Alta Car and Engineering Company
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2019) |
Base | Surbiton, Surrey, UK |
---|---|
Founder(s) | Geoffrey Taylor |
Formula One World Championship career | |
Engines | Alta |
Entrants | privateers |
First entry | 1950 British Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1952 British Grand Prix |
Races entered | 5 |
Race victories | 0 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
The Alta Car and Engineering Company was a British
Early history
The company was founded by engineer
This design, and its later 1.5L and 2L sister cars, sold steadily, but in limited numbers, right up to the outbreak of war in 1939. With the highest power option the car was capable of 120 mph (190 km/h) and 0–60 mph in 7 seconds. In 1937 the company introduced front independent suspension to the chassis. They became popular among club racers due to their ability to be converted easily from 1.5L to 2L or vice versa, allowing drivers on a limited budget to contest more than one class without having to buy a second car.
In 1934, Taylor produced the first Alta to be designed solely for competition. The resulting light-weight, off-set single seat
In February 2018, a 1936 Alta 2-Litre Sports (chassis no. 64S) sold at Bonhams' Paris auction for 345,000€ inc. premium.[1]
Post-war
Alta GP
Despite Alta's diminutive size, and their status as a primarily road car manufacturer, Alta was in fact the first British constructor to produce a new Grand Prix car following the end of World War II. Austerity limitations of raw materials did not stop Taylor beginning production of designs he had been developing throughout the war years, and the Alta GP car appeared in 1948. He also restarted production of the road-going sports cars, although without further development funding the popularity of these models rapidly dwindled. Prior to 1948, the last pre-war Alta was campaigned with varying degrees of success.
The Alta GP car was a development of the pre-war design, but was powered by a supercharged 1.5L engine, developing approximately 230
Modifications were made to the bodywork and gearchange for the subsequent 1949 and 1950 GP2 and GP3 vehicles, GP3 also gaining a two-stage supercharger. Once again they were built to order, and supplied to
Kelly later carried out extensive modification and rebuilding work on GP3, running it as the Irish Racing Automobiles (IRA) car during 1952 and 1953. His most significant change was to replace the Alta engine with a Bristol unit.
Alta F2
Lacking the funding necessary to develop a Formula One successor to the GP design, Taylor decided to move into the junior Formula Two category. The engine produced was a 1970 cc inline 4-cylinder, naturally aspirated unit, developing around 130 bhp (97 kW; 132 PS). Unfortunately, Alta's own chassis design followed the preceding GP car very closely, and this resulted in an overweight car considering the greatly reduced power available from the unsupercharged motors. Tony Gaze and Gordon Watson took F2/1 and F2/2 on a tour of European races, but good results were hard to come by.
Although according to Dennis Jenkinson's book Historic Racing Cars the uncompleted GP4 machine was converted and became F2/3 this was not correct and chassis GP4 was sold to Bobbie Baird in Ireland and eventually became a Jaguar engined 2 seater sportscar. It competed in this form and still exists as a Jaguar 2 seater sportscar. F2/3 was no more successful than its siblings. F2/4 followed in construction and was sold to Orlando Simpson before Peter Whitehead placed an order for what was to become the last Alta car built: F2/5. This F2 Alta was entered for World Championship Grands Prix events, first driven by himself in the 1952 French Grand Prix, and then by his half-brother Graham Whitehead at the 1952 British Grand Prix. Neither run produced a points finish, but this was not to be the last time that the Alta name appeared in Formula One.
Alta the engine supplier
While the F2 engine might have been overwhelmed by the chassis' bulk, tweaks made by Peter Whitehead to the unit in his car showed that the design had tuning potential. Alta engines had already been used by the HWM team since 1949, and from 1953 many more mechanics would come to know the Taylor-designed power plant. Peter Whitehead led the way by removing the engine from F2/5 and installing it into a Cooper T24 chassis, which he ran in the 1953 British Grand Prix. Also present at Silverstone that day were no fewer than four Alta-powered HWM cars. HWM had, the previous year, scored what was Alta's only significant victory, when Lance Macklin won the 1952 BRDC International Trophy race at Silverstone. Over the next few years 1.5L and 2.5L Alta engines would find their way into many British-built F1 hopefuls, the most successful of which were Connaught and Cooper. Ultimately the engine would prove to be capable of approximately 240 bhp (179 kW; 243 PS). With the collapse of Connaught in 1959, the Alta name disappeared from Formula One for good.
Aftermarket speed equipment
After
Recent history
Geoffrey Taylor died in 1966 at the age of 63. In 1976, his son Michael attempted to revive the Alta name with a Formula Ford car but was not successful. A handful of the pre-war sports and single seat cars survive, all in private ownership. GP101, which was originally owned by George Abecassis, was rebuilt for Phil Scragg as a hill climb car and is still in use. F2/5 has been reunited with its original powerplant and has participated in a number of Historic race meeting in recent years, including the 1999 Goodwood Revival meeting.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Driver | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | Private | Alta GP
|
Alta L4s
|
D | GBR | MON | 500 | SUI | BEL | FRA | ITA | ||
Geoffrey Crossley | Ret | 9 | |||||||||||
Joe Kelly | NC | ||||||||||||
1951 | Private | Alta GP
|
Alta L4s
|
D | SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | ESP | |
Joe Kelly | NC | ||||||||||||
1952 | P. Whitehead | Alta F2
|
Alta L4
|
D | SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | NED | ITA | |
Peter Whitehead | Ret | ||||||||||||
Graham Whitehead | 12 |
n.b. Prior to 1958 there was no Constructor's World Championship, hence constructors were not awarded points.
See also
References
- ^ "Bonhams : Alta 2-Litre Sports 1936". www.bonhams.com. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Minor Adjustments. Modification Guide allcarcentral.com
- ^ "Cambridge Engineering for Austin 7 tuning and engine parts".
- ^ Alta Cylinder Heads March 1949 issue of Motor Sport
- Felix Muelas, Mattijs Diepraam and Terry Walker Geoffrey Taylor's brainchild, 8W, November 1999.
- Felix Muelas, Complex mind, complex output, 8W, November 1999.
- Felix Muelas, A stylist on tarmac and paper, 8W, February 2000.
- Jikku George, The very first World Drivers Championship, 8W, January 2005.