Category: Porsche
It was supposed to be the Porsche 908s and 907s vs the new Ferrari 312P. But what are Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver doing with that old Ford?
I almost don’t have words for how over-the-top fantastic this is.
Apparently this is just a clip of a longer, Japanese language only film. I’ll share it if I can find it.
Hat tip to the Classic Porsche Blog, who says, “surprisingly streetable.” Riiiiight.
Previously: 917s on the Street. Twice.
Some may not agree with Magnus Walker using the downtown Los Angeles streets as a personal racetrack—and I know some of you are going to have a fit about his crossing the double yellow a few times in this documentary on Magnus and his cars by Tamir Moscovici. I don’t think I’d be able to resist it either if I was behind the wheel of one these machines on a lonely seaside road.
I’ll give the man this, he’s got excellent taste.
The modifications that he does to his long-hoods makes me want an early 911 in the worst possible way. You’ll see in this video a segment of Magnus telling a story of him as a 10-year-old sending the Porsche a factory a letter about becoming a designer for the brand; and getting a response telling him to give them a call when he’s a bit older. When I see Magnus hand distressing the leather pull handle he’s just finished sewing, I wouldn’t be surprised if Porsche AG is eagerly awaiting that call.
You can have your Singer, I’ll take Magnus’ lighter touch on the early 911.
Previously: The Magnus Walker Collection.
I’m an unabashed fan of the Porsche 550. It has been my dream car since I was 15 years old. So I’m sure it won’t surprise you to learn that I was very, very skeptical when I heard that French design group Vintech was embarking on a modern “tribute” to the design aesthetic of my beloved Spyder. Although I haven’t seen a complete photo of the finished P550 yet (these are 3D renders you see here of the complete car), you can bet I’ll be looking her over with a rather critical eye.
That said, I have to admit that these renders are rapidly growing on me. The team has been releasing some images of her carbon fiber form on their blog in varying levels of concealment and so far I’m enjoying what I see. If you had told me a month ago that a car with the 550’s body lines but is a hardtop with gullwing doors would be appealing to me… Well, I sure wouldn’t have believed you. I might have been downright offended.
“Keep those Mercedes design queues away from the Spyder”, I would have said. “Those lines just don’t work as a hardtop”. Hell, even Porsche’s own Carrera Panamericana 550 coupe, in my opinion, pales in comparison to her topless sisters. Then again, if these renders are to be believed, maybe Porsche should have considered this option for the doors; and this roofline works to my eye far better than Porsche’s coupe.
The fact that they’re going with an air-cooled 4 cylinder sure doesn’t hurt matters either. That the engine shares some visual design connections with the 547 4-cam is an added bonus. That it is claimed to offer 300hp from the 3.0 liter boxer in a machine that weighs only 1200 pounds is simply fantastic.
What do you think? Am I alone in my growing attraction to Vintech’s little machine? Perhaps I should reserve judgement until the final reveal at this year’s The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering.
I guess we’ll know when the sheet is pulled back this Friday. More information on the project to hold you over until the reveal on the Vintech team’s blog.
Now if Vintech just wants to send one over for a test drive, I’ll be happy to give you a full report.
Update: whelp, now that the cover is off and she remains lovely, Vintech announced that it’s a one-off and they won’t be selling them, nor the lovely powerplant they’ve assembled for it. I can’t help but wonder what the point of it all is. At least produce the engines.
Looking at these catalog images for scale models it’s difficult—and a little bit sad—to imagine the time when illustrators were cheaper than photographers.
Any one of these renderings would make a fantastic t-shirt.
This marvelous trove of images from the 1960 Italian Grand Prix not only capture the atmosphere of Monza’s pits, but are a fantastic family heirloom from the photographer.
(Update: Tony Adriaensens points out in the comments that the photographer’s name, which was somehow missing from the Ten Tenths thread is Archie Smith and that CorsaResearch will be publishing a book of his photographs—Thanks Tony!)
On the Ten Tenths forums, Cub says: “My father is the photographer. He was and remains an enthusiast for all motor sports. My mother worked in a photography shop and had access to early colour film and bought him a Voigtlander 120 format camera. They embarked on many, many adventures to various locations across Europe at a time when few people choose to drive around the continent for holidays. All of his slides are glass mounted but with rapidly deteriorating and very sticky taped edges.”
And with that, he leads us through the fantastic images his father captured 50 years ago. That he’s scanning these images to preserve them is wonderful, but sharing them with us and the readers on the Ten Tenths forum is truly a public service to vintage racing fans—particularly when so many photographers are increasingly reluctant to share their photos online. Head on over to the thread for more.
I’m sure that, like me, you’ve found your time disappearing in the Dave Friedman collection at The Henry Ford Museum’s Flickr archive time hole. I’ll be highlighting some favorite sets from the archive over the next few weeks, and what better place to start than the feather in Pomona’s cap: The 1959 Los Angeles Examiner International Grand Prix.
The 150 mile March ’59 event was the largest race ever held at the LA County Fairgrounds circuit and was the first stop on the USAC championship that year. 40,000 spectators saw Ken Miles win the main event in his #50 Porsche 550 with Sam Weiss not far behind in an RSK, both finishing ahead of larger Ferraris, Maseratis, and Chuck Daigh in the Kurtis 500 Buick special.
Race winner Ken Miles at the 1959 Examiner Grand Prix at Pomona
Miles may have won the day with a 35 second margin but it wasn’t exactly a walk away win. Bill Krause blew a tire and spun his Maserati 450S on turn 4 of the 73rd lap of the 75 lap race, letting Ken Miles’ 550 make off with the $15,000 purse. Krause would ultimately limp home in 4th place—an impressive enough feat on its own. The race also might have been very different if Dan Gurney’s Ferrari 375 that he put on pole and led with for the first third of the race hadn’t had a camshaft failure.
More photos from the collection on The Henry Ford’s Flickr.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I love when home movies of races make it out of the attic and onto the web.
Here’s a perfect example: 15 minutes of footage from Willow Springs, Torrey Pines, Santa Barbara, Pebble Beach, Chino, Paramount Ranch, Pomona, and Riverside. Throw in some bonus shots of ’64 Sebring and this is a fantastic taste of 10 of the best years in American sports car racing. Hallelujah!
Ready for more than a taste of these races? Check out the John McClure Archive.
It’s not often that a Porsche 4-cam pops up in my occasional Ebay Motors searches, but here it is. She looks like a miraculously beautiful sculpture.
Assembled by Porsche restoration specialist, Paul Willison, the engine is claimed to turn 169 HP and 150 ft. lbs. of torque on the dyno after raw assembly with no performance tuning. The engine’s current owner seems have sold off his RS60 before the engine was completed. So here she sits on the stand with zero miles.
$170,000 opening bid is no small change, but would be worth it just for the sound.
More photos on the Ebay listing.