Many visitors to the 2021 Goodwood Revival will still recall the final stages of that year's TT Celebration Race, with the two AC Cobras of Romain Dumas and Oliver Bryant battling for the lead – and the way this red and gold snake, which came out on top in the end, was always eager to let its tail hang out thanks to Shelby V8 power in abundance. 'HEM-6' – as it is widely known in Cobra and collectors' circles – always felt at home at the West Sussex track. Undoubtedly one of the world's most recognizable members of the breed still in existence, it won there as early as 1965 and has remained highly eligible and competitive to this day. In 1998 it took part in the inaugural Goodwood Revival, and it has achieved four podium finishes during the last six years, including the memorable 2021 overall victory.
Built in 1964 by AC Cars to competition specs with cut-back doors and FIA-compliant flared wheel arches, this RHD 289 Cobra was first supplied, minus an engine and transmission, to British privateer C.T. "Tommy" Atkins, a Brooklands regular who started his career riding Douglas motorcycles in the early 1930s. After the war he sought to continue his motor racing endeavours with the foundation of his own team, High Efficiency Motors.
From 1958 to 1960 Atkins entered single-seater Formula 2 and 1 Coopers with drivers including Ian Burgess, Roy Salvadori and Jack Fairman. Perhaps its finest hour came at the 1958 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, where Burgess, in a mixed F1/F2 field, came seventh overall and third in class, driving a Cooper-T43-Climax. In 1959 Salvadori finished sixth in Monaco in a T45-Maserati, and it was also thanks to him that the team's last appearance on the Grand Prix stage came at the 1960 US Grand Prix, where at Riverside he took the chequered flag in P8 aboard a T51-Climax.
After this swansong Atkins withdrew from single-seater racing to redirect his team's attention to sports cars. First he married a Maserati powertrain to a Cooper-Monaco chassis for Salvadori to compete in domestic events, followed by the delivery of a factory-built Jaguar E-type Lightweight in 1963, which Salvadori drove to 3rd in the Goodwood Tourist Trophy, behind Graham Hill and Mike Parkes. It was in 1964 that Atkins and Salvadori gave their newly acquired AC Cobra ('HEM-6') its maiden race in the British GP support race at Brands Hatch that July.
In an unpainted car, still in bare aluminium, Salvadori started from pole to secure another third spot, thus marking the beginning of 'HEM-6's illustrious competition career. On the first weekend of August 1964, again at Brands Hatch, Atkins handed Cobra duties to young New Zealander Chris Amon. The Kiwi, already in his second year in Formula One, justified the trust placed in him by finishing second in the GT class of the Guards International Trophy.
The Cobra's first-ever Goodwood appearance followed at the end of August for the Tourist Trophy, open only to GT cars. Roy Salvadori would take over driver duties again, but, unbeknownst to him and Atkins at the time, a clutch issue on lap 80 would not only mean retirement from the race but also bookend a multi-year professional partnership between the pair.
After C.T. "Tommy" Atkins had tragically passed away in 1965, 'HEM-6' was acquired by Graham Warner's Chequered Flag Ltd. and registered as GPG 4C. The car was repainted in white with a black stripe and nose to match the team's colours and fitted with a Holman-Moody engine. In the capable hands of Roy Pike, Roger Mac and Bob Bondurant, 'HEM-6' won the Sussex Trophy and achieved first in class in the Whitsun Trophy, both at Goodwood. The Cobra also competed in the TT at Oulton Park and the Redex Trophy at Brands Hatch, where American Bondurant finished third in class. Throughout the 1965 season, 'HEM-6' recorded four major victories or class wins, along with numerous podiums and club-level successes.
When Chequered Flag offered the Cobra for sale, it was described as "acknowledged to be the fastest and best Cobra in the country." The car was purchased by Keith and Wendy Hamblin, who campaigned it at club level throughout the latter part of the decade. In 1970, 'HEM-6' passed to Shaun Jackson, who repainted it red with a distinctive gold stripe extending over the nose. After two competitive seasons, Jackson sold the car to Mick Hill, who went on to record numerous club victories during the following year. Alistair Walker purchased the car in 1973, before passing it on to the Brian Classic dealership the following year, where it was acquired by Martin Hilton. Hilton once again repainted the Cobra, this time in an attractive dark blue with a white stripe running laterally across the nose. He then entrusted Mathwall Engineering with rebuilding the engine to Gurney-Weslake specification.
In 1978, 'HEM-6' was bought by Peter Agg. Agg decided to rebuild the car in its entirety and return it to his favourite red and gold livery, a process documented by a great many chronologically arranged photographs.
Agg's ownership spanned just under two decades, during which time 'HEM-6' continued to appear in competition. When in 1995 he decided to part ways with it, he consigned it to Brooks' London, where it was acquired by its current custodial family.
Over the past thirty years, 'HEM-6' has enjoyed an unbroken campaign, recording hundreds of appearances and earning recognition across Europe's foremost events. Throughout this period, the Cobra was comprehensively maintained by leading specialists, ensuring its continued competitiveness.
'HEM-6' is perhaps best known to contemporary motorsport fans for its appearances at the Goodwood Revival. Since taking part in the very first TT Celebration in 1998, it has shared driving duties with the likes of Marino Franchitti, Darren Turner and Jake Hill. Since 2010, its drivers have climbed onto the winners' rostrum seven times – with the highlight in 2021, when Turner and "Olly" Bryant climbed the top step.
Accompanied by a vast amount of history documentation, invoices, publications and original period photographs depicting the car's career from the outset, 'HEM-6' remains one of the most beloved and favoured competition 289 Cobras extant, and likely the most raced. Having been driven by a number of renowned and globally recognised sports car drivers and cared for by a lineage of enthusiastic and passionate owners, 'HEM-6' represents a hugely significant opportunity for the next custodian to ensure immediate competitiveness at the world's most prestigious historic motor racing events.
