Connaught Engineering was formed by engineers named Rodney Clark and Mike Oliver, who worked out of their garage under the name 'Continental Cars.' A wealthy customer, with an pasion for racing, funded their efforts to build race cars of their own design, resulting in the first Formula One victory by a British constructor. Roney Clarke's original vision for the L3/SR race car was to have a lightweight aluminum body with cycle fenders and a tubular steel frame. This concept changed when Abbotts of Farnham, the body builder, refused to use steel, opting instead to use ash, which was was their preferred method of construction. As this car was on schedule for shipment to America, the ash framework had to be accepted. Connaught ultimately built only three L3/SRs, this one being the only one which was imported into the United States. Its first race was at Watkins Glen in 1951, where it won its class. It was also raced at Bridgehampton in 1952, finishing ninth. | |
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