DAF V8
'The ex-Tony Hazelwood Daf 55 V8
​
BUILT : 1972 by Tony Hazelwood, Chas Beattie and Cooper Motors
CLASSIFICATION : SuperSaloon
ENGINE : Oldsmobile 4.3, then 5.0 V8 cylinders ( 1973-77 ), Cosworth BDG 2.0 ( 1978 ), Rover Wildcat V8 ( from restoration )
RACED BY : Tony Hazelwood ( 1973-74 ), Alan Minshaw
( 1975-77 ), Tony Sugden ( 1978 ), Mike Wilds ( 2011 )
0-60 MPH : 4.4 seconds TOP SPEED : 160+ mph
CURRENTLY : alive and well in south Yorkshire
NOTES : Without doubt one of the top 5 UK Supersaloons ever built. Brian child of Tony Hazelwood it lead the Supersaloon revolution in 1973 when Tony set the first 100mph special saloon lap at Thruxton. It`s short wheelbase did soon gain the car a reputation for spinning away more races than it actually won. A move to 16inch rear wheels certainly helped. Hazelwood sold to the car to Corbeau seats boss Colin Folwell who let Tony continue to race in it in 1974 with a blue and yellow livery.
For 1976 it was Demon Tweeks boss Alan Minshaw who bought it and with a white livery continued the cars history during the height of the era, though it was still not a match for the likes of Gerry Marshall or Nick Whiting's cars.
Advertised dec 1976 for £5900 it didnt sell and missed the 1977 season until returned in 1978 rebranded as a Volvo to reflect the Swedish company`s acquisition of Daf. Often wrongly referred to have been owned by Tony Sugden it was Tony who was given use of the car for 1978 and provided his trusty of BDG engine. The smaller engine enabled Tony to race in the 2500cc limited BARC Wendy Wools and the equivalent class in the BRSCC Rivet Supply championship. His 9 podiums enough to win that latter class. I've researched this season in depth and from 27 starts Tony surprisingly only won 1 race outright but 24 podium finishes shows the combination's reliability to gather points.
Offered for sale at the end of the season less engine for £3500 it went off the radar completely until Tony Hazelwood was able to acquire most of what was left late 2003 and undertook a huge restoration to bring her back to original condition and in the red and white livery
The old girl has made a few public appearances since its restoration such as the Goodwood FOS, Cholmondeley, the 2011 CSCC Mallory revival when Mike Wilds drove and more recently at the Thruxton 50th anniversary meeting in 2018.
I had the pleasure of getting the Daf to the CSCC Thruxton round for a photo shoot and to reunited her with Tony Sugden ( see 'Events' page ). Then during the winter of 2019/20 the Hazelwood family reluctantly accepted an offer to sell the car to Andy Wilson who intends to race her again in the CSCC series this year.
A popular and much loved will be writing a new chapter very soon.
