1953 Peugeot 203 Saloon

Lot details
Registration No: 533 GDA
Chassis No: 1760190
Mot Expiry: None

The `Wormdrive Special' is among the longest serving historic touring cars on the British scene. Originally built by Guy Maylam and campaigned with huge success in 1980s Classic Saloon Car Club meetings with both Guy and his bother Marcus at the wheel, this rare Peugeot 203 Berline notched up scores of class victories and claimed a string of lap records. The Maylam brothers developed the car from season to season but there was a secondary race that the car was not winning - the nemesis of all classic racing saloons of a certain age - rust. Faced with a mechanically fit but structurally tired car, the Maylams eventually decided to retire the valiant warhorse. Was this the end of a successful run or would the `Wormdrive Special' make a return to the circuits? The call of the coveted St Mary's Trophy for 1950s historic touring cars at the 2002 Goodwood Motor Circuit Revival Meeting signalled the rebirth of this proven race car. An extensive restoration programme was mounted and the car was stripped to its component parts in order for the bodyshell to be refurbished by celebrated race preparation ace, Micky Bolton. Over a period of eight months Micky worked his magic with the Peugeot's tired metal, returning it to an impressive torsional stiffness. The long-lived Jonspeed-tuned race engine went to Brian Randall who miraculously extracted a whole corral of extra horses. Suspension guru Rae Davis worked his own particular brand of Black Art on the little Lion's underpinnings while a host of specialists dealt with the secondary components under the watchful eye of Jonathan Wright. As with all such restoration programmes, budgetary forecasts went out of the window and when the restored Peugeot lined up on the grid at Goodwood in the hands of British Touring Car Champion Jason Plato, an estimated £20K had been expended in guiding this lionhearted racer back to fight another day. Bought precisely because of its potential as an acceptable Goodwood Revival entry, the 203 has contested the St Mary's Trophy Race twice more since entering the current ownership some five years ago. Co-driven by Patrick Tambay to 20th place in 2004 and by Darren Manning to 15th place in 2006, the Peugeot has otherwise had precious little usage. Believed but not warranted to be the only car of its type and model known to be competing on the European historic race scene, it has an undeniable appeal to those race organisers who delight in assembling as diverse and interesting a grid as possible.