Solved NIC#943 - 1954/55 BRM-Jaguar Mk1

[tobytwirl]

Is it the name of another car like HRG, that is not necessarily directly related to this one.

[Carnut]

BRM?

[nicanary]

BRM?

Bingo! Not RGS or HRG as suggested, but, of all things, BRM. I think that's about it - since I know nothing more about the car I reckon all the info has been provided, and Carnut gets the point. Sorry TT after all your work.

The car is pictured at Chateau Impney driven by Jonathan Cobb. It is captioned as a 1954/55 BRM-Jaguar Mk1 (3.4) so clearly an XK engine. It is conceivable that the "M" stood for Microplas I suppose, and maybe the "B" and "R" were the intials of the builder/builders. It's all a bit odd that someone would choose to call their car a BRM at a time when they were a well-known racing marque. I don't believe for one second that this car has any BRM input by way of chassis parts or whatever - the V16 was coming to the end of its career, and the team were running a Maserati 250F as an interim measure whilst the P25 was developed. They certainly wouldn't have assisted or provided parts for this car.

If anyone can provide more info, please feel free to post it.

[D-type]

Could the 'B' perhaps stand for 'Buckler'

Buckler chassis, built by someone with a name like Ramsbottom, with a Mistral body -> BRM

[Djetset]

I am not 100 percent certain if it is one and the same car, but a few weeks ago a leading European-based classic car specialist asked if this Mistral Jaguar could be considered for a hillclimb entry in this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, for which it was politely declined for this packed 25th anniversary event year.

A full, detailed 39-page history of the XK120-based Mistral Jaguar in question is attached, with the car originally raced on the West Coast in the USA by Bob Young Dahl. I've yet to establish whether it is the same car as Nicanary's puzzle Mistral, but there can't have been many of these to begin with!  The attached is written in both English and French. Enjoy...

[nicanary]

Thanks for your pertinent input Djetset - informative and interesting as always. There's one big snag - the American car was LHD (an export XK120 chassis) and my puzzle car is RHD. I doubt personally whether someone would bother to re-engineer the steering setup just for racing.

In the puzzle-solving posts someone did mention that there were a few Mistral-Jaguars in period. It looks like someone has re-named one, but that moniker sure is confusing and misleading.

PS Could it be the Alton-Jaguar? The registration doesn't match but that could have been changed - the Alton had a single-number plate which could have been sold for many pounds. The Alton was built by Mike Barker which would have provided the "B" in the name but that doesn't explain why the name was changed in the fiirst place - my mind is wandering again.

PPS The registration in my puzzle image is not easy to read, but it's CXG742 or CKG742,  neither of which turn up on the DVLA website, so it's carrying plates for a car no longer registered for road use. Another blind alley.

[Carnut]

I love the French spelling of "Salisbury"!

[nicanary]

I love the French spelling of "Salisbury"!

You haven't lived till you've seen Sally's berry!

[tobytwirl]

As the new expert on Microplas-Jaguars, I can reveal that the Alton-Jaguar had a different type of Microplas body originally - I cannot imagine why anyone would change its name when it already has good provenance - if it has survived.

[nicanary]

Good spot. The air vent on the side is different. So it's probably not the Alton under another name, but WTH is it?