Newly launched for 2005, the A1GP series positioned itself as the “World Cup of Motorsport”, with twenty-five single-car National franchises competing to determine a Champion Nation at the season’s end.

Initially contested over eleven race weekends, with each sub-divided into a Sprint and a longer Feature race, the series attracted the likes of former Grand Prix drivers Christian Fittipaldi, Ralph Firman and Jos Verstappen - not to mention former World Champions John Surtees, Alan Jones and Emerson Fittipaldi as franchise holders.

Featuring bespoke “spec” formula carbon fibre-clad aluminium honeycomb chassis from Lola, and potent 3.4-litre normally aspirated Zytek engines, the cars offered prodigious performance and afforded close, spectacular racing by virtue of their relative lack of downforce.

This particular chassis, HU07, was run by the A1 Team Ireland franchise throughout the 2007-8 A1GP season, first appearing at the official Silverstone test in August 2007 where it was drive...