Our shop

F l y i n g C i r c u s S h o p

2308 East Pettigrew Street Durham NC 27703.

We have tried to make Flying Circus capable, welcoming and exciting for owners of English cars and it is our comittment to help you realize the quality experience that can come with ownership of the great cars that we support. We hope that Flying Circus customers enjoy a level of ownership that brings out the full potential of Jaguars, Land Rovers, MGs, Triumphs, Austin Healeys, Rolls Royces, and every English marque".

Situated at Exit 10a on the Durham Freeway (Rt 147), Flying Circus can be reached easily by highway from any direction.

Take the exit for Briggs Avenue North and turn left onto East Pettigrew Street for just 50 yards. We are on the left. call (919) 596 4250.

We are open Monday to Thurs from 8:00am to 5:00pm and
Friday 8:00am to 3:00pm

Click on this picture to see enlarged detail of what is going on in our shop

Our facilities are located pretty much in the middle of the 'Research Triangle' that we call home (Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and Chapel Hill). We have 10,000 square feet of shop, parts department, offices and a showroom for 3 cars. Our forecourt (above) is a popular gathering place for club rallies and is just 200 yards away from the Durham Freeway which has excellent links to Greensboro to the west, Raleigh to the east, I85 to the north and Richmond and Rte 1 to the south and South Carolina. You can get to our front door at, ahem, 70 mph from any direction - no waiting.

A rare shot from the Flying Circus Biplane one clear July day in 1995. The street in the foreground is East Pettigrew Street, bottom left is the end of Briggs Avenue and the divided highway at the top is Route 147 aka the Durham Freeway aka the Buck Dean Freeway, (and to older Durham residents aka I40. However, the plans for I40 changed in the '70s and it eventually went round the south side of Durham requiring this stretch of road to be called something else). There is one more tree in the picture than exists today courtesy of hurricane Fran.

Top of page

There is an unusual badge being worn by English cars around the Triangle

It is the Flying Circus Rally decal and this is the story of its design.

For many years, at least as far back as the first 'Rallye-Monte-Carlo' in 1911, this has been the shape of competitor plates, announcing the number of the car and the rally in which it is competing. It decorated the bonnet of Paddy Hopkirk's Mini Cooper S when he won the 'Monty' in 1964. It was on a Sunbeam Rapier when it won in 1966 and it has been the design of choice for almost every international car rally ever since: including the Sofia-Liege-Sofia Rally, the Coupe Des Alpes, and the East African Safari. While the shape is sometimes wider, the color sometimes red or the bump a little more pronounced, the basic shape is immediately identified with the world's most competitive car rallies.

So it seems perfectly consistent to us that the shape that has adorned Minis, Jags, Astons, Triumphs, MGs and Sunbeams would make an excellent format for identifying the English cars belonging to our customers and friends. It is a way for us to add a little bit of history to the Jags and MGs that we help maintain and a way that Flying Circus folk can recognize one another on the road.

So, if you will honor us by wearing this 'plate' and being recognized as a friend of Flying Circus, we think it might lead to your making the acquaintance of some awfully nice people.

We suggest that, where possible, you place the decal on the back of your car, low and to the left (on the bumper, boot lid or rear window) where it will be easily recognized by other friends of Flying Circus.

A 'curious' custom observed on English roads to this day, by normally reserved drivers is the cheery wave that one MG or Jaguar or Triumph driver will give to another driver of the same marques. While this has been observed among many of the 'enthusiast' marques it is particularly true for the rarer models that are so well represented among our customers. Oh! and it is OK to wave back - in a reserved manner of course.


F l y i n g C i r c u s S h o p
	2308 East Pettigrew Street Durham NC 27703.
		We have tried to make Flying Circus capable, welcoming and exciting for owners of English cars and it is our comittment to help you realize the quality experience that can come with ownership of the great cars that we support. We hope that Flying Circus customers enjoy a level of ownership that brings out the full potential of Jaguars, Land Rovers, MGs, Triumphs, Austin Healeys, Rolls Royces, and every English marque".
	Situated at Exit 10a on the Durham Freeway (Rt 147), Flying Circus can be reached easily by highway from any direction. Take the exit for Briggs Avenue North and turn left onto East Pettigrew Street for just 50 yards. We are on the left. call (919) 596 4250. We are open Monday to Thurs from 8:00am to 5:00pm and Friday 8:00am to 3:00pm
Click on this picture to see enlarged detail of what is going on in our shop		Our facilities are located pretty much in the middle of the 'Research Triangle' that we call home (Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and Chapel Hill). We have 10,000 square feet of shop, parts department, offices and a showroom for 3 cars. Our forecourt (above) is a popular gathering place for club rallies and is just 200 yards away from the Durham Freeway which has excellent links to Greensboro to the west, Raleigh to the east, I85 to the north and Richmond and Rte 1 to the south and South Carolina. You can get to our front door at, ahem, 70 mph from any direction - no waiting.
	A rare shot from the Flying Circus Biplane one clear July day in 1995. The street in the foreground is East Pettigrew Street, bottom left is the end of Briggs Avenue and the divided highway at the top is Route 147 aka the Durham Freeway aka the Buck Dean Freeway, (and to older Durham residents aka I40. However, the plans for I40 changed in the '70s and it eventually went round the south side of Durham requiring this stretch of road to be called something else). There is one more tree in the picture than exists today courtesy of hurricane Fran.
Top of page		There is an unusual badge being worn by English cars around the Triangle It is the Flying Circus Rally decal and this is the story of its design. For many years, at least as far back as the first 'Rallye-Monte-Carlo' in 1911, this has been the shape of competitor plates, announcing the number of the car and the rally in which it is competing. It decorated the bonnet of Paddy Hopkirk's Mini Cooper S when he won the 'Monty' in 1964. It was on a Sunbeam Rapier when it won in 1966 and it has been the design of choice for almost every international car rally ever since: including the Sofia-Liege-Sofia Rally, the Coupe Des Alpes, and the East African Safari. While the shape is sometimes wider, the color sometimes red or the bump a little more pronounced, the basic shape is immediately identified with the world's most competitive car rallies. So it seems perfectly consistent to us that the shape that has adorned Minis, Jags, Astons, Triumphs, MGs and Sunbeams would make an excellent format for identifying the English cars belonging to our customers and friends. It is a way for us to add a little bit of history to the Jags and MGs that we help maintain and a way that Flying Circus folk can recognize one another on the road. So, if you will honor us by wearing this 'plate' and being recognized as a friend of Flying Circus, we think it might lead to your making the acquaintance of some awfully nice people. We suggest that, where possible, you place the decal on the back of your car, low and to the left (on the bumper, boot lid or rear window) where it will be easily recognized by other friends of Flying Circus. A 'curious' custom observed on English roads to this day, by normally reserved drivers is the cheery wave that one MG or Jaguar or Triumph driver will give to another driver of the same marques. While this has been observed among many of the 'enthusiast' marques it is particularly true for the rarer models that are so well represented among our customers. Oh! and it is OK to wave back - in a reserved manner of course.