Found the detail on the super rare Monica
the engine builder was Ted Martin- it was this very Monica that I saw:
The engine was again very compact and light, weighing only some 230 pounds. However, it suffered from a series of failures in use which were eventually traced to a batch of flawed castings. Although this was put right, the engine's reputation suffered as a result and it never made the mark in Formula One that it might otherwise have done.
Monica sportscar
One venture which might have restored the credibility of the Martin F1 engine was the Monica project. This was a dream of the wealthy French industrialist Jean Tastevin, a director of a French company that manufactured railway rolling stock. He decided to create a French luxury sportscar named the Monica. Why the name? No prizes for guessing the name of Mrs Tastevin!
The initial plan was to use a de-tuned over-bored 3423 cc version of the Martin F1 engine, which produced some 240 BHP at 6,000 rpm. Discussions regarding the use of this engine led to an arrangement with no less a firm than Rolls Royce to manufacture the Monica powerplants to Ted's design. Ted was later to describe this to his motorsport colleagues as his proudest moment—from designing model engines for the Anchor Motor Co Ltd to designing full-scale high-performance engines for Rolls Royce was a huge step! It was also very lucrative—Ted was able to sell the Monica engine design at a premium price which basically left him financially set up for life.
However, the agreement was torn up when M Tastevin subsequently demanded that Rolls Royce guarantee the power output of each unit that they produced. Rolls Royce not unreasonably stated that they could do no such thing for an engine which they had not designed and developed themselves and that was that. Fortunately, Ted got to keep his money.
As matters turned out, the Martin-produced engines continued to display some residual reliability issues, and there were challenges too with respect to the maintenance of an adequate spares inventory which could not be overcome once Rolls Royce dropped out of the picture. Accordingly, M Tastevin eventually decided to go with 5.9 litre engines supplied by Chrysler and all but two of the very small number of Monicas which were produced used the latter engines. A few of the Monica engines built by Ted were used by British racing car drivers, notably in the Pip Danby Ford Escort V8 of 1970 as well as one or two others run by such drivers as Brian Cutting and Robin Grey.
Martin had been quite successful in a commercial sense from all of the above activities. The final step in the consolidation of his fortune was the sale of Alexander Engineering and the land on which it was located, leaving Ted well able to establish a very comfortable lifestyle at his latter-day residence at Thame in Oxfordshire. At one point he was notable for driving a pillar-box red Jaguar 3.8 Mk II as well as an E-Type Jag, and also had a large boat moored on the Thames near his residence.
Ted being Ted, there was no way that he could stay away from model engineering for long. In fact, he relished the challenge of model engineering, commenting that the required precision was far greater than that involved in his full-size racing productions! Accordingly, he established a well-equipped home workshop at his house in Thame. His interests became increasingly focused upon live steam and he became the guru of a sizeable group of enthusiasts for this facet of model engineering. His garden at Thame soon sported a very extensive 7-1/4 inch gauge steam railway layout and he stayed busy in the machine shop creating beautifully-made equipment to run on this track.
Martin V8 engine in replica Pierce-Martin F1 racer
Martin V8 - note logo combining "Martin" and "V8" cast on rocker cover
Despite this, he remained interested in the motorsport field as well. It's gratifying to be able to report that he did live long enough to see one of his Formula One engines not only restored to active service but placed front and centre in the winner's circle! This came about as a result of Alan Rennie spending five years creating a replica of the Pearce-Martin Lotus 35-based Formula One car using heads and blocks purchased from Ted himself. This superb re-creation had its debut race at Snetterton on June 7th, 2009, winning in Alan's hands after two faster rivals both retired. Ted must have been smiling.
Ted Martin remained active almost right to the end, and only his death on May 22nd, 2010 put an end to what can best be described as a lifelong obsession with precision engineering in so many manifestations. For a man without any formal qualifications, his achievements are nothing short of stunning. As Ted himself put it—"You couldn't do it today!" Still, Ted did do it, and did it well. We're all the better for his presence among us—thanks, mate!
