Meet Englishman Richard Scaldwell, who runs a rebuilt 1914 GN JAP cycle car and its air-cooled 5.0-litre V8 engine. It has a wooden chassis, a single ‘cyclops’ headlight, tiny rear-wheel brakes – and Scaldwell sometimes drives it from England to the south of France. GN are the initials of the cycle car company’s founders, H. R. Godfrey and Archibald Frazer-Nash. JAP is named for John Alfred Prestwich, who began making the famous motorcycle engines in London around 1902. The 150kW V8 was built in 1908 as a prototype when JAP set out to make engines for the budding air industry. Scaldwell has raced the car at hillclimbs. This video is from the Goodwood classics series.
About the Author: Alastair Sloane
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