Archie Scott Brown – Motor Racing’s First Disabled Driver

Thanks to changing attitudes, advances in technology, and the work of dedicated organisations, motorsport is more inclusive today than ever before. There’s always more to be done, of course, but the fact remains that there are now far fewer barriers to competing, ensuring we have some extraordinarily talented disabled racing drivers like Billy Monger, Nathalie McGloin, and Caleb McDuff.

Seventy years ago, however, the chances of anyone with a severe disability getting behind the wheel of a racing car were exceedingly slim. But that didn’t stop Archie Scott Brown from not only becoming a racing driver, but also competing at top level, beating some of the very best able-bodied drivers the sport has ever seen.

William Archibald Scott Brown was born in Paisley, Scotland, on 13th May 1927. His mother suffered with ‘German Measles’ during her pregnancy, resulting in Archie being born with severe disablement in his legs; his feet facing almost backwards. He also had no fingers on his right hand and would never grow past five feet tall. 22 operations later, miraculously, he was able to walk.

Scott Brown at the wheel of a Connaught single seater

To aid his mobility, Scott Brown’s father built him a car, complete with lawnmower engine! And almost as soon as Archie was on four wheels, he was racing. Motorsport was in his blood; both his parents having raced at Brooklands before the War.

Initially competing in his own MG during the early ‘50s, Archie’s considerable talent got him noticed by Brian Lister – one of the best racecar engineers of the day. After initial success in the Lister Tojiero Special, Scott Brown later went on to drive the reverred Lister Jaguar ‘Knobbly’ – a car hailed as one of the greatest racing machines of all time.

This was Scott Brown’s big breakthrough. Now he had one of the best cars on the grid, and this enabled him to realise his full potential in major races. In all, Scott Brown won 71 races, of which 15 were in international competition. This even earned him a brief albeit comparatively unsuccessful stint in Formula 1, an unprecedented achievement for a severely disabled driver in 1956.

Archie’s unique driving style was a result of his disability. He would steer with his palm–like your dad probably did when parallel parking–but this was at speeds up to 180 mph in the days before power steering. Scott Brown’s unconventional palming technique afforded him excellent car control. His delicate touch on the wheel meant he could balance a car in a perfectly-executed four-wheel drift that was noticed by other drivers, notably among whom was fellow Scotsman, the soon-to-be legendary Jim Clark.

His considerable charisma and an unwavering grin under that bristling moustache made Archie Scott Brown popular in the paddock. He developed a fierce yet amicable rivalry with American driver Masten Gregory; the two drivers often contested podium finishes. Once asked about what he’d do in the event of his Lister’s brakes failing, Archie quipped that he’d “carry on without them, old boy.”

Some, however, showed themselves to be jealous of Scott Brown’s success. After he won two races at Snetterton in April 1954, Sid Green of Gilby Engineering noticed his disfigurement and reported it to the race stewards, who promptly revoked his licence. This was a serious setback for the promising young driver, but it turned out Archie had friends in high places. BRDC President Earl Howe was an admirer of Scott Brown’s driving, and upon learning of his ban from racing, supported his appeal to the RAC along with Gregor Grant of Autosport and former ‘Bentley Boy’ Dr Dudley Benjafield. By June 1954, Archie was back in the driving seat, although he would never attain the international license that would have potentially allowed him to further his F1 career.

Dr Dudley Benjafield at the wheel of a Cricklewood-era Bentley in September 1926

The 1950s are one of the most dangerous decades in the history of motorsport. This week marks seventy years since the infamous Le Mans disaster of 1955, and 1957 witnessed the terrible Mille Miglia tragedy involving Alfonso de Portago. Too many drivers, marshals and spectators lost their lives in the ‘50s, and Archie Scott Brown was among them. Following yet another fierce battle with his rival and fellow Lister driver Masten Gregory at Belgium’s Circuit de Spa Francorchamps, Scott Brown’s Knobbly was leading the race coming through Blanchimant in lap three. But it was then his car happened upon an unexpected damp patch entering the Clubhouse Bend. The Lister’s offside front wheel clipped a road sign, shearing a track rod and causing a terrible accident on the exact spot that had claimed the life of Richard Seaman in 1939. Archie Scott Brown succumbed to his injuries the following day in Heussy hospital. He was just 31 years old.

His isn’t a name we hear often in the pantheon of great racing drivers. Archie Scott Brown never garnered quite the success as some of his contemporaries. But it’s abundantly clear that this talented young man had enormous potential, which could have propelled him to new heights had his life not been cut tragically short. He was a great driver regardless of his disabilities, not in spite of them.

Long-time collaborator Brian Lister was seriously shaken by Archie’s death. He was eventually persuaded to continue, but following yet more driver mortalities, (albeit not in Listers), Brian pulled out from racing in 1959. He did make a brief comeback to prepare the Sunbeam Tigers for Le Mans in 1964, but that’s a story for another time…

Under the stewardship of the Whittaker family, Lister revived the Jaguar-engined Knobbly for the 2010s, creating a series of hand-built Continuation Cars, constructed using the same plans, techniques and even some of the same staff that built the original cars during the 1950s. Car & Classic is now offering Continuation Car number 5 of 10 at auction, which begins on 19th June at 10:00 am. The seller commissioned this car, chassis BHL 161C, directly from Lawrence Whittaker, and this very car accompanied Sir Stirling Moss to Pebble Beach and the RAC where it was displayed in the Rotunda. It has subsequently been raced by Tiff Needell and Phil Keen, and the car is eligible for FIA Appendix K competition.

Cars like this painstakingly handcrafted Lister Knobbly Continuation are a fitting tribute to 1950s motor racing and the people who drove these epic machines. Today’s thriving historic motorsport scene ensures the memories of great drivers like Archie Scott Brown are kept alive. In doing so, motor racing’s first disabled driver and his contemporaries might still inspire the next generation to get behind the wheel.