voiturettes

ERA (English Racing Automobiles Limited, Bourne, U.K.)

Competitive years: 1934-1938 Horsepower Range: 180-225

While the MG, Alta, Riley and Austin 750 did remarkably well for Great Britain, the Raymond Mays/Peter Berthon ERA combined a production based supercharged Riley engine with a solid conventional chassis and to launch the best known British upright of all time. It was fast, mostly reliable, and attracted top notch drivers from the U.K. and one from Thailand. Prince B. Bira (for short) was a grandson of King Mongkut, the hero of the book and musical, “The King and I”.

Bira was encouraged and financed by his cousin, Prince Chula Chakrabongse, and the pair bought three ERAs, naming them Romulus, Remus and Hanuman under the White Mouse Stable.

By Pete Vack

The voiturette (750cc, 1100 cc and 1500cc) races which took place between 1931 and 1940 were magic; technically interesting cars, around the house race venues, truly international with multi-make participation, a cast of characters from a Siamese Prince to Enzo Ferrari, Dick Seaman’s drives with the ERA, MG and Delage, and a devastating secret weapon unleashed by Mercedes Benz which defeated and demoralized the opposition. There was never a dull moment on or off the track. The venues were largely ‘around the houses’ circuits such as Pau and San Remo, the drivers were semi-professional or talented amateurs, and interestingly, there were no points or championships for manufacturers or drivers. In fact the formula was so good it became the official Grand Prix class in 1945, which lasted until 1952.

Below, we present the first six of twelve short stories about the primary voiturette racers of the 1930s, covering Alfa, Alta, Amilcar, Austin, Bugatti and Delage. Part 2 will cover ERA, Maserati, Mercedes Benz, MG, Salmson and Talbot.

Alfa Romeo (S.A. Alfa Romeo, Milan, Italy)

Competitive years: 1938-1940 Horsepower Range: 195-225

The voiturette class was eventually dominated by the 158 Alfetta in 1939 and 1940. However, it is not clear why Alfa did not choose to participate in the voiturette races of the early 1930s. Many of their customers, such as Count Gianni Lurani however, did so using the 6C 1750 reduced to 1500cc and equipped with a lightweight open-wheeled body. They won class victories at the Nurburgring in 1932 and a third place in the 1500cc in the 1933 Czech Grand Prix.