The Alta Car and Engineering Company was a sports and racing car manufacturer from England, commonly known simply as Alta. Their cars contested four Formula One World Championship races between 1950 and 1952, as well as Grand Prix events prior to this. They also supplied engines to a small number of other constructors, most noteably the Connaught and HWM teams. Auto racing (also known as automobile racing or autosport) is a sport involving racing automobiles. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... Formula One - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... // Grand Prix (French for Grand Prize) may refer to: Competitions Formula One Grand Prix motor racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing Eurovision Song Contest Grand Prix (snooker) Volleyball Grand Prix Grand Prix tennis tournaments Grand Prix chess tournaments Grand Prix Dressage Grand Prix show jumping Grand Prix (movie), a 1966 film... Connaught was a Formula One constructor from Britain. ... Hersham and Walton Motors (HWM) was a Formula One constructor from 1951 through 1955. ...

Early history

The company was founded by engineer Geoffrey Taylor in Surbiton, Surrey, and produced its first automobile in 1929. Alta's first vehicle was a sports car powered by an 1.1L engine, featuring an aluminium block, wet liners and shaft-driven twin overhead camshafts, which he designed himself. It was offered in normal or supercharged form giving 49 or 76bhp. A choice of 4 speed non synchromesh or pre-selector gearboxes was available. These were mounted on a low-slung chassis frame with open two or four seat bodies. Thirteen were made of which five are thought to survive. Surbiton is a suburban area of London situated in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. ... Surrey is a county in southern England, part of the South East England region and one of the Home Counties. ... General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 3, p Appearance silvery Atomic mass 26. ... The camshaft is an apparatus used in piston engines to operate poppet valves. ... A supercharger (also known as a blower) is an air compressor used to force more air (and hence more oxygen) into the combustion chamber(s) of an internal combustion engine than can be achieved at ambient atmospheric pressure. ... The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ... Synchromesh is the term used to describe a manual transmission in which gears are brought to the same speed during shifting by a synchronizer. ... A preselector gearbox is a type of gearbox used on a variety of vehicles, more commonly until around the 1950s. ... A chassis (plural: chassis) consists of a framework which supports an inanimate object, analogous to an animals skeleton; for example in the construction of an automobile or of a firearm. ...

This design, and its later 1.5L and 2L sister cars, sold steadily, but in limited numbers, right up to the outbreak of war in 1939. With the highest power option the car was capable of 120 mph and 0-60 mph in 7 seconds. In 1937 the company introduced front independent suspension to the chassis. They became popular among club racers due to their ability to be converted easily from 1.5L to 2L or vice versa, allowing drivers on a limited budget to contest more than one class without having to buy a second car. An independent suspension is an automobile suspension system that allows the wheels on an axle to move independently of each other. ...

In 1934 Taylor produced the first Alta to be designed solely for competition. The resulting light-weight, off-set single seat voiturette cars achieved quite a reputation in shorter events such as hill-climbs, sprints and time-trials. Once again, Alta's keen pricing, in comparison to the expensive ERA models, resulted in many sales to amateur racers. However, a lack of reliability kept the Alta name out of the long distance Grand Prix events. A revised voiturette design appeared in 1937, with independent front suspension. George Abecassis had some success with this design, winning a string of events before the war interrupted. As war approached, Taylor was drafting designs for a new straight-8 engine and a third-generation voiturette, this time with fully independent suspension. This last prewar car was highly advanced for its time, and was very nearly complete in late 1939. However, as soon as war was declared, Alta's production capabilities were given over to the war effort, and production of the new designs was halted. Voiturettes are small three-wheeled cars produced in France, most notably in the years following World War II. Categories: Stub | Automobiles ... Hillclimbing (also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing or speed hill climbing) is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. ... In many racing sports an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. ... English Racing Automobiles (ERA) was a Formula One constructor from 1950 through 1952. ... George Abecassis (born in Chertsey, Surrey, March 21, 1913 - died in Ibstone, Nr. ... An independent suspension is an automobile suspension system that allows the wheels on an axle to move independently of each other. ...

