The fastest prewar road car?

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ERA’s blisteringly fast single-seaters stormed ahead of the pack in Grands Prix of the 1930s and set record after record at Shelsley Walsh. Using heavily tuned developments of the six-cylinder Riley engine, they were among the greatest prewar racing cars. Riley road cars of the same period were lively, responsive and driver-friendly meaning that, for brisk runs along England’s hawthorn-lined lanes, the enthusiast could find nothing better. If only somebody would combine the best attributes of racing ERAs and road-going Rileys in one car, it might just be perfection

Indeed, they have and it is. The idea occurred to David Hawkins back in the 1970s. Inspired by the achievements of Freddie Dixon and Percy Maclure, he put together a special after the fashion of a TT Sprite, but with a two-litre supercharged engine tuned to full ERA specification. Built to an extremely high standard, the car weighs only 730kg but produces 190bhp running on petrol and 240bhp on methanol.

From the moment it was completed, Hawkins never missed an opportunity to demonstrate the Riley-ERA’s capabilities in hill climbs and sprints, but in 2016 he decided it was time to let a younger enthusiast take over. It’s now with ERA racer James Baxter, who’s finding it eclipses many genuine ERAs.

Mick Walsh experiences ‘the fastest prewar road car in Britain’ in the March issue of The Automobile, on sale now.

Words: Zack Stiling, Photographs: Tony Baker

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