Barry Wood 1935 – 2026
Obituary by Marcus Pye
Barry Wood, fabled designer of the Shapecraft Coupe derivative of the Lotus Type 26 Elan, succumbed to cancer on March 15, at the age of 90.
Born in Hackney, East London, Wood moved to Woodford, Essex, as a lad with his family. Following his marriage, Barry and wife Jeanne relocated to Surbiton, where Ron Harris – manager of Lotus’ semi-works F2 and F3 efforts, running Jim Clark among others – was a drinking buddy.
While running Surbiton Motors, Wood evolved the concept of the Elan GT coupe, with an aluminium fastback roof bonded to the GRP shell. His vision was realised in association with Shapecraft, based round the corner in Tolworth. The low-drag conversion which increased top speed, cost £170 and production ran into double figures.
Barry first raced on April 7, 1961 – the day son Neil was born, unexpectedly early – in a Ford Anglia 105E, then campaigned a frog-eyed Austin-Healey Sprite. Having evolved his Elan Shapecraft Coupe demonstrator, based on chassis 26R-20, it was natural to race it, which he did from ’64.
Despite his tall broad build, Barry also tried single-seaters for half a season in 1964, in an ex-FJunior Lotus 27 bought from Harris for 1000cc F3’s first year with an entry in the Monaco GP support race! A remarkable 10th in the final, won by Jackie Stewart in Ken Tyrrell’s Cooper, with his young family in tow – daughter Joanne having arrived in ’62 – presaged good domestic results.
In business, Wood’s unique claim to fame is that he showed a Shapecraft Coupe at the BRSCC’s 1964 Racing Car Show, staged at London’s Olympia venue, and sold it to actor Peter Sellers as a wedding gift to Swedish actress Britt Ekland – the second of his four wives!
Following the Elan era, Wood topped 180mph on Snetterton’s old Norwich Straight in dentist Martin Henry’s Highland Racing Partnership Ford GT40 ‘1014’ – a road-registered car originally supplied to Karl Richardson – en route to a BARC Tootal Men’s Wear Special GT race victory in March 1968.
Subsequently Barry raced an MG Midget in Modsports, against the likes of John Britten, Gabriel Konig and Alan Woode. As works Ginetta driver he raced a pretty Imp-engined G15 from 1971 until a huge accident at Castle Combe in 1975 ended the contemporary racing chapter of his life.
But the competitive fire still burned and in 1987 he returned to the tracks in the Historic Racing Saloons Series, racing with Mike Crabtree’s Lotus Cortina. Ultimately he graduated to a Mustang belonging to top V8 engine builder Steve Warrior, based close to his old stamping ground in Surrey.
Having spent his later life in rural Essex and Suffolk, Barry finally settled in Ipswich. He remained an ardent supporter of son Neil’s immaculate black Anglia 105E, a renowned Cortina and Mustang slayer, in HSCC events, and was immensely proud of his Pre-1966 Saloon Championship crown in 2024.
MARCUS PYE