Hundreds of small automobile manufacturers sprouted from the ruins of World War II. Energized by peace and engineering skills acquired during the war, new post-war constructors opened their doors from here to there offering all manner of vehicles, including those intended for motorsports.
Arnott’s Garages of Harlesden, London (United Kingdom) was one such racecar builder and was thoroughly emblematic of what was happening at the time with one glaring exception…ovaries. Yes that’s right. Arnott was Daphne, a woman, and perhaps the first of her gender to birth an automobile manufacturing company. Arnott’s family had deep roots in the racing scene and Daphne’s childhood was filled with performance machinery, racing drivers and mechanics. During the war she honed her skills at Hawker Aircraft. Then, in 1953, she built a wind-cheating Formula Three racer on a round-tube ladder frame with torsion bar suspension. Racing veteran John Brise posted a number of international speed records at Montlhéry behind the wheel of this wee F3 rocket and this success pressed Daphne to dream big.
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