The car, however, didn’t get the chance to compete as, by the time it was ready to race, Lotus and Cooper had made the switch to rear-engined designs.
One of the Scarabs, chassis number three, was one of the original trio of cars taken to Zandvoort in 1960 as a spare with no engine. It was then acquired by Tom Wheatcroft in 1964 and spent many years in the Donington Collection. It is now in the hands of new owner Julian Bronson, who will bring it at next month’s Silverstone Classic (July 22-24).
“I bought it from the Donington Collection,” confirmed Bronson, who hopes to have it ready for the Pre ’61 Front-Engined Grand Prix Car races during the Silverstone Classic. It will race with a 2.5-litre Offenhauser engine, which has been built in Cincinnati.
Bronson took delivery of the engine at the end of May. He has had a replica set of bodywork made so that the original set can be safely stored away in case of damage. “It will run in exactly the same livery,” confirmed Bronson.
“It’s going to be close to be ready for Silverstone, but we should do it,” he admitted. “It would be lovely to give it a debut race at the Silverstone Classic. It’s really exciting. I’ve always wanted a front-engined Grand Prix car and this is just about the last of them. It’s just incredible; such an exciting car.”
The other two front-engined Scarabs are owned and raced by US enthusiast Don Orosco.
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