The Vanwall name combined the surname of team founder Tony Vandervell with "wall," derived from his Thinwall bearings produced at the Vandervell Products factory in Acton, London. Vandervell had been one of the original backers of British Racing Motors in the early 1950s, and prior to building his own cars he entered a series of modified Ferraris in Formule Libre races under the name Thinwall Special.
The first actual Vanwall cars, known as Vanwall Specials, were built for the new Formula One regulations introduced in 1954 and constructed at Cox Green, Maidenhead. The chassis was designed by Owen Maddock and built by the Cooper Car Company. The engine was designed by Norton engineer Leo Kuzmicki as four single-cylinder 498 cc Norton Manx units sharing a common water jacket, cylinder head, and valvetrain — effectively a modified motorcycle engine family scaled up to racing use, fed initially by four AMAL motorcycle carburetors fitted to a Rolls-Royce B40 military crankcase copied in aluminium.
Early development was hampered by problems with the front suspension and fuel and cooling systems, though the Goodyear disc brakes built by Vanwall proved successful from the start. A switch to Bosch fuel injection followed, made possible by Vandervell persuading Daimler-Benz to allow Bosch to supply the system. Engine capacity grew progressively, reaching the full 2.5-litre Formula One limit.
By the end of 1955 it was clear the Ferrari-derived chassis needed fundamental improvement. Colin Chapman was commissioned to redesign the car for 1956, working alongside aerodynamicist Frank Costin. Chapman's space frame construction reduced the rear axle's unsprung weight and added a front torsion bar, while Costin's aerodynamic bodywork produced a car that was, in the words of observers, much faster in a straight line than any rival. The new Vanwall won a non-championship Formula One race at Silverstone in 1956, showing clear potential, and Stirling Moss drove the car to victory at Syracuse that year.
Moss committed fully to Vanwall for 1957, joined by Tony Brooks and Stuart Lewis-Evans. As the season progressed, the cars became faster and more reliable. Moss and Brooks shared the first Vanwall Grand Prix victory at the 1957 British Grand Prix at Aintree, and Moss went on to win in Italy and at Pescara. The distinction of building the first British-constructed car to win a World Championship race was an achievement of lasting significance.
The 1958 season brought the team's greatest success. All three drivers remained, and both Moss and Brooks won three championship races each. Moss took victories in the Netherlands, Portugal, and Morocco; Brooks won in Belgium, Germany, and Italy. Vanwall became the first team to win the Constructors' Championship, the title having been inaugurated that very year. Moss finished second in the Drivers' Championship, losing to Mike Hawthorn by a single point, with Brooks third. The season ended in tragedy when Lewis-Evans was fatally injured in an accident during the final race in Morocco.
Vandervell's health had been deteriorating, and his doctors advised rest. The 1958 season was the last in which Vanwall entered every race. Tony Brooks made a single appearance in a revised, lower, and lighter Vanwall at the 1959 British Grand Prix but it proved less competitive against the new mid-engined Coopers that had begun to reshape Formula One. An updated car, the VW5 renumbered VW11, attempted the 1960 French Grand Prix without success.
The final Vanwall racing car was a rear-engined machine built for the 1961 3.0-litre Intercontinental Formula, with an engine enlarged to 2,605 cc. John Surtees campaigned it in two races and showed promise, but development halted when the formula failed to attract widespread European support.
Vanwall's achievements in the late 1950s demonstrated that a privately funded British team could challenge and beat the established Italian constructors that had dominated early Formula One. The team's 1958 Constructors' Championship remains a landmark in the sport's history. In 2003, Vanwall Cars was formed to produce road-legal single-seaters inspired by the original cars. In 2020, Vanwall 1958 Ltd commissioned Hall and Hall to build six continuation cars to original 1958 specification, ensuring that the racing machines that made history have endured beyond the team's competitive years.