Colin Charles Houghton Davis (29 July 1933 – 19 December 2012) was a British

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

from England, who won the

1964 Targa Florio The 48° Targa Florio took place on 26 April 1964, on the Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie, Sicily (Italy). Porsche took the overall victory. pp. 56-7 Race The event was marked by the absence of Scuderia Ferrari: FIA refused to homologate the bran ...

Early life

Davis was born in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it m ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the son of " Bentley Boy" and

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

winner, Sammy Davis (who later became '' Autocar'' magazine's sports editor). Davis was an advertising executive who raced a 500cc Formula 3

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ' ...

before moving to Italy from where he conducted his own racing career.

Racing career

Davis competed in two World Championship

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

Grands Prix, finishing 11th in the

1959 Italian Grand Prix The 1959 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 13 September 1959. It was race 8 of 9 in the 1959 World Championship of Drivers and race 7 of 8 in the 1959 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 29t ...

in a

Scuderia Centro Sud Scuderia Centro Sud was a privateer racing team founded in Modena by Guglielmo "Mimmo" Dei and active in Formula One and sports car racing between 1956 and 1965. Dei had been an amateur driver in the 1930s. In the early 1950s he opened a Maser ...

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. ...

. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races. Davis finished eighth overall and a class winner in the 1960 Nürburgring 1000km, sharing a Ferrari 250GT with

Carlo Abate Carlo Maria Abate (10 July 1932 – 29 April 2019) was an Italian auto racing driver. He was one of the best Ferrari 250 GTO specialists. Abate preferred to be addressed as "Carlo Mario Abate" instead of his christened name. Abate raced mostly f ...

. In the same race the following year he finished fourth overall, again with Abate, in a Ferrari 250GT. Also in 1961 Davis finished fifth in the 4-Hours of

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated ci ...

, driving solo in a 1,600 c.c. Osca Sport. He shared the winning

Porsche 904 The Porsche 904 is an automobile which was produced by Porsche in Germany in 1964 and 1965. It was officially called Porsche Carrera GTS due to the same naming rights problem that required renaming the Porsche 901 to Porsche 911. History Aft ...

GTS in the 1964

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 195 ...

with Antonio Pucci.

Later life

After Davis retired from racing, he emigrated to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

and worked as a radio broadcaster. He died on 19 December 2012 after a long illness.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

References

Profile at grandprix.com

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Colin English racing drivers English Formula One drivers Scuderia Centro Sud Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 12 Hours of Reims drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers 1933 births 2012 deaths Porsche Motorsports drivers