Flickr user Malcolm Mitchell has uploaded a translated version of the 1997 French language comic book commemorating the 50th anniversary of Ferrari’s first race. The comic book, illustrated by Patrick Leseur and written by Dominique Pascal, follows Enzo’s journey from disinterested schoolboy to racing pioneer to businessman and icon.
Although the storytelling can be a bit dry as we enter the years where each panel is just a new road car’s debut, there’s still a lot of information here about the Commendatore.
Malcolm has the entire comic translated to english (by Desmond Tumulty) and available for viewing, so click on over.
There are benefits to having renowned photographer Louis Klemantaski as your navigator when you’re competing in the 1957 Mille Miglia. Peter Collins’ Ferrari 335 Sport didn’t quite make it back to Brescia after suffering a driveshaft failure 5 hours in, but at least he had this astounding photograph to show for his efforts. Seems like a pretty fair trade to me.
Update: In the comments, Richard found another of Louis’ shots from the Mille that’s definitely worth sharing. Thanks, Richard!
After seeing a second set of brilliant photography from Europe in the past couple of weeks (along with Laurent Nivalle’s fantastic LeMans Classic shots we featured last week), I’m convinced that—for all their faults—the big European tracks offer some simply spectacular angles for shooting the action on track and in the pits. Markus’ shots from the Oldtimers Grand Prix at the Nürburgring are equally marvelous. By comparison, the photos I’ve seen from this weekend’s activities at Laguna Seca only highlight how great these elevated viewing platforms of European tracks are for capturing angles of the cars that we rarely see when wandering the pits at tracks stateside. None of the shots I’ve seen from Monterey have offered the environmental drama of these shots from the Ring—please prove me wrong, send me your favorite Monterey sets!
See Markus’ complete set at the excellent Formfreu.de
Oh No! Sir Stirling is ok, but in reasonably poor spirits after his car was involved in a crash during this year’s Monterey races. StirlingMoss.com reports that “On Stirling’s out lap the car stepped out a wheel onto the grass putting it off the circuit, albeit without coming into contact with the barriers. A second car, also on its warm-up lap, left the circuit and hit the RS 61. Happily Stirling was unhurt, the car however suffered considerable damage, rendering it undriveable for the rest of the Monterey weekend.” What a shame that this debut outing for Moss in the RS61 he purchased earlier in the year will also be the season’s last. Indications are that the car is repairable.
Update: From other reports on the incident, it appears that the other car mentioned was John Morton’s ’58 Scarab. Morton was taken to hospital, but climbed from the car on his own and waved to the crowd before climbing into the ambulance. From the looks of this photo, it doesn’t look too good for the Scarab itself. Hopefully it too will be repairable. As Sean points out in the comments, the Moss and Morton crashes were entirely separate incidents. It seems obvious now that the Scarab and Porsche would be in different races but I guess this is what I get for trying to follow along on the weekend’s events from 2 time zones away. I’m sorry for mixing that up.
It’s like the best game of Mario Kart you ever played as we take an on-board spin around Brazil’s Kartodromo de Atibaia in two important vintage kart models, the 1960 WASP Bug Kart, and a 1971 Kart Mini MAXI-RM. These little buzzing 2-strokes sound like all sorts of fun. Now where’s my blue shell?
What you see above is an excerpt from the January, 1964 issue of Road & Track’s road test of the then brand new Porsche 904. I’m a huge fan of the 904. So was Road & Track. They give the car’s brakes and handling high marks. But mostly they praise the affordability of the car for the amateur racer.
Wait. What?
Which is why I’ve highlighted the pricing information above. $7425 sounds like a very small number indeed. Of course you’re thinking, “but that’s 1964 dollars. Factor in the inflation and you’ll see that it’s the princely sum we’ve come to expect for a world-class competition car”. Thanks to our friends at The Inflation Calculator, I can tell you that $7425 in 1964 is the equivalent of $50,810.87 today.
