Description:

1947 HRG Le Mans Lightweight – HXR 530 – Chassis W92

• One of the most historically significant HRGs, with an exceptional and extensively documented period competition history from 1947–56.
• 1949 Le Mans 24 Hours, twice Spa 24 Hours, Paris 12 Hours, Grand Prix des Frontières and the inaugural Goodwood 9 Hour Race.
• Raced at Goodwood more than 17 times in period, including two outright victories.
• Originally campaigned by Jack Scott as an HRG works car under L'Écurie du Lapin Blanc, and subsequently raced extensively by Len and Bluebelle Gibbs.
• Approximately £100,000 spent on restoration and mechanical work in recent years, including c.£50,000 commissioned by myself over the past three years.
• Extensive restoration and full engine rebuild, together with restoration by Roach Manufacturing of its barchetta body to correct bare-aluminium 1953 specification.
• Proven competitive historic racer, including pole position at the 2009 Le Mans Legends, a Class 1 victory in 2013 and a highly competitive Woodcote Trophy performance with the sorely missed Simon Diffey.
• Fully sorted, race-ready and recently tested at Goodwood in preparation for a provisional Freddie March Memorial Trophy entry.
• Featured over nine pages in Octane Magazine in August 2026, following a dedicated drive and photoshoot at Goodwood.
• Extensive history file containing 200+ period photographs, original race programmes, contemporary material, results and years of research.
• Eligible for many of the world's leading historic events, including Goodwood Revival, Le Mans Classic, Monaco Historique Grand Prix, VSCC events and the Woodcote Trophy. The ex-Le Mans sister car has also previously competed in the Mille Miglia.

History:

HXR 530 is a 1947 HRG Le Mans Lightweight and one of the most extensively campaigned and historically significant surviving HRGs.

Originally raced by Jack Scott for the HRG works team under the L'Écurie du Lapin Blanc banner, the car competed extensively at international and British events from 1947 onwards.

Its international competition history includes the 1949 Le Mans 24 Hours, driven by Jack Scott and Neville Gee; the Spa 24 Hours in both 1948 and 1949; the 1948 Paris 12 Hours at Montlhéry; and the 1948 Grand Prix des Frontières at Chimay, where Scott finished an impressive 2nd overall.

At the 1948 Spa 24 Hours, HXR 530 finished 9th overall and contributed to HRG winning the Team Prize. The HRG team also pioneered the use of two-way radio communication between its cars and the pits, an extraordinary innovation for the period and believed to represent one of the earliest uses of such technology in motor racing.

For 1949, L'Écurie du Lapin Blanc mounted another serious assault on Le Mans. HXR 530 and its sister cars were comprehensively prepared for the race, with new lightweight bodywork specifically designed for the demands of the Circuit de la Sarthe. HXR 530 unfortunately retired after 83 laps with engine issues, while the sister HRG of Eric Thompson and Jack Fairman went on to win the 1,500cc class and finish 8th overall.

Just two weeks later, HXR 530 returned to international competition at the Spa 24 Hours, where Jack Scott and André Pilette finished 19th overall and 3rd in class, contributing to another successful team performance.

Following its international works career, the car passed into the hands of Len and Bluebelle Gibbs, who campaigned it extremely successfully throughout the 1950s.

Its Goodwood history is particularly exceptional. HXR 530 raced at the circuit more than 17 times between 1950 and 1956, achieving numerous podium finishes and two outright race victories – with Len Gibbs at the 1951 Easter Meeting and Bluebelle Gibbs at the BARC meeting in March 1956.

Most significantly, Len Gibbs and Anthony Heal competed in the inaugural Goodwood 9 Hour Race in 1952, starting 29th and finishing an impressive 13th overall.

The car's final period appearance at Goodwood came with Bluebelle Gibbs in September 1956 – meaning that September 2026 marks exactly 70 years since it last raced at Goodwood in period.

Period Competition Highlights:

• 1947 Manx Cup / British Empire Trophy – Team Prize
• 1948 Grand Prix des Frontières, Chimay – 2nd overall
• 1948 Manx Cup / British Empire Trophy – Team Prize
• 1948 Spa 24 Hours – 9th overall & Team Prize
• 1948 Paris 12 Hours, Montlhéry – 23rd overall
• 1949 Le Mans 24 Hours – Jack Scott / Neville Gee
• 1949 Spa 24 Hours – 19th overall & 3rd in class
• 1951 Goodwood Easter Meeting – Winner
• 1951 Silverstone 6 Hour Relay – 3rd
• 1952 Goodwood Easter Meeting – 2nd
• 1952 BARC Goodwood – 2nd
• 1952 inaugural Goodwood 9 Hours – 13th overall
• 1953 VSCC Silverstone – Winner
• 1954 Silverstone Eight Clubs One Hour Race – Winner
• 1955 Eight Clubs Silverstone – 2nd
• 1955 SUNBAC Silverstone – Winner
• 1956 BARC Goodwood – Winner
• 1956 Eight Clubs Silverstone – Winner

The full period competition record from 1947–56 comprises dozens of documented race appearances internationally and across the UK, including at Goodwood, Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Thruxton, Ibsley, Mallory Park and elsewhere, and is available with the car.

