Our 10 most recent news posts en Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:53:00 +0000 The 21st edition of the Palm Beach Cavallino Classic was held between the 17th and the 22nd of January in and around the sunny Palm Beach area. The event comprises of four packed days of all things Ferrari. The Thursday sees Grand Driving Ferrari tour of Palm Beach and ends with a cocktail reception at the Jet Avaition Centre. In between the jets the first glimpse of the Ferraris on show over the weekend can be found. Around 50 Ferraris were present on Thursday night; The 1953 166 MM Vignale that had been flown to Florida by DK Engineering was voted as the prestigious "People's Choice", Jeremy and James Cottingham were on hand to collect the trophy (the only prize awarded that night). The Schedule of events for Friday are mainly devoted to the track, the Palm Beach Interational Raceway playing host to around 150 Ferraris of all ages and kinds. The evening's entertainment on Friday turns from Jets to boats as the Ferrari's and their owners are invited to Rybovich Yacht Club for the presentation of the track awards. The main event is on Saturday and takes place at the famous Breakers Hotel. A Concorso d'Eleganza filled up the large lawn of the breakers with some of the most significant Ferraris in existence. The 166 was entered into the pre 1956 class and faced an absolutely world class competition. The overall best of show for the concours was the stunning 250 GTO of Charles Nearburg. The judging this year saw an interesting trend towards patinated or original cars and the honours in the pre '56 class went to the 375 of Andreas Mohringer with second place awarded to Brian Ross's 340 Mexico both cars are unrestored and startlingly original. DK's 166 was placed an exceptional third place. Alongside the classic Ferraris the most recent Ferrari cars and several modern "One-Off" models were also on display. The finale of the event is at Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago club on Sunday. Open to all sports cars which are pre 1975 the featured marque this year was Aston Martin the exclusive lawn saw a remarkable selection of Aston Martins alongside the Rolls Royce and Ferrari motorcars. Alongside the usual spread of trophies and awards the honorary judges gave an "Award of Excellence" to their chosen car – this being DK's 166MM. It is a great honour for DK's 166 to be given the highly prestigious award and credit to the quality and beauty of the 166. In all the 166 collected an award at every event it attended, the three pieces of silverware will join trophies and cups from previous concours events and races at Little Green Street Farm. More information on the 166 can be found in the sales section of the DK Engineering website: http://www.dkeng.co.uk/ferrari-sales/29/Blue_Chip_and_Competition_Cars/Ferrari_166_MM.html http://www.dkeng.co.uk/news/Latest_News_and_Events/35/DK_Engineerings_166_MM_Vignale_Wins_Three_Awards_at_the_Cavallino_Classic.html Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:34:00 +0000 The Bahamas Speed Week Revival 2011 was held from the 30th of November to the 4th December in Nassau with Sir Stirling Moss attending as Patron with his Osca, and accompanied by Lady Susie Moss. The original Speed Week events ran from 1954 to 1966 and traditionally were held in the first week of December. This year the competition included a speed hill climb on the Fort Charlotte course on Saturday 3rd December and a circuit sprint the following day on the Arawak Cay course. Approximately 50 cars were entered with 16 from England and the majority of the remainder from the U.S. Of the period 54-66 cars present the DK Engineering S1 F.H.C "E" Type Jaguar, 3 EYO, with David Cottingham at the wheel achieved the fastest time of the day on the hill course and was placed third fastest on the Speed Trial. Stephen Bond's Lister Bistol was placed first followed by the Maserati 450S of Rob Walton. The Bahamas organisers intend to build a proper race circuit for the future and are working with Desiree Wilson's Husband, Ian Wilson as circuit designer.   