Brooklands Double Twelve Festival 2018

The Double Twelve festival at Brooklands is, in my opinion, one of the best car shows of the year.

Brooklands as a venue is a superb museum and a wonderful venue. There is always so much to see and do! The cars on display are always quality and you’ll always see something you weren’t expecting. The hill-climb and autocross competition are always fun to watch and it’s quite an accessible of getting your car on track. For the competition  many of the cars are showroom original and haven’t needed to have been modified or adapted in anyway which makes it really accessible!

It’s quite a difficult show to write about as there is simply so much going on. I think the best place for us to start will be the static car show.

There were plenty of cars of note. I’m going to start with my top three favourites and then I’ll show you the other cars in the show.

3. Original pre-war MG.

By far one of the most original pre-war cars I’ve ever seen. This vehicle hasn’t been restored and, to the best of my knowledge is completely original apart from the tyres.

During the Second World War, due to the threat of bombers, Britain blacked it self out at night. Basically, all sources of light were covered so a German bomber couldn’t spot the lights on the ground. Cars were modified for the blackout and had to have headlight shades and reflective paint applied to the fenders. This MG still retains that paint. It was never returned to it’s pre-war state which is incredible to see!

DSC_0056DSC_0057

I do hope the camera has picked up the effect that the 80 odd years has had on the paint and interior! It was a true survivor!

DSC_0058

2. Mercedes Woody

This was a really unusual coach built Mercedes woody wagon as inspired by American vehicles and the mighty Morris Minor Traveller. It was beautifully finished and presented. An absolute work of art and a testament to the coach builder and owner.

DSC_0062DSC_0063

I assumed this plaque was in reference to the coach builder but I can find no reference of him online.

DSC_0065

1. ‘Nellie’ 1912 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost

This is ‘Nellie’ a 1912 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost ordered by Rolls Royce Bombay as a trials car. The Taj Mahal nameplate it adorns was fitted by Claude Johnson who was the General Manager of Rolls Royce at the time.

In 1913 the car was purchased by Ripudaman Singh, the Maharaja of Nabha State. It was used by the Indian Air Force in World War 2 but mostly lived it’s life as a collectors piece.
 
In early 1990s it was brought home to Blighty where it is now treasured by Katie Forrest who has won numerous awards with the car.
 

It’s 106 years old but it’s only had two owners and has covered just over 75,000 miles.

DSC_0303DSC_0304DSC_0305DSC_0306
DSC_0098

Now to have a look at what the rest of the show had to offer.

One brand I always affiliate with Brooklands is Bentley. It was at the circuit that the brand had some of it’s greatest moments, including ‘Tim’ Birkin debuting the legendary 4.5 Blower.

There were plenty of Bentley’s on display from the pre-war era and later.

DSC_0022DSC_0023DSC_0055DSC_0060

This convertible was absolutely beautiful! The colour was an absolutely sublime silvery blue, the effect of which you can sort of get from the pictures. Art-deco era car design is just amazing. The lines and shapes produced on these vehicles really make them unique and special.

DSC_0032DSC_0034DSC_0035DSC_0036

There were a couple of replica Bentleys too!

DSC_0014DSC_0016

MG were another brand who had a lot of success at the track in the pre-war days. As well as that lovely original example I mentioned earlier there were lots of other pre-war MGs on show too!

DSC_0159DSC_0160DSC_0161

Along with some post-war cars too!

DSC_0003DSC_0004

The blue on this MGC really suited it! I can’t recall seeing another MG painted a similar shade.

DSC_0037DSC_0038

The car below is a really late MGB. I like the graphics on the side. Although not really rated by the MG community I actually quite like the rubber bumpered cars. I certainly wouldn’t say no to one if it came along.

DSC_0039DSC_0040DSC_0041DSC_0042DSC_0043DSC_0049DSC_0089DSC_0158

Jaguar are another British brand that has been hugely successful in motorsport. Their cars from the early 1950s are exquisite.

DSC_0019DSC_0046

There were a lot of British companies building sports and touring cars in the 1920s and 1930s. Many were represented.

DSC_0011DSC_0033DSC_0051DSC_0052DSC_0053

I’ve never really given much thought to Frazer-Nash. This little unpainted car was really unusual and cool! I bet it’s great fun!

DSC_0054DSC_0059DSC_0066DSC_0070

This apple green really suits the car!

DSC_0071DSC_0073DSC_0075DSC_0081

Everyone loves an Austin 7. They are like Mk1 MX5s and Minis. When you see one you just have to smile!

DSC_0001

Speaking of Minis, there was only one which surprised me! It was a great little hillclimb car though.

DSC_0002

Here we have a very very rare machine from the same people who made the Mini. A 1969 Austin 1800 Utility truck. This particular one was sold to it’s current owner at Brooklands in 2016.

DSC_0015

In the same area of garages as the Austin 1800 was a rather nice Alvis. Again, Alvis are another brand I haven’t really covered much on this blog, would you like me to?

DSC_0008

I’m not 100% sure what this is but it looked lovely. The solid wheels always remind me of the aero wheels we used on RC touring cars when I was a kid.

