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HWM Alta Jaguar - from Formula 2 racing to the road

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Created on March 15, 2021

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

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Silverstone Auctions

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HWM Alta Jaguar (1950) - for the use of the Jaguar engine, the HWM also had to be adapted on the body side

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HWM Alta Jaguar (1950) - there should be no lack of driving fun here

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HWM Alta Jaguar (1950) - signaling system for road use

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HWM Alta Jaguar (1950) - from this perspective it looks (with the exception of the mudguards and the exhaust system on the left) almost as it did in 1950

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HWM Alta Jaguar (1950) - View into the cockpit

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HWM Alta Jaguar (1950) - the Jaguar inline six-cylinder with two overhead camshafts

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HWM Alta Jaguar (1950) - three SU carburetors bear witness to the XK120 engine

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HWM Alta Jaguar (1950) - with racing disk

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HWM Alta Jaguar (1950) - road-legal since the fifties

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HWM Alta F2 (1950) - at Hamburg city park races

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HWM Alta F2 (1950) - at the Freiburg-Schauinsland Grand Prix

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HWM Alta F2 (1950) - at the Geneva Grand Prix, behind Trintignant's Simca-Gordini

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HWM Alta F2 (1950) - the Zurich fisherman finished an honorable sixth

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Summary

Today, HWM may only be known to enthusiasts, but in 1950 it was probably the best-known British racing team in this country and frequently competed in major events. With the HWM Alta 2000, the British team brought a Formula 2 car to the races, which was driven with some success by Stirling Moss and Rudolf Fischer, among others. This report tells the story of the HWM Alta 2000 from 1950 and shows it in current and historical footage.

This article contains the following chapters

"Bits and pieces"
Four cars built for the 1950 season
The entry at the Bern Grand Prix
Many entries
The varied history of the first HWM 2000
Unique contemporary witness

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

70 years ago, even formula racing was much closer to road cars than even touring cars or Le Mans prototypes are today. To be successful on race weekends back then, you didn't need 50 or 100 people and a wind tunnel, but enthusiastic racing drivers and a capable constructor who was also happy to work as a mechanic. Three of these racing fanatics were called George Abecassis, John Heath and Alf Francis and together they built the first British post-war racing team that was really noticed in this country. The team was called HWM, which stood for "Hersham and Walton Motors" and also referred to the place where the racing cars were developed.

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