Photos Courtesey of Rob Scorah and www.bahamasLocal.com http://www.dkeng.co.uk/news/Latest_News_and_Events/32/Bahamas_Speed_Week_Revival__Success_for_DK_Engineering.html Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:28:00 +0000 Seven cars were provided by DK Engineering for this year's revival meeting; the freshly restored 857S was entered into the Freddie March Memorial Trophy alongside another DK entry a Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta. Also in Saturdays racing was the 1961 E-type, the 16th car built and the sixth of seven 1961 race cars. The racing line-up was completed by the Ferrari 250 LM which raced in the Whitsun trophy also on Saturday. In addition to the race cars the 860 Monza, driven in period by Phil Hill, Mike Hawthorn and of course Fangio was driven in the "Tribute to Fangio" parade on all three days. A Ferrari 288 GTO and BMW 328 were also shown by DK in the Earls Court Motor show area. There is no doubt however that despite such a large number of cars on display it was the 857S which attracted the most attention. The car was originally built in 1955 as a Ferrari Works car but due to an accident in Ireland in September 1955 the car was repaired by Scaglietti with a unique tailfin and delivered to John Edgar as a new car. The car has excellent race history and was driven by many great drivers in period including Caroll Shelby. DK Engineering purchased the car in November and immediately commenced the restoration which was completed shortly before the revival. In qualifying on Friday James Cottingham drove superbly well and as a result the car took a clear pole position with a blistering 1.33.6 lap time, some three seconds quicker than the Maserati in second place. At the start of the race on Saturday James found himself in second place behind the Cooper-Jaguar T33 driven by Nick Wigley however it was not long before the red Ferrari once again returned to the front of the field. In the following laps James stretched his lead before the Cooper-Jaguar blew it's engine. This left the Ferrari ahead of Tony Wood in the RGS-Jaguar Atalanta. The gap between the two cars at the front remained fairly consistent until with two laps to go the Ferrari began to slow, approaching the chicane for the penultimate time it was clear Tony Wood was now very close. In the cockpit of the car James had noticed that the oil pressure was low and conscious of the rarity of the motor in front of him he made the decision to pull into the pits and surrender the lead of the race. In the earlier Whitsun Trophy Jeremy Cottingham drove the 250 LM very well to finish as the fastest Ferrari. James suffered more bad luck in the Fordwater trophy as despite making up places from the offset, after the driver change a vibration caused the second driver, David Franklin to pull into the pits. Although initially disappointing the pace of the car was extremely positive especially given that it was the only roadster in the race and many of the other cars were purpose built race cars.       Images provided by  and Tim Scott @ Fluid Images and  James Mann http://www.dkeng.co.uk/news/Latest_News_and_Events/31/DK_Engineering_Debut_Two_Special_Race_cars_at_the_2011_Goodwood_Revival.html Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:30:00 +0000 Best of show was presented to Jeremy Cottingham for DK Engineering's Ferrari 340 America.   In the shadow of this years dramatic E-type sculpture, The Cartier "Style et Luxe" Concours showcased fifty of the most elegant and beautiful cars split into ten categories, including a category for solely for E-Types. The Cartier Style et Luxe is billed as "possibly the most coveted car design competition in the world, a concours d'elegance like no other: a celebration of the beautiful, the imaginative and the innovative in automotive design". The judges are famously comprised of motoring experts as well as eminent personalities from the arts. The judges are encouraged to judge the cars as objects of supreme beauty and functionality. Past Cartier judges have included Sir Terence Conran, Brian Ferry, Chris Evans, Rolf Harris, James Martin, and Sir Norman Foster. This years judges included Roger Taylor who played the drums for Queen, Jonathon Ive, the man responsible for the Apple Ipods, TV presenter Bear Grylls, the Journalist Nick Foulkes, and the director of the hugely prestigious Serpentine gallery Julia Peyton-Jones. The Judging it'self took place on Sunday in front of many of the 175,000 visitors which arrived daily. The Judges came to the decision that the car deemed the Cartier "Style et Luxe" Best of show overall winner was the 1951 Ferrari 340 America of DK Engineering. One of only two cars fitted with the stunning Superleggera coachwork by Touring. Fresh from the Salon Prive event at Syon Park the newly restored winner was a well deserved favourite and certainly a people's choice!   