Author: Harlo

Categories
Historic Racing Photos Porsche

Wrong Side Up in a Porsche RSK

This sequence of images of a Porsche 718 RSK going shiny side down is the kind of thing we don’t often see. Not because there weren’t horrific crashes in the era—quite the opposite—but because there simply wasn’t the kind of camera coverage we’ve come to expect today. Even the most popular events had spotty photographic coverage, nevermind film. The only reason we can see these harrowing sequence of photos from Spa today is that this event was being shot for the 1960 film L’ennemi dans l’ombre.
Take special note of the last photo. Can you believe that this driver just stood up and dusted himself off after this series of acrobatics?

More commentary on the film and this photo sequence on the Internet Movie Cars Database. From that discussion, a commenter named Dodo seems to have identified the race as the May 3, 1959 running of the Grand Prix de Spa, where Christian Heins crashed one of the three RSKs entered. Another RSK piloted by Carel Godin de Beaufort went on to win.

Categories
Video

Etceterini Begins Releasing Clips from the Suzy Dietrich Archive

When last October’s auction of Suzy Dietrich’s lifetime of mementos from her remarkable racing career drew to a close, I thought we might have lost a great possibility to release her archive of film into the world. For all we knew at the time, a collector had snatched up these precious film cans only for them to be viewed once or twice and sealed away in the deep wells of a closed collection.

You can imagine the sigh of relief I experienced when friend of the blog and occasional contributor, Cliff Reuter announced that he had won several of the film auctions and started to digitize and release them on Etceterini. Thank goodness!

The above is but a taste and Cliff says that there’s more to come, check his Suzy Dietrich video page on Etceterini.com.

Categories
Historic Racing Photos

Factories at Work: Triumph Preps the LeMans Spitfires

I have a Triumph GT6 sitting in my garage that I keep coming this close to selling, but when I see these technicians from the Triumph Experimental Division in their neckties and shopcoats lovingly laboring over these crisp white frames it makes me want to abandon my plans to sell and instead suit up and get her properly prepped.

Categories
Vintage Racing Advertising

Jaguar XK-E. Now with Ignition Warning Buzzer.

XK-E Coupe
A sleek, classic masterpiece, praised by the Museum of Modern Art. Large rear window door opens for plenty of luggage.
Principal Dimensions: Wheelbase 96ins. Track, front 50 ins., rear 50 ins. Overall length 176-5/16 ins. Overall width 65 1/4 ins. Overall height 48ins. Ground clearance (lade) 5 1/2 ins. Dry weight 2,570 lbs. Fuel 16 3/4 galls. Oil 9 qts. Water 19 1/4 qts.
Optional Equipment: Power assisted steering. Radio. Chrome wire wheels. Tinted glass. Whitewall tires. Heated rear window for demisting and defrosting. Air conditioning.
Transmission: Four-speed, all synchromesh. Ratio 3.54 to 1. Limited slip differential. Suspension: Four-wheel independent, torsion bars front and paired coil springs rear. Brakes: 4-wheel discs with quick-change pads. Steering: Rack and pinion. Adjustable wood-rimmed steering wheel. Steering lock. Wheels: 15 ins. 72-wire spokes with Dunlop Aqua-Jet radial ply 185×15 tires. Electrical Equipment: 12-volt battery. Alternator. Back-up lights. Ignition warning buzzer.
Body: 2-door, all-steel. Twin bucket reclining seats with adjustable headrests, upholstered in leather over foam rubber. 7-dial instrument panel, including tachometer. Heater and demister standart equipment. Rear windows hinged for ventilation. Twin padded sun visors. Lockable glove compartment. Twin package shelves.


Thanks, Chromjuwelen for the heads up.

Categories
Porsche

More 917s on the Street

Yes, it’s a replica. I still think it would be an absolute blast. Maybe even more fun than tooling around in traffic with the real thing. With the price these things are fetching, I’d be too afraid to muster the ability to just have fun.

Ever since we featured some marvelous video of another 917 replica mixing it up with minivans on public roads, I’ve hoped to see more madmen enjoying this luscious form amidst the sea of jellybean-shaped modern cars on the highway. And here, finally, is another example. Shot for an article in Austria’s Auto Revue, naturally the Vienna Ring Road offers perfect scenery for this replica of the Helmut Marko/Gijs van Lennep piloted machine that won the 1971 Le Mans for Martini. I cannot think of a better location. Wunderbar!

