Connaught B-Type 2,5 liter streamliner, 1954

[grobmotorix]

Who knows this car?

[grobmotorix]

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[frederick59]

Lister?

[grobmotorix]

No, but you´ve chosen the correct country...

[nicanary]

Formula 1 Connaught B-Type streamliner. I think this is a publicity shot, which would mean the end of 1954 - the car took part in the 1955 season.

[grobmotorix]

 

[Allan L]

Formula 1 Connaught B-Type streamliner. I think this is a publicity shot, which would mean the end of 1954 - the car took part in the 1955 season.

Yes that's B1, the prototype, which was the only one that ever had wire wheels and drum brakes and, as you say, it would be a 1954 photo.

[neilshouse]

I thought B1 was the Tony Brooks Syracuse winning car. Was it re-bodied with the streamliner body?

[grobmotorix]

That´s all I know:

[nicanary]

I thought B1 was the Tony Brooks Syracuse winning car. Was it re-bodied with the streamliner body?

No. The streamliner body was never a real success - the team even used basic bodies at place like Monza, where slippery bodies would have been presumably an advantage. The B-Type was introduced to the press in August 1954 with the "fancy" bodywork, but it was dropped during the 1955 season when it was found to be too much of a nuisance. The Syracuse race was in October 1955.

[Allan L]

Grob, most of that quotation is correct but Connaught did not use fuel injection on the B type, although they had used the Hilborn Travers system on one of their A type Formula 2 cars. The B types used Weber carbs.
I should know which car won at Syracuse, but I can't remember where I've got a note of it.

[grobmotorix]

You can´t trust your sources, really.

Thank you for this detail information.

[nicanary]

Grob, most of that quotation is correct but Connaught did not use fuel injection on the B type, although they had used the Hilborn Travers system on one of their A type Formula 2 cars. The B types used Weber carbs.
I should know which car won at Syracuse, but I can't remember where I've got a note of it.

It was B1 according to the "black book"..

[grobmotorix]

Now you´ve kinda confused me...

Is the puzzle car "B1" and does it have fuel injection?

[D-type]

Let's go through this step by step and try and sort out the confusion.

The Formula 2 Connaught of 1952-53 was Lea-Francis powered and was the Type A while the new Formula 1 Connaught for the 1954- onwards 2.5 litre formula was the Type B.  I would expect the prototype B-Type to have chassis 'B1'. I would say 'almost definitely'.  So the puzzle car is chassis 'B1' as nicanary and Allan L say.  

Denis Jenkinson says in A Story of Formula 1 that "Connaughts spent a great deal of time and effort trying to make the S.U. low presssure fuel injection system work on their Alta engine, but eventually gave up and used Weber carburettors ...".  It might have had fuel injection fitted at the time this photo was taken but it definitely had the Weber carburettors when it made its race debut.

@neils house, originally the Type B had the streamlined body, but halfway through the 1955 season they started to convert the cars to open-wheeled configuration - Not the other way round.  Tony Brooks won at Syracuse in a Connaught open-wheeler which Sheldon says was 'B1' so I see no reason to doubt it.

[grobmotorix]

 

[Allemano]

The car in action and color:

[grobmotorix]

 

[Allan L]

The car in action and color:

much more as we remember it, having got rid of the wire wheels and drum brakes.
Actually it is a different car, Leslie Marr is seen driving what the Motor Sport report said was the first production streamliner at the 1955 British GP - at the same race Tony Rolt drove Rob Walker's Connaught which had the normal type of body.

[grobmotorix]

What a complex story...

But thank you all for your fabulous contributions!

[Iluvatar]

From "Auto Italiana" magazine

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[dzima1985]

Front / rear views

[grobmotorix]

 

[58_spyder]

I know the car as being Dinky Toys 236......

[galrot]

And does anyone know who built the body on this Connaught too? I've found no mention of the coachbuilder on the last few Connaught cars online, but surely they were not produced in-house? An old motor sport-oriented magazines write-up on the firm gives the impression that they were looking for a new coachbuilder to use after Leacroft but it don't mention if they ever settled with anyone.