Tag Archives: Formula One

BMW Owned By Racing Legend Sells For Almost £4 Million

John SurteesAt the Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale that took place on the 13th July, a 1957 BMW 507 Roadster with hardtop was sold for a staggering £3,809.500 – just short of £4 million. So, how was such a classic sports car able to achieve such a price?

Well, a major factor was that it had been owned by the late John Surtees CBE who had the vehicle in his possession from new until he died on the 10th March 2017 at the age of 83. Many of you will be aware that John Surtees was renowned as being not only the winner of motorcycle world championships but also was a Formula One World Champion – a feat that only he has achieved.

Mr Surtees was the 500cc motorcycle world champion on four occasions – in 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960. He later went on to become Formula One World ChampJohn Surteesion in 1964 with Ferrari.

The above classic car was one of only 252 built and was adapted to include Dunlop disc brakes on all four wheels and also had some mechanical work carried out that increased its speed so that it was capable of getting to just over 140mph as Mr Surtees had felt it was not quick enough. It is left hand drive. It is a solver/blue colour and in immaculate condition.

Apparently, following Mr Surtees becoming motorcycle world champion for the first time in 1956 with MV Augusta, he was approached by Count Augusta who offered to buy him a gift and it is believed that the racing team contributed 50% towards the purchase of the above vehicle that originally cost £3,200. It has certainly proved to be a sound investment although perhaps Mr Surtees did not buy it for such a purpose as he no doubt enjoyed driving it.

Here at AIB Insurance, we have arranged classic car insurance on many vehicles. So, if you are looking to insure your vehicle why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and we will be pleased to provide a competitive quotation from our panel of specialist insurance companies.

 

 

 

Formula One Car Driven By Ayrton Senna To Be Auctioned

Ayrton Senna Those of you with a long term interest in Formula One racing will be aware of just how good a driver the great Ayrton Senna was. He was born in Brazil and won three Formula One world championships back in 1988, 1990 and 1991 whilst at the wheel of McLaren racing cars. Regrettably, he was killed on the 1st May 1994 at the age of 34 whilst driving for Williams at the San Marino Grand Prix. He was held in such high regard in the country of his birth that there were three days of national mourning in Brazil.

Well, you may be interested to read that one of the Formula One racing cars driven by Ayrton Senna – a 1993 McLaren-Ford MP4/8A is to be auctioned by Bonhams at their Monaco sale on the 11th May 2018. This was the final season that he drove for McLaren and in the 1993 Formula One season he drove the car on eight occasions. It was rumoured he was being paid in the region of $1 million a race.

Ayrton Senna It is rather fitting that this car should be offered for sale in Monaco as Ayrton Senna actually won the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix in that very same vehicle in 1993 making it almost 25 years since that wonderful occasion. That meant he had won six Monaco Grand Prix braking Graham Hill’s record. Incidentally, the driver who followed Ayrton Senna across the finishing line in second place was none other than Damon Hill – son of Graham Hill.

It is going to be very interesting to see what sort of attention this legendary racing car is going to attract at the above auction and what sort of price it is eventually hopefully going to be sold for. Needless to say, it will no doubt carry a premium due to the connection with Ayrton Senna.

If you are considering buying a classic or high performance vehicle then why not get in touch with us here at AIB Insurance on 02380 268 351 where we will be delighted to discuss your requirements in respect of insuring the vehicle. We have an extensive panel of insurers so we would be able to help source a competitively priced quotation with excellent cover.

Lotus Festival Brands Hatch GP – 2016

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Those of you who are owners and enthusiasts of sports cars will be aware that Lotus Cars is an iconic brand that has been around for in excess of sixty years. The British sports and racing car manufacturer was founded by Colin Chapman and is renowned for the likes of the Elise, Esprit and Elan vehicles as well as for Team Lotus participating in Formula One racing.

Therefore, it was with great pleasure that AIB Insurance attended this year’s Lotus Festival Brands Hatch GP event that took place over the Bank Holiday weekend on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th August. It was the second year that we have had a presence having thoroughly enjoyed it on our first visit.

 

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This wonderful event is arranged by our friends at The Lotus Forums and this year’s one was the tenth with seven of them having taken place at Brands Hatch that has witnessed many thrilling two and four wheel motor vehicle races since first opening way back in 1926.

We had the usual August Bank Holiday weather with a combination of sunshine and rain but this did not dampen proceedings. In fact, many thousands of Lotus Cars fans visited over the two-day period to enjoy the numerous fantastic and varied things that were organized. It was great to see so many Lotus Cars all in one location with over 1,000 vehicles coming along.

There were trade stands providing a variety of goods and services to appeal to Lotus owners. From our point of view, it was lovely to meet so many of our clients face-to-face whom previously we had perhaps only had the opportunity to speak with on the phone when providing competitive quotations to insure their modern or classic Lotus cars.

 

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There was a full schedule of races and demonstrations taking place over the two days including the Elise Trophy, Lotus Cup UK and the Lotus Cup Europe with the later being won by Steve Williams from Britain. The Best in Show winner of the 2016 Show and Shine competition was Roger Penn with his Lotus Elan S4 SE. The Lotus Sunbeam rally cars enjoyed driving their vehicles around the challenging rally course at Brands Hatch.

It was also good to see so many Lotus clubs attending the festival with many of their members bringing along their cars to be enjoyed by visitors to the event. We hope that those clubs have been able to sign-up a few more members over the two days to take advantage of the many benefits that being a member provides.

Once again, many thanks to all of you who took the opportunity to come over to our stand and introduce yourselves at this year’s Lotus Festival. We look forward to meeting you and any new clients again at future events. Here at AIB Insurance, we have many years experience in arranging cover for Lotus sports cars so if you would like to receive a quotation without any obligation why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and speak with a friendly, knowledgeable member of our team.

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Jaguar E-Type Competition Car Could Fetch £900,000

If you are a fan of the Jaguar E-Type and are keen on racing cars then you may be interested to read that a rare classic sports car is to come up for auction in April and it is estimated that it could fetch between £700,000 to £900,000.Jaguar E-Type

There were only seven of the Jaguar E-Type 3.8 Competition Roadsters built to a particular specification back in 1961. Interestingly, they were also the very first E-Type cars built for competing.

The vehicle in question has the registration number “9 VPD” and is a delightful dark blue colour. The Coombs racing team had two of these sports cars with the one that is coming up for sale normally being retained in the paddock. However, it first got its chance to race in the Scott Brown Trophy back on the 23rd July 1961 when it was actually loaned to another team who had a problem with their own vehicle.

Its present owner has had the Jaguar E-Type since 2002 since which time it has been lovingly restored. It even has an “outside lock” bonnet.

In July 2005 the car took to the track again in the Silverstone Classic Festival that many of you will have heard of and may have had the pleasure of attending. In 2006 it took part in the Spa 6-hours race and did well in becoming the class winner. The car has also been driven by Tony Jardine an ex-rally driver who also had a career in Formula One management.Jaguar E-Type

The Jaguar E-Type 3.8 Competition Roadster has a 265 bhp engine and is capable of reaching 150 mph and can get from 0 to 60 mph in approximately 6.4 seconds.

So, if you are interested in purchasing this wonderful classic sports car then why not get along to the H & H Classics car auction that takes place on the 20th April 2016.