Connaught Engineering, often referred to simply as Connaught, was founded in 1945 by two ex-RAF pilots, Rodney Clarke and Mike Oliver after selling and preparing high performance cars the company with new financing became a Formula One and sports car constructor from Britain. Their cars participated in 18 Grands Prix, entering a total of 52 races with their A, B, and C Type 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.
The first of the Connaught cars was the L1 type in 1949, a sports two seater which used the 1,767cc Lea-Francis engine. This was a 4 cylinder engine with push rod overhead valves and tuned by Mike Oliver. The body was made by Leacraft of Egham. The performance of the L2 was excellent, However it only ran in club events in the hands of it's sponsors Rodney Clarke and Kenneth McAlpine. These cars continue to be raced in Classic car events today. Two models were on offer the L1 and the L2, with a higher performance engine. Nobody ordered the L1, but 6 L2 were sold. When Connaught introduced the torsion bar independent front suspension in 1949 the L2 became the L3, but the handling was inferior and only two were made. A stripped down version, the L3/SR, was intended for racing in America, but it was slow, expensive and badly made and only two were sold. Production officially ended in 1953.
However in 1950 a Formula 2 single seater, the A Type, was developed powered by a 1960cc version of the Lea-Francis engine which developed 135bhp. This was mated to a 4 speed Wilson pre-selector gearbox with quick-change gears mounted behind the bevel box. Suspension was by wishbones and torsion bars all round, and cast elektron wheels were fitted. This car appeared only once during it's first season, when McAlpine collected a 2nd and a 5th place at Castle Combe. De Dion rear axles were fitted in 1951 but, as yet, only minor events were entered, places being gained at Goodwood, Boreham and Ibsley.
With the upgrading of Formula 2 in 1952, serious works racing began. Four cars finished in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and there was a 1-2-3 victory in a race at Charterhall. In 1953 Hilborn-Travers fuel injection, imported from America, was tried and power output went up to 165bhp. In the Daily Express Trophy at Silverstone, Roy Salvadori took a 2nd place behind Mike Hawthorn's works Ferrari, while Tony Rolt was 3rd. There were other wins at Goodwood, Silverstone, Oulton Park, Thruxton, Ibsley and the Crystal Palace. The cars did less well on the Continent, even though the works Connaughts were supported by Claes's privately owned machine. It is not surprising that 1954 was an interregnum, the A Types turning out un-successfully for the British Grand Prix while the B Type was still under development. The only new car to race in 1954 was the ALSR Type sports model fitted with the 1484cc Lea-Francis type engine. It finished 10th in the Tourist Trophy, but failed to satisfy it's owner, John Coombs, who put the engine into a Lotus. Connaught 1.5 litre engines also went into two sports-racing Coopers, while in 1955 the ALSR won it's class in the Goodwood 9 Hours race. a second example with tail-fins, said to be capable of 146mph, ran in the 24 hours race at Le Mans the same year, but retired. Shortly afterwards it was destroyed in an accident which killed W.T.Smith, it's driver, during the Tourist Trophy race at Dundrod.
The B Type was first seen in late 1954, and featured a 2470cc double overhead camshaft 4 cylinder Alta engine developed by Geoffrey Taylor. Initially it had SU fuel injection, but later with twin Weber carburettors giving 240bhp at 6400rpm. The chassis was a new tubular ladder frame, but the gearbox, suspension and final drive were the same as for the A Type. By the time it was ready for the circuit it had disc brakes and magnesium alloy wheels. Full width aerodynamic bodywork with a tail fin was used in the early days. This car cost only £15000 to develop, and was raced for three seasons on a shoestring. It was hoped that sales to private owners would finance the team, and several were sold, though the customers preferred conventional bodywork resembling the A Types. At home 1955 was a poor year, with several retirements, and only Reg Parnell's 4th place at Oulton Park was a consolation. Two cars were, however, entered for the Syracuse Grand Prix for Tony Brooks and Les Leston to drive, and the miracle happened. Tony Brooks defeated the works Maseratis at an average speed of 99.05mph and broke the lap record as well.
Open wheel bodies were used in 1956, when Connaught tried to cram as many events as possible into a difficult season. In the Richmond Trophy at Goodwood Les Leston was 3rd behind a pair of Maseratis; and the 2nd and 3rd places of Archie Scott-Brown and Desmond Titterington in the Daily Express race were the consequence of retirements amongst the faster cars. Jack Fairman took a 4th place in the British Grand Prix and was also 5th in the Italian Grand Prix, two places behind his team mate Ron Flockhart.
Leslie Marr put a 3442cc Jaguar engine in his B Type and raced it in New Zealand, finishing third in the Lady Wigram Trophy and 4th in the Grand Prix. Patsy Burt set a new ladies record at the Brighton Speed Trials with a time of 25.45 seconds.
Two new cars were built in 1957, though a third prototype, the rear engined D Type was never completed. One of these machines was a B Type with a dart shaped body, nicknamed the "Toothpaste Tube", but the new C Type had a spaceframe, strut type front suspension, and inboard rear brakes. At Syracuse Ivor Bueb was 5th, whilst the other two Connaughts retired); in the Richmond Formula ! race at Goodwood Stuart Lewis-Evans and Jack Fairman were 1st and 2nd, but this was the works Connaught team's last success. Third and fifth were their best against Maserati and Gordini opposition at the Pau Grand Prix, whilst Lewis-Evans retired at the Naples Grand Prix but drove the "Toothpaste Tube" to 4th place at the Monaco Grand Prix.
At this time the finances ran out, and that October the whole of the Connaught operation was auctioned off at their little factory at Send including the unfinished C Type and all the spare parts. The C Type, which had not yet run, was eventually completed by Bob Said, but it was retired in the 1959 United States Grand Prix.
During the hectic days of racing the Wilson pr-selector gearbox required constant attention and a number of old ERA racing cars were acquired for their gearboxes. The "Toothpaste Tube" car was acquired by Pierre De Villiers, otherwise known as Peter Villiers, and raced at Indianapolis without success.
Connaught racing cars are regularly campaigned in Historic races in the UK.
