Cripes! Race like it’s 1958 in this gorgeous Vanwall F1 recreation

Think of the great marques of British motorsport success and who comes to mind? Lotus, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Bentley, McLaren… but perhaps not Vanwall.

Yet, it should. Because the next time someone hits you with the quiz question ‘which was the first ever British car to win an F1 championship race?’ (it can happen) you can proudly reply it was the Vanwall VW5, way back in 1958. At the British Grand Prix. Bet that was a good afterparty.

In fact, Vanwall won the first ever official Formula One World Championship for constructors. F1 didn’t get around to presenting a trophy to the team behind the car until eight years after it’d been awarding points and prizes to the driver. See, you’ve learned something today, haven’t you?

If you’ve got the thick end of two million quid lying around, you can go one better, and have a brand-new Vanwall F1 car of your very own. Yep, here we have the latest classic from yesteryear to be blessed with the recreation treatment. Why not add a bit of Vanwall to your track day fleet, millionaire petrolheads of the world?

Only six examples of this exquisite reborn Vanwall will be built, of which five will be offered for sale. The other one is going into service in the Vanwall Historic Racing Team.

Power comes from a 2.5-litre engine kicking out a healthy 270bhp. The cars are being built by restoration outfit Hall & Hall in Bourne, Lincolnshire – the home of British F1 team BRM. So, there’s pedigree there.

What’s more, this is potentially just the beginning of Vanwall’s revival. The marque, which counted the likes of Sir Stirling Moss, Mike Hawthorn and Colin Chapman among its drivers back in the day, says it has “already commenced investigations to understand how the historic Vanwall brand DNA could translate into a vehicle for the 2020s, with studies ongoing into future road and race car programmes".

Could Vanwall join the likes of Lister and Brabham in bringing a storied motorsport veteran back out of the history books and onto a road near you? We’re sure the late, great Sir Stirling and company would approve.