1954 Ex-Works Kieft 1100
Chassis No. 11/54/2
Engine No. ET515/FWA6152
Registration NJW 60
• The second of only six examples of the stunning Kieft 1100 ever built.
• The Kieft Works entry for the 1954 Dundrod TT and the International Sports Car Race at the 1954 British GP.
• Including the Works Team this car is remarkably still only in its fifth ownership since new having been in its previous
ownership for 54 years.
• Fitted with the works engine that ran at Le Mans in 1954 making it the first ever Coventry Climax engine to ever do a
race.
• With its potent, Dave Whitehurst prepared, Coventry Climax 1100cc engine this is a proven and highly eligible entry
to the highest tier of historic racing events, such as Goodwood, Monaco and the Le Mans Classic.
Motor Racing in England in the early 1950’s produced by some of the most evocative and influential names of that
golden era in motorsport. True British companies like BRM, Cooper, Frazer Nash and Jaguar. Very much amongst them
was Cyril Kieft. Like so many race car manufacturers of that time the Kieft Car Co. was bourn out of one man’s passion
and hunger for competing in the ever popular and growing world of motorsport.
A successful industrialist, he inherited his passion for motorsport from his father. Born in Swansea in September 1911,
Cyril followed his father into the steel industry and by 1935 was joint manager of the giant steelworks at Scunthorpe.
Moving on in 1935 they left Scunthorpe and, with his father Alfred, purchased two steelworks in Wolverhampton, and
two in Shropshire. In 1946 the four companies were combined under the name of the Wolverhampton Iron & Steel
Company (1946) limited, with Cyril as Managing Director, before selling his interest at the end of the year.
T. + 44 (0)1285 831 488
E. [email protected]
www.williamianson.com
Other industrial ventures included the
purchase of W. H. Birkinshaw &
Company Limited in 1939. Drop
forgers and edge tool makers at
Reliance Works in Derry Street,
Wolverhampton, the company name
was changed to Cyril Kieft & Company
Ltd. At the works Cyril produced
forgings, including adzes, axles, bars,
forks, hammers, hatchets, hoes, mauls,
picks, spades, tongs, wedges and drop
forgings for the Ford Motor Company.
The new business was the country's
largest manufacturer of picks for coal
mines.
In 1941 Cyril purchased Sellamn &
Hill Limited of Stewart Street,
Wolverhampton, manufacturers of the
"Crescent" brand of aluminium holloware. During the Second World War he trained as a bomb disposal officer in the
Home Guard and after the sale of the Wolverhampton Iron & Steel Company, he purchased an ex M.O.D. munitions
factory at Bridgend, South Wales. The Stewart St. factory was closed and production moved to Bridgend. At Bridgend
he undertook general presswork, and added thermostats, electric kettles, jelly moulds, Tilley lamps, hooks, components
for the motor industry, and locks of his own design to the product range. The venture was very successful, employing
about 450 people.
By the late 1940’s early 1950’s 500cc Formula 3 racing was growing from strength to strength and would launch the
careers of some of the greatest drivers of the coming era. Like many aspiring drivers of his time Cyril purchased a
500cc racing car. Unsuccessfully competing in the Lydstep hill climb, and confronted by the dangers of the sport at the
time, he decided that competing was not for him. This however was not before he was inspired to build a better
machine of his own deign and as such the Kieft was bourn. Two names stand out, far in front of the rest, in that
competitive world of 500cc Formula 3, racing that is the Cooper Car Co. and Kieft.
T. + 44 (0)1285 831 488
E. [email protected]
www.williamianson.com
All of the early cars were built at
Bridgend. Cyril offered Kieft singleseaters for sale, and took two cars, a
500c.c. and a 350c.c. to compete at
Montlhery in France. Ken Gregory,
Stirling Moss's manager approached
Cyril to ask if Stirling could drive one
of the cars. Both he, and Ken looked
after the 500c.c. car, while the 350c.c.
model was driven by John Neal. The
cars were extremely successful and set
a total of 14 world records in their
classes.
After their success Stirling and Ken
suggested that they should join forces
with Cyril to form Kieft and Company
Ltd. and the three became directors of
the new company. Stirling had
previously planned to drive a new car
that was to be built in London. Cyril
took over the debts and liabilities of the project, and the car was handed over to him to be the basis of a production
model for the future. Several cars were built, and the new Kieft won the Formula 3 British Grand Prix at Silverstone,
the Goodwood International, the Dutch Grand Prix and many other events.
Don Parker joined as a second driver, and was successful at many meetings, including the Daily Telegraph International
Race at Brands Hatch. He had 22 wins in the 1952 season and won the Formula 3 championship. In 1953 he won 30
races and the Formula 3 championship for the second year running.
