Check out the spectator parking on the outside of a turn at the ’73 Targa Florio. With safety standards like this, it’s little wonder that this was the last proper Targa.
Race winning Martini entry piloted by Herbert Müller/Gijs van Lennep wiggles around this parking lot in their 911RSR with little effort, but even this minor inconvenience in the Sicilian mountains would test my nerve.
Just look at the track’s edge in this clip from the Targa of the same year (and from the wheel of another 911RSR: #113).
From yesterday’s shots of the ’67 LeMans—perhaps the biggest sportscar race in the world—to today’s snaps from a regional track in the midwest; there’s virtually no end to the historic images and stories that drive our sickness passion for vintage racing. I’ve mentioned before that I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Waterford Hills Road Racing course. This was my home track growing up. It was where I saw my first club racing and my first vintage racing. I vividly remember 911s and even VW Golfs lifting a wheel at the crest of Hilltop Turn; and seeing more than a few cars lift 2 and sometimes 4 wheels if they overcooked it. That was it. I was hooked. So when Cliff pointed me to these Jerry Melton photographs from the June, 1968 SCCA Regionals at my beloved Waterford, I couldn’t just keep them to myself—could I?
I can’t resist sharing one more: Many of us know Garret Van Camp through his dominance in Formula Vee. It’s marvelous to see him in his earlier incarnation racing a Porsche Speedster. Check out that strap to the roll bar holding the door shut!
I’d seen Formula 1 cars thunder down the closed city streets of Detroit, their cacophonous engine notes echoing off the windows of the Pontchartrain Hotel and reverberating through Atwater Tunnel. But it was these smaller club events at local tracks that made me a lifelong racing fan. Even today, it’s these regional events that give me the greater thrill. A thrill that Jerry has managed to capture beautifully in these images from the June ’68 SCCA Regionals. Check out more of Jerry Melton’s archives on Etceterini.
With the Ford/Ferrari wars in full swing, it was already bound to be a fantastic June day—and night. Add Jim Hall’s newfangled adjustable wing and air-damn equipped Chaparral 2F and a “throw ’em all in there” 906/907/910 field from Team Porsche and who knows what could happen?
JYHelbe was all over Le Sarthe, and found a handful of choice angles to capture the action. This is but a taste; check out the complete set for more.
It’s been a couple of weeks, but today I was pointed to this magnificent series of photos on digitaldtour about Cars & Coffee’s tribute to Butzi Porsche the week after his death. The brilliant thing about southern California is that when the call goes out for an effort to gather as many 911s as possible, a damn lot of them show up. And since it is SoCal, a few 904s (including one example that formerly belonged to Butzi himself), Abarth 356s, ultra-rare 924GTS, and 356 Carrera 4-cams pop in as well.
Plenty of great stuff for the Porschephile on the rest of the site. Clear your schedule.
Of all the tributes to Butzi Porsche that have floated across the web in the weeks since his passing, I believe that today’s thoughtfully written article at Core 77 would be the one he’d most appreciate.
I think it fitting that it would take a design magazine to strip away some of the artifice of the 911’s legend and focus more on Butzi as a designer. It won’t surprise you that I buy in to author Raymond Jepson’s assertion that Butzi deserves a place alongside architect Ludwig Mies van de Rohe, legendary graphic designer Paul Rand, and Braun’s product designer Dieter Rams as the greats of twentieth century design. Their analysis of Dieter Ram’s recent resurgence of appreciation in the wake of Apple’s frequent homages to his aesthetic is spot on and could well provide a template for Butzi’s wider recognition in the future. It might not be until decades from now, with the benefit of a bit of history between Butzi’s death and ultimate legacy that we’ll be able to more holistically appreciate the impact Butzi had on the world of automotive and product design.
I recommend you click over and read the entire article. It’s a refreshing approach on Ferdinand Porsche’s work with a focus on his work, not on the company his family built.
Have I told you lately how much I love it when people digitize their old 8mm footage of races? Just look at the clips from the pits of the Hippie 917 with its cover still sitting on it carelessly. Just look at the Ferraris being lowered from the truck. Just look at the sheer madness of the flares on the class winning Greder/Rouget Corvette. Just. look. at. it. And that’s all before the opening parade.
I’m sort of surprised that Wes Anderson hasn’t bitten this dude’s lap update compositions.
1967 SCCA Class C Production Champion Alan Johnson knows that Royal 76 is powerful enough to make a difference. Alan Johnson and Roger Bursch took no chances on gasoline for their Porsche 911 S in the 1967 American Road Race of Champions. They took Union Oil’s Royal 76 premium with them—all the way from California to Daytona Beach. Why Royal 76? Winner Alan Johnson puts it this way. “Roger and I have experimented with a lot of gasolines in the years we’ve been racing together. We learned by experience that Royal 76 works better—delivers maximum power, mileage and performance.” Royal 76: a balanced blend of eight powerful fuels—exactly the same gasoline you get at any Union Oil station. Exactly the same gasoline that won the Can-Am series at Monterey… at Riverside… at Stardust. Why not try a tankful of championship performance in your car?
Even if he’d only designed the 904 (his favorite) his legacy in motorsport would have been remembered. That he also penned the 911 makes him one of the great automotive designers of all time. The LA Times has a nice writeup on Ferdinand Porsche’s death and legacy.
You did Grandpa proud, Butzi.
That gorgeously presented puzzle above is the work of the German motorsport product company, Capricorn. Their original intent seems to have been to manufacture parts to replenish the dwindling stocks of spares that threatened to make authentic 4-cam rebuilds all but impossible. The net effect, however, is something much more precious. It is now possible to build a brand new type 547 engine from off-the-shelf parts.
That they have managed to leverage their long relationship with Porsche into making complete reproduction 4-cams available to consumers is nothing short of remarkable. After all, this legendary little box of awesome powered the 356 Carreras, the Spyder series, and the 904 to a string of victories that was Porsche’s introduction into the top tiers of motorsport and resulted in us still referring to Porsche as “the Giant Killer” even all these years after they’ve become a giant themselves.
It’s not all good news and sunshine, however, the Capricorn build will set you back nearly as much as an authentic 547—somewhere in the neighborhood of €120,000. That’s no small figure, of course, and the renowned difficulties of the 4-cam will come along with it. Looking at these pieces, something tells me that the oft-quoted anecdote of the 20-hour valve adjustment aren’t that exaggerated. But I have to think it would be worth it to hear her sing once the revs get up.
I find it tremendously encouraging that there are organizations that will take this kind of production on and get the licenses to do it. What’s next? Colombo 12-cylinder, anyone?
