Palliser-Winkelmann WDB4 car-by-car histories
Vern Schuppan in the factory Palliser WDB4 at Brands Hatch in 1971. Copyright Ted Walker 2021. Used with permission.
The final Formula B design from Palliser was also used in the new British Formula Atlantic series. Vern Schuppan gave the marque one of its biggest successes by winning that championship.
After the unimpressive outing at the Sebring Formula B race in October 1970 by Hugh Dibley's Palliser WDB3, Len Wimhurst designed a new range of cars for the 1971 season. These included the WDB4 for Formula Atlantic and Formula B, the Palliser WD32 for Formula 3, the WDV for Formula Super Vee, and the Palliser WDH for hillclimbs. They all shared the same distinctive front trailing arms as the WDB3, but had low protruding sidepods, somewhat similar to the 1970 "coke-bottle" BRM P153 design. The Formula Atlantic WDB4, F3 WD32 and hillclimb WDH also had the same magnesium front uprights as the WDB3. After its first appearance at the Racing Car Show, the WDB4 was soon modified with a full-width nose, reputedly the work of Dennis Falconer, and some of the customer WDB4s and WDHs used this nosecone.
Australian Vern Schuppan drove a Palliser WDB4 in the British Formula Atlantic series, and at least one Winkelmann-branded WDB4 was sold for SCCA Formula B. Schuppan's first WDB4 was quickly sold off and replaced, leading researcher Chris Townsend to the belief that it was actually a rebuild of Roger Keele's 1970 Formula 3 car. If this is correct, WDB4-1 would have been built using a 1970 Arch Motors frame, and WDB4-2 would have been built using a frame fabricated by freelance fabricator Bert Ray. Ray is also believed to have fabricated the frames for the customer cars of Clive Santo and John Gillmeister, but both WDHs are known to have had Arch Motors frames. There is still much to unpick and understand about Palliser during this time.
If you can add to our understanding of these Palliser-Winkelmanns, or have photographs that we can use, please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com.
New for Vern Schuppan to drive as the Palliser Racing entry in the new British Formula Atlantic series in early 1971. After the car was given its debut in a Formule Libre race at Silverstone on 28 February, Schuppan won the opening round of the Yellow Pages Championship on 7 March. He was second at the next round, at Oulton Park on 21 March, having started both races from pole position. He then missed the next race, as the Palliser was shipped out to Asia for the Singapore Grand Prix on 11 April 1971 and sold there to Hengkie Iriawan, who raced it in Southeast Asian events in 1971 and early 1972, still fitted with its BRM Ford twin cam engine. Iriawan died on 23 April 1972 in a go-kart crash at Ipoh in Malaysia, and the Palliser was sold to Jan Bussell (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), who raced it in 1972, 1973 and 1974. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Vern Schuppan, Hengkie Iriawan and Jan Bussell. First race: Brands Hatch, 28 Feb 1971. Total of 11 recorded races.
Vern Schuppan in the works Palliser at Oulton Park in 1971. Copyright Alan Cox 2006. Used with permission.
Fred Goddard in the Palliser WDB4 at Kyalami in 1976. Copyright David Pearson (motoprint.co.za) 2024. Used with permission.
New for Vern Schuppan to drive as the Palliser Racing entry in the British Formula Atlantic series, built in April 1971, replacing his early-season car that had been sold. This new car was built on a quite different spaceframe chassis fabricated by Bert Ray, using bigger tubes and with a larger rollhoop. It was first driven by Hugh Dibley at Castle Combe on 12 April but did not start. Then raced by Schuppan to win a libre race at Thruxton two weeks later, and then in the Formula Atlantic championship, having missed two rounds. He won four more rounds to take the 1971 Yellow Pages Championship. The Palliser was then sold to Dave Handford (Chingola, Zambia) in January 1972. It was later acquired by Fred Goddard in Zimbabwe, then called Rhodesia, and he raced it in the South African Formula Atlantic series in 1976, using a Broadspeed BDA engine. It was then sold to Ronnie Watt, and in 1980 it was fitted with a Mazda engine for Mike Wesson, whom Watt had been sponsoring in FV, to drive in Formula SA events. It was then retained by Watt until 2010, when he sold it to Ian Hebblethwaite. Stuart Thompson fully restored the car to 1971 specification for Hebblethwaite. Still owned by Hebblethwaite in August 2024.
