It's not often that you get to buy a complete Grand Prix team lock-stock-and-barrel. Even rarer is the opportunity to buy one seemingly emergent from an 80-year time-warp, but that's the case this week when a 1936 Brooke E.R.A Monoposto and its in-period Bedford Transporter go up for sale at Coys' Techno Classica auction in Essen, Germany.
This is the only Brooke E.R.A (English Racing Automobiles Ltd) Monoposto in existence, and has a distinguished racing provenance both in-period before and after WW2, plus in more recent times where the car has been extremely competitive in vintage racing for many years and will automatically qualify the new owner for every important vintage racing event on the international calendar.
By our reckoning, this car has won important races in seven, perhaps eight different decades, which must surely be some sort of record in its own right. Check through the auction description and you'll understand that the car is more competitive these days in vintage racing than it was then.
Not just an adorable face
The 1936 Bedford WS "ERA" transporter the Brooke ERA comes with was only recently restored to 1930s-era works specification and was invited to the 2017 Goodwood Revival, however the restoration was not finished in time. Quite obviously, the "factory transporter" will also be more than welcomed at any international event, offering an interesting vintage racing career for anyone who can stump up the price.
The extremely competitive vintage Grand Prix car also comes with a substantial spares package – enough to build a spare ERA engine, just for starters. Other spares listed include: ERA 1.5 liter block (new), ERA 2 liter block (original), ERA Cylinder head (new), ERA rocker polished box covers and breathers (new), all ERA engine external castings, including blower mounting casting (new), ERA sumps x 2 (including 1 new), 4 x camshafts, 6 x con rods, 6 x pistons, engine timing gears (new), supercharger drive gears (new), miscellaneous supercharger parts, magneto (rebuilt like new ), differential casting, diff internals, half shafts x 4, torque tube shafts x 2, original front of chassis, an extra pair of side mirrors ... and on it goes.
But wait ... there's more
In addition to being on track at events such as the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique and the Goodwood Festival of Speed, purchase of this car offers just that little bit extra, because it comes with a current V5 Registration document along with the original log book, that was issued when the car was a two seat racing car in the fifties. The 2 seater ran with the Dixon Riley 6C engine and was road registered so ... it can be driven in road events too.
Needless to say, opportunities like this don't come along very often.
Via Coys