English Racing Automobiles
Encyclopedia
Prewar history
ERA was founded by Humphrey Cook, Raymond MaysRaymond Mays
Thomas Raymond Mays CBE was an auto racing driver and entrepreneur from Bourne, Lincolnshire, England.He attended Oundle School, where he met Amherst Villiers, leaving at the end of 1917. After army service in the Grenadier Guards in France, he attended Christ's College, Cambridge...
, and Peter Berthon in November 1933 and established in Bourne
Bourne, Lincolnshire
Bourne is a market town and civil parish on the western edge of the Fens, in the District of South Kesteven in southern Lincolnshire, England.-The town:...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, next to Eastgate House, the long-time family home of Raymond Mays. Their ambition was to manufacture and campaign a team of single seater racing cars capable of upholding British prestige in Continental European racing.
Voiturette
Voiturette is a word mostly used to describe a miniature automobile; however, it has several nuanced meanings, depending largely on the usage date.-History:...
- 1500cc supercharged - class of motor racing, the Formula 2 equivalent of the day. Humphrey Cook financed the operation - using the not insignificant wealth from the family drapery business, Cook, Son & Co.
Cook, Son & Co.
Cook, Son & Co. was one of the largest English wholesale clothing traders and drapers of the late 19th century and early 20th century.The firm was created by William Cook in 1819. In 1822 he went into partnership with his brother James and in 1825 with Mr Gladstones. The firm moved to St Paul's...
, of St Paul's Churchyard, London. Peter Berthon was responsible for the overall design of the cars, while Raymond Mays became its principal driver - having already successfully raced several other makes including Vauxhall
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
, Bugatti
Bugatti
Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....
and Riley.
A new chassis was designed by the well known British designer Reid Railton (who had also successuly designed the Bluebird land speed record cars for Malcolm Campbell
Malcolm Campbell
Sir Malcolm Campbell was an English racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times during the 1920s and 1930s using vehicles called Blue Bird...
) and was constructed by Thomson & Taylor at Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
. The engine was based on the well proven Riley 6 cylinder unit, albeit this was modified in a number of significant ways. A stronger forged crankshaft with a large centre Hyatt Roller bearing was made and an entirely new aluminium cylinder head designed. The engine was supercharged using a bespoke supercharger designed by Murray Jamieson who had worked with Mays & Berthon on the White Riley. The ERA engine was designed around three capacities - a base 1500cc, an 1100cc and also was capable of being expanded up to 2000 cc. It ran on methanol and in its 1500cc form was capable of producing around 180-200bhp with in excess of 250-275bhp in 2000cc form.
The panel-beating brothers George and Jack Gray hand-fashioned the new car’s single-seater bodywork, to a design credited to a Mr Piercy who had previously designed the bodywork for Malcolm Campbell’s ‘Bluebird’ record breaker.
The unveiling of the first ERA - chassis R1A - to the press and public took place at Brooklands on 22 May 1934. After initial chassis handling problems, which required a number of modifications, soon ERA had a winning formula. By the end of the year ERAs had scored notable victories against many more established marques. In 1935, in a major race at the Nürburgring
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...
, ERAs took first, third, fourth and fifth places.
Through the remainder of the decade, with drivers of the calibre of Dick Seaman
Richard Seaman
Richard John Beattie "Dick" Seaman , was one of the greatest pre-war Grand Prix drivers from Britain....
in the team, ERA dominated voiturette racing.
Two Siamese princes, Chula Chakrabongse and Bira Birabongse
Prince Bira
12th, 1956 Melbourne, Star 19th, 1960 Rome, Star 22nd, 1964 Tokio, Dragon 21st, 1972 Munich, TempestPrince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh better known as Prince Bira of Siam , or by his nom de course B...
, whose trio of ERAs became famous as "Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
", "Romulus" and "Remus"
Romulus and Remus
Romulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth, although the former is sometimes said to be the sole founder...
, ran their own team, operating from The White Mouse Garage. Prince Chula owned the team, having bought Romulus as a present for his cousin, Prince Bira, who was the team's driver.
The more modern E-Type ERA appeared just before the Second World War but was not fully developed.
Postwar history
The Second World War brought a halt to motor racing in Europe, and the team's Bourne site was used to produce aircraft components. By the time racing resumed in the late 1940s Berthon and Mays had moved on to the British Racing MotorsBritish Racing Motors
British Racing Motors was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945, it raced from 1950 to 1977, competing in 197 Grands Prix and winning 17. In 1962, BRM won the Constructors' Title. At the same time, its driver, Graham Hill became World Champion...
(BRM) project.
Dunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
under new ownership: Leslie Johnson
Leslie Johnson
Leslie George Johnson was a British racing driver who competed in rallies, hill climbs, sports car races and Grand Prix races.-Overview:...
bought the company, together with one of its three pre-war E-Type single-seaters, in late 1947. In 1949, Prof. Dr Ing Robert Eberan-Eberhorst (formerly of Auto Union) working for ERA designed the space frame chassis for the Jowett Jupiter
Jowett Jupiter
The Jowett Jupiter was a British car made by Jowett Cars Ltd of Idle, near Bradford from 1950 to 1954. Following the launch of the all new Jowett Javelin and its successes in competition Jowett decided to use its power train in a sports car for export in the hope of increasing their inadequate...
