Van Diemen

In 1973, Ralph Firman started his own firm Van Diemen with business partner, Ross Ambrose. Based in the grounds of the Snetterton motor racing circuit in Norfolk, he aimed to meet the increasing demand for cheap, reliable and above all, fast production racing cars for the Formula Ford motor racing class. Van Diemen led the class for over twenty years, producing four cars a week and became the largest manufacturer of bespoke racing cars in the world.

The Formula Ford motor racing class was launched in 1968, for ‘affordable’ cars priced at under £1,000 and powered by the standard Ford Cortina engine with top speeds approaching 150mph. In 1968, James Hunt progressed to the Formula Ford class following success racing Minis and only eight years later, in 1976 won the Formula One World Championship. Interviewed here at his Wimbledon home, Hunt became a TV commentator for the BBC when he retired from motor racing and enjoyed a successful thirteen-year second career before his early death, aged 45. Van Diemen International was absorbed into Élan Motorsport Technologies in 2002.