The Type A was built around a twin-tube chassis with torsion-bar suspension. During the 1951 racing season the original independent rear suspension was replaced with a de Dion axle. Magnesium-alloy wheels — stiffer and lighter than the conventional wire-spoked alternative — were fitted throughout. Drive was transmitted through a Wilson pre-selector gearbox, allowing the driver to pre-select the next ratio and execute the change with a single pedal stroke.
Power came from a Lea-Francis-based high-camshaft four-cylinder engine that Connaught enlarged from its original 1,767 cc displacement to 1,960 cc, developing up to 145 bhp with dry-sump lubrication and four Amal carburettors. Fuel was carried in twin pannier tanks positioned within the wheelbase rather than at the extremities, a deliberate design choice to preserve handling balance as fuel was consumed during a race.
The Type A competed in the 1952 and 1953 World Championship seasons, which were run to Formula Two regulations, allowing the cars to take part in events that counted towards the drivers' championship. Drivers who raced Type As included Dennis Poore, Eric Thompson, Roy Salvadori, Tony Rolt, Mike Hawthorn, Stirling Moss, B. Bira, and Ron Flockhart, among others. At the 1952 British Grand Prix, Dennis Poore and Eric Thompson finished fourth and fifth respectively.
One historically significant example is chassis AX, assembled in the late 1950s to early 1960s by Jack Horton using primarily original Connaught-made components. Horton sourced an unused chassis from Ken Flint, an Alta and Connaught specialist who had acquired surplus components from Connaught's closure sale in 1957; the chassis was still wearing its factory red oxide primer when purchased. Horton built the car for sprint and hill-climb use, fitting a smaller rear-mounted fuel tank in place of the standard pannier arrangement and equipping the engine with twin-choke Weber carburettors rather than four Amal units. He fabricated only the front suspension wishbones from new materials, keeping all other components original.
Horton campaigned the car in VSCC and historic events until selling it to Dan Margulies in 1964. It subsequently passed through the hands of Alta specialist Hugh Clifford and then Dennis Kitchener before entering a long-term private collection. After more than three decades in storage, the car was restored in 1983 to authentic 1950s racing specification. FIA historic technical papers were issued under Class F2/1 Period E (1947–1960), and from 1984 to 1986 it was raced successfully by Brian Turner. The chassis has since been eligible for events including the Goodwood Revival and the Monaco Historic Grand Prix.
Connaught Engineering went on to produce the Type B, a 2.5-litre Formula One car using an Alta engine. In October 1955, Tony Brooks drove a Type B to victory at the Syracuse Grand Prix — the first win by a British driver in a British car at a major Grand Prix since 1923. The Type A, however, remains the foundation on which that reputation was built: a well-engineered, intelligently packaged British racing machine that punched consistently above its means throughout the early championship years.
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