Driven by: Hugh PK Dibley, Vern Schuppan and Fred Goddard. First race: Thruxton, 25 Apr 1971. Total of 25 recorded races.
Unidentified Palliser WDB4s in 1971
Palliser sales records do not exist for the WDB4 as they do for the WDB1 and WDB2. Apart from WDB4-1 and WDB4-2, both driven by Schuppan, at least three other WDB4s appeared in 1971. Clive Santo's car was built using a Bert Ray frame and remains of his Formula Ford WDF3, so may not have had a Palliser WDB4 chassis number. John Gillmeister's WDB4 also had a Ray frame but was produced from scratch so is likely to have been chassis number WDB4-3. The other car which definitely existed was Keith Saunders' Rocky Mountain Winkelmann car, which he first raced in August.
However, there may have been at least one more WDB4. It has been suggested that Jerardo Martinez (Gerardo Martinez?) drove a WDB4 at the two Pro FB races at which he appeared, at Monterrey and Mexico City in June 1971. Also Al Lader raced an unknown Winkelmann in an SCCA National at Seattle in July 1971, which was said to be new, suggesting a WDB4. We really need photographs from these two events to find out what they had.
A car built for Clive Santo (Beckenham, Kent) using a new Atlantic-specification frame fabricated by Bert Ray. Santo had raced a Formula Ford WDF3 in early 1971, and had converted that to Formula Atlantic specification in March/April 1971 with a Hart twin cam engine. Just a week after its debut, he wrecked that car in a Formule Libre race at Thruxton. At this point he acquired the Ray-built frame and built up a Formula Atlantic WDB4 using components salvaged from the WDF3. He raced this car with a Hart twin cam engine in early 1971, then changed to a Hart BDA later that season. Retained for early 1972, and Santo won the opening round of the Yellow Pages championship. He then traded the Palliser to dealer Bobby Howlings (Congleton, Cheshire) for a Formula 5000 McLaren M10B. The Palliser was sold on to Mike Mather, who wanted its Hart BDA engine for his Formula Atlantic Chevron B18. The BRM twin cam from the Chevron went into the Palliser, and Mike's younger brother Kim Mather drove it in a Formule Libre race at Rufforth in late May, his first race outside Formula Ford. The brothers then acquired a March 712M, and the Chevron was advertised, together with some Palliser wheels. What happened to the rest of the Palliser remains unknown.
Driven by: Clive Santo and Kim Mather. First race: Brands Hatch (R4), 2 May 1971. Total of 15 recorded races.
John Gillmeister in his Formula Atlantic Palliser WDB4. Copyright John Gillmeister 2010. Used with permission.
A car built for John Gillmeister (Harrietsham, Kent) using a new Atlantic-specification frame fabricated by Bert Ray, and raced in the British Yellow Pages Formula Atlantic Championship. He first raced the car in May, replacing a Brabham BT28 he had used earlier in the season. He used the Ford twin cam engine from the Brabham in his first few races, then changed to a Richardson BDA. He qualified as high as second, and his best finish was third at Silverstone in October. Gillmeister retained the Palliser for the Yellow Pages Formula Atlantic Championship again in 1972. He was third on the grid at Oulton Park in March and finished fifth, and was then second on the grid at Silverstone the next day. However, he suffered a puncture on the grid but then started a dreadful sequence of results including four more failures to start. His last appearance, yet another DNS, was in August 1972. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: John Gillmeister. First race: Brands Hatch (R5), 30 May 1971. Total of 20 recorded races.
Keith Saunders' Winkelmann WDB4 at Bogotá in 1972. Copyright David Hutson 2011. Used with permission.
