Founded by Tony Vandervell who was the owner of a speciality bearing company, Thinwall Bearings, he joined his family name and his company name to form the brand "Vanwall" for motorsports racing. 

When the Vanwall cars first apeared in the scene, their most formidable competition were the Ferarri made Dino V6 cars. But Vanwall’s put some of their innovation into the car that made the car have the best of road handling abilities. This was achieved through use of modified suspension system, aerodynamics, Dunlop made special R5 racing tyres, etc. 

During the British GP held on 20th July, 1957, a Vanwall made VW57 car driven by Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks came first after doing 90 laps.