At this years Classic-Days at Schloß Dyck, I saw a nice extremely low roadster near the crowd of Bentleys and my first thought was „Oh, a great car, but on what chassis might this „Special“ be built?“ But the car looked very nice. I saw a fantastic (but not too heavy) patina and as I saw the front-axle, I realized, that this was not a „usual“ special. And then I read the name on the radiator-grille: Atalanta. ...ATALANTA, I´ve heard about that brand sometimes before, but in my literature, I only found two short articles about this short living automobile producer. Atalanta was founded by Alfred Gough, a Frazer-Nash engineer. Gough developed a high-performance four-cylinder engine for Frazer-Nash, but the engine was disclaimed for German BMW engines, built under license. Gough left Frazer-Nash in 1934 and in December 1936, he founded the „Atalanta Motors Ltd.“, supported by Peter Crosby and Eric Scott, both former employees of „Specialloid Pistons“. Among the financiers of this new brand were racing drivers Peter Whitehead and Tim Scott and the wealthy racing team owner Midge Wilby. Two versions of the Atalanta were presented in 1937 and both had the engines, Gough developed at Frazer-Nash: A 1½ -litre (78 HP) and a bigger 2 litre version (98 HP), that could be ordered with an optional blower. Both engines had an overhead camshaft, three valves and two spark plugs per cylinder and a double ignition (magneto and coil). For the 1938 Atalanta, a new version with an American Lincoln Zephyr V-12 engine was introduced. The 4.4-litre V-12 (112 HP) had an enormous prestige and for eight additional cylinders, a surprisingly low amount had to be added to the price of the four-cylinder car. But prices were too high, also for the four-cylinder versions. The cars were made in a great quality, but the price was about twice against a similar, mass-produced car. Also, the chassis was a Gough development and you had the choice of two (later three) wheel-bases. Gough used materials as electron, duralumin, magnesium, and hiduminium and the chassis featured very modern attributes like independent suspension, coil springs, adjustable Armstrong shock-absorbers, etc. Coil springs were mounted vertically at the front (with a characteristic cross beam „through“ the radiator) and horizontal at the rear. The Atalanta was available in five body-styles: An „Open two-seat sports car“ with cycle wings, a „two-seat sports car“, a „two door fixed head coupé“, a „luxury two-door saloon“ and a „two door drophead coupé“, all manufactured at „Abott of Farnham“. Additional, one fantastic car, built by „E. Bertelli Ltd.“ is confirmed but sadly didn´t survive. Midge Wilby bought three cars for her racing team. The car she drove on her own was a V-12, with a 1½ litre and a 2 litre car (this was the car I saw at Schloß Dyck), completing this semi-official factory team. The two other cars were mostly driven by Joan Brotchie and Gordon Wilkins. The Rallye Scotland, the RAC-Rallye, the Welsh Rallye and the Lewes Speed Trials saw the Atalanta cars. Later one with G. Weldon, not part of the Wilby team, but he must have had a great day, as „The Autocar“ called his performance „impressive“. Wilbys 1½ litre car even started at the 24-hours of LeMans, but after an accident before the race, the provisional repaired car failed in lap four. Atalanta sadly had a short „first“ life: Because of the outbreak of WW2, production ended in 1939 after only 20 cars produced in total with only 7 V12 cars built in Staines-upon-Thames. But the name appeared again. In 1950 Richard G. Shattock presented the new RGS-Atalanta sports cars. He still used the original Atalanta chassis and completed them with fiberglass bodies and engines by Jaguar or Aston Martin (one source even tells about „boat-engines“ for the first cars). Till 1962 (or 1958, as some sources tell us), about 100 RGS-Atalanta were built in his factory in Windsor. But was this the end? Not yet, as Martyn Corfield presented a new Atalanta in 2011. I´m not sure if this project is still alive, but I hope, the Atalanta has at least three lives! text & photos: Hubertus Hansmann |
  |
↧
Atalanta; You only live twice (...or thrice?)
↧