1955 Connaught B-Type - B-Type

CONNAUGHT HISTORY

Established in Send, Surrey, in the late 1940’s by Rodney

Clarke and Mike Oliver, the company designed and built

Formula 2 single seaters using extensively re-engineered

Lea-Francis engines. This was followed in 1954 by a front

engine Alta powered Formula 1 car of 2 1/2 litres, the Connaught B.

A total of seven cars were manufactured between 1955 and 1958.It became the first British car since 1924 to win a Continental European motor race when Tony Brooks won the non-championship 1955 Syracuse Grand Prix. Against all expectations Brooks won the race by 50 seconds from the works Maserati 250F of Luigi Musso. It was the first victory on a Continental European race track since Henry Segrave won the 1924 San Sebastián Grand Prix in a Sunbeam.

Despite being a small concern

Connaught were at the forefront of motorsport

engineering and designed cars that had huge potential,

even showing a rear engine car designed in 1953 would,

if completed, have been racing in F1 years before any

other team considered such an idea.

This stunning Connaught B-Type is built to the original

1955 cars specification as raced in period and with full

competition paperwork. It represents the

perfect opportunity, at a very reasonable outlay, to join

the ever growing ranks in historic motorsport at such

prestigious events as Goodwood Revival, Silverstone

Classic.

This ‘B’ Type was built from a collection of original

factory parts by renowned Connaught restorer Stephen

Langton for David Sadler. The project was started in

1984 but was not actually completed and track

tested until April 2006. For this the car was finally

commissioned after additional works, including an

engine rebuild, by Jim Stokes Workshops, who have

been involved with the car since that time. During JSW’s

involvement the car was fitted with a starter motor

making it considerably more user friendly. The car has

been correctly stored for several years and now with

re-commissioning in prospect will be ready to grace the

circuits again. The car has current HTP papers valid until

31st December 2025. It comes with a vast file of documents and history.