Building Nine Cars a Year

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22540, 3 October 1936, Page 14 (Supplement)

Building Nine Cars a Year

LONELY FACTORY RESTORES BRITAIN'S PRESTIGE

By JOHN HUME KENYON

(Copyright Reserved)

JN the middle of the lonely fens near Bourne in Lincolnshire, there was built lately a nice littlo two-storey factory. Its site used to be an orchard, and tho remaining apple trees still grow around it. A most inconvenient sort of place for a factory, you would think. Quito so, and tho men who placed it there did so for tho very fact of its inconvenience. They wanted to do tlioir work without being overlooked. They needed secrecy, plenty of lonely roads along which no traffic would interrupt them in the early summer mornings, freedom from inquisitive neighbours or folk who objected to a lot of noise now and then. It almost sounds as though they were bent on tho production of some secret and terrible weapon of war. It only needs details of a few spies to give this story the authentic Oppenheim touch. I can even supply tho spies—for quite a number of people in tho past year or two have come "snooping" round the little factory where Peter Bcrthon has been producing the most wonderful racing motor-car tho world has ever seen. Of course, we hold the land speed record. Sir Malcolm Campbell and his Bluebird have seen to that. Of course, we also hold a large percentage of the possible track speed records for motorcars and motor-cycles than any other nation. That is not the point, so far as Peter Berthon and his friend Raymond Mays, veteran racing driver, and Humphrey Cook are concerned. Racing Tame Time was when Britain's green machines carried all before them in those Continental road races which are the real heart and soul of the motorracing world. The prestige which the motor industry of a victorious nation gains from them is enormous —it has also the most satisfactory cash background in expert sales of racing and sports cars. The cars of at least four British manufacturers have all magnificently carried Britain's green colours to victory in these races. But latterly these firms have not been competing officially The expense of sending teams and cars abroad was too high. The difficulties of preparation interfered too greatly with ordinary commercial production. And so, as British prestige was lowered, German, French and Italian products became the road-racing motorcars on which tho world's attention centred. Three friends—Berthon, Mays and Humphrey Cook —reviewed the situation gloomily. All were more interested in road racing than anything else in this world. Berthon and Mays, associated in an old-established and highly profitable family wool business, had been running cars in sporting events together for some time. Mays, of course, is one of our most famous veteran racing drivers. There is not a famous international race in which he has not driven. But his speciality is hillclimbs, and he holds the record for the most celebrated English road event. Improved Great Designer's Work Ten years ago, when Berthon was little more than a boy, ho and Mays were running a French car in hillclimbing events The makers kept a casual eye on their performance, just as every firm of car manufacturers watches how its machines do whenever they are raced. At first nothing out of the ordinary took place. The MaysBerthon car did pretty well. Then gradually its times grew faster and faster, until it was reaching higher speeds than even its designer hoped it would attain. The chief of the French firm was told about it over at his headquarters. He invited Mays and Berthon over to see him. "How do you got more power out of that engine than my own designers can?" he asked. "It's Berthon here," explained Mays. "He's put a lot of work in on that engine. It's better now than when it left your factory." "What' This boy!" tho manufacturer was amazed. He could not understand, j But then lie did not know he was in tho presence of a mechanical genius. Not Profit-seeking Granted all this, it is easy to seo how ho, Mays and Humphrey Cook founded a company and started off threo years ago with a workshop in tho Bourne orchard where their littlo factory now stands. All three were rich. They were not worried about money. They naturally didn't want to loso more than was necessary But the idea behind tho firm was not to earn dividends, not to produce cars on a commercial scale, but to turn out a few machines which should bo tho best roarl-racing vehicles

in the world and regain with thorn Britain's lost prestige. Berthon is in his early thirties. Ho has matured early, and is now probably at the height of his powers. Middlesized, sturdy and athletic, ho looks rather like a sailor on leave —a useful sort of chap to have on your side in a scrap, I should say. Ho looks aggressive, but in manner is as mild and polite a3 anyone alive. Charming, although a bit ordinary in conversation, except about motor-cars, he is a hard person with whom to establish any real contact. An Artist in Steel Many great artists are like that—and it is not an exaggeration to call Berthon a great artist in steel. You see, ho has a secret life, bound up with the creation of his engines, which ho can share with no one. Ho discusses his plans with Mays and Cook, of course. He lives the ordinary social life of a rich young Englishman. But that is not his real existence. It all passes by the real Peter Berthon who lives by himself with his engines.' No care is too great to lavish on their making. At Bourne only the most highly skilled mechanics are employed even to do the fetching and carrying of the little works. Only the latest and loveliest machinery is used there—from a drill which bores a square hole to a lathe guaranteed accurate to one ten thousandth of an inch. So impressed are his colleagues in the motor designing world with the quality of his work, that the most famous of them have put their experience and services at his disposal. But the heart of each engine, the engine, comes from Berthon's brain alone. This year Berthon is producing nine motor-cars. Yes, the figure is quite correct. Nine motor-cars, valued at £IB,OOO will be the year's output at Bourne. Earl Howe will drive one Mays another, and the rest are intended for sonio of the most famous racing men Recently, the British Government's re-armament activities were holding Up Berthon's work on these nine sleek little monsters. He could not get all the special steel he wanted! Success does not affect him. When his cars win he is naturally pleased. But he is much more interested in studying their behaviour during the race, to discover where, in his eyes, they failed. Then he can see how to mnke them even faster next time. A little inhuman, perhaps, but then genius often is like that. (The car referred to in Mr. Kenyon's article is the Riley-motored E.R.A., which has raced with outstanding success in classes up to two litres).