Unique aero-engined Minerva roars to auction

By Lizzie Pope

| 28 Aug 2019

Classic & Sports Car – Unique aero-engined Minerva roars to auction

Wrapped in a bespoke aluminium body and powered by a massive 27-litre V12, there is nothing quite like the Minerva Liberty Special.

Imagine the reaction it would’ve prompted when new in 1924!

And this stunning one-off is set to star at Historics’ Brooklands Motor Museum sale on 21 September. Fancy it? It’s estimated you’ll need £140-180,000.

Not familiar with the Minerva story? It starts in 1883 in Belgium, where Sylvain de Jong was making bicycles, then cycle cars and motocyclettes, but engines were the heart of his company – and were exported around the world.

Car production took over the firm’s focus by 1904 and Charles Rolls was Britain’s first Minerva dealer.

Liberty, this car’s engine manufacturer, made engines for a range of aircraft and so flexible were its units that they saw use in tanks, too.

Which is how this special came into existence, when the Minerva 20CV’s ladder frame was put together with the Nuffield Liberty MkII engine from a decommissioned tank, the car’s front suspension reinforced to cope with the extra weight.

Well, the engine has a colossal 27-litre capacity, after all, this V12, with twin Solex carburettors, giving 400hp at the flywheel, this mated to a Tremec manual five-speed gearbox.

A Connolly leather-upholstered cockpit with Roi de Belge-style bucket seats and Smiths and Jaeger instruments is the place from which the driver manhandles the Minerva.

Once he or she has mastered its unique starting procedure, that is.

Down the bonnet is an original Minerva mascot, and you’ll have to mind the downward-pointing exhausts that exit on both sides and belch out flames.

Need to bring it all to a halt? It has 21-inch, powder-coated wires with a centre spline and new Blockleys, with all-round drum brakes upgraded to a hydraulic master cylinder.

See the Minerva Liberty Special explode into life here and find out more about it on Historics’ website ahead of the 21 September sale.

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