VANWALL – year 1958

G. A. Vanderwell, Acton, London, United Kingdom

Vanwall is considered the best British car 1958 year. Its creator was Anthony Vanderwell - a manufacturer of piston rings and bearings, who was already involved in the construction of the BRM car. The dubious achievements of this vehicle forced him to look for his own way. Having enough funds, he decided to experiment. Modified a 4.5 liter Ferrari model, who participated in races under the name Thinwall Ferrari. The first proper Vanwall was established in 1954 year, but it took four years for this vehicle to become a great formula car 1. Vanderwell engaged the best specialists from Great Britain – Colin Chapman from the undercarriage, Mike Costin from the body and Harry Weslake and Pole Leon Kuźmicki from Norton, engine specialists. The effect exceeded all expectations. The car is equipped with a four-cylinder engine with a capacity 2490 cm3 had power 209,8 kW (285 KM) by 7800 RPM. The Bosch injection pump certainly contributed to this; this company also provided a double ignition with two spark plugs in the cylinder. A dry clutch and a five-speed gearbox were used to transmit the driving force. Tubular frame, being a load-bearing part of the chassis, it had independently suspended front wheels, and at the rear a stiff de Dion bridge. The disc brakes were from Lockheed. The aerodynamic body covered the fuel tanks located between the front and rear wheels. The weight of the vehicle was 635 kg. Due to the low aerodynamic resistance, the maximum speed was 280 km/h.

W 1958 of the year Vanwall led by Stirling Moss won the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort (153,4 km/h), in Portugal (167,4 km/h) and in Morocco. The second player of the team – Tony Brooks - completed a series of successes with victories in Belgium (207,8 km/h), in Italy (193,9 km/h) i w RFN (144,5 km/h). The third driver on the Vanwall team was Stuart Lewis, who finished third in the European Grand Prix in Belgium and Portugal, and at the end of the season he was injured in an accident in Casablanca. For this reason, and due to poor health, Tony Vanderwell decided to withdraw from racing and disband the team. After successes 1958 of the year, Vanderwell was recognized as the best formula car manufacturer 1, because twenty years later, the manufacturers' world championship was announced.