The Dawn Car

Fraser. A name that comes to mind is Ian Jardine. Does that ring a bell? He was well known as "The Blind Runner" who ran the Comrades Marathon.
Did your father ever live in South Africa? I vaguely recall a speed boat on Durban harbour fitted with an inboard Lycoming engine. owned by Claude May. Could that have been him?

Chris, could you tell me who your father was and, if you know, how he knew my Father and the project? As I've said i have much more information and pictures.

The engine must have been around 1200 c.c. so the performance is impressive. It's in the MG league! This must stem from the car's light weight and aerodynamic styling. We are not told the material of the body - aluminium frame and panels. perhaps? It has to be late 1930s. Fraser May could clear this up.

However, I have a feeling that the car would not have appealed to the British, rather conservative, market. Pity!

The Dawn car was soley my father's brain child. He'd used the name long before for a racing car he built, among other things. The Dawn 5 seater was built in the mid 1930s. It was shown at the Earls' Court Motor show in hopes of getting funding to go into production with a slightly more advanced model. Unfortunately, there was a break in and the whole power unit, which was integral to the design was stolen. The police said it was obviously a professional job. Dad and his colleagues had no more money to rebuild. The Car, minus rear end was in storage in the East End while Dad was in the RAF. The warehouse took a direct hit.

Mr. Wilson's design was much later. Similar cars to that were being produced by people like Tatra.

It appears the photo was taken at Brooklands Race Track, Weybridge, Surrey. Middle right, I can just see the start of 'Vickers' which was painted on the track side of the Vickers factory, which was next to the finishing straight. This was 'blacked' out for WW2, so it suggests the photo was taken pre-1939. I hope this helps? Regards, Graham