I think I’ll always be a 550 man but the subtler 356 Carrera 2 might be the better package for the 547 powerplant. It may not be as race-winning, but if you pull into town for dinner with this Carrera 2 you might be seen as charming, perhaps even old-fashioned.. and you’ll still have that 4-cam monster ready for the twisties on the way home. These are the little fantasies I concoct for myself.
Someone was able to make that fantasy a reality in the March Open Roads online auction hosted by RM Sotheby’s—where she sold for less than the estimate for €355,000. What a lovely way to start the summer.
Now I just need the delightful pink house to go with it.
Sure it’s a bit of an ad for the restoration magicians at Road Scholars but it’s more than worth it to see these miraculous Fuhrmann 4-cam machines in the workshop and on the track at VIR. When was the last time you saw a 904, various Carreras, Spyders, a handful of 356 specials, and more spinning around together?
Hey Road Scholars, invite me to the next one. Pretty please.
You don’t often see color photography from the Carrera. I’d love to know more about this shot of Hans Hermann’s car for the 1954 Carrera Panamericana. Usually the car is seen with its iconic aluminum tonneau cover occupying the passenger seat. Was this part of a scouting run? A press event? I haven’t been able to find information on it—let me know if you do.
The Porsche 550 of Herbert Linge at the 1954 Carrera Panamericana
This remarkable set of shots below highlights the sheer variety of machines that competed in ’54 (and every year). It’s one of the things I most love about the Carrera.. Jaguars and Lincolns mixing it up? Sure. Ford and Ferrari going head-to-head a decade before that meant something? Why not.
This set is collected from a series shot by Ina Mae Overman and Stanley Dean Miller. See more of Ina Mae and Stanley’s photos at The Gentleman Racer.
This remarkably clean and documented Porsche 910 is currently of offer by the Ascott Collection.
There were only 28 Porsche 910s built and it remains one of my favorite of their mid-60s developments during a crucial decade when Porsche transformed from the Giant Killer to the giant. It was a period in which Porsche’s increasing dominance began to take hold in sports car racing; a period when their cars matured from 4-bangers to 6 and 12 cylinder variants of the still air-cooled flat boxer layout. The 910 was a crucial stepping stone from the earlier small-displacement racers to what would become the utter dominance of the 917 throughout the 1970s.
Porsche 910 027 at the 1968 Nurburgring
This example, chassis 027, spent much of that period in the hands of the Hart Ski Racing Team. After a short stint as a factory racer, Hart Ski campaigned her at the Nürburgring 1000, Spa 1000, and a handful of events around Germany culminating in an outright victory at the 1970 Hockenheim 6 Hours race.
She’s absolutely stunning and if you’ve only experienced these mid to late 60’s racers in photos you’ll be absolutely gobsmacked by their dimunitive size when you get up close. Retromobile is always a trip worth taking, but being able to stand near this gorgeous little machine when Ascott displays her will really drive home her elegance and fragility, and remind you of the menace that lurks underneath.
Can you imagine a contemporary engine rebuilder breaking down their much-coveted and high-dollar Porsche Type 547 Carrera 4-cam “Furhmann” engine with it sitting on her side on the ground in the pits? These guys even have grease stains on their coveralls!
Perhaps more than anything, this tight little engine package earned Porsche her “Giant Killer” nickname. The high-revving little perfection box was complicated and notoriously finicky to tune. But when it was just right, it was just right—and has the very long list of victories to prove it.
Despite the difficulties of maintaining it, the cammer engine was reliable enough for an entire season of street driving to the track, capturing a trophy, and making the trip back home.
Besides, don’t these mechanics just look happy to be working on it?
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.
Even in an era before ubiquitous photography where everyone has a camera in their pocket (and no film processing!) there are thousands and thousands of moments captured on track. Perhaps that’s why I’m always so drawn in by these quieter, more banal moments.
This bustling workshop preparing for a race conjures so many stories in my mind: mechanics furiously scrambling to get the machines ready; visiting besuited executives quietly observing or barking encouragement; the professional-looking woman making a—for the time—rare entry to a male-dominated environ. I don’t even know what workshop this is (though it looks like some I’ve seen at LeMans) and as much as I want to know who these people are and what they were actually doing, I might prefer the imagined stories I’ve created for them in my head.
I am curious about the woman in the Dior-esque “new look” style skirt suit though—anyone recognize her?
