Louis Zborowski

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Louis Zborowski, second in the 1923 Spanish Grand Prix
Louis Zborowski as driver of the Chitty Bang Bang 1 at Brooklands
Louis Zborowski in the Aston Martin GP at the 1922 French Grand Prix

Louis Zborowski (also Count Louis Vorow Zborowski , born February 20, 1895 in Mayfair , London , † October 19, 1924 ) was a British automobile racing driver and engineer .

Life

Louis Zborowski was born the son of racing driver Eliott Zborowoski (1858-1903) and Margaret Laura Astor Carey (1853-1911), a granddaughter of William Backhouse Astor . After his father had a fatal accident on April 1, 1903 during the Nice – La Turbie hill climb in a 60 hp Mercedes , he and his mother moved to the Higham Park estate in Bridge , Kent .

When his mother died, he was 16 years old and was considered the fourth richest kid under the age of 21, with £ 11 million in net worth and real estate in the United States, including several blocks on Fifth Avenue in New York.

He was one of the sponsors of the Aston Martin car brand . From 1921 Zborowski took part in several races and won second place in an Aston Martin at the Gran Premio de Penya Rhin in 1922 and 1923 and in a Miller 122 at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1923 . In 1923 he took part in the Indy 500 with a Bugatti . In 1924, at the age of 29, he had a fatal accident in a Mercedes 2-liter 8-cylinder racing car "Monza" at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza .

His grave is in the Burton Lazars Cemetery .

Chitty Bang Bang

Zborowski built four racing cars in Higham Park together with Clive Gallop . The first vehicle was the “Chitty Bang Bang”. The car was powered by a 23-liter Maybach engine. A second vehicle, also called the “Chitty Bang Bang”, had an 18.8 liter Benz Bz IV engine. The third vehicle was based on a Mercedes 28/95 hp and had a 15-liter Mercedes engine and was called the "White Mercedes". The fourth vehicle had a 27-liter Liberty engine and was called the “ Higham Special ”. With this vehicle, JG Parry-Thomas set a new speed record in Pendine Sands in April 1926 .

Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway

Louis Zborowski was a rail fanatic and owned a 381mm train in his estate called the Higham Railway. For this railway line he bought a steam locomotive from Bassett-Lowke . After his death it was used as "Count Louis" on the Fairbourne Railway until 1988 .

Together with Captain JEP Howey , he was a co-initiator of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in Great Britain. Zborowski was not to see the start of the construction of the railway connection in 1926 due to his fatal racing accident in 1924.

Aftermath

His figure and his cars inspired the writer Ian Fleming to write the book and the film Tschitti Tschitti Bäng Bäng (book: 1964, German translation 1965/66, filming 1968).

Web links

Commons : Louis Zborowski  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Count Eliott Zborowski. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed on May 14, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ 57 rooms down, 30 more to go… The Daily Telegraph , August 28, 2004, accessed on March 5, 2012 (English).
  3. ↑ Aston Martin , Richard Loveys, p. 8, Shire Publications (2015)
  4. ↑ Preß' courier: Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway , accessed on February 22, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Zborowski, Louis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zborowski, Louis Vorow (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English racing driver and automotive engineer
DATE OF BIRTH February 20, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH October 19, 1924
Place of death Monza