BB Special

The BB special

History: Built in 1962 by Buckler Cars to a design by suspension guru Leslie Ballamy for A.F. Rivers Fletcher. Shown at the 1965 Racing Car Show at Olympia in London. Competed at Prescott and Wiscombe hill climbs in 1964 and 1965. Almost completely destroyed in a garage fire in 1965. The remains were given to a young apprentice Dennis Bissell, who was helping Rivers with his next project, a single seater XK120 Jaguar. Nearly 50 years later, Dennis had completed the “re-build” and the car was raced at Prescott by Jeremy Rivers-Fletcher. In 2023, Jeremy acquired the car and carried out serious development work on it, winning the BOC Fassi championship for racing cars. He came second in 2024 but did too few events in 2025 to be placed

The car: Originally intended for an assault on the hillclimb championship, the car was designed as a successor to the “Kart” like cars that were taking the hillclimb fraternity by surprise. Low weight, tiny dimensions, and motor bike lightweight engines. Originally fitted with an experimental Villiers 250cc engine but quickly replace with a Triumph Tiger 110 650cc twin.

Rivers did not like the handling of the car, and before it could be developed it was burnt out in a barn fire at the bottom of Rivers’ garden. Dennis Bissell beautifully rebuilt the car using the original chassis and suspension parts to the exact format before the fire. As soon as Jeremy acquired the car, he began the development that should have been done in 1965. Steering, suspension and driving position were vastly improved, followed by many improvements to the general build, to the extent that it has become a reliable and fun car to compete in historic hillclimb classes. The car has been fully prepared for the 2026 season, with in date harness, MSA registration book and comes with its own covered trailer and 9 files of history, provenance and manuals for the engine and gearbox. The spares package includes racing camshafts (not yet fitted), spare wheel and tyre, drive shaft joints and many other items.

This car is not a “continuation car” but the original BB. A unique part of motor racing history, ready to race and enjoy. For more information contact Jeremy. The car can be viewed at Jeremy’s home near Stratford-on Avon.