Dutch Special resurfaces: the Larkens

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In 1949, the brothers Larkens from Bierum in The Netherlands built this monoposto with the hope that there might be enough interest to make a series. Unfortunately, there wasn't, and so we are left with this one-off special. The Larkens Special has a fair amount of Fiat Topolino parts (wheels, uprights, front brakes, leaf springs, wishbones, steering wheel and more) but also has some things unique to the car, such as the steering rack. The car doesn't appear to have raced officially, but had at least one outing at Zandvoort for test or development purposes. It started life with a 500cc aircooled sidevalve DKW engine. This was replaced by a watercooled 2-stroke 500cc DKW unit when also the chasis was lengthened by 20cm to accomodate a battery and radiator. This engine remains with the car, although a JAP 4B has recently been fitted, as the brothers originally intended to do so. When they moved on to other projects, the Larkens brothers donated the car to a technical school where it helped teach students about automotive design. It eventually made it's way into a field with a 'For Sale' sign on it. In 1983 The former owner acquired the car and kept it until Christmas 2016 when it was purchased by me. The car was hidden in a barn and difficult to see, at first. But, once outside, the car was easier to inspect... and it turned out to be almost completely intact. We are now busy to get the Larkens back on track in 2017 and compete with the 500 Owners Association. It's about time that a driver from The Netherlands will campaign this orange halflitre racing cigar.... again!

(Words and pictures Mike Doodeman)

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