Man spends six figures restoring 1950s racing car

Ian Jones has spent "well into six figures" buying and restoring the ultra-rare RA4 Vanguard car

A man who spent six figures buying and restoring a rare 1950s racing car has received an invite to take part in a prestigious motor show.

Ian Jones, 59, from Milton, Cambridgeshire, purchased the RA4 Vanguard racing car in 2021.

Mr Jones said the car was the only one of its kind in the world and, owning to its rarity, he has received an invitation from the Goodwood Revival festival to race in the Goodwood Trophy in September.

The vehicle was designed in 1930s Germany and was eventually built and raced in New Zealand in the 1950s.

"I bought the car in 2021 from an auction house in London," said Mr Jones. "I hold a private pilot's licence and fly war planes out of Duxford Imperial War Museum, so was attracted to the car because it was largely constructed from Second World War aircraft parts.

"I thought it would need a quick engine tune up and polish, and it would be racing again, but I soon realised it was going to need a complete nut-and-bolt restoration from top to bottom."

Mr Jones used expert craftsmen on the three-year project from Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to rebuild the engine, chassis, panels and restore the leather interiors.

The RA4 Vanguard car, due to lack of materials, was originally built with many old World War Two aircraft parts

During the latter half of the 1930s, Grand Prix racing was dominated by two German racing teams, Mercedes Benz and Auto Union. They were collectively referred to as “The Silver Arrows”.

The Auto Union company originally designed the RA4 Vanguard, but it was never manufactured.

The car was eventually built from those designs in 1950 by two former Second World War aircraft mechanics, Hec Green and Jack Brewer in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The pair found plans for the vehicle in a declassified British intelligence paper, which studied the German racing programmes of the 1930s.

Due to the lack of raw materials post-1945, Mr Green and Mr Brewer came up with a plan to utilise as many old Second World War aircraft parts as possible.

Mr Brewer and Mr Green built the RA4 Vanguard in New Zealand in the 1950s

The RA4 Vanguard first appeared at the 1951 Lady Wigram International meeting held in Christchurch, New Zealand. Despite a lack of development, the RA4 performed well at many international and local meetings in New Zealand from 1951 through to 1960.

In the following years the car was abandoned, changing hands a number of times until purchased by Mr Jones in 2021.

A spokesperson from the Goodwood Revival festival said: “The effort Mr Jones has gone to in order to bring the wonderful RA4 Vanguard back to life is fantastic, and the fact that it can join us to race at this year’s Revival and add another chapter to its racing history all makes for a great story.

"It fits perfectly with the revive and thrive ethos at the heart of the Revival and we’re fortunate that people like Mr Jones so willingly competes with these special machines still.

"This year, all competing vehicles at the Revival will race on sustainable fuel, adding another element to the car’s story as the past very much meets the future of motor racing.”