1959 Kieft 1100 Sports

Lot details
Registration No: YVP 783
Chassis No: K321
Mot Expiry: Oct 2006

Although, best remembered for the diminutive 500cc single-seaters with which Don Parker won the 1952 (22 victories) and 1953 (30 victories) Formula 3 Championships, Kieft also enjoyed some notable sports racing successes. Responsible for giving the famous Coventry-Climax FWA 1098cc engine its competition debut at the 1954 Le Mans 24-hour race (where a promising run was cut short after 86 laps by back axle failure), the manufacturer used a similarly powered two-seater to take first in the 1100cc class at that year's Dundrod TT. However, a succession of ambitious projects including a stillborn F1 design saw the marque's resources spread too thinly and by the end of the decade it was all but extinct.
According to information supplied by the vendor, this car (chassis K321) was designed and manufactured as a one-off by Kieft's chief engineer Neville Carlton-Oatley. Commissioned by racing driver Graham Eden, it was built to a quite different specification from that of its earlier sports racing brethren. Aerodynamically-honed, its low-slung thin-gauge aluminium bodywork sat atop an ultra-light multi-tubular spaceframe chassis equipped with all-round independent suspension, four-wheel Girling disc brakes and 15-inch centre-lock wire wheels. Fed by twin Weber 38 DCOE carburettors, its Coventry-Climax 1098cc FWA engine was allied to four-speed manual transmission. Entrusted to Jim Whitehouse at Arden Engineering for final race preparation and set-up, chassis K321 was subsequently road registered as 'YVP 783' in August 1959. The last Kieft sports racer to be made before the company was sold to John Turvey and Lionel Mayman in 1960, 'YVP 783' was actively campaigned throughout the 1959 season. Driven by Eden at the likes of Brands Hatch, Mallory Park and Silverstone, its exploits were documented in contemporary issues of Autosport.
Advertised for £850 at the year's end, it subsequently relocated to the Channel Islands where it was to remain for almost forty years. Returning to the mainland in 1999, 'YVP 783' was extensively restored by Hoole Racing of Kimbleton (Cambs) before embarking on an historic racing career that has thus far taken in Mallory Park, Brands Hatch, Donington, Goodwood Revival and Spa. Benefiting from FIA papers, the Kieft is accompanied by a letter from RAC MSA Historic Consultant Marcus Pye that concludes: "All identification stamps and plates appear to be of period and untampered with. All are firmly fixed and appear to be original. Period history paperwork is in order, from original owner Graham Eden's racing through subsequent hillclimbing exploits in the Channel Islands. Having assessed this evidence, I believe that the car is not only genuine, but also unique". Finished in navy blue with red leather upholstery, 'YVP 783' is described by the seller as being in "excellent" condition with regard to its engine, four-speed manual gearbox, interior trim, chassis, bodywork, paintwork and wheels / tyres.
Offering the potential purchaser the chance to stand out from a grid full of Lotus Elevens (over which - on paper at least - it should have various brake system / suspension set-up advantages), this gorgeous looking Kieft is accompanied by a fascinating history file that contains among other things its original log book, period build / racing photos, Hoole Racing invoices, 1960s engine data sheets, assorted correspondence, FIA papers, VSCC documentation and MOT certificate valid until October 30th 2006.