1986 Ben Bowlby SC100

This is the very car that was designed and built by Ben Bowlby and his dad Richard in 1985 and was raced by Ben in Special Saloons from the 1986 season onwards. The car is currently eligible for the CSCC Special Saloon and Modsports Championship. During the time that Ben was using and developing the car, there was a Channel 4 documentary about Ben and the car 'The nuts and bolts of Ben Bowlby' (the current owner has this on vhs videos) as well as a YouTube clip of Ben visiting Frank Durney at Lotus to discuss the car's aerodynamics.

Amongst the design innovations by Ben in the early 80s were the flat floor, diffuser, adjustable front splitter and a ride height levelling system which sadly got banned. Whilst Ben Bowlby went on to climb the motorsport design and engineering ladder working for the likes of Lola and Chip Ganassi, his more recent innovations have been the Delta Wing Project and Nissan's LMP1 car.

The car was owned/raced by a number of drivers throughout the early 1990s including Erling Jenson who ran this car at some point as well as Paul Brend and Derek Barrett. The car was always regarded as ridiculously fast for a sub 1-litre car and held the class C lap record for years at Castle Combe being first 1-litre car to lap the Wiltshire circuit in under a minute and at an average speed of over 100mph.

Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, the car still made occasional race appearances but its outright pace was being eclipsed by the newer generation of club "prototypes' such as Radicals and Junos. The car was then bought in mid-2010 by its current owner. His intention had always been to get the car back on track and then enjoy a number of track days before commissioning Simon Green Motorsport to carry out a full rebuild of the car, and is often the way, this became a full restoration.

The engine was removed and all suspension components stripped down, all rose joints checked over and replaced. and the wishbones were media blasted, crack tested and then fully powder coated. The chassis was stripped back too, and all welds crack tested before painting in gloss black.

Whilst the engine was removed, a brand new 1,100cc unit was fitted from a ZZR Kawasaki and had one of their modified sumps and oil systems fitted. All the wheel bearings were replaced as were the driveshafts and UJs, and the exhaust system was fully ceramic coated along with new carbon race exhausts. The car even passed noise restrictions at Bedford Autodrome.

Finally, it had brand new front and rear sections of bodywork made and these were created from moulds supplied with the car and which will be supplied to the new owner. In addition, the old wooden-based front splitter and rear diffuser were remade using carbon and aluminium to save weight and reduce flex. The last job was to make and fit carbon infills to cover the side pod section, as well as reduce the flex in this area.

Offered without reserve, this car represents an incredible opportunity for the ultimate track-day car that will destroy practically anything else in sight. As mentioned, the car is also eligible for the CSCC Special Saloon and Modsports Championship. This amazing car must be seen to be appreciated and is offered in superb overall condition. Not to be missed!