Topic: Solved NIC#945 - Connaught L2 Lightweight of Ken Downing

[nicanary]

What is this car, and who owned it?

[nicanary]

Experts?

[tobytwirl]

I think it is an early Connaught, and it is driven by Ken Downing who presumably is the owner, (or was it Ken McAlpine's) in about 1952. That presumably means it is based on the Lea Francis engine and chassis like the L2.

[nicanary]

I think it is an early Connaught, and it is driven by Ken Downing who presumably is the owner, (or was it Ken McAlpine's) in about 1952. That presumably means it is based on the Lea Francis engine and chassis like the L2.

You've solved it in one go! When Ken Downing ordered a new L2, he arranged to have a lightweight body built for it for use in sprints/hillclimbs/short circuit races. I believe he also had the standard body for using in longer races. He also ordered a smaller 1.5-litre engine in order to qualify for the smaller-engined class because the 1.7-litre normally fitted made it uncompetitive against 2000cc machinery.

This is the well-known OPC3.