Chassis No. 7004 | Engine No. S5357
In the immediate post-war years, a small group of passionate engineers set about creating a new generation of British competition machinery. From a modest workshop in Surrey, their efforts would give rise to one of the most charismatic and technically fascinating marques of the period: Connaught. The L-series sports racers were the very first cars to bear the Connaught name, and today they stand as the foundation upon which the marque’s later Grand Prix successes were built. Constructed in exceptionally small numbers, the L2 represents the earliest expression of the Connaught philosophy: lightweight construction, carefully developed engineering, and an uncompromising focus on competition performance.
Chassis 7004, offered here, was the fourth example constructed from a total production of just six L2 sports racers, including the prototypes. Such rarity alone would ensure its desirability, yet it is the car’s purity of design and authentic competition character that make it particularly compelling.
The L2 utilised the proven chassis and running gear of the contemporary Lea-Francis sports models, clothed in a lightweight aluminium body of purposeful simplicity. Beneath the bonnet sits the characterful Lea-Francis four-cylinder engine, later enlarged in period to 2,496cc, providing a notable increase in performance while remaining entirely sympathetic to the car’s early competition heritage. In this form, the L2 was capable of performance well in excess of 100 mph, an impressive figure in the late 1940s and testament to the car’s advanced engineering. Imbued with notably more power and torque (the factory claimed 125bhp @ 5,000rpm and 150lbft of torque in standard tune), ‘AHC 82’ embarked upon a busy 1953 season tackling a variety of sprint, hillclimb and track events. Participating at no less than three Goodwood meetings that year, the diminutive Connaught seems to have left quite an impression on first owner Mr. Goldthorpe to the extent that he later had it modified into a more practical 2+2 seater for road use. Reputedly sold via Performance Cars in 1958, ‘AHC 82’ was subsequently run by the likes of John Whiffen, Anthony Miller, Massimo Corona, Jeremy Broad and Graeme Simpson (the latter pair using it during the early days of the Griffiths Formula). Purchased by Karl Ludvigsen in 1968, the car was later exported to America where its new keeper used it for touring and racing duties (including outings at Watkins Glen!). Repatriated in the 1970s when Ludvigsen joined Ford, ‘AHC 82’ was put to one side awaiting restoration. Still untouched a decade later, it was bought by renowned enthusiast Duncan Rabagliati. In his keeping for nearly twenty years, its rebuild was entrusted to Barry Price of Lea-Francis Cars Ltd and Peter Lander of Sigma Engineering, Dorset. With bills totalling approximately £40,000, ‘AHC 82’ returned to the road in July 1999. Later passing through the hands of Hong Kong based entrepreneur Ian Wade, before entering the current ownership, ‘AHC 82’ has been invited to some of the World’s finest events with recent appearances at the Goodwood Revival and Members Meetings, together with the prestigious Monaco Historique.
Today, surviving Connaught L2s represent a remarkably rare opportunity to acquire a car from the formative years of British post-war motorsport. Equally suited to historic competition, prestigious motoring events, or inclusion within a significant collection, chassis 7004 benefits from having ‘no-stories’ and huge recent expenditure / development. Offering unmatched versatility, whether that be sliding through ‘Casino Square’, or a leisurely trip to the pub on a Sunday, the car is fully-prepped, and ready to use in either road-trim (as illustrated), or stripped ‘competition’ specification.
