
|
ABARTH
|
CHEVROLET
|
456 GT in a rare colour of British racing green
Mustang
Libra
| MG
|
PORSCHE
|
Kestrel and Monaco saloons
Vitesse
