Harvington Motor Co. must have been equally excited and nervous to handle the mechanical restoration of the 1956 Mike Hawthorn D-Type. It always impresses the hell out of me when restoration and race shops routinely tear into a priceless machine (or in this case, valued at about ￡7 Million). That sort of confidence is what separates top-shelf vintage racing technicians from garage tinkerers like me.
More info and progress photos on Harvington’s project page.
Now Exclusive Cobra and Mustang 350 G.T. Dealer—S&C Motors
2001 Market Street (corner of Delores)
Phone UN 1-6000 • Al Rivera, Manager
Phil Hill in Cobra at Candlestick. Phil Hill, America’s first world champion grand prix driver, will drive the S&C Special, a Cobra 427 this weekend at Candlestick. Keep your eye on the S&C Special. You’ll be seeing a champion driving a world championship car. Shelby American won the 1965 FIA International Manufacturer’s Championship.
It’s easy to buy or lease a Cobra or Mustang G.T. 350 at S&C. Com in to S&C Motors at 2001 Market Street, San Francisco, and see Al Rivera, manager of Hi-Performance sales, service and parts, or phone UN 1-6000 for all the information on the hottest cars in the world. Shelby American Cobra and Mustang G.T. 350 street models are available on very reasonable purchase or lease terms. We want to deal so that you can wheel. Ask about competition options, too, if you want to race or beat the other guy from the stop light.
We don’t often think of the rallying successes of the Porsche 356. Maybe we should reconsider the little beauty’s abilities off the tarmac. After all, if scores (hundreds?) of Beetles can run the Baja, then certainly its cousin can, and did, hold her own.
The brothers Maserati at the original workshop in Bologna. I don’t know the exact date here but it was before Alfieri died from liver complications in ’32.
The building has since been demolished. Which makes me a bit sad. It brings to mind the dilapidated Model-T factory in Detroit that I used to pass on my daily commute. We go to endless effort to restore the cars but forget almost entirely about where they came from; the situations that led to their development; the craftsman that breathed life into them.
Now here’s a puzzle worth putting together.
These images from the media announcement of the 1969 Formula Ford championship and the Dutch National Team’s vehicle debut are quite an interesting case-study in how sporting media drops have changed in the intervening years.
Today’s racing press events are glitzy orchestrated affairs: Dance music pulses as the curtain drops. A sheet is pulled from the waiting car before the unveiled car rotates on a stage bathed in carefully selected spotlights. Smiling media-trained drivers bedecked in sponsorship logos emerge from the side of the stage to shake hands with auto executives amid the popping flashbulbs of a baited motoring press.
These shots are exactly the opposite of that. It is a beautifully spontaneous mess:
“Hey Boss, Nick Brittan is here.”
“Who?”
“Nick Brittan. The director of the International Formula Ford Championship. He’s got the trophy with him. I’ll bring him back.”
“Let’s take a few photos while he’s here.”
“Sure thing, Boss. Should I just park the car in front of those ashtrays by the elevators?”
“Yes. And get him to awkwardly pose on the car like he’s a glamour model while we’re at it.”
“Yes Sir! This is going to be great!”
Flickr user Biczzz has created this astoundingly nuanced sculpture of Ginther’s 1965 Honda RA272 from simple Lego. The level of detail Biczzz has managed to achieve here is really incredible. Sure, I’ve made my share of blocky Lego cars, but these gentle curves, the suspension bits, the windscreen! I’ve seen die-cast models with less detail.
Maybe with some practice, I could make a generic 60s F1 car from Lego. But this isn’t a generic 60s F1 car. You can plainly recognize it as the car that took Honda’s first victory in Mexico. Overcoming the constraints inherent in sculpting from Lego and still managing such a finely crafted result is absolutely fantastic!
Previously: Flying Bricks
How long to you think this palm tree would last in a contemporary racing circuit’s stands?
(
Winners go with Bell.
Dan Gurney.
Winner: Mosport 200 — Mosport, Ontario 1968
Winner: Motor Trend 500 — Riverside, Calif. 1968
Winner: Rex Mays 300 — Riverside, Calif. 1967
Bell Helmets
See your local Bell Helmet Dealer
Via Swiss Stash
These images from a wonderful thread on Pasion a la Velocidad reminds me that road racing in the Americas was so much larger than we typically remember today. For every Sebring or Paramount Ranch or Bahamas Speed Week or Argentine GP, there were countless communities that closed off a few blocks and made a weekend of it.
Again, I’m struck by the beauty of these tropical racing venues. These vistas from the Circuito Cuidad Satelite la Trinidad prove that the views from the countryside surrounding Caracas, Venezuela were every bit as majestic as those from Sicily or Brescia.
See the full thread for even more photos and remembrances from the Venezuelan road racing community.