New to Keith Saunders (Albuquerque, NM) for SCCA Formula B in 1971. He was second in the FB class on his debut at Lake Afton in August, and scored points at two other SCCA Nationals later that season. Saunders was a partner in Rocky Mountain Winkelmann, and this WDB4 would be the car entered for Ron Grable to drive in the two Bogotá Formula B races in February and March 1972. He did not start the race. It was then entered by Saunders for Ron Dykes to drive in the SCCA Continental Championship race at Laguna Seca in May, but there is no record of its participation. Later in 1972, Saunders appears to have traded the Winkelmann to Jim Paul (Manhattan Beach, CA) for the latter's Formula A LeGrand Mk 11. Raced by Paul in SCCA Nationals and Regionals in southern California in 1972, 1973 and 1974. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Keith Saunders, Ron Grable and Jim Paul. First race: Lake Afton, 22 Aug 1971. Total of 8 recorded races.
Other Palliser Formula Atlantic references
In June 1972, a "F/Atlantic Palliser" was advertised in Autosport from telephone numbers in Horley and Crawley. It was said to be brand new and unraced, and had 10-inch and 13-inch x 15-inch rears, and was available as a rolling chassis. That would imply a further WDB4 beyond the five that were known to exist. However, it is also possible that it was the monocoque car built by Wimhurst for 1972, and driven by Jack Paterson as a "Wimhurst". The advert was before Paterson actually started a race in the car.
In late January 1973, a "Palliser W.D.S. 3" was advertised by Thorpe Cloud, Derbyshire. It was said to be modified by Bert Ray and had a Hewland Mk 8 gearbox. It's unclear whether this was a Formula Ford or a Formula 3, but it sounds as if "WDF3" was mistranscribed when the advert was placed by phone. A spare "WDS3" chassis with body was also available, as were three 9x12-inch Palliser wheels.
From late March 1973 to July at least, Ecurie Santos advertised a "Palliser F/Atlantic" with "bag tanks, wings etc" which was "just rebuilt" for just £850. The company also had a "brand new and unused" Formula Ford WDF1 available for £600 and new WDF1 and WDF3 Formula Ford chassis for sale for £50 each.
Also worthy of mention is that Bert Ray advertised a WDF3 in Autosport's Formula Ford section in May 1973 that had been "last year's Danish Champion" and was now rebuilt, restoved and rebodied, as well as having been modified by RayRace. Ray 73Fs were by now selling well and Bert may have taken the Palliser in part-exchange.
In 1976, two cars appeared in British Formule Libre that are likely to have been the ex-Santo and ex-Gillmeister WDB4s. Colin Breeze had one with a 1900cc or 2-litre engine, and Pete Smith had one with a 1558cc engine, presumably a Lotus Ford twin cam.
The Formula Atlantic Palliser WDB4 as bought by Spencer Elton in 1975. Copyright Spencer Elton 2025. Used with permission.
In January 1976, hillclimber Spencer Elton (Westbury, Wiltshire) advertised a Palliser WDB4, described as follows: "Formula Atlantic rolling chassis, ex-Santo/John Gillmeister. Falconer bodywork, 10x14in on slicks, Graviner etc, mint condition. Make superb Libre, hill climb or sprint car.". Santo and Gillmeister had owned different cars of course, but Spencer said in 2025 that he hadn't known that, so had used both names. Spencer had bought the car from Ken Diggle of K. L. Diggle Motors, at Reservoir Street Garage, Aspull, Wigan, who had advertised it simply as an "Atlantic Palliser". He sold the car, less engine, in January 1976 for £1300 to Colin Breeze (Catley, near Stockport, Greater Manchester), acquiring a March 721 from Breeze as part of the deal. In April and May 1976 Breeze entered a silver/orange Palliser WDB4 for two rounds of the MCD Open Single Seater Championship. Breeze's entry described the Palliser's engine as a "1998cc Lotus". Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Colin Breeze. First appearance: Oulton Park, 1 May 1976.
