On Friday 17th March there will be a presentation of the unique ‘Broadspeed Collection’ at the British Motor Museum. This first reveal is open to invited guests only,** however, it is hoped that key elements of the collection will be available for all visitors to the Museum to view at a later date.

PRESENTATION PROGRAMME

11.00 am Start – Light refreshments will be available (tea, coffee and orange juice).

11.030 am – Presentation of the ‘Broadspeed Collection’ memorabilia and artefacts etc. by a member of the British Motor Museum Staff.

After the formal presentation there will be an opportunity to examine the display material and of course, to share memories and anecdotes of Ralph and his extraordinary ‘Team Broadspeed’, with fellow guests.

** For people who had a strong and demonstrable connection with ‘Team Broadspeed’  – 

If you would like to attend this presentation but haven’t already been contacted by the British Motor Museum or an authorised member of the ‘Broadspeed Collection’ team, then you can apply for a place by phoning  01926 895281 or emailing museum@britishmotormuseum.co.uk  quoting ‘Broadspeed Collection’

INTRODUCTION

Here is a brief introduction to Ralph Broad and his renowned ‘Team Broadspeed’ that became a legend on the race circuits of Britain and mainland Europe in the 1960s thru the 1990s –

Ralph Broad was born in Birmingham in 1926. In 1941, at the tender age of 15, he took over the family garage in Sparkbrook, Birmingham. In 1959 he was one of the first people to see the potential of the newly introduced Austin 7 (Mini) for saloon car racing. Driving himself, in 1959, he won his class at Silverstone, smashing the previous 850cc lap record.

He then started selling a full race conversion kit to other racers. This enterprise was very successful and led to the formation of ‘Team Broadspeed’ in 1962, competing against the factory-backed Mini Coopers in Group 3 of the British Touring Car Championship. Team Broadspeed was so successful that BMC asked Ralph to represent the “works” with his team of Minis in the European Saloon Car Championship.

In 1965, Broadspeed began to transition its support from BMC to Ford products after Broad was approached by Ford with an offer to begin campaigning the Ford Anglia, and later the Escort. In 1971, John Fitzpatrick would win four British Touring Car Championship races in a Broadspeed Anglia.

In 1968 the Sparkbrook workshops were due to be demolished to make way for a ring road, so he moved his operation to Southam, in Warwickshire. His team, as well as running a Ford dealership, did early development work on a turbocharged version of the Rolls-Royce V8 engine (that would eventually emerge as the Bentley Mulsanne turbo in the 1980s), as well as consultancy work for TVR and Opel. He offered a turbo conversion for the Ford Capri called the Bullit.

In 1975, Broad got a contract to prepare Jaguar XJ Series II V12 Coupes for entry in the Group 2 class of the European Touring Car Championship. Despite the best efforts of Andy Rouse and Derek Bell, they were not competitive with the much lighter BMW 3.0L CSL. For financial reasons, British Leyland elected to discontinue support for the Jaguar racing entries in the ETCC, and in 1977 Ralph Broad sold Broadspeed to a former Mini-racing colleague before retiring to Portugal.

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