The successes led to the Society of Motor Manufacturers giving Kieft the opportunity to display cars on their racing car
stand at the Earls Court Motor Show, both in 1952 and 1953. In the meantime Stirling Moss left to race for Cooper. In
September 1952 the Bridgend factory closed due to production difficulties caused by an intermittent electricity supply,
following the strikes in the South Wales coal mines. Cyril announced that he intended to build a 2-litre sports racing car,
and all production moved to Derry Street to take advantage of the highly skilled Wolverhampton workforce.
T. + 44 (0)1285 831 488
E. [email protected]
www.williamianson.com
Cyril decided to employ a professional designer for the new cars and approached Gordon Bedson, the Chief
Experimental Engineer at Vickers. Gordon agreed to join Kieft, and Cyril made him a director of the company, which
now became Kieft Cars Ltd.
By early 1953 cars were in production at Wolverhampton, and several models were built including a 500c.c. car for
Formula 3, a 2-litre car for Formula 2 and a 4.5-litre model for Formula 1. The new cars were a great success, and
Kiefts gained first and second places in the Lisbon Grand Prix.
In 1954 Cyril decided to manufacture a two-seater sports car for race and road use. A ground braking car for its time,
the resulting Kieft 1100 was notable for two things. It was the first car ever to be powered by the former fire pump
Coventry Climax FWA engine and the first to be clad in an all in one fibre glass body. The engine delivered 72b.h.p. at
6,400r.p.m., driven through a Moss gearbox. It had a maximum speed of at least 110m.p.h. and a fuel consumption of
50m.p.g. The chassis was fabricated from 3.25-inch steel tube, forming a ladder frame. The suspension was
independent all round with coil and wishbones at the front and a transverse leaf spring at the back. The braking was by
11-inch cast drums, which also served as hubs while the steering was rack and pinion.
With its sleek low drag, fibre glass bodywork this was a car that meant business. No more than six examples ever left
the factory as complete cars. The first car carried the registration NDA 172 and competed at that years Le Mans 24H in
the hands of Alan Rippon and William Black. The second, more or less identical car, is this car Chassis 11/54/2, NJW
60.
Completed in 1954, 11/54/2 was campaigned that July by Kieft's star driver Don Parker at Silverstone, where he placing
3rd-in-class behind Von Hanstein's Porsche and Reece's OSCA, and again at Fairwood. 11/54/2 was then allocated to
Don Parker and Welshman David Boshier-Jones for the Dundrod Tourist Trophy two month later. The fifth round of the
World Sportscar Championship, the car ran well until forced to retire with front suspension failure while the other
Works entered Kieft 1100, NDA 172, went on to win its class.
This car initially sported the registration LDA 1, a number plate 'borrowed' from one of the MG-powered central-seater
Kiefts and was re-registered as NJW 60 following its acquisition by Maurice Higgins in August 1954. The car
presumably being loaned to the Works for the Tourist Trophy. Eccles Garage of West Bromwich traded the Kieft to
Michael Hemens in 1956 and he sold it to Rupert Sherwin a year later, within whose family it remained for 54 years
until it was purchased by the current owner in 2011.
T. + 44 (0)1285 831 488
E. [email protected]
www.williamianson.com
Photos in the Kieft's history file show Godfrey Sherwin at speed during the Silverstone Eight Clubs meeting of 1958
and it was he, a trained motor engineer, who extensively restored the car in time to enjoy the 1992 Norwich Union
Classic. A new cylinder head was subsequently sourced for its very early Coventry-Climax FWA engine (number FWA/
ET515/6152) from Mike Brotherwood and the Kieft was maintained in full running order until Godfrey Sherwin passed
away in December 2009.
The current owner, a well know collector and racer of historic racing cars, has had the car completely overhauled and
race prepared to a very high standard by Michael and Andrew Hibberd. They had a substantial roll hoop fitted to the car
welded down into the chassis rails. A new body was built for the car, with the old original still retained. A new set of
wheels were made and a new radiator was fitted. The old drums and radiator again have been kept with the car. This
historic engine was rebuilt by Dave Whitehurst after this years Le Mans Classic, where the car came 13th overall and
was well within the top 10 in Index of Performance. It has zero hours, bar being on the dyno, since its completion.
The engine currently in the car is the original Coventry Climax FWA from the first works car, NDA 72, and as such is
the engine that ran at Le Mans in 1954 and is the first ever Coventry Climax engine to take part in a race.
Usable both on road and track, the event stickers on the side of the car say it all. This is an extremely eligible entry to
the highest tier of historic motorsport events such as the prestigious Goodwood Revival, Le Mans Classic, The
Sportscar race at the Monaco Historic GP, The Woodcote Trophy and many more. It is also worth noting that a Keift
1100 is on the list of eligible cars for the Mille Miglia, although, as always with the Mille Miglia, conformation of entry
is at the discretion of the event organizers. It is accompanied by an extensive spares package, FIA papers and a UK V5.
T. + 44 (0)1285 831 488
E. [email protected]
www.williamianson.com