Post-war

Alta GP

Despite Alta's diminutive size, and their status as a primarily road car manufacturer, Alta was in fact the first British constructor to produce a new Grand Prix car following the end of WWII. Austerity limitations of raw materials did not stop Taylor beginning production of designs he had been developing throughout the war years, and the Alta GP car appeared in 1948. He also restarted production of the road-going sports cars, although without further development funding the popularity of these models rapidly dwindled. Prior to 1948, the last pre-war Alta was campaigned with varying degrees of success. German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... Austerity is a term from economics that describes a policy where nations reduce living standards, curtail development projects, and generally shift the revenue stream out of the physical economy, in order to satisfy the demands of creditors. ...

The Alta GP car was a development of the pre-war design, but was powered by a supercharged 1.5L engine, developing approximately 230bhp, and retained the 4-speed pre-selector gearbox of the prewar cars. Taylor developed the independent suspension design further, introducing wishbones and rubber linkage bushings. The first car was supplied to privateer driver George Abecassis, who campaigned it throughout 1948 and into 1949, but only finished once. A supercharger (also known as a blower) is an air compressor used to force more air (and hence more oxygen) into the combustion chamber(s) of an internal combustion engine than can be achieved at ambient atmospheric pressure. ... The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In motorsport, privateer is a general term used to describe any entrants into a racing event that are not factory-backed by an automobile manufacturer. ... George Abecassis (born in Chertsey, Surrey, March 21, 1913 - died in Ibstone, Nr. ...

Modifications were made to the bodywork and gearchange for the subsequent 1949 and 1950 GP2 and GP3 vehicles, GP3 also gaining a two-stage supercharger. Once again they were built to order, and supplied to Geoff Crossley and Joe Kelly respectively. Crossley took GP2 to the 1949 Belgian Grand Prix, but could only manage seventh place. In 1950 he set a number of speed records over 50 miles, 50km and 100km at the Monthléry circuit. Kelly concentrated mostly on Irish races, and his best finish was third in the 1952 Ulster Trophy. Both drivers took their respective chassis to the 1950 British Grand Prix, the first ever Formula One World Championship race. However, while Kelley finished, he was unclassified; Crossley retired with a transmission fault. Geoff Crossley was a Formula One driver from Britain. ... Joe Kelly (March 13, 1913 - November 28, 1993) was a Formula One driver from Ireland, born in Dublin. ... The 1950 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 13, 1950 at Silverstone Circuit. ... Formula One - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Kelley later carried out extensive modification and rebuilding work on GP3, running it as the Irish Racing Automobiles (IRA) car during 1952 and 1953. His most significant change was to replace the Alta engine with a Bristol unit. Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars, based at Filton, near Bristol, England. ...

Alta F2

Lacking the funding necessary to develop a Formula One sucessor to the GP design, Taylor decided to move into the junior Formula Two category. The engine produced was a 1970cc inline 4-cylinder, naturally-aspirated unit, developing around 130bhp. Unfortunately, Alta's own chassis design followed the preceeding GP car very closely, and this resulted in an overweight car considering the greatly reduced power available from the unsupercharged motors. Tony Glaze and Gordon Watson took F2/1 and F2/2 on a tour of European races, but good results were hard to come by. Formula Two was a type of formula racing. ...

Indeed, the F2 chassis was so much like the GP design that the uncompleted GP/4 machine was converted and became F2/3, although this machine was no more sucessful than its siblings. F2/4 followed in construction and was sold, before Peter Whitehead placed an order for what was to become the last Alta car built: F2/5. This was the only F2 Alta to be entered for World Championship Grands Prix events, first driven by himself in the 1952 French Grand Prix, and then by his half-brother Graham Whitehead at the 1952 British Grand Prix. Niether run produced a points finish, but this was not to be the last time that the Alta name appeared in Formula One. Peter Whitehead was a Formula One driver from Britain. ... The 1952 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 6, 1952 at Rouen-Les-Essarts. ... Graham Whitehead (born in Harrogate, April 15, 1922 - dead in Berkshire, January 15, 1981) was a Formula One driver from England. ... The 1952 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 19, 1952 at Silverstone Circuit. ...

