Chassis Number: B317505
Derek Bennett, a shy, intuitive engineer and vastly underrated driver, was once dubbed Britain’s Enzo Ferrari. Yet his most stunning, world-beating Chevron cars emerged from the gloom of a lofty old brick-built Lancashire cotton mill in Bolton’s Old Chorley Road. Debuted in 1969, the B16 sports racer — arguably the prettiest sports coupé ever to grace the circuits — spawned a long series of 2-liter prototypes, much beloved by connoisseurs of the sport then as now. Today, the closed coupes are among the most popular models, but the incredibly agile and quick open “Group 6” sports cars, derived from a cut-down B16 Spyder (Bennett’s response to Lola’s T210), enjoy a loyal following throughout Europe. The B31 was an evolution of the B26 and featured subtle changes, such as slightly redesigned fiberglass bodywork, but it retained the same basic aluminum monocoque as its predecessor. Designed to compete in the European 2-Liter Championship, it was powered by a Hart 420R naturally aspirated 2-liter, 16-valve DOHC, fuel-injected straight-4 generating 290 horsepower at 9,500 rpm, fed through a Hewland 5-speed gearbox. With ventilated discs all around, rack-and-pinion steering and weighing only 580 kg, the B31 was incredibly nimble. The B31 offered here is the fifth of six documented as built in 1975 and at one point was finished in red and powered by a 3-liter Cosworth DFV. It’s now superbly presented in Martini colors and is powered by an Anderson Racing Hart 420R coupled to a J&P Hewland FG400 transaxle, both of which have been rebuilt. Significantly, the car won the 2013 HSCC Martini Sportscars Trophy, achieving four out of 11 wins, and has been professionally maintained and further developed by our vendor ever since.