Pete Smith (Upton, West Yorkshire) is best known as the boss of gearbox specialists PDS Racing in Pontefract, then of Hewland Heritage in Wakefield. Smith told researcher Ian Hebblethwaite that he knew Daren Cars owner John Green in London very well, and through him he bought a Formula Atlantic Palliser to use in Formule Libre, Sprints and Hillclimbs at some time around 1974. As all the Formula B Pallisers were exported, the only real option if it was a Formula Atlantic Palliser would be a WDB4. However, Smith's understanding was that it had been used in Formula Atlantic by Jack Paterson in 1972, which would mean it was the 1972 Wimhurst Formula Atlantic, not a Palliser WDB4. Although results for Smith in the car have proved elusive, he did enter a 1558cc Palliser for a BRSCC (Northern Centre) Formule Libre race at Croft in April 1976. The engine capacity suggests a Lotus Ford twin cam engine. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Pete D Smith. First appearance: Croft, 19 Apr 1976.
Other Palliser WDB4s that exist today
Jim Fortin's Winkelmann WDB4, probably taken in 1992 when Don McGreevy bought a WDB2 from Fortin. Copyright Evan McGreevy 2025. Used with permission.
Jim Fortin's Winkelmann WDB4 after it was rebuilt for historic racing. Copyright Palliser-Winkelmann Registry 2025. Used with permission.
Jim Fortin (Placerville, CA) owned a Winkelmann WDB4 in 1992. It is not known when or where he acquired it, and its earlier history is unknown. Photographs of it in 1992 show that it was blue with a plaid seat cover that may turn out to be a distinctive feature. When Fortin restored the car, he painted it yellow.
According to Mark Viskov, Fortin sold it to a schoolteacher in Tracy, CA, who also owned a F5000 Surtees and a FSV car. He apparently only raced it once and sold it on. Viskov believes it was bought from him by John Long (Bellevue, WA) in the early 1990s. Long told Locke de Bretteville that he bought it from "an ex-schoolteacher in Tracy, CA", and that Bob Winkelmann told him that it was the ex-Schuppan car.
It has chassis plate "WDB4-5", frame number 'AM 71/6' and a BRM valve cover, suggesting an original BRM twin cam engine. There is no sign of an SCCA number stamped on the rollhoop. Long is trying to locate its SCCA logbooks, the seller’s name and previous owners. Still owned by Long in October 2025.
Steve Read's Palliser WDB4 after its restoration. Copyright Palliser-Winkelmann Registry 2025. Used with permission.
When Terry Ogilvie-Hardy (Kidderminster, Worcestershire), founder of Griffin Helmets, died in October 2003, he had a stripped down Palliser chassis in a shed at his home. It had the 'V'-shape bracing and front trailing-arm mounts that are typical of a 1971 Palliser frame, but whether it was a Formula Ford WDF3 or a Formula Atlantic WDB4 remains unclear. His widow Eve believed that it had been bought in the early 1970s and used for promotional work for Griffin. She also recalled that at some time in the late 1970s, the car was stripped down for cleaning. The task of putting it back together never happened, and it remained in a shed on Ogilvie-Hardy's property for over 20 years. Eve Ogilvie-Hardy was still seeking to sell it in November 2004.
The car was acquired by Steve Read (UK), Bob Winkelmann's nephew, and restored for him to Formula Atlantic WDB4 specification by Peter Denty between 2005 and 2006. It was auctioned at the H&H sale at Stoneleigh Park on 14 March 2009, when it was in black-and-white bodywork, with a Wadsworth twin cam engine and Hewland Mk 8 gearbox instead of the original FT200. The auction catalogue said that Read had driven the car at Donington Park and Brands Hatch, but had decided to focus on saloon racing.
This car does not have a chassis plate and its frame number is reported to be 'AM 71/20'. It is not known whether it has an SCCA number stamped on the rollhoop or any SCCA logbooks, but if it had remained in the UK throughout its life, it would not have those. It is reported to have the Alford & Alder front uprights, instead of the cast magnesium uprights used on the WDB3 and WDB4.
