Forty years ago a small racing car manufacturer came into being. That was 1976, for those who prefer to have their arithmetic done for them. It was founded, almost by chance, by two ex-Formula One drivers, Tim Schenken and Howden Ganley (me). We were both coming to a point where we could see that one day our racing careers would need to come to an end, and so the “day jobs” would have to be replaced by something else. Racing drivers, especially from Formula One, are by their nature somewhat unemployable, and therefore any future venture needs to be a form of self-employment, preferably associated with motor racing. As my wife liked to say to me from time to time, “You can’t play golf every day.”

Howden Ganley

So we agreed to start this business making racing cars, initially very low key so as to dovetail with our racing and testing commitments. Then came the tricky question of what to call the cars.

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