I thought it was time to introduce myself properly. I have recently bought VTL 715, the first Westfield Eleven built by Chris Smith at Westfield House in 1982.
I live in northern Sweden, just outside Umea, and next week I am setting off for England to collect it myself. It will be quite a trip, roughly 5,000 km there and back with the transporter, but for this particular car I think it is worth it.
Since buying it I have been trying to rebuild the history file that was unfortunately lost somewhere along the way. I knew there was quite a lot of history surrounding the car, but I honestly didn't expect the search to go as well as it has.
Over the last few days people connected with the very early days of Westfield have contacted me and shared memories, photographs and information about the car and how the first Westfield Elevens came about. I have also started finding original magazine articles, road tests, brochures and other period material.
My intention is to put together as complete a history as possible, not only of the car itself but also of its part in the very beginning of Westfield. I am preserving everything properly, both physically and digitally, so that hopefully the history will never become separated from the car again.
I am also planning to open a small museum here in northern Sweden dedicated entirely to sports cars, racing cars and some rather unusual machinery, and VTL 715 will have a very special place there.
If anyone here has old photographs, magazine articles, brochures, correspondence, memories or anything else connected with VTL 715 or the very early Westfield Eleven days, I would be very interested to hear from you. Even something that may seem insignificant could help fill another gap in the story.
I will post some more about the car and what I have discovered once I have actually collected it and brought it home to Sweden.
And first I have about 5,000 km of driving to do.
Doger
Umea, Sweden
