The world of motorsport has encountered more than its fair share of colourful individuals from the near-genius to the total charlatan via some creative and brilliant minds. Many are lost to history but among their number, some will be remembered for their skill and contribution to the sport.
One such person is Ken Rudd who came from humble beginnings, repairing farm machinery in a barn in 1945, to a respected race driver and an engineer who loved nothing more than taking a good car and making it better. He graduated from farm equipment to racing and modifying sports cars beginning with an AC Ace he purchased in 1953. He formed a close association with AC Cars Ltd and had a talent for making their cars go faster and it was his idea to install the Ford straight-six engine when supplies of the 2-litre Bristol engine began to dry up. Ken’s company, Ruddspeed, based in the quiet Sussex coastal town of Worthing, also modified a wide range of automobiles from Volvos to Ford Mustangs with Alfa Romeos also benefitting from his engineering input. In the 1960s the main Ruddspeed building was located in Worthing High Street, a short walk from the art college I was attending. To the left of the street was the pub and on the right was Ken’s place. While most serious students turned left at lunch time, I turned right to gaze longingly at the exotica that was often found within the workshop, from an Alfa Romeo Giulia SS to an AC Cobra. One day, amongst the boring second-hand cars that were part of the business, an Alfa Romeo TZ appeared, a car that seemed to have arrived from another planet. Luckily I always carried a camera! The days when such a car would be offered for sale on a used car lot are long gone as is the Ruddspeed premises, flattened for a multi-storey car park and a road widening scheme. Gone but not entirely forgotten.
From the book ‘Moments in Motorsport’ by Trevor Legate
