Vanwall was a British motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall bearings produced at the Vandervell Products factory at Acton, London.
Originally entering modified Ferraris in non-championship races, Vanwall constructed their first cars to race in the 1954 Formula One season. The team achieved their first race win in the 1957 British Grand Prix, with Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks sharing a VW 5, earning the team the distinction of constructing the first British-built car to win a World Championship race. Vanwall won the inaugural Constructors' Championship in Formula One in 1958, in the process allowing Moss and Brooks to finish second and third in the Drivers' Championship standings, each winning three races for Vanwall. Vandervell's failing health meant 1958 would be the last full season; the squad ran cars in a handful of races in the following years, but finished racing in 1961.
1954
The first actual Vanwalls were known as Vanwall Specials and were built for the new Formula 1 regulations in 1954 at Cox Green, Maidenhead.
The chassis was designed by Owen Maddock and built by the Cooper Car Company. The 2.0 L engine was designed by Norton engineer Leo Kuzmicki, and was essentially four Manx single-cylinder 498 cc engines with a common waterjacket, cylinder head (a copy of the Norton's) and valvetrain, with induction by four AMAL motorcycle carburetors.
1954
1957
1955
1957
1957
1956
1958
1955
At the end of the 1955 season, it was plain that the engine was sound, but that the Ferrari-derived chassis needed improvement. It was suggested to Vandervell that he should hire the services of a young up-and-coming designer to improve their cars. The designer was Colin Chapman.
1956
The new car showed early promise in 1956 by winning the non-championship F1 race at Silverstone against strong opposition. It set the lap record at Syracuse Stirling Moss drove the car to victory in what was his only drive for Vanwall that year, as he was still contracted to drive for Maserati in F1. Talented drivers Harry Schell and Maurice Trintignant were the full-timers for the season. However, neither of them had much success although the car showed obvious potential.
1957
At the end of 1957, alcohol fuels were banned and replaced by a compulsory 130-octane aviation gasoline. This caused problems for Vanwall and BRM with their large bore engines that required methanol for engine cooling. As a result, the Vanwall's power dropped from 290 bhp at 7500 rpm (308 bhp with nitromethane) to 278 bhp on the test bed. During the race, where revs were reduced, only 255–262 bhp at 7200–7400 rpm was available. This put them at a disadvantage to the new Dino Ferrari V6 cars with a claimed 286 bhp at 8300 rpm. The Vanwall's superior road holding (thanks to suspension changes, new steel wheels, and new nylon-cord Dunlop R5 racing tyres), streamlining, 5-speed gearbox, and disc brakes helped to offset this.
1958
Vanwall became the first team to win the Constructors' Championship, held for the first time that season. However, Moss lost out to Mike Hawthorn in the Drivers' Championship by a single point to finish second, with Brooks ending the season in third. Their triumph at the end of the season was sadly marred when, during the final race of the year in Morocco, Lewis-Evans was fatally injured in an accident.
The 1958 season was the last one in which Vanwall entered every race. Vandervell's health was failing and he had been advised by his doctors to rest. The team continued half-heartedly.
1959
In 1959, the British Formula 1 team Vanwall largely withdrew from the sport, following their historic achievement of winning the very first Constructors' Championship in 1958.
Team owner Tony Vandervell decided to scale back full-time racing due to his failing health and the tragic death of Vanwall driver Stuart Lewis-Evans at the 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix. As a result, the team only made a single appearance during the 1959 season.
The team built a single, lightened evolution of their car known as the Vanwall VW 59. They also briefly experimented with a rear-engined Lotus-Vanwall prototype, but Vandervell quickly shut the project down. British star Tony Brooks—who spent most of the 1959 season driving for Ferrari—returned to Vanwall for a one-off entry at his home race.
Vanwall's sole entry of the season was the British Grand Prix held at Aintree on July 18, 1959.
1960
In 1960, Vanwall made its final appearance in Formula 1. After withdrawing from full-time competition at the end of 1958 and entering only one race in 1959, team owner Tony Vandervell made one last, half-hearted attempt before closing the book on the legendary British team.
Just like the previous year, the team built a single car for a one-off appearance. Vanwall traveled to the ultra-fast Reims-Gueux circuit in July 1960 for the French Grand Prix. The Vanwall VW 11 was a "low-line" model. It was lower and lighter than its championship-winning predecessors, but it stubbornly kept the engine at the front. By 1960, this layout was completely obsolete compared to the agile, rear-engined cars built by Cooper and Lotus.
The actual race was short-lived. After just 7 laps, Brooks was forced to retire in the pits due to a terminal ignition failure.
The race at Reims marked the final World Championship Grand Prix for Vanwall.
Behind the scenes, the team finally gave in to modern trends and built a prototype with a rear engine: the Vanwall VW 14. This car was raced only once, by John Surtees at the non-championship International Trophy at Silverstone in May 1961. Shortly after, Vandervell permanently shut down all racing operations, ending the era of the first British team to ever beat Ferrari to a world title.
vw6 streamliner
In 1957 Vanwall appeared with the Vanwall VW5 on the grid. On the 14th of July, the Non-championship race at Reims was held. At that race, Vanwall appeared with the VW5. However, for the Vanwall VW6 was there as well. Abbey Panels and Frank Costin constructed the exclusively for Reims. As the Circuit was ultra-fast.
Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks were to drive the car however due to illness Roy Salvadori and Stuart Lewis-Evans took place behind the wheel. The car was only used in the free practice to see how the car behaved. The first few months of 1957, the team had working on this car. During those years, several teams were experimenting with streamlined bodyworks.