Now $50 Grand is no small amount of money, but where can I buy a current racing car that can compete at the international level for $50 Grand? Or $100 Grand? Or $200 Grand—What does a Porsche Cup Car cost these days? The 904 wasn’t just a competitive car, either—It was dominant; taking the World Sportcar Championship in the 2-liter class. Where can I buy a class winning contemporary racing car for $50 Grand? I’m struggling to think of a contemporary club racing car that can be bought for $50,000 – spec Miata not withstanding.
Road & Track had this to say about the 904’s costs. “The price is certainly right, $7245 at the factory, as this means the private owner in the U.S. can obtain a first class racing car and basic spares for something under $9000, dirt cheap for a first-class competition car.” I agree, dirt cheap indeed.
I love when a blog’s commenter can complete the story. The MotArt posted these photos found on MajorCalloway’s Flickr with the note “maybe East Germany?”. An anonymous commenter completes the story perfectly. “Thats East Germany, the Sachsenring. It might be 1961 or 1962. International races are only from 1961 to 1972 in East Germany. And with the Honda RC 145, it is international.” Sorry to steal The MotArts thunder, but the thrill of a solved mystery is too good not to share. More photos at The MotArt and on MajorCalloway’s Flickr Stream.
Bench test of a V12 out of a 330GT 2+2. The mechanic prefers the engine with the DFI Webers rather than the DCZ-DCL Webers. Who am I to argue? Sounds just lovely.
I’m not saying that well documented cars are boring. Far from it—I love a 906 or GTO with a racing victory under her belt as much as the next sportscar nerd, but there’s something about the sheer mystery of this little racing car that stirs the soul and imagination. This 1948 Fiat-Cisitalia(?) racing car is coming available at the upcoming Mecum at Monterey auction and is sure to make some unfussy buyer very pleased indeed.
The Fiat 1100 has powered so many great little racing machines, and with the very rare Cisitalia head, it’s undoubtedly even better. It’s the Cisitalia head that has likely been the source of the head-scratching on this car. So the automotive archeology begins. The Fiat 1100 was a popular engine choice in the 50s. It is fitted with era appropriate Fiat truck brakes that have been modified to lighten them consistent with the technology of the era. The cockpit, from the gauges—one giant Jaeger tachometer surrounded by smaller Sacma pieces—to wooden steering wheel are period correct. Even minor details like the brake reservoir and wiring is all perfectly appropriate for a car of this age. It all gives every indication that the car was constructed in-period and is not a recent garage-built “barn find”.
For all this lovely period craftsmanship, there’s no in-period race history. It seems unlikely that anyone would go through the trouble of welding up this custom chassis and lightening the brakes and then not race it. That seems to be the case with this machine though. There’s no apparent record of the car before it surfaced at a Florida dealer’s lot in the 1990s. The Cisitalia head seems to have always been a source of confusion though as it had at various times been assigned a Cisitalia chassis number, and described in auction catalogs as a “Cisitalia D204”, although Cisitalia never produced a car under this name.
For me though, I’m less concerned with the car’s provenance and record books than I am with how much fun it looks to drive. It looks like the 1100 Fiat engine would surely push a lightweight such as this to a speed and acceleration well into the giddy zone. The stance would make any American hot rodder envious. The Bandini-inspired cycle fenders and headlamps tucked behind the grille might even afford you the opportunity to street it. The cockpit for two makes it a wonderful rally entrant—if the lack of history will get you past the scrutineers. The straight pipes are sure to provide a lovely concert hall for the tuned engine. Even better, it is certainly going to sell for considerably less than a documented Cisitalia would.
Complete details (what there are of them) are available on Mecum’s lot detail page.
Holy Cow! Make yourself comfortable for this half-hour look at motor racing in 1967. This video has it all, everything from Formula 1 and World Sportscar Championship to Touring Cars and club racing. Well worth a look. And a re-look.
It’s a 24 minute Cliff’s Notes of everything The Chicane stands for.