Elsewhere DK Engineering provided an F50 for a line up of supercars outside the drivers club. http://www.dkeng.co.uk/news/Latest_News_and_Events/30/DK_Engineering_wins_Goodwood_Cartier_Style_et_Luxe_Concours.html Sat, 25 Jun 2011 22:45:00 +0000 It was all change at Salon Privé for 2011. Instead of a late-July date in SW6, the event was held some weeks earlier, in the spacious surroundings of Syon House, West London. Each of the three days carried its own theme, with the event closing with 'carriages' at 01:00 early on Saturday, 25 June. The concours judging took place on the Friday, although guests had ample opportunity for view the entries on all three days, a particular highlight being the drive-through of competing cars every afternoon. As many of these were competition cars, the effect was noisily impressive... DK Engineering did their best to impress with their gorgeous 250 LM (6045 GT), 340 America (0122A) & BMW 328 Roadster (the 6th car delivered and probably the earliest example in Europe) all in attendance. Upon arriving at Salon Privé, guests were met by a display of modern cars that included Aston Martin, BMW, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Range Rover, Rolls-Royce and Porsche. Behind the modern cars was a field of historic Group C Porsches, gathered from around the world with the help of Henry Pearman. The name 'Derek Bell' was on many of them, and Bognor Regis's most famous racing driver was present at Salon Privé as one of the concours judges. Set on the perimeter of the event's two large lawns were white tents housing luxury brands eager to showcase their wares to the captive Salon Privé guests. Associate sponsors, including Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet and Vertu mobile phones, were showing their latest designs, while those looking for a private jet , a helicopter or a boat were well catered for. Salon Privé co-founder, Andrew Bagley, said of this year's event: "We are so honoured to have brought together such a stunning collection of beautiful and historically significant cars for the 2011 concours, which included amazing collections of sports cars, touring cars, racing cars and motorcycles. This concours is now truly world-class and an event for the UK to be proud of". DK Engineering thoroughly recommend a visit if you haven't already next year! http://www.dkeng.co.uk/news/Latest_News_and_Events/29/DK_Engineering_wow_crowds_with_three_stunning_motorcars_at_Salon_Prive_2011.html Sat, 11 Jun 2011 10:00:00 +0000 DK Engineering were invited to run their original Ferrari 250LM (Chassis 6045 – recently reunited with its original motor) at 2011's Le Mans 24 Hour race meeting in the Legends race. On Saturday, 11th June 2011, the Motor Racing Legends race featured cars from 1949 to 1965, due to the extreme popularity of this golden era - which covered everything from Aston Martin DB2, Austin-Healeys, C-type and D-type Jaguars, right through to the familiar archetypes of the 1960s: front and mid-engined Ferraris, Morgans and MGBs. The car was driven by James and Jeremy Cottingham. This car has been restored to exactly as it should be by DK Engineering, i.e. original specification including wire wheels, original gearbox, engine capacity and bodywork – a real rarity for 250LM's these days, especially amongst those cars that are raced! Considering the fierce opposition the car performed extremely well finishing a highly credible 10th overall. It was a real privilege for James and Jeremy to drive what was certainly one of the most valuable cars in the race on the most famous road circuit in the world! http://www.dkeng.co.uk/news/Latest_News_and_Events/28/DK_Engineerings_250_LM_6045_competes_at_the_Le_Mans_24hrs_race_meeting.html Mon, 30 May 2011 17:00:00 +0000 DK Engineering's James and Jeremy Cottingham had a successful weekends racing at Brands Hatch for the Masters Historic Festival over the May Bank Holiday weekend (28th/29th/30th May). James paired up with Joe Twyman in Joe's 1965 Mini Cooper S for two rounds of the Pre 66 Touring car championship. For the first race James and Joe finished first in class. For the second race on Monday they finished a very credible 2nd in class. It was a highly contested race with position changes every lap from start to finish and plenty of action. This meant on average James and Joe had overall win for the weekend in their class. Jeremy and James Cottingham paired up for the World Sports Car Masters in the grey Chevron B8, chassis DBE 29 (as currently listed for sale in our sales section). This was split over two 