DK Engineering 2020 Year In Review

There’s no doubt that this has been a year unlike any other, with unprecedented challenges for us all, and we’re grateful that we’re able to look back on what’s been an extremely busy 12 months. Even in the most difficult of circumstances, we’ve continued to offer the quality of service that people expect from DK Engineering, and we’re looking ahead with optimism thanks to a number of exciting projects in 2021.

On a personal note, we were very sad to lose Sir Stirling Moss in April. We’d had a close relationship with Stirling for many years. He opened our new Watford premises in 1985, and during the 1980s David Cottingham owned JWK 988 – the Jaguar XK 120 in which Stirling famously took the first of his seven Tourist Trophy victories. We’ve also restored both of his TT-winning Ferrari 250 GT SWBs, and more recently we sold 2119 GT to Ross Brawn. We’ve also been involved with the Lotus 18 in which Stirling took one of his most celebrated wins – the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix – and during the late 2000s, James and Jeremy Cottingham enjoyed a great deal of success in the Chevron B8 that Stirling had owned and raced in the 1980s. As our tribute to the man we consider to be the greatest British racing driver of all time, all five of those cars feature on this year’s Christmas card, which has once again been painted for us by our good friend Dexter Brown

It’s testament to the quality of our set-up here at Little Green Street Farm that we’ve been able to remain extremely busy despite the many obstacles that 2020 has presented. Sales have been incredibly strong thanks to a combination of the trust that people have in us and the fact that we’re well versed in selling to overseas clients without them physically seeing the car first. We’re able to provide proper inspection videos and detailed reports, all of which has meant that we’ve been busier than ever during 2020. Demand has remained consistently high throughout the year and the market hasn’t suffered from the occasionally distorting effect of the biggest auctions. From modern hypercars to thoroughbred GTs, we’ve continued to find new homes for the very best cars. Having everything under one roof means that we’ve been able to revise our working practices according to government guidelines – the workshop has remained open and we’ve been able to carry on with restoration work.

At times earlier in the year it seemed as though there was little prospect of getting to any events, so we were delighted to support both the Hampton Court Concours of Elegance and Salon Privé during September. At Hampton Court, we presented the ex-Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari 250 LM that so nearly won the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hours, and as part of our preparations, we returned it to the exact livery that it had worn at La Sarthe. It took centre-stage in a spectacular five-car display in front of the palace and was also on our stand at Salon Privé a couple of weeks later.

The Duke of Richmond did an amazing job putting on the Goodwood SpeedWeek in October and we had a tremendous time there. James Cottingham was second in the shootout aboard the Dallara SP1 sports prototype, which was the fastest closed-wheel car having been beaten only by a Formula One Arrows. James and Harvey Stanley then teamed up to win the Stirling Moss Trophy in the ex-Huffaker E-type that was having only its second outing since being fully restored. Winning the first race at Goodwood to be named after Stirling was a proud and emotional moment.

The competition season closed with a three-hour race at Silverstone. Having come up with the idea for the three-car team format, DK Engineering sponsored the race – hosted by Motor Racing Legends – and took part with the E-type, the Carreras Colombia Cobra and the Tojeiro-Jaguar. It turned out to be a huge success and we’re planning to run a couple more of them next year. We’ve also devised a series of 80-minute all-GT40 races that we’ll be running with Motor Racing Legends, which is something we’re really looking forward to. Looking ahead, we’re hopeful of returning to great events such as the Le Mans Classic, the Tour Auto and Pebble Beach, so let’s hope that life begins to return to normal in 2021 and we can all come together again.

Follow this link to our Winter 2020/21 Booklet: https://www.dkeng.co.uk/booklets/DK_Christmas_2020.php