The story of Brutus came into focus when the pictures of Crystal Palace in 1969 were published in Bulletin 558 and we just happened to have an album of Jim Kennard’s.
We knew the racing history when Brian Chant owned it from regular reports in the Bulletin including the six hour race at Silverstone and the Oulton Park accident. But where is it now?
VSCC reports of racing in France and elsewhere meant it had left the UK and, by chance, the reported current owner in Germany is a Follower of the Archive Trust website. An email to him confirmed he was indeed now the owner and with the benefit of Wayne Brooks 4.3 database he is now in possession of several pages of history (and some conjecture).
So a brief history is that, as stated in the Kennard album, Derek Strong, of Osterley, created the special. The registration EHP 99 came from a broken up Speed 25. It then went to Dennis W. Kitchener who was with Vintage Racing Cars (Northampton) Ltd. followed by John M. Venables-Llewllyn, Bt., of Llandrindod Wells. This picture from the Rivers Fletcher collection may be Brutus as originally built.
Jim Kennard of Sherborne had placed a wanted ad in 1968 for a special.
He sold it in 1974, we assume to Peter Woodley, of Barsby, a well known Special builder at this time and who was the Technical Adviser of the AOC from 1984 – 1993.
Brian Chant, acquired Brutus in 1979 from Peter. He was AOC Competition Secretary from 1985-90, living in Stalbridge, Dorset.
At Silverstone in the Six Hour Relay race
He sold it in 1993.
It was reported with Dr. Marc Hevia, of Angouleme, Paris, France and advertised for sale in 1996. Twenty years later it is with Klaus Herman Mayer, in Esslingen, Germany.
Alvis Archive 