At The Great British Car Journey, every car in our collection tells a story—some familiar, others shrouded in mystery. Recently, one such story has taken an extraordinary turn, involving a car so rare that only a single example remains today.
Racing was still in its infancy back in the 1920s, when this car would have appeared at Brooklands: the banked temple of speed built in Surrey and Britain’s first closed circuit.
Only afew of these Coventry Simplex (soon to be Climax) powered machines were built in a West Country factory for wealthy gentleman racers and they lapped the 2.5 mile track at close to 90mph.
This is the only one in the world and thanks to the mechanical genius that is the Doc Lawrence and his able young assistant Mr Henshaw, after a long sleep, it is running very sweetly.
Fast forward over 100 years….
Recently, we had the privilege of transporting this unique car to a very special location. It was an important step in its journey, allowing it to do something that hasn’t been possible for over 100 years. Carefully loaded and transported, the car arrived at its destination, where it was unloaded with the utmost care and precision. As you can see in the image to the left, this rare vehicle is shown coming off the transporter.
Before it could be started, our expert mechanic, Doc Laurence and his assistant Luke, made final adjustments to ensure everything was running smoothly. Working carefully, he fettled the car with precision, checking every detail to make sure it was ready.
While we can’t reveal the details just yet, this project saw the car leaving our collection for an extraordinary opportunity. It was an important moment not just for the car, but for what it represents—a chance to celebrate its unique history in a way that has never been done before.
But What is it ???????