As said the car was only used during the free practice to test the cars. Moreover, see how their aerodynamic package was working on the track. Sadly, there isn’t that much information available of the Vanwall VW6. It is said that both Salvadori and Lewis-Evans were not happy with the VW6. It is said that both drivers were not happy with the feel of the car and how the car behaved while racing.
After the qualification the car team returned to their previous car. Eventually The VW6, without the streamliner configuration, appeared at Monza and was driven by Tony brooks.
The Vanwall Group is the modern British automotive entity established to preserve, manage, and revive the legacy of the historic 1950s Formula One team. Managing Director Iain Sanderson—a former offshore powerboat world champion and early electric vehicle pioneer—spearheads the organization.
The company acts as the official custodian of the original Vanwall trademarks in the UK and EU, focusing on high-end engineering, historic racing, and long-term brand evolution.
It is important not to confuse the UK-based Vanwall Group with Vanwall GmbH based in Germany.
The two are entirely distinct operations due to a highly publicized trademark divide:
- Vanwall Group (UK): Led by Iain Sanderson, owning the rights to the classic 1950s heritage, blueprints, and the F1 continuation cars.
- Vanwall GmbH / ByKolles (Germany): Led by Colin Kolles, which secured the international rights to use the Vanwall name for modern motorsport, resulting in the Vandervell 680 Le Mans Hypercar and modern electric road car concepts.
gpr v12
2005
The classic styled Vanwall GPR V12 pays homage to the 1958 Granprix car which won the championship that year. The new Vanwall GPR V12 is just that, new. The Vanwall's body is beautifully crafted from lightweight aluminium with seamless joins between all panels. The GPR V12 gets modern styling cues from the tiny projector headlights hidden by the wheels which use clever 'tread pattern' mudguards.
For power the Vanwall uses a 350bhp Jaguar sourced V12, brand new, with fuel injection. Acceleration to 100 km/h takes 4.5 seconds.
Ultimately the Vanwall GPR V12 is about the closest anyone can get to pretending to be Stirling Moss without stealing a museum piece.
1958 f1 continuation car
The Vanwall 1958 Continuation Cars are an incredibly exclusive project where the legendary, championship-winning F1 car was completely rebuilt from scratch. Rather than being modern replicas, these are official, hand-built continuations of the original Vanwall VW5, commissioned by the revitalized Vanwall Group.
Exactly six cars were built. This number directly honors the six Grand Prix victories Vanwall achieved during its historic 1958 championship season with Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks. Five of the cars were sold to private collectors, while the sixth car was kept by the Vanwall Group as a flagship vehicle for their own Vanwall Historic Racing Team.
To guarantee absolute authenticity, the Vanwall Group partnered with the historic racing restoration experts at Hall and Hall in Lincolnshire, England.
Using original 1950s blueprints and factory drawings, every vehicle required thousands of hours of meticulous hand-assembly. The tolerances were so strict that every single component matches the original design down to a thousandth of an inch.
The continuation cars are mechanically identical to the front-engined machines that beat Ferrari to the 1958 title. They have an exact, newly manufactured 2.5-liter (2489cc) Vanwall engine, producing 270 bhp.
Because they are built to precise period-correct regulations, these six continuation cars are fully eligible for historic motorsport racing. Owners can actually compete with them in prestigious events like the Goodwood Revival.
ByKolles Racing, formerly known as Kodewa, is an Austrian-German auto racing team based in Greding, Germany. The team most recently fielded the No. 4 Vanwall Vandervell 680 in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023. It was founded in 2000 by Romulus Kolles and his son Colin Kolles as Kolles Racing, but has undergone several rebrands over the years. These include a sponsorship deal with Lotus Cars from 2012 to 2014, a failed takeover of Tyrrell's naming rights, and a subsequent switch to Vanwall that went to court in 2023.
vandervell 680 le mans hypercar
2022
The Vanwall Vandervell 680 is a sports prototype racing car designed and built by Vanwall Racing Team. It is designed to the Le Mans Hypercar regulations and made its debut in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship at the season-opening 1000 Miles of Sebring.
ByKolles Racing intended to debut the car during the 2021 season, however, the project was delayed for the 2022 season. The team later acquired the rights to use the Vanwall name and the car was rebranded as a Vanwall LMH.
ByKolles uses the Gibson GL458 V8 engine, which produces around 700 hp. The car is without a hybrid system, unlike other major car manufacturers involved in LMH and LMDh.
Following the 2023 season, Vanwall struck a deal with PIPO Moteurs "at the end of October" to use their P21 twin-turbocharged V8 in the Vandervell 680 before it was excluded from the 2024 entry list due to a lack of competitiveness.
2025
Vanwall, the legendary British F1 racing team, has officially unveiled the VanderVell, a high-performance EV based on IONIQ 5 & IONIQ 5 N, thanks to a collaboration with Hyundai Motor Group.
The VanderVell lineup consists of three models, all built on Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP platform, ensuring exceptional power and efficiency:
- H-GT: The base model delivers an impressive 325 horsepower based on the IONIQ 5 AWD.
- N-GT: A higher-performance variant boasting 650 horsepower and based on the IONIQ 5 N.
- N-GT Scene Wall Special: The most advanced version, also at 650 horsepower, but significantly lighter due to a carbon fiber body, allowing it to achieve 0-100 km/h in under 3.4 seconds with a weight of less than 2000 kg.
The vehicle is equipped with an 800V high-voltage system, supporting ultra-fast charging of up to 258kW. Additionally, all models include a four-wheel-drive system, enhancing performance and stability.
Vanwall has announced that production of the VanderVell will be limited to 500 units, with pre-orders starting in January 2025. The base model starts at €128,000 (excluding VAT). While production is planned in Germany, specific facilities and timelines have yet to be confirmed.
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