Read sold the car in 2010 to Walter Vicca, who raced it at Spa in May 2012. Subsequent history unknown.
Greg Jacobs (Lakewood, CO) said on myVRL in 2008 that he "was working on a WDB4" and needed "all the body parts". Locke de Bretteville corresponded with Jacobs and has ascertained that the car does not have a chassis plate and its frame number is not known. It is not known whether it has an SCCA number stamped on the rollhoop or any SCCA logbooks.
Steve Worrad raced a Palliser WDB4 in the Derek Bell Trophy race at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in August 2016. He appeared in it again at Silverstone in October and at Oulton Park in August 2017. A later advert for the car said the August 2016 race was its first since the completion of the rebuild and suggested that these were Worrad's only three outings in the car.
By 2021, the car had moved to Frédéric Weber (Belgium). He registered it with the Palliser-Winkelmann Registry with chassis plate "WDB4-3" and frame number 'AM 71/29'. It is not known whether it has an SCCA number stamped on the rollhoop or any SCCA logbooks, but if it had remained in Europe throughout, it would not have those. It is reported to have the Alford & Alder front uprights, instead of the cast magnesium uprights used on the WDB3 and WDB4. Still owned by Weber in July 2024.
Decline and fall
Encouraged by Vern Schuppan's early success in British Formula Atlantic, Palliser expanded, but the season turned out to be, in Dibley's words, "gloomy". Schuppan won the championship but this was largely thanks to his early-season performances and some excellent driving later to stay ahead of the increasing number of BDA-powered monocoques from Chevron and March. By the end of 1971, the Palliser WDB4 no longer looked like the future. Both Palliser WD32 drivers had poor seasons in Formula 3, and Bob Jarvis's works Formula Super Vee Palliser WDV1 made little impact. Even Russell Wood, who went so well in the BOC Grovewood Formula Ford series in early 1971 in his Palliser WDF2 Formula Ford, swapped it for a Royale.
In late September 1971, Dibley announced that the company would be entering a period of consolidation. The Formula Ford Palliser WDF4 was announced, with fabricated steel front uprights, but no other models were mentioned. With his job at BOAC leaving him little time to direct Palliser, Dibley put the company up for sale in February 1972, and when no buyer was found, Palliser was put into liquidation a few weeks later.
Bert Ray continued to run his RayRace operation from Palliser's old premises at 65 North Street, Clapham, offering to supply, replace and modify Palliser parts, including chassis, wishbones, magnesium parts, racks and uprights, and body panels. Palliser's stock of parts was acquired by Ian Mawby and moved to Cambridge. In October 1972, Mawby was offering a pair of Formula Ford Palliser WDF3s, one of which had "updated Ray Race pick-up points". That same month, Jas Patterson raced Ray's first Formula Ford car in the first Formula Ford Festival, and Ray Race would continue in operation for over 50 years.
Acknowledgements
Renny Watt (Canby, OR) and Robb Pierson (West Linn, OR) founded what was then called the Winkelmann Registry in the 1990s. Andy Antipas took over the registry from Renny Watt in February 2006 and renamed it the Palliser/Winkelmann Registry. Andy inherited all Watt and Pierson's files and used those as the basis for his pallisercars.com website launched a few months later. Locke de Bretteville then took over from Andy in 2012 and has continued the work of his predecessors. My thanks to all these gentlemen for keeping this flame alive, but particular thanks to Locke for all his help as I constructed OldRacingCars.com's pages on this marque.
Thanks also to Ian Hebblethwaite who researched his own ex-Schuppan WDB4 in great detail, to Chris Townsend who has researched all the Pallisers that appeared in the UK, and to Duncan Rabagliati for digging out his correspondence on the Terry Ogilvie-Hardy car from 2004.
If you own one of these Palliser-Winkelmanns, or have photographs that we can use, or can add to our understanding of the marque, please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com.
These histories were last updated on .