ERA
R1A

Why it matters

R1A is the prototype ERA, the first of the 'Old English Upright' single-seat voiturette racing cars made in series by English Racing Automobiles. ERA was registered on 6 November 1933 and was meant to build and race single-seaters able to uphold British prestige in continental racing.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

Reid Railton of Thomson & Taylor designed the chassis around a development of the Riley six used in Raymond Mays's 'White Riley', and Ralph Beauchamp drew the first design on 23 October 1933. The car was shown at Brooklands on 22 May 1934 and its first race was the British Empire Trophy on 23 June, where Mays and Humphrey Cook shared it to the finish. Early handling problems were fixed, and Mays won the 100-mile Nuffield Trophy with R1 at Donington on 6 October 1934, the marque's first long-distance win.

In 1935 the car was renamed R1A when the customer cars were classed as B-types. It was driven by many works drivers and later sold to Norway in 1936. After the war Reg Parnell won races in it, and it has been used in historic racing since. It was originally fitted with a 1.1 litre engine and quickly given the 1.5 litre; the larger engine was kept in restoration.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Identification guide

How to tell an original from a replica or later conversion.

R1A was originally numbered 'R1'; the 'A' was added in 1935 when Dick Seaman's customer car was classed R1B, the first of the T&T-revised B-types, and the four earlier cars became A-types. The car uses a 1.5 litre supercharged Riley-based six with a Murray Jamieson Roots-type supercharger, and the ERA badge of interlinked circles first appeared on it at Dieppe in July 1934.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   ERA Club – car information / chassis histories Level B

   • 1 individual car: chassis R1A, one of the twenty cars built by ERA (identity confirmed)

   Accessed 2026-11-12
2. 2
   ERA A-Type chassis R1A Level B Ultimatecarpage.com · 2007-04-25

   • received a 1.5 litre version of the supercharged six cylinder engine

   Accessed 2026-11-12
3. 3
   ERA A-Type Prototype Voiturette R1A - Profile, History, Photos Level B Sports Car Digest

   • custom-made Murray Jamieson 100mm Roots-type supercharger

   Accessed 2026-11-12