.
A new 1.5-litre
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
Formula Two car, the G-Type, raced in the 1952 World Championship, which was the first season that had been run to Formula Two rules. The car used a Bristol
Bristol Cars
Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Patchway, near Bristol, United Kingdom. Bristol have always been a low-volume manufacturer; the most recent published official production figures were for 1982, which stated that 104 cars were produced in that year...
engine. Stirling Moss
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England...
drove, but results were disappointing. Moss said: "It was, above all, a project which made an awful lot of fuss about doing very little. By this time I was very disillusioned by the Clever Professor approach to racing car design. I would eventually learn that even the most brilliant concept could fail if the team concerned lacks the manpower and organization and money to develop the inevitable bugs out of it."
Johnson sold the cars to Bristol—who used them as the basis for an assault on Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
which would bring them several class wins in the mid-1950s—and focused the company on research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
(R&D) engineering. He eventually sold it to Zenith Carburettor Ltd
Zenith Carburetters
Zenith Carburetters was a British company making carburettors. In 1955 they joined with their major pre-war rival Solex Carburettors and over time the Zenith brand name fell into disuse...
, which was then purchased by Solex, another carburettor firm.
Although renamed Engineering Research and Application Ltd, and still primarily an R&D operation, ERA still did a small amount of race preparation, and in the 1980s put its name to the ERA Mini Turbo
E.R.A. Mini Turbo
The E.R.A. Mini Turbo was conceived as a 1980s replacement for the Mini Cooper S by installing a Metro turbo engine into a modified Mini City bodyshell. The first cars were made in 1989....
, a turbocharged version of the Mini
Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
capable of 115 mi/h.
ERAs in competition
Provenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
. They still compete in historic events despite the youngest being nearly seventy years old. The cars are particularly associated with the Shelsley Walsh hillclimb thanks in large part to Mays, who won the first two British Hill Climb Championship
British Hill Climb Championship
The British Hill Climb Championship is the most prestigious Hillclimbing championship in Great Britain. Hillclimbing in the British Isles has a rich history and this event has been held every year since 1947.All British Champions have been British...
s in 1947 and 1948; indeed an ERA has for many years held the hill record for a prewar car.
Mays exhibition
There is a permanent exhibition about Raymond Mays' contribution to motor racing, including his ERA days, at Bourne Civic Society's heritage centre in Bourne. It is open on weekend and bank holiday afternoons.ERA trademark
The kit and sportscar manufacturer Tiger Racing Ltd situated in UK (20 years), unconnected to the ERA voiturettes or Grand Prix cars, currently owns the English Racing Automobiles trade mark and the ERA trademark and produces two vehicles badged as ERAs: a two seater sports car called the ERA 30 which is very similar in appearance to the Lotus 23Lotus 23
The Lotus 23 was designed by Colin Chapman as a small-displacement sports racing car. Nominally a two-seater , it was a purpose-built for racing with a driver alone. The 23 used a wider version of the Lotus 20 space frame, with the same suspension, clothed in a fibreglass body...
and Lotus 30
Lotus 30
The Lotus 30 was a racing automobile, Colin Chapman's first and only attempt at a Group Seven / Can Am racing machine, and was first built in 1964, designed by Colin Chapman and Martin Wade. It was most notable for its curvaceous fibreglass body work and "pickle fork" backbone chassis design first...
, and a single-seater called the ERA HSS
ERA HSS
- The Car :The ERA HSS, or ERA SS, is a single-seater track car produced by Tiger Racing....
