Cyril Kieft dies

Cyril Kieft was born in Swansea and followed his father into the steel industry. In 1939, he was managing the steel works at Scunthorpe and was a regular spectator at Donington Park. After the war, he purchased a Marwyn 500 but his driving career was brief. In 1947, he set up Cyril Kieft & Co at Bridgend in South Wales. When Marwyn folded, Cyril acquired the remnants of the company and designed his own car.

The chassis of the first Kieft 500cc car was similar to the Marwyn but the suspension, by 'Metalastic' bushes in tension, was completely different. The early Kiefts enjoyed some success but were heavier than the Coopers, although eight of this original design were sold. The first Kieft sportscar was essentially a wider F3 car with cycle wings, headlights and a 650cc BSA engine.

In 1950, Kieft tackled the 350cc and 500cc international records at Montlhery. The driving team of Stirling Moss, Ken Gregory and John Neill came away with 14 records. Kieft then took over a design conceived by Dean Delamont, John A. Cooper and Ray Martin, and built it to Moss's specifications. It featured a rear swing-axle rear suspension, with wishbones at the front, a Norton engine and the driver placed well forward. Moss became a director of Kieft Cars Ltd and the company moved to Wolverhampton.

Don Parker built his own F3 car from Kieft parts and enjoyed a great 1952 season with 22 wins. For 1953, Parker continued to modify the car and enjoyed even more success. He won 30 races from 44 starts and finished on the podium in a further 12. His second championship was a formality, and he came close to a hat-trick in 1954.

Kieft set its sights on F1 and built two prototypes using the Coventry Climax engine. They failed to achieve the expected performance and so the project was cancelled. The Derry Street premises were closed in 1956 and what was left was purchased by an enthusiast and moved to Birmingham. Kieft Cars finally ceased operations five years later.