DSC_0011

Owning a Morgan three-wheeler is on my bucket list. They look so much fun!!

DSC_0012DSC_0013

Vintage Alfa Romeos are cool. I won’t profess to know anything about them though haha!

DSC_0005DSC_0009

The BMW it was sitting next to at the end of the day was rather lovely too! At the end of the day there was a little note on the windscreen asking the owner if he could take someone to prom. I’d have to say yes if that was me haha!

DSC_0006DSC_0007

Finally we had a couple of American cars. A 1939 Ford coupe and a Packard.

DSC_0010DSC_0020

There weren’t that many other American cars to be honest. There was a C3 Corvette.

DSC_0245

Along with this pick up:

DSC_0047DSC_0048

Of course there was plenty of action on the track itself.

The cars were split into 16 classes to complete a long and thorough course around what’s left of the Brooklands circuit.

The cars started by going up the 352 foot test hill before completing three timed autocross stages down the start/finish straight which would test acceleration, handling and braking performance.

There were plenty of cars that went around the course.

My personal favourite was this two stroke powered machine.

DSC_0091DSC_0092DSC_0136DSC_0138DSC_0140DSC_0142

The rest of the cars were also pretty special!

DSC_0102

I am definitely developing a soft spot for Morgan three wheelers.

DSC_0103DSC_0105DSC_0106DSC_0107DSC_0108DSC_0109DSC_0110DSC_0111DSC_0112DSC_0113DSC_0114DSC_0115DSC_0116DSC_0117DSC_0119DSC_0120DSC_0121DSC_0122DSC_0123DSC_0124DSC_0125DSC_0126DSC_0127

This Simplex was an unusual looking machine.

DSC_0129DSC_0131DSC_0132DSC_0133DSC_0135DSC_0143DSC_0145DSC_0150DSC_0154DSC_0156

I’ve covered the museum aspects of Brooklands before in other posts but I did get to see some new things which I will share with you now. I’ve been there three times now and still haven’t seen everything the site has to offer though.

You can find my main piece on the museum by following this link: Brooklands
And a little more museum coverage from last year’s Double Twelve festival here: Double Twelve

The first thing that I hadn’t had the opportunity to explore was the Vickers 1103 owned by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said of Oman.

DSC_0194DSC_0195DSC_0197

The interior of this thing was amazing! 1980s luxury!

DSC_0182DSC_0185DSC_0187DSC_0188DSC_0189DSC_0200

Just so you don’t forget who’s aircraft you are aboard.

DSC_0192

The aircraft had two double bedrooms. Note the big seat belts that go over the top of the bed.

DSC_0190DSC_0191
There were several bathrooms dotted about the place. The Sultan himself had a huge bathroom, of course, which had a padded toilet seat!

DSC_0180

Oddly, there was a full length mirror just opposite the toilet. Not quite sure why you’d want to be able to see yourself there but to each his own.

The thing that really fascinated me though were these gold seat belt buckles with the Arabic text for ‘lift’ above the English.

DSC_0193DSC_0183DSC_0186

The other new feature was the aircraft factory. This is built into one of the hangers and is a display of aircraft manufacturing from woodworking and doping of early aircraft to wind tunnel and pressure testing of more modern commercial and military aircraft. It’s really interesting!

DSC_0171

The Bleriot XI, the first aircraft to cross the English channel. An aircraft we’ve seen a few times at numerous locations on this blog.

DSC_0172DSC_0227

It’s interesting to see inside a cockpit when there isn’t anything there.

DSC_0228DSC_0229

Jets, simple in theory, less simple in execution. That’s a lot of pipes!

DSC_0230DSC_0231DSC_0235DSC_0236

Royal Aircraft Factory’s SE5. Another aircraft we know quite well haha! I have a big RC one I’m restoring.

DSC_0237DSC_0240DSC_0241DSC_0242

It was the Wellington that lives at Brooklands that dominates the room though. It’s incredible how well that it’s been preserved after sitting at the bottom of Loch Ness.

DSC_0167DSC_0169

That prop will straighten and go again for sure haha!

DSC_0170DSC_0225

There was also a second new hanger to explore which was closed last year. This one housed a Hurricane amongst other aircraft.

DSC_0162DSC_0164DSC_0166DSC_0163

Once again The Double Twelve festival proved to be an amazing day out. It’s certainly one of my favourite car shows of the year and the fact that it’s held at such a wonderful museum makes it even more special.

I highly recommend Brooklands as a day out. Even if there isn’t an event going on you will have a full day exploring the museums and site. It’s a fabulous place!

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! If you would like to help me make even better quality content on a more regular basis please donate via paypal through the button at the top or paypal me directly at motorsportformentalhealth@yahoo.co.uk.

You can also join my Patreon here: www.patreon.com/motorsportformentalhealth

If you would like to stay up to date with all my blog posts please subscribe to the blog via email (from the box at the bottom of the page) or follow me on the following social media platforms:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/motorsportformentalhealth/
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-francis-b45025137/
Instagram: @motorsport4mentalhealth
Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ-j8broFg4i2rWIBy6W82Q

By Richard Francis

Leave a Reply