Connaught Type B 'Syracuse' racing car

Connaught Type B racing car, 1955, powered by an Alta 2.5 litre straight four engine, with twin overhead cams that delivered 250bhp. The engine was designed and produced by Geoffrey Taylor (owner of the Alta Car and Engineering Company).

This particular Connaught B was unraced. However, the Connaught Type B racing car was used in Formula One Racing between 1955 and 1958. It had limited success in the F1 World Championship, but won several non-championship races.

One of its earliest, and most significant, successes was winning the non-championship Syracuse Grand Prix on 23 October 1955. The starting money offered to Connaught for this race was £1,000 per car, which attracted their entry despite little hope of succes - prior to this, owner Kenneth McAlpine had been considering winding up the team due to heavy financial losses. In a shock result, dental student Tony Brooks qualified on the front row and won the race in his Connaught B, defeating the favoured and more experienced Maserati drivers, and earning the Type B the nickname of 'Syracuse.' Brooks and Connaught became the first British driver and car combination to win a Grand Prix in 32 years.

In 1956, the Connaught Type B scored its first points in the Formula One World Championship, driven by Jack Fairman (6 points across races at Silverstone and Monza) and Ron Flockhart (3 points at Monza and a podium finish of third place). In 1957, Stuart Lewis-Evans had further success in the Connaught Type B. He won the 1957 Glover Trophy, a non-championship race run to Formula One rules at the Goodwood circuit, and his teammate Jack Fairman finished second.

Lewis-Evans went on to make his Formula One debut at the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix that year, still racing a Connaught B. He finished fourth, scoring 3 final points for the Connaught B in the Formula One championship. The type B ran again in 1958 but scored no points, and was replaced by the Type C for the 1959 championship.