Alta the engine supplier

While the F2 engine might have been overwhealmed by the chassis' bulk, tweaks made by Peter Whitehead to the unit in his car showed that the design had tuning potential. Alta engines had already been used by the HWM team since 1949, and from 1953 many more mechanincs would come to know the Taylor-designed powerplant. Peter Whitehead led the way by removing the engine from F2/5 and installing it into a Cooper T24 chassis, which he ran in the 1953 British Grand Prix. Also present at Silverstone that day were no fewer than four Alta-powered HWM cars. HWM had, the previous year, scored what was Alta's only significant victory, when Lance Macklin won the 1952 BRDC International Trophy race at Silverstone. Over the next few years 1.5L and 2.5L Alta engines would find their way into a slew of British-built F1 hopefuls, the most sucessful of which were Connaught and Cooper. Ultimately the engine would prove to be capable of approximately 240bhp. With the collapse of Connaught in 1959, the Alta name disappeared from Formula One for good. Hersham and Walton Motors (HWM) was a Formula One constructor from 1951 through 1955. ... Jack Brabhams 1961 Cooper-Climax, the car that began the rear-engine revolution at the Indianapolis 500 The Cooper Car Company was founded in 1947 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. ... The 1953 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 18, 1953 at Silverstone Circuit. ... Silverstone Circuit is a racing circuit at Silverstone, England. ... Lance Macklin was a Formula One driver from Britain. ... Graham Hill in the Brabham BT34 Lobster-Claw, on his way to victory in the 1971 International Trophy. ... Silverstone Circuit is a racing circuit at Silverstone, England. ...

Recent history

Geoffrey Taylor died in 1966 at the age of 63 years. In 1976, his son Michael attempted to revive the Alta name with a Formula Ford car but was not successful. A handful of the pre-war sports and single seat cars survive, all in private ownership. GP1, after having been converted to Jaguar power in the 1950s, is now back in original configuration in the Donington Grand Prix Collection. F2/5 has also been reunited with its original powerplant and has participated in a number of Historic race meeting in recent years, including the 1999 Goodwood Revival meeting. Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. ... Jaguar Cars is a British automobile manufacturer. ...

Complete Formula One World Championship results

This article recaps the inaugaral 1950 Formula One season. ... Geoff Crossley was a Formula One driver from Britain. ... Joe Kelly (March 13, 1913 - November 28, 1993) was a Formula One driver from Ireland, born in Dublin. ... The 1950 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 13, 1950 at Silverstone Circuit. ... The 1950 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on June 18, 1950 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. ... Season Summary Points were given to top 5 finishers (8, 6, 4, 3, 2). ... Joe Kelly (March 13, 1913 - November 28, 1993) was a Formula One driver from Ireland, born in Dublin. ... The 1951 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 14, 1951 at Silverstone Circuit. ... Season Summary Points were given to top 5 finishers (8, 6, 4, 3, 2). ... Graham Whitehead (born in Harrogate, April 15, 1922 - dead in Berkshire, January 15, 1981) was a Formula One driver from England. ... Peter Whitehead was a Formula One driver from Britain. ... The 1952 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 6, 1952 at Rouen-Les-Essarts. ... The 1952 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 19, 1952 at Silverstone Circuit. ...

References

• Felix Muelas, Mattijs Diepraam and Terry Walker Geoffrey Taylor's brainchild, 8W, November 1999.
• Felix Muelas, Complex mind, complex output, 8W, November 1999.
• Felix Muelas, A stylist on tarmac and paper, 8W, February 2000.
• Jikku George, The very first World Drivers Championship, 8W, January 2005.