30 minute races, one on Sunday and the last race on Monday. Their combined result was a win in class this roving the competitiveness of this great sports racer. A great result all round for DK Engineering. http://www.dkeng.co.uk/news/Latest_News_and_Events/27/DK_Engineering_score_class_wins_at_the_Masters_Historic_Festival_Brands_Hatch.html Thu, 19 May 2011 17:14:00 +0000 Originally conceived by The Chiltern Society and jointly organised by them and the Chilterns Conservation Board, this awards scheme encourages building design which conserves the character and beauty of the Chilterns. An expert panel of judges considers designs in the context of the Chilterns Building Design Guide and rewards designs, which in its opinion best take into account the way that a building relates to the landscape and its local context, how the building uses its own site, and the suitability of materials used. DK Engineering have been awarded 1st place for the restoration of their Victorian farm, Little Green Street Farm, the base of their operations. We are most proud! http://www.dkeng.co.uk/news/Latest_News_and_Events/26/DK_Engineering_wins_prestigious_design_award_for_their_premises.html Sat, 12 Mar 2011 16:39:00 +0000 The12th March 2011 marked the 3rd annual Open Day for DK Engineering. Held at their picturesque converted Victorian farm, located just outside London, DK Engineering provides the perfect venue for such a prestigious event. Many visitors remarked that the Open Day always signals the start of the driving season, and indeed the start of Spring especially with such fantastic weather. The day gave visitors the opportunity to have their Ferraris under go either a free spring check in DK's state of the art workshop, or maybe have their car tested in DK's 1000HP Rolling Road. DK's Workshop staff and Sales team were on hand throughout the day to answer any queries visitors about their cars or the huge range of Ferraris shown from 1950 – 2011. Particular highlights of the day included the restoration projects, past and present, on show in the workshop, including; a Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder (restored by DK Engineering in 2008/2009 – back from Austria for a service), the recently completed Ferrari F40 and the spectacular Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante. The courtyard and the showroom were filled with a wonderful variety of classic and modern cars. From Ferrari F cars, DK had the complete set, 288 GTO, F40 and an F50. Road cars on show included a beautiful Silver Daytona, every variety of Boxer (365, 512 and 512i) and even a RUF RT12. Since DK Engineering is most famous for the restoration of 50's Sports Ferraris, and indeed was founded due to David's passion for them, it was only fitting that the sales line up featured a 340 America, 250 V12 TR replica and a 166 MM Vignale Spyder. However, despite the array of fantastic cars, all beautiful examples, centre stage was the ex Ronnie Hoare competition SWB, on display in the UK for the first time since the late 70's, when the car went to Sicily and has been seen rarely since. DK Engineering's Open Days have proved a huge success in the past and this year was no exception with 350 guests attending the day bringing with them approximately 160 Ferraris, with 97 guest Ferraris here at one time! This is for sure the largest privately organised invitation only Ferrari gathering in the UK of the year. Photography supplied by Tim Scott (www.fluidimages.co.uk) http://www.dkeng.co.uk/news/Latest_News_and_Events/24/DK_Engineering_Open_Day.html Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:36:00 +0000 State of the Art Facility, 1.5 miles from J18 of the M25. DK Engineerings new state of the art Dyno Cell is now fully operational. A new cell has been purpouse built that will accomodate any two wheel drive vehicle up to 1000 BHP. Moreover the cell will cater for front or rear wheel drive cars of any size be it a Caterham, A GT car, a Touring Car or even a Group C car. The Cell has been specially designed for contronllable airflow but most important adequate airflow throughout which is mostimportnat and often overlooked. Added to this the cell is a sealed and controlled environment for consistency of readings.Please call for further infomation and pricing, located on site at DK Engineering just 1.5 miles from Junction 18 of the M25. Ample loading space for transporters/trailers also provided. http://www.dkeng.co.uk/news/Latest_News_and_Events/12/New_Rolling_Road_Up_and_Running.html