A wonderful and striking original 1923 black and white photograph of motor racing cars at speed. The photograph with printed annotation ‘L.Ropner (Vauxhall) just beating F.B. Halford (Aston-Martin) in the 100 m.p.h. Short Handicap. Brooklands. Aug. 1923.’ The photograph capturing the winning drivers passenger with hailing arm goading F.B. Halford as he just looses the race.

The photograph is believed to capture Ropner in the famous 30-98 Vauxhall as described below, notable as the first British production car with an official top speed of 100mph.

The photograph attached to its card mount with raised and embossed decorative border, marked to the back ‘ Photograph by H.K. Beavan’.

Sir Leonard Ropner, 1st Baronet, MC, DL (26 February 1895 – 12 October 1977) was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. Sir Leonard frequented Brooklands track throughout the 1920s as a particularly successful driver of the 30/98 Vauxhall “Silver Arrow” during the seasons 1923/25. Much as Sir Leonard enjoyed his motor racing, his family pondered on the dangers of this sport and persuaded him to give it up in 1926.

In 1923 sir Leonard supposedly wrote a letter to The Autocar’s editor, complaining that he was unable to buy a road car that could cover a flying mile at more than 100mph, this inspired the 30-98 OE - a 4.2-litre model with 112bhp.

In late March that year Vauxhall delivered the first car to Ropner, but not before factory test driver Matt Park proved the car’s prowess. At the famous Brooklands racetrack in Surrey it managed a flying lap at an average of 100.7mph, despite the fact that it had a windscreen and was fully road legal.

This cemented the 30-98 as the first British production car with an official top speed of 100mph. Vauxhall were justifiably proud of this fact and offered a warranty to that effect - as long as the car had the correct ratio rear axle and pared-back coachwork.

Major Frank Halford CBE FRAeS (7 March 1894 – 16 April 1955) was an incredibly accomplished Aero-engine designer, designing and developing many of Britain’s most successful and widely-used aircraft engines, including the V8 ADC “Cirrus”, used in the de Havilland Cirrus Moth, and the de Havilland “Gipsy” series of smaller, 4-cylinder in-line engines which would go on to power (among many others) the DH60 flown by Amy Johnson from London to Australia in 1930 and the Blackburn Bluebird flown around the world the same year by Mildred Bruce.

From 1923 Halford became a regular and familiar participant at track race meets, developing a relationship with Aston Martin and going on to be one of the nine starters in the first-ever British Grand Prix, held at Brooklands on 7 August 1926. In 1925 Halford also, having employed the advances of aero-engine design in motor racing is famously known for fitted a turbocharger to the engine of a short chassis Aston Martin, making it the first known turbo-charged car. A turbocharged racing engine would not be seen again in the motor racing arena until the appearance of the Renault turbo Formula 1 car more than half a century later, in 1977.

The photograph 11.5cm x 16.3cm. The card mount 20.3cm x 25.5cm.

The photograph in good overall condition, some minor light marks / foxing spot and surface wear however this does not detract from the striking image. The mount with some light marks and the annotated label with some scuffs and marks. Please be guided by the photographs and please do not head to ask any further questions.

All items are packaged with good quality materials and the greatest care to ensure safe delivery.