.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Driver | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GBR 1950 British Grand Prix The 1950 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 1950 at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, England. It was the fifth British Grand Prix, and the third to be held at Silverstone after motor racing resumed after World War II. It was the first round of the 1950 World... |
MON 1950 Monaco Grand Prix The 1950 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on May 21, 1950 at Monaco. This race was the second round of 1950 World Drivers' Championship. The race, contested over 100 laps at an overall distance of 318.1 km was won by Juan Manuel Fangio for the Alfa Romeo team after starting from... |
500 1950 Indianapolis 500 The 1950 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race which was held on Tuesday, May 30, 1950 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the third round of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship... |
SUI 1950 Swiss Grand Prix The 1950 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 4, 1950 at Bremgarten. It was the fourth round of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship.-Report:... |
BEL 1950 Belgian Grand Prix The 1950 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 18, 1950 at Spa-Francorchamps. It was the fifth round of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship.-Report:... |
FRA 1950 French Grand Prix The 1950 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 2, 1950 at Reims-Gueux. It was the sixth round of 1950 World Drivers' Championship.__FORCETOC__-Report:Fangio put in a stunning display with a 116 mph practice lap... |
ITA 1950 Italian Grand Prix The 1950 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 3, 1950 at Monza. It was the seventh and final event of the 1950 World Drivers' Championship... |
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| ERA E-Type | ERA 1.5 L6s Supercharger A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,... |
Leslie Johnson Leslie Johnson Leslie George Johnson was a British racing driver who competed in rallies, hill climbs, sports car races and Grand Prix races.-Overview:... |
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| ERA E-Type | ERA 1.5 L6s Supercharger A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,... |
Peter Walker | Ret* | |||||||||
| ERA E-Type | ERA 1.5 L6s Supercharger A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,... |
Tony Rolt Tony Rolt Major Anthony Peter Roylance "Tony" Rolt, MC & Bar, was a British racing driver, soldier and engineer. He won the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans and participated in three Formula One World Championship Grands Prix without scoring a championship point... |
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| ERA B-Type ERA C-Type |
ERA 1.5 L6s Supercharger A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,... |
Cuth Harrison Cuth Harrison Cuth Harrison born Thomas Cuthbert Harrison was a British racing driver from England. He was born in Ecclesall, Sheffield, and also died in Sheffield. He participated in 3 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 13 May 1950. He scored no championship points... |
7 | Ret | Ret | |||||||
| ERA C-Type ERA A-Type |
ERA 1.5 L6s Supercharger A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,... |
Bob Gerard Bob Gerard Frederick Roberts "Bob" Gerard was a racing driver and businessman from England... |
6 | 6 | ||||||||
| SUI 1951 Swiss Grand Prix The 1951 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Bremgarten on May 27, 1951. It was the first round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship. The race saw the Formula One debut of British driver Stirling Moss.-Qualifying:-Race:... |
500 1951 Indianapolis 500 The 1951 Indianapolis 500 an automobile race which was held on Wednesday, May 30, 1951 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the opening race of the 1951 AAA National Championship Trail and the second race of the 1951 World Championship of Drivers.... |
BEL 1951 Belgian Grand Prix The 1951 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 17, 1951 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was the third round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.- Race report :... |
FRA 1951 French Grand Prix The 1951 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims-Gueux on 1 July 1951. It was the fourth round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship and was won by Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli driving an Alfa Romeo... |
GBR 1951 British Grand Prix The 1951 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 July 1951 at the Silverstone Circuit in Buckinghamshire, England. It was the fifth round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship... |
GER 1951 German Grand Prix The 1951 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on July 29, 1951 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was the sixth round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.-Qualifying:-Race:- Drivers' Championship standings after the race :... |
ITA 1951 Italian Grand Prix The 1951 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 16, 1951 at Monza. It was the seventh round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.-Qualifying:-Race:- Notes :* Pole position: Juan Manuel Fangio - 1:53.2... |
ESP 1951 Spanish Grand Prix The 1951 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 28, 1951 at Pedralbes Circuit. It was the eighth and final round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.... |
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| ERA B-Type | ERA 1.5 L6s Supercharger A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,... |
Bob Gerard Bob Gerard Frederick Roberts "Bob" Gerard was a racing driver and businessman from England... |
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| ERA B-Type | ERA 1.5 L6s Supercharger A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,... |
Brian Shawe Taylor Brian Shawe Taylor Brian Newton Shawe-Taylor was a British racing driver. He participated in 3 World Championship Grands Prix and numerous non-Championship Formula One races... |
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| SUI 1952 Swiss Grand Prix The 1952 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on May 18, 1952 at Bremgarten Circuit. It was the first round of the 1952 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.-Qualifying:-Race:- Notes :* Pole... |
500 1952 Indianapolis 500 The 1952 Indianapolis 500 was an automobile race held on Friday, May 30, 1952 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The event was the second round of the 1952 World Drivers' Championship. Troy Ruttman won the race, bringing the Borg-Warner Trophy home for car owner J.C. Agajanian.Bill Vukovich led... |
BEL 1952 Belgian Grand Prix The 1952 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on June 22, 1952 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was the third round of the 1952 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.-Qualifying:-Race:-... |
FRA 1952 French Grand Prix The 1952 French Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on July 6, 1952 at Rouen-Les-Essarts. It was the fourth round of the 1952 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.-Qualifying:-Race:- Notes :* Pole... |
GBR 1952 British Grand Prix The 1952 British Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on July 19, 1952 at Silverstone Circuit. It was the fifth round of the 1952 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.-Qualifying:-Race:-Drivers'... |
GER 1952 German Grand Prix The 1952 German Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on August 3, 1952 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was the sixth round of the 1952 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.- Race report :Sadly... |
NED 1952 Dutch Grand Prix The 1952 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on August 17, 1952 at the Circuit Zandvoort. It was the seventh round of the 1952 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.- Race report :Mike... |
ITA 1952 Italian Grand Prix The 1952 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on September 7, 1952 at Monza. It was the eighth and final round of the 1952 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.- Race report :Juan Manuel... |
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| ERA G-Type | Bristol Bristol Cars Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars headquartered in Patchway, near Bristol, United Kingdom. Bristol have always been a low-volume manufacturer; the most recent published official production figures were for 1982, which stated that 104 cars were produced in that year... BS1 2.0 L6 |
Stirling Moss Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE is a former racing driver from England... |
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* Indicates shared drive