By Tom Hardman.
A Car That Sat on My Mind
When the MG Bellevue Special first rolled into my showroom in 2015, it immediately caught my attention. The big silver bullet sat right in the middle of the floor — and, if I’m honest, right in the middle of my thoughts. Ian Baxter, who’d been campaigning it at hill climbs, had asked me to sell it. I was familiar with the car, having watched it compete for years as a young man. Now, sitting face to face with it, something felt unfinished.
I read through the history files. The Bellevue’s place in the record books was more notable than I’d appreciated, with well-known pre-war characters behind its creation. Until that moment, I had assumed it was a modern-built special based on a period chassis. Most people probably would think the same. To me, this was just… not right. I needed to set the record straight.
Every time I walked past it, sitting quietly in the showroom, the same thought returned: This car needs to race again.
History Worth Remembering – The Bellevue Special
The Bellevue Special began life in 1935 as a two-seater MG Magnette owned by the Evans family, proprietors of Bellevue Garage in Wandsworth. It was Wilkie Wilkinson, their gifted mechanic and team manager, who transformed it into a single-seater offset monoposto with a 1.1-litre six-cylinder Magnette engine, six Amil carburettors, and a stiffened chassis. A far cry from its previous life as a weekend hire car for young gentlemen to “play out” in.
The car debuted at Donington Park for the Empire Trophy in 1937 and later raced for Charles Mortimer, who wrote about it in Brooklands and Beyond — an excellent read I highly recommend. With some “secret” suspension and tyre adjustments from Wilkie, Mortimer won at Brooklands in what he described as “the most enterprising fashion,” taking home £38 in prize money and £70 from the bookies.
The Bellevue was also present on the grid at the very last Brooklands race before the war — the final meeting ever held on the original circuit.
Racing was suspended for the war years, but the car survived. After the conflict, it was sold to Basil De Lissa, who raced it at Goodwood, appearing at the first Members’ Meeting in 1948 and sharing a grid with a young Stirling Moss in 1949. Running for just three seasons, the car was sold again in 1950 and fell into obscurity.
In 1972, Norman Hart discovered the car, recognised its history, and began restoring it to its original pre-war form with guidance from Wilkinson, Mortimer, and De Lissa. All of this culminated in a nostalgic demonstration run by Wilkie at the Croft Circuit near Darlington in 1981, and again for the Brooklands Reunion in 1982. By the 1990s, the Bellevue was in Ian Baxter’s hands, campaigned regularly in VSCC hill climbs, until it arrived at THL in 2015.
Bringing the Bellevue Back to Life
The car was a conundrum to me. One major barrier was its performance — or lack thereof. It had never been designed as a front runner. In its era, it competed against Maserati and ERA, so raw power was never its strength.
Mortimer had seen this as a benefit. In his book, he explained that one reason he bought the car was because it wasn’t a front runner. Strategy and clever use of the bookies were a big part of pre-war racing, and the Bellevue was perfect for that.
Post-war, the car had barely competed and hadn’t seen development. Technology had moved on, leaving it among a shrinking list of outdated pre-war machines in the 1950s.
I decided to speak to my good friend and long-time customer, Michael Barber. I explained my thoughts — this car had unfinished business and needed to be seen and raced properly again. Michael wasn’t deterred by its lack of performance; he understood it was a project and was excited to develop it.
After a few conversations, we shook hands. Michael would become the custodian, and I would take on the driving and mechanical preparation. The plan was simple: two seasons to understand it and, hopefully, return it to form.
Our first race was at Oulton Park. I’d love to say it was glorious, but the truth is, it was exhausting. The car was heavy, unpredictable, and brutally physical to drive. We finished near the back, and I felt disheartened. Michael, in his usual optimistic way, told me to “cheer up” and carry on.
At the next race at Mallory Park, everything clicked. We won — my first victory in the car and the Bellevue’s first since Brooklands in 1939. Crossing the line was unforgettable.
The Trials That Followed
Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Handling issues — the same “wheel flap” Mortimer wrote about — returned with a vengeance. I became far too skilled at the art of the 360° spin. One memorable moment at Brands Hatch involved a pirouette in front of my wife, Helen, and our children. Helen’s verdict was clear: “Stop the spins, or you’re done driving this car!”
I respectfully agreed. After hard work on suspension and brakes — ironically the same remedy Mortimer described — the Bellevue finally felt composed. But over the next four seasons, new mechanical gremlins emerged, the kind only high speed circuit-work can expose. A broken crankshaft at our first Goodwood Revival ended our race prematurely, which was disappointing.
We later discovered that a misplaced keyway from years prior had caused the failure. It was frustrating, but oddly fitting — another chapter in a car that had seen it all, and a doorway to something even more unexpected.
When the Past Found Us
A few days after that Goodwood disappointment, I received an unexpected email:
“Are you Tom Hardman who drove at Goodwood, and is that my father’s car?”
It was from Richard De Lissa, Basil’s son, now living in Canada. He’d been watching the Revival livestream and recognised the car. Richard had been a boy at Goodwood when he watched his father race alongside some now-hallowed names. He genuinely thought the car had been lost – and it was our breakdown at Goodwood that brought the car to his attention as he watched the live stream. Delighted and emotional, Richard stayed in touch over our custodianship and beyond, sending photographs of his father with the Bellevue, which added a lot of missing details to the history file.
Engineering the Next Era
In our hands, the MG Bellevue Special underwent major mechanical development, thanks largely to James Ricketts at Ricketts Automotive Engineering. We installed a new Farndon crank, reinforced the rear axle, strengthened the gearbox, and fitted a Marshall supercharger, bringing it to its 1949 specification.
The result: a transformed car — faster, more reliable, yet still utterly characterful. We achieved FIA papers, multiple wins and podiums with the Triple M Register and VSCC, ran at Goodwood Revival five times, and even had the honour of running the Bellevue at Brooklands for the reopening of the start-finish straight in 2017.
By the end of 2021, seven years after the journey began, we decided it was time to let her go. What started as a two-year plan had become a real adventure of highs and lows. Michael and I learned a lot together — and remain great friends today.
The Story Continues
In 2022, the car found a new custodian, and it’s been a joy to watch it regularly at VSCC events and Goodwood Revival. Its current driver set a personal best at the Prescott Hill Climb in 2025 — proof the Bellevue continues to thrive in capable hands.
For me, that’s the beauty of what I do: seeing these cars come and go, playing my small part in their journey, and watching someone else add theirs.
The MG Bellevue Special’s story isn’t finished — and that’s exactly how it should be.
(for a more detailed history of this car, read the online copy of our 2022 in-print edition of Tom Hardman’s Obsession, found here)