Categories
Historic Racing Photos Racing Ephemera

Postcards From Spa

Post Card editor must have been one of the easiest jobs to have in the middle of the last century. I can only imagine the scenario that produced the following bounty (uploaded to French auto forum Autodiva by Tarwann). It must have gone something like this:

Post Card Editor: We need photos of Spa!
Intern: Here are some photos of Spa.
Post Card Editor: Good! Print ’em!
Intern: These photos don’t really show any of the racing action. Maybe if we crop in some of these we’ll be able to…
Post Card Editor: No Time! Print ’em!
Intern: But… Shouldn’t we at least color correct them to have normal colors?
Post Car Editor: You’re fired!

Categories
Grand Prix Racing Ephemera

The Real Championship

Stirling Moss, Dan Gurney, Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart take up their controllers. How great is this?

My favorite thing about this (and there are many) is the second picture. Stirling, Graham, and Jackie all look to be having a terrific time. Gurney is deadly serious. The competitive spirit just never lets up.

I wonder where that trophy is today.

Categories
Grand Prix Racing Ephemera

Remaking Grand Prix. Wait… What?

Deadline Hollywood reports that Indie production company Vincent Pictures is undertaking a series of remakes, including Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix. I’m not an enormous fan of remakes, and in this case I think it’s a particularly daunting task. No one has adequately stepped into Frankenheimer’s shoes as being able to capture automotive footage in the beautiful, naturalistic way that is the hallmark of some of the great car chases (and races) in his work. Recent automotive films have relied on computer generated cars for the more harrowing action, which continue to look fake regardless of the budget behind it—Transformers, anyone?

I can understand the draw of remaking older films. The common sentiment is that younger viewers don’t watch old movies, which presents the opportunity to recreate a time-tested product and release it without as much of the risk. Racing geeks, however, are notoriously loyal fans to the older flicks, and continue to seek out catalog titles. The tops of the lists of greatest car flicks has remained remarkably steady over the past few decades. You don’t, for example, see The Fast and the Furious knocking LeMans off of the top of anyone’s favorites.

We’ve also had the fairly recent phenomenon of Stallone’s racing movie Winning Driven. Originally the film was supposed to, in the spirit of Grand Prix, take place in the Formula 1 circuit. Ultimately Bernie et al weren’t interested and the film was relegated to lesser series. I suspect that the same would be true today.

What do you think? Is Grand Prix remake-able? Should it be?

Categories
Lost Track Racing Ephemera

How to Still Race Meadowdale

Meadowdale may be gone (well, for motorized vehicles anyway), but thanks to this early 60’s slot car article, it’s still possible to sort of race it. It even looks like fun at 1:32 scale. Just add a paper towel tube as the iconic silo in the Greg’s Corkscrew complex and you’re ready to race!

Categories
Racing Ephemera

Fishing for Chaparrals

Targa Florio Comic

“Believe me, my friends, nowhere else in the world you can find a crowd more informed, enthusiastic, and sporting than we have today here in sunny Sicily.”

Categories
Ferrari For Sale Racing Ephemera

For All Your Wooden Ferrari Performance Needs

This Australian ebay seller has a 1:1 scale wood Ferrari 365 V12 up on the auction block. Twin Barrel Webers included! Tifosi syndrome causes people to do some unusual things. “Buy it now” at AUD $6,000.

via

Categories
Historic Racing Photos Racing Ephemera

Racing Has its Rewards

The work: Register Now for the Madison All-American Soap Box Derby!

The glory: The winner will receