If City Was a Racing Car
Its chassis was built more than 140 years ago by a group of young men from the iron works of West Gorton. They'd been helped by a local church and had been taught so well that Manchester entrepreneurs were able to mount a racing engine on their original design.
In 1894 it was given the colour that it is still famous for today: Racing Blue. Early in the new century, a group of pioneers re-tuned it and added more gears. It went so fast the authorities tried to take it off the road.
But by now there was no stopping it.
In the 1920s sleek bodywork was added, records were set, and, roaring into the 1930s, it was chosen to race the Nazi's finest machine in Berlin.
Emerging from storage after the War, its cautious owners preferred to merely parade round the neighbourhood in it. But it was taken out for a brief spin in the 1950s, and in top gear was still magnificent.
In the 1960s it was tuned up and again let loose to glorious effect. But then a TV salesman called Pete took the wheel. He also took the mahogany dashboard and alloy trim—and replaced the racing engine with one from a Ford Cortina his mate had lying round his scrap yard.
One former pit crew member was so appalled he grabbed the keys but crashed it into a wall, unaware that Pete had also taken the brake lining. It was now a battered, spluttery old thing, and got lapped so often some mistook it for a clown car.
A local shopkeeper then tried to restore it to its former glory, replacing the bodywork and hiring a top racing driver. But when he ran out of money, the driver quit and it was put up for sale.
A shady guy who called himself “Frank” decided it would make an ideal getaway car, but bailed out when he ran out of petrol. Luckily, he sold it to a man who had more petrol than he knew what to do with.
A giant workshop was built for it and fitted with the finest tools money could buy. A new chassis, gearbox and brakes were installed—along with an engine so powerful the neighbours complained about the noise. Some doubted it was the same car, but anyone who has studied the log-book knows the real history of Racing Blue.
A sleek, fuel-injected speed machine has now emerged, with technology so advanced the authorities still aren’t sure if it’s legal. As a daring racing driver sets new lap records, older fans hold their breath, half-thinking the wheels are going to come off.
But the rest of the world now watches and wonders,
Just how fast can this thing go?
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