Letter of the month
IT WAS ME that was riding shotgun and that photographed the speedometer showing 188mph [above] in June 1978, with six-times Production Sports Car champion Chris Meek driving his Ferrari 512BB – your cover car in Octane 246. The 512BB was one of about 40 Ferraris that Chris owned, although not all at the same time!
I well remember rising early on that June morning to accompany Chris down the M1, touching 188mph when there was little traffic and no police cars to impede our progress. As you report, the photograph and poster have become very widely requested over the last 40-odd years and both are still available in many sizes. Copies can be obtained from myself and can be despatched worldwide: email me at ndpleeds@gmail.com.
Chris Meek, who was a client of mine until his passing in 2016, would tell how we managed to get into a front-wheel skid at 177mph on the return to Leeds with the sun rising over Skelton Grange Power Station. However, he controlled the Ferrari superbly to negotiate the corner.
Besides the fact that an optimistic speedometer possibly increased the true speed, attention had also been given to removing the wing mirrors and numberplate in order to reduce top-end drag.
Chris also had a collection of registration numbers, some of which could be interpreted as being quite rude and would not be allowed today. I particularly remember ‘123 CUM’…
Mike Hargreaves, Leeds Great to see the article about the ex-Chris Meek 512 Boxer, now owned by Neil Clifford. I’m pleased to hear it’s residing in such august hands.
The photo [above] was taken in the paddock at Snetterton when the car was new and wearing Meek’s number plate ‘175 MPH’. He can be seen behind the car in normal ‘shirt off’ mode. The car and plate combination used to garner a lot of attention!
Gordon Simpson,Hampshire
Hooked on speed
I thoroughly enjoyed the article about Chris Meek’s Ferrari and the 188mph blast. I used to be Chris’s racing mechanic in the 1960s and ’70s, so I can tell you that it was by no means his first!
In 1970 Chris bought a V12 E-type that used to eat its front brakes. Appleyards in Leeds, the Jaguar distributor, said they’d never experienced such brake wear so I took them a photograph of the E-type’s speedometer indicating 150mph…
Incidentally, the 512BB was originally registered ‘175 MPH’, a number first carried by the E-type. The Jaguar was succeeded by a yellow De Tomaso Pantera, als
