Categories
Vintage Racing Advertising

Champion impulsaron dos victorias

This Carrera Panamericana Champion spark plugs ad doesn’t even require translating it from Spanish to recognize how fantastic it is. Advertising creatives take note: Sometimes illustration just works better than photography

Categories
Porsche

Fast Women: Jacqueline Evans—Queen of the Carrera Panamericana

She may have never finished higher than 37th place (in a Chrysler Saratoga in 1952), but I have huge respect for anyone that attempted to tackle the mighty Carrera Panamericana. Jacqueline Evans, however, was not content to just do the race once. Ms. Evans was a piloto at every year of the Carreras running—from 1950 to 1954.

Arguably it was the 1953 race with her behind the wheel of the Eva Peron tribute Porsche 356 for which she’s most remembered. The car is certainly among the most famous liveries of the period. With its vibrantly painted portrait of the recently deceased First Lady of Argentina. Although she ran overtime which resulted in her disqualification in the race she is among the most photographed racers that year. Whether it was because of the exotic livery, the relative novelty of a woman racer, or because she just looked so very cool is anyone’s guess… but I’m sure glad she was.
En representacion de las mujeres del mundo indeed.

Categories
For Sale Racing Ephemera

Ebay Watching: Deadstock Racing Boots


These are amazing. Sure. I guess I like Piloti Racing Shoes as much as the next guy, but their aesthetics are a far cry from the simple honesty of these deadstock 1960’s Les Leston Grand Prix vintage racing boots. Les Leston was a racer himself that started a popular car accessory shop on London’s High Holborn street and outfitted racers with custom steering wheels, fire suits, helmets, and the like. But these boots are just on another level.

I’m sure they’re not fire safe. I’m sure they won’t stand up to much abuse outside of the car. I’m sure they’re gorgeous. Now if only I could find a way to cram my 10½ EE feet into this pair of 7½ boots.
Available on eBay at a price appropriate to their amazingness.
Thanks for alerting us to this one, Paul!

Categories
Automotive Art Racing Ephemera

Building Jim Clark’s Lotus 49

Originally intended as a commemorative gift for Jimmy himself, modelmaker Henri Baigent’s work took on an additional weight of importance in the wake of Clark’s death. Whenever I see these kinds of amazing artifacts being built I can’t help but wonder where this little marvel is today. At the time, Ford and Firestone provided Henri with technical drawings and even the appropriate rubber compound to create the model in 1:12 scale. Now if he’d just built 12 of them we could be driving it around Silverstone: That’s how this works, right? When the models are this exact I can’t be sure.
Via Motorsport Magazine [the best]