Simon Orebi Gann SLR
February 24, 2023
History:
This 1961 car is the first of the Morgan SLRs of which only 3 were made. Designed and built by Sprintzel Lawrence Racing (SLR), the brilliant British engineer Chris Lawrence intended the car to be a high performing sports car and chose as his base the Morgan +4 whose chassis, suspension and running gear he felt were the best of the time. The three cars performed competitively in races in the mid 60s, in part due to the effective body shape and in part due to the light weight of the thin one piece aluminium body.
The car’s first owner was Gordon Spice, who wrote it off almost instantly. It was rebuilt by Chris Lawrence after the other two had been completed, making it the first and last SLR made. Chris ceased work on the range after suffering a serious road accident as a passenger in a normal car which put him out of work for several months. He continued work as a motor engineer, his latest achievement being the engineering of the high performing Morgan Aero range which was launched by Morgan at the end of the 90s.
This SLR was raced by a number of its owners, eventually in the mid 70s by Sir Aubrey Brocklebank who painted it fire engine red after it (and he) were singed in a fuel leak which caught fire at Silverstone in 1975. In 1976 the car was exported to the US by Bill Fink, who raced it at Monterey and other circuits for 29 years.
Two years ago RAC member Simon Orebi Gann and his wife Kate bought the car, and brought it to the UK where it has been lovingly restored in its entirety (after 45 years its condition was very sad) in time for the Morgan Centenary in 2009.
Simon has owned Morgans since 1992 and raced them since 1995. In 2005 he won the Powertorque Morgan Challenge Race Series, and was the holder of the Peter Collins Tray originally won by the legendary British F1 driver in 1958.
Preparation:
It was restored and is prepared by Brett of Brands Hatch Morgans.
