Vanwall goes back to the future with 1958 F1 recreation

The first ever British car to win the F1 championship, you ask? A Lotus, a BRM, a Cooper, or perhaps a McLaren? No, a Vanwall.

The British manufacturer sealed its claim to fame in 1958, thanks in part to the skills of the country's first F1 world champion, the great Mike Hawthorn.

Sixty-two years after trouncing the likes of Ferrari and Maserati at the Moroccan GP, Vanwall is revisiting its glorious past while banking on the future, recreating a series of six faithful replicas of its 1958 F1 charger.

Recreated from original blueprints by historic racing and restoration specialist Hall and Hall, the cars are said to be "100 per cent accurate", including the new-build version of the machine's 2.5-litre four-cylinder Vanwall engine that will blast out a healthy 270bhp.

According to Vanwall Group boss Iain Sanderson, the Vanwall name "is too important to consign to history".  And that is apparently the impetus behind the company's bigger plan of designing a modern day road car that would embody the manufacturer's "heritage in engineering and innovation".

In the interim, how much for the green Vanwall in the window, you ask?

A cool £1.65million. Plus tax.