Description
This car is Lot 114 to be auctioned by Bonhams|Cars at The Goodwood Auction on Saturday September 13th, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
Public Viewing:
Available Friday September 12 from 09:00 until 17:00, Saturday September 13 from 09:00 at The Goodwood Revival.
Lot 114
1966 Costin-Nathan 1-Litre GT Ultra-Lightweight Competition Coupé
Registration no.
Chassis no. GT/ 66/ 023
Frank Costin designed ultralight racing car
All-plywood monocoque construction
Extensively restored recently
Displayed at the Silverstone Museum
Offered from the collection of Roger Nathan
Here we offer what is by far one of the most distinctive of all British-made mid-sixties Grand Touring cars, another master work by the great Frank Costin, former De Havilland aerodynamicist-turned racing car body stylist and structural engineer.
Within the racing world Frank Costin had made his name with frontier-breaking low-drag body styles for Lotus before devising the legendary 'teardrop' form of the 1958 Formula 1 Constructors' Championship-winning Vanwalls. His voluminous aerodynamic bodywork also appeared upon a Le Mans Maserati 450S Coupe, before he developed both the 1959 Costin Lister-Jaguar/ Lister-Chevrolet form together with a spaceframe-chassised Lister Coupe. Seeking chassis rigidity combined with lightweight he perfected the Marcos GT-series in conjunction with Jim Marsh - 'Marsh' plus 'Costin' creating Marcos Cars.
It was then into 1965/ 66 that Frank Costin conceived a truly ultralight racing car with a central engine. While he designed the plywood-skinned chassis and moulded glass-fibre bodyshell, successful Lotus Elite racing driver Roger Nathan supplied the highly modified Hillman Imp engine and transaxle. They became project partner to bring Frank Costin's latest concept to production. Based upon an all-plywood monocoque, two open Costin-Nathans were built initially, Roger Nathan achieving considerable success in his at up to International level. Thus inspired, the partners then developed a GT Coupe version - as offered here - for 1967.
The eye-catching new car was launched at the year's London Racing Car Show in January that year. Its wooden monocoque chassis structure was formed from marine-quality Okoumé plywood from Gabon, with Costin-Nathan guaranteeing it for 10 years. Its torsional rigidity figure of 2, 800lbs/ ft per degree deflection was extremely high for the time, rivalling that of Robin Herd's famous 'Mallite' McLaren-Ford F1 design.
Tubular subframes supported front and rear suspension, the initially 1-litre 110bhp highly-tuned Hillman Imp engine - developing peak power at 8, 400rpm - with two twin-choke downdraught Weber carburettors, being mounted amidships, and driving to the rear wheels via a Jack Knight-developed five-speed Imp gearbox. The original Costin-Nathan Imp weighed less than 350 kg, including 77 kg for the complete engine unit. With 110-horsepower for a weight of barely 770lbs, the new car's power/ weight ratio was extremely high.
The open cockpit Costin-Nathan had made its racing debut at Brands Hatch and that season saw it contest six events, Roger Nathan winning five. He was keen to aspire to a Le Mans entry in 1967, for which the Costin-Nathan GT was born. The first prototype was completed just three weeks before the great race, leaving only time for a single Snetterton test pre-24 Hours. Using an old 'hack' engine the Costin-Nathan GT completed 75 trouble-free laps and broke the lap record. The team was made up of two English drivers, Roger Nathan and Mike Beckwith, and the French driver Franck Ruata.
At Le Mans the car was to be driven by Mr. Nathan, Mike Beckwith and French driver Frank Ruata. However, in first practice the engine began to misfire, and after four hours' racing ignition problems saw the car retired. A faulty Lucas wiring loom had been provided, while a Weber float valve needle spring had also broken.
Subsequently the open prototype sports racing car achieved international success, especially by winning the Coupe du Salon at Montlhéry soundly beating the works Fiat Abarth team in a David and Goliath battle. with the GT's also shining at the 1968 Paris 1, 000Kms. And particularly at the Nürburgring 500km in September 1968 winning is class with a new lap record. It was the smallest engine car of over 60 entries and finished an incredible 8th overall. There were two additional GT's, a privately entered one finishing second in class to Roger a lap behind. Also in 1968, the GT won two National British Championships, The Motoring News GT Championship and the Tootal Menswear GT championship. As sold to numerous private drivers subsequent Costin-Nathan GTs adopted various engines: including a 1. 3-litre Cosworth-Ford unit for the 1968 and '70 Nürburgring 1, 000kms and even a 2-litre BMW for Jenny Dell's car in 1970. What's more, the Moynet-Simca XS entered for the 1968 Le Mans 24 Hours, used a Costin-Nathan monocoque chassis.
A total of some 18 Costin-Nathans were constructed in Roger Nathan's London premises. This particular example re-emerged for auction in 2018 when Mr. Nathan succeeded in purchasing it pre-sale. It has since undergone an extensive restoration which included dealing with a minor case of woodworm...
He drove the car in an extensive track test at Brands Hatch - where in the early '60s he had achieved immense success as a youthful new Lotus Elite driver - since when it spent some time on display at the wonderful Silverstone Museum. There it was most emphatically one of the rarer and more unusual cars in the collection. BONHAMS CARS recommend it now for the closest consideration - a strikingly high-tech aerodyne which would grace any of the great International historic racing events worldwide.
All lots are sold 'as is/ where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding. Visit the Bonhams|Cars website for all pertinent auction information.