Bodywork & Restoration:

HXR 530 is particularly interesting in having worn three distinct body configurations during its period competition career, each reflecting the continuing development of the car for international competition.

The car was originally built in 1947 with HRG's distinctive Aerodynamic-style bodywork, in which form it competed throughout 1947 and 1948, including at the Grand Prix des Frontières, Spa 24 Hours and Paris 12 Hours.

For the 1949 Le Mans 24 Hours, HXR 530 was specifically rebodied by Monaco Motors, the business owned by John Wyer, who would later become one of the most celebrated figures in endurance racing through his extraordinary success with Aston Martin, Ford's GT40 and Porsche. The lightweight bodywork was developed specifically for Le Mans, with exposed wheels and a reduced frontal area, and was the configuration in which Jack Scott and Neville Gee raced HXR 530 at the Circuit de la Sarthe in June 1949.

At the end of 1952, the car was rebodied for a third and final time in preparation for the 1953 racing season, receiving the lightweight barchetta bodywork that it retains today. This configuration made its competition debut at the Goodwood Easter Meeting in March 1953 and was subsequently raced extensively by Bluebelle and Len Gibbs through to the end of its contemporary competition career in 1956.

Over the past few years HXR 530 has undergone a major programme of restoration and mechanical preparation, with approximately £100,000 of invoices for work carried out in recent years, including around £50,000 commissioned over the past three years during my ownership.

A major part of this work was entrusted to renowned historic competition-car specialists Roach Manufacturing, who comprehensively restored the existing barchetta bodywork to its correct 1953 specification, whilst maintaining its originality and character. Extensive period photography and research were used throughout the process, with the aluminium body returned to its correct unpainted finish as raced in period.

The mechanical work has been similarly extensive, including a full engine rebuild, leaving the car fully sorted and ready to race and enjoy. It has recently been set up on the rolling road and successfully competed at Shelsley Walsh in August 2026.

Following completion of the restoration, HXR 530 returned to Goodwood in 2026 for testing, some 70 years after its final period season at the circuit. Octane Magazine also conducted a dedicated drive and photoshoot at Goodwood, resulting in a nine-page feature published in August 2026.

Recent Competition & Eligibility:

HXR 530 has continued to compete successfully in the modern historic era at some of Europe's most prestigious events, including the Le Mans Classic, Le Mans Legends and Silverstone Classic.

Its more recent competition highlights include pole position at the 2009 Le Mans Legends and a Class 1 victory at Le Mans Legends in 2013, demonstrating that it is not simply an important period competition car but a very swift and proven class-winning historic racer.

Its competitiveness is further demonstrated by an impressive performance in the RAC Woodcote Trophy at the Silverstone Classic, where HXR 530 was driven by the late (and sorely missed) Simon Diffey.

Despite competing as a 1½-litre sports car against considerably more powerful machinery, HXR 530 finished 20th out of 39 classified finishers – almost exactly midfield. Remarkably, it finished ahead of a number of ostensibly much faster cars, including two Aston Martin DB3Ss, two Frazer Nash Le Mans Replicas, a Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing and even Stirling Moss in an OSCA MT4.

It also finished just one position behind another Aston Martin DB3S, demonstrating HXR 530's ability to run competitively within a high-quality Woodcote field whilst remaining true to its character as a lightweight 1½-litre sports racing car.

The original Woodcote Trophy result sheet is included amongst the images in this listing, showing the result and strength of the field in full.

Following its recent restoration, full engine rebuild, rolling-road setup and testing at Goodwood, HXR 530 is fully sorted, race-ready and ready to return to competition.

The car is eligible for a wide variety of prestigious historic motorsport events, including the Goodwood Revival, Le Mans Classic, Monaco Historique Grand Prix, VSCC events and Woodcote Trophy. The ex-Le Mans sister car has also previously been accepted for the Mille Miglia, potentially opening another particularly exciting avenue for HXR 530.

History File:

Perhaps as exceptional as the car itself is the accompanying history.

Several years of research have resulted in a remarkable archive containing more than 200 period photographs of HXR 530, together with original race programmes, contemporary reports and results, an extensive leather-bound A3 scrapbook documenting its competition history, and substantial supporting documentation covering its racing career.

The sheer quantity of surviving period photography is particularly unusual and has enabled the car's competition history, changing specification and all three iterations of its period bodywork to be researched and documented in exceptional detail.

HXR 530 therefore represents a rare opportunity to acquire a genuine post-war international competition car with Le Mans and Spa 24 Hours history, exceptional Goodwood provenance, proven modern historic-racing competitiveness and an unusually comprehensive documentary and photographic record.

Fresh from approximately £100,000 of restoration and mechanical expenditure in recent years, it is now fully sorted and ready to race and enjoy.

Reluctantly offered for sale from my own collection to help fund a house move. I would also consider a lesser-valued race car in part exchange.

Further photographs, the Octane Magazine feature, complete competition history, restoration invoices and supporting documentation are available to serious interested parties.

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