We love looking back at some of our old advertisements here at Duckhams. Our motor oils have been a part of the fabric of British motoring heritage for over a century and through our many race sponsorships and partnerships with some of the most iconic manufacturers, there are many fascinating stories to tell.
This advert dates from the late 1960s and features Tommy Entwistle with his TVR Grantura. Duckhams supported Tommy and his famous TVR during some epic battles at the famous Goodwood race circuit which, not only put the TVR Grantura on the map to become the much revered historic race car it is today, but also gave Tommy Entwistle the accolade of being three times winner of the Freddie Dixon Trophy, despite some stiff competition. Of course he only used Duckhams Q in his TVR and in he contributed much to the development of Q20w-50.
This picture shows just how tight the racing was and pictures Tommy in this famous Grantura leading at Goodwood in 1964 in round nine of the Freddie Dixon Trophy of that year. Behind him is the MGB of D.C. Milner getting squeezed in between Tommy and Bernard Unett in his Sunbeam Alpine.
Tommy was a former fighter pilot in Word War 2. After the war he fought on a different type of battleground in his TVR up against the likes of Stirling Moss. He bought his first racing car, an MGA, in 1955 but later went on to found a company specialising in custom tuning parts for TVRs. He became the oldest person to hold an International racing license and continued in motorsport right into his 80s, at the wheel of his famous TVR, of course.
The TVR Grantura was first seen in 1958 and production lasted through until 1967. TVR’s gorgeous coupes were hand built at the company’s Blackpool factory and were a mix of parts from other UK manufacturers. The brakes were borrowed from Austin Healey, the suspension was Triumph and BMC saloons provided the rear axles and drivetrain. This particular car, was initially fitted with the MG derived 1800 engine and the model would eventually go on to race at Le Mans. The company built approximately 300 cars to this specification.
Today the very TVR Grantura featured in our old historic advert still exists! It was restored in the early 2000s and is now powered by a Rover V8 engine as found in the later TVR sports cars. Great to see this iconic car, from one of our iconic adverts, is still cherished and on the road today.