Friday, October 23, 2026

Tommy Hann's race cars had some interesting names






like the 1911 25/100 Lanchester converted into the single-seater saloon ‘Hoieh-Wayaryeh Gointoo’ 

“Hoieh-Wayereh-Gointoo”  is said to be a phonetic rendering of “Which way are you going?,” chosen by Tommy because of its streamlined contours’ poor outward visibility.





The 1912 2-seater “Brooklands” Lanchester Forty. Its name ‘Winni Praps Praps’ was onomatopoeic, derived from the car’s exhaust note on over-run. Image from the Montagu Motor Museum via Classic Car Profiles No. 1.

He re-bodied a 1911 Coupe de L’Auto Delage and named it ‘Handy Andy’

Hann had a penchant for constructing odd motorcars, including the 1912 ‘Roaring Forty’ and  1923 136hp ‘Shilling Shocker’

his plans for a return to racing after a 10-year absence, with a Mercedes Hann Special ‘Softly-Catch-Monkey II’, in his black and yellow vertical stripes. 
“Softly-Catch-Monkey,” taken from the proverb “Softly, softly, catchy monkey.” 

In 1934 the Mercedes duly appeared with a crude racing body, while a simply enormous long yellow board erected above the Paddock car shelters proclaimed “Tommy Hann is back” or words to that effect! The new ‘dazzle-painted’ car was, in fact a 1926 16/60 3.2-litre Mercedes with the accelerator-controlled blower boost, practically standard but with cowled radiator.

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