‘Magic’ Merlyn 11a – had a great racing history

In 1968, the Merlyn Mk11 was instantly competitive, with Tim Schenken claiming the BRSCC Formula Ford 1600 championship title that year. For 1969, a revised version dubbed the Mk11a was introduced. These cars featured new bodywork, revised springs, and other minor tweaks.

Chassis 238 was purchased new in Mk11a configuration by Denny Rowland, who had just sold his Mk11 to Sonny Eade. When Emerson Fittipaldi approached Rowland and asked him to race in his car, a deal was struck. Rowland leased the car to Fittipaldi and provided race and mechanical support.

The young Brazilian was so successful that he quickly moved up to Formula 3. Rowland then sold chassis 238 to Colin Vandervell, son of Tony, team owner of Vanwall. Like Fittipaldi, Vandervell was extremely competitive and won multiple races.

For 1970, what was now dubbed as “The Magic Merlyn” was upgraded to Mk17 specification, with Vandervell totally dominating the Formula Ford category. He won 24 races that season, nearly all in chassis 238 and took home the Les Leston Championship.

In 1971, Jody Scheckter acquired chassis 238, having impressed in the Formula Ford Sunshine Series in South Africa, and winning the ‘Driver of Europe’ award that year. Now based in the UK, he fielded the “Magic Merlyn” in the BOC Formula Ford Series. In his debut at Brands Hatch, he nearly claimed 1st place, but spun out while he was leading and finished in 2nd place.

Scheckter continued to show how competitive the “Magic Merlyn” was, claiming pole positions, victories, and podium finishes, but also spinning out on several occasions. Following a black flag in the Castellet Euro Series on 3 July, he moved up to Formula 3, selling chassis 238 to Frank Sytner and purchasing a brand new Merlyn Mk21.

The Prototype D-type XKC401

With its advanced monocoque construction and beautiful low-drag body, it maximised the potential of the XK engine, offering over 170 mph while remaining tractable enough to be driven on the road. Indeed the works cars were driven from Coventry to Dover, onto the ferry, and then down the main roads to the French circuit.

Although the C-type had decisively beaten Europe’s best at Le Mans in 1951 and 1953, the threat from Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari made it clear to Jaguar Team Manager “Lofty” England and engineer Bill Heynes that they needed a new car.

This was the result, a stronger, lighter and faster than the C-type, yet powered by a 270 bhp development of the same XK engine. This meant that private owners could easily buy and maintain these cars, which provided a useful back-up to the works team.

This prototype was completed in May 1954, and immediately travelled to France for a Le Mans test session where Jaguar works driver Tony Rolt broke the lap record by five clear seconds. On its return to Coventry, it was used for more development work, while a further three D-types were built for the race itself.

In the event fuel contamination sidelined two cars, but the third D-type, driven by Duncan Hamilton and Tony Rolt finished a close second, one lap behind the Ferrari 375 Plus of José Froilán González and Maurice Trintignant.