Click on over to Auto Revue for more (Google Translate is your friend) and more photos.

Thanks to Porsche Porn for the heads up.

Categories
Grand Prix Historic Racing Photos

Vintage Vintage Racing

Somehow Graham Hill even managed to look dapper behind the wheel of this replica of an 1896 Henry Ford Quadricycle. With a top speed of 20 Miles per hour and no brakes, Henry’s contraption was probably a walk in the park for Graham, who seems to be enjoying himself in this shot from ’63; taken while he was on his way to 2nd place in the world championship.

via Jaguar Car Forum

Categories
Automotive Art Racing Ephemera

The Captivating Automotive Photography of Steffen Jahn

Any photographer worth a damn can make a technically proficient photograph of a car, but it takes something else to evoke the spirit of the car. That’s what is happening here.

There’s something special about Steffen Jahn’s imagery. Something that somehow makes you look past the mere form of the subject, even with all the historic legacy these subjects carry, and take us into a moment. Many of these shots look less like still photography and more like a still captured from a beautifully shot film. And it’s not just the specific film that these shots of a 917/512 duel typically conjures.

Head on over to Steffen’s site for more of his brilliant work. Perhaps as much as the beautiful racing imagery, I love his “Making of” gallery that shows he’s not just capturing arresting moments of these inspired machines; he’s having a damned good time doing it.

Categories
For Sale Porsche

Porsche 917/30-004 Brings in $4.4Million at Gooding. Yowza!

This is what it looks like when a 1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder sells for $4.4Million (inclusive of buyer’s premium). Gooding’s sale of the Drendel Family Collection as part of this year’s Amelia Island auction had some marvelous Porsches, with several ex-Martini team cars, a 935, 962, and many other exotic Porsche racing models.

917/30-004 was to be Mark Donohue’s 1974 car, but rule changes delayed and ultimately halted construction for the Can-Am series. The car was completed and sold to Australian Porsche importer, Alan Hamilton, who displayed the car in her plain white livery in his Melbourne showroom. Porsche reacquired the car in 1991 and restored her in the 1973 Can-Am championship winning Penske-Sunoco livery she wears today.

Just sit back and take in these amazing statements from the lot detail page:
The Most Powerful Road-Racing Car Ever Built
An Undisputed Masterpiece of Automotive Engineering
One of Only Six Examples Built
Sold New to Australian Porsche Importer Alan Hamilton
Meticulously Restored in Penske Racing’s 1973 Sunoco Livery
Rennsport Reunion, AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix and Monterey Historics Participant
Featured Prominently in Pete Lyons’ Can-Am Cars in Detail
Eligible for Leading Historic Races and Porsche Gatherings
The Ultimate Evolution of the Porsche 917

Some of these things sound like hyperbole, until you realize they’re mostly true.

Rumor has it that she ended up in Seinfeld’s collection.

Categories
Historic Racing Photos Racing Ephemera

Menacing

Looking at this photo of an unidentified racing driver Dan Gurney from 1960, it’s hard to believe that “The Intimidator” was still available when people were deciding on a nickname for Dale Earnhardt after his masterful 1987 season.

Thanks Gary for identifying Dan Gurney for us!

Even better! Captain Ned was curious about this image, so he emailed AAR Racing. Incredibly, he received a reply from Evi Gurney herself. Evi says that Dan was experimenting with face protection well before his contemporaries—which led to the first full face helmet for driving.

“During the years that followed he worked with Bell Helmets in California where he helped to develop the first full face helmet. He had seen motorcycle racers wear similar ones at Ascot Raceway in California. Dan wore the first full face helmet at Indianapolis in 1968 and then also introduced it to Formula I racing at the British and German Grand Prix in 1968. He was at first a bit ridiculed but within months other drivers adopted the full face helmet and now we cannot imagine how they ever raced without them.”

Evi’s complete message is in the comments.

thanks, Captain Ned.

Categories
Video

Class is in Session with Prof. McLaren

Settle down, class. Now take your seats. Mosport 101 is about to begin.
thanks, @Pete_Aron.