Marc wrote in with another gorgeous model posing with a gorgeous model – this time a Lotus 47/Europa. Thanks Marc!
Have some more sports and racing cars at auto show displays to share? Send them along to tips@thechicane.com
It’s car show season, friends.. If only the attractions of this years’ car shows were as sexy as they used to be.
What? I’m talking about the cars.
Mostly.
Mouth watering. I can’t believe I didn’t somehow get it together to make it down there. A dizzying array of Bandinis and Stanguellinis and Siatas and OSCAs, and that doesn’t even mention the gaggle of Porsche 917s. Good gravy!
Head over to Etceterini for the complete set.
This lovely little etceterini is very much more than she seems. This ex-Anna Maria Peduzzi Stanguellini has as good a pedigree as anyone could ask for. This car, chassis CS04075, was delivered to Ms. Peduzzi, perhaps Italy’s best-known female racing driver, who piloted the barchetta through just about every Italian race of any significance: the ’52 12 Hours Pescara, the ’53 Mille Miglia, the ’53 Targa Florio, plus a victory in the 1952 Eifelrennen Nürburgring just to break her in on delivery. The car’s subsequent owner, Paulo Martoglio, took the car on the quick trip from Brescia to Rome and back again for the ’56 Mille. This car’s history would virtually guarantee entry into even the most selective vintage events.
Today, Marcel Roks Consultants offers the car in Belgium. The car has received a ground up restoration and boasts its original 750cc Twin Cam. Sadly, I’ve never had the experience of hearing the little Stanguellini’s take on a hotted-up Fiat engine, but if it’s anything like my imaginings, it’s certainly an experience worth having. The car looks marvelous, and doesn’t look over-restored or like too much of a garage queen.
I would, however, like to take this opportunity to wonder aloud about the photographer for these shots. At what point do you decide this marvelous little car doesn’t deserve to have the plastic furniture moved out of shot? “Nah, just leave that towel draped over that $5 lawn chair. That’ll be fine”. Bah.
Reader Len McCue wrote in to ask, “I have a video of the restoration of my 53 NH Coupe as a racing and touring car. Do you have any interest?”
Did I have any interest? Just one look at the photos of the car competing at the very scenic Pittsburgh Grand Prix had me responding “YES” as fast as my fingers could fly. She’s an absolute beauty, and when you see the condition she started in, I’m sure you’ll join me in thanking Mr. McCue for saving this gorgeous and funky little racecar.
We’d love to feature more readers’ restorations, race cars, and onboard videos. Have something to share? Drop a line to tips@thechicane.com
It’s hard to think of any modern car that would look even remotely good in blue with a red interior. Hard to argue that it isn’t just killing it in this Gullwing Mercedes and the Porsche 356. Wonderful.
I have long held a firm belief that you can only paint your car red if it’s from Italy: Corvettes in red? No. Porsches? Ew. Ferrari? Maserati? Bandini? Now we’re talking. Red just always screams “trying too hard” to me. But for some reason, and I don’t know if it’s the sexy Italian bodylines or just being used to seeing red Ferraris, but once you’ve decided to go all out on an Italian machine, the red just works.
This Cooper-Monaco, though, has me thinking that it must be the slinky curves and not the country of origin that does the trick. Because this little racer has more beautiful curves than it knows what to do with and looks marvelous in red. I love everything about this 1959 Cooper-Monaco. The Cooper team simply took its game-changing Formula 1 car and widened her to accommodate a passenger, wrapped the frame in this marvelous aluminum skin, and called it a day. In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about “race track technology for the road”, but it so often falls flat or, worse yet, was more a function of the marketing department than the engineering team.
That is not to say, of course, that this little beauty was a simple road car (although this was still the era when you drove your racecar to the track, knocked out a quick win, and drove her home). She’s a full-blooded racer with the pedigree to prove it. This example, Chassis CM.5.59, at the hands of Colin Davis, won her debut at the 1959 Grand Prix Messina. Sadly for this example, it was all downhill from there. She claimed a 5th place at the 1960 GP Cuba (again with Colin Davis piloting), and DNFed at the 1960 Targa Florio.
Thankfully, though, this was not the true end for this marvelous little racing car, and today the car offers some excellent perks for the vintage racer. Race engineer Carroll Smith (of Engineer to Win fame) converted the car, in period, to coil-over suspension. Later owner, Porsche IMSA racing champion, Bob Akin, converted the powerplant from her original Maserati 200SI to a Coventry-Climax/Hewland drivetrain.
Today, CM.5.59 is ready to race and available from Connecticut restoration specialists and dealer, Automotive Restorations, Inc, coupled with their vintage racing preparation service, it’s one-stop shopping for one amazing summer racing season. She’s a fantastic little racer and I can certainly think of worse ways to spend $225,000. More details on the dealer’s info sheet.
Thanks to the mighty Hemmings Blog for pointing this beauty out.
I can’t get enough of this drool-worthy machine.
100% pure sex.
This remarkable machine was designed more than 40 years ago. But If one of these pulled up to you today on a lonely road and the driver frantically leapt out claiming to have just arrived from the future you would have no choice but to believe him.
An Autodelta 2-liter V8 behind the driver, a Colotti 6-speed gearbox at hand, these pornographic Franco Scaglione-designed curves all around you—how could it not be from the future?
Can you believe that now, 40 years later, that we’re in the automotive design era we’re in? Ok, so we don’t have flying cars, but shouldn’t they at least—like this Alfa—look like they can fly?
More Stradale photos at AutoBlog.
I can’t remember where I first stumbled across this photo—Bulgogi Brothers, maybe?—but it wasn’t until recently that I had a much fuller appreciation of it. Seeing this little Lotus looking vulnerable in Paris traffic is one thing, but look closer at the surrounding vehicles and you’ll see that this is no vintage shot.
Thank you for your chutzpah, Lotus driver.
Update: This photos is originally from Flickr user Zirwilliam, who has a bunch of great car shots.