Christopher’s most frequent subject matter seems to be bicycle racers, but he occasionally turns his brush to vintage racing cars. Having tried my hand at watercolor at various times in the past, I’m always impressed by the level of control that it takes to make them successfully. As Christopher’s gallery shows, he’s definitely mastered the techniques. His representations of light cascading across the bodywork is light years beyond my “Brown Puddles” series.
I know we JUST took the time to appreciate Ferrari’s little 750 Monza, but browsing the beautiful shots in Swiss automotive photographer Michel Zumbrunn’s site I was struck by the unconventional paint on this little beauty. Digging into it a bit, it looks like Modena restoration house Carrozzeria Mirage did the bodywork and paint, and have shared some shots of their process. It’s a stunning little machine, and the American racing colors suit her well.
The color scheme is appropriate. Although she doesn’t have much race history, chassis 0554M spent all of her short career in the Americas, with races at various years of the Bahamas speed week, Road America, Lime Rock, and Riverside.
We don’t often think of Ferrari’s machines as barchettas; they tended to be the big boys. But before Ferrari was all muscle, all the time, this slippery little slice of perfection with a body by Scaglietti had her share of successes on the track.
1960 Buenos Aires (Jose-Froilan Gonzales Ferrari D246, Gino Munaron Maserati 250F, Bruce McLaren Cooper T51)
A transitional year to be sure. The mid-engine revolution had officially begun, but the Coopers still looked awfully odd out there amongst all those front-engined machines. Can anyone tell me what’s going on in this image of Harry Schell in his Cooper T51? It almost looks like someone is trying to toss him a drink!
1960 Buenos Aires (Harry Schell, Roberto Bonomi, Cooper T51)
Dan Gurney in a BRM really gave Maurice Trintignant a run for his money, but ultimately Maurice’s Cooper won the day; beating Gurney by nearly a minute.
This is my new barometer when I meet people. Have someone pick their favorite year of the Ferrari F1 car from this graphic. If it’s after 19671973 1982, you might just want to walk away right then.
The film is wonderful, but it was the uploader’s comments that prompted me to share it.
“Pedro & Ricardo Rodriguez, driving a Ferrari 250TR entered by the North American Racing Team, fought the works Ferraris of Hill-Gendebien and Parkes-Mairesse for 22 hours. While leading at 7am (after 15 hours), it took the works mechanics over 20 minutes to replace a defective condenser and the brothers, now 5 laps down but with 9 hours to go, started the chase for the lead with lap times of 10 secs faster than the leading works Ferrari of Hill-Gendebien. With only 2 hours to go and back in second place, Pedro came in with a smoking engine and retired the car. The brothers received a standing ovation from the crowd.”
“I’ve always seen cars as art. Moving art. While friends of mine were into paintings, I somehow felt that the real beauty of owning a rare and magnivicently designed car was the fact that you can use it. You can look at it, enjoy its visual qualities, as with a painting, but you can also get inside and drive it – which means both enjoying the drive itself and going somewhere with it. How these cars are put together, the purposefulness with which they were created, in every detail – the engine, the mechanics, the outside ornamentation, the design of the wheels, the whole spirit – is very, very exciting. And on top of that you have the men who created these cars, Mr. Porsche, Mr. Bugatti, Mr. Ferrari, and their backgrounds, their heritages, their fascinating histories, their reasons for driving and building these cars – I find it all very stimulating.”
Ralph Lauren. Speed, Style & Beauty
More images, engine sounds (!) and information on the exhibit on the Collection’s Site.
I think Phil is looking for a break in the traffic to enter the race after a LeMans start or reenter from the pit wall, but his expression here seems to say to me, “Hi, I’m Phil Hill; and I’m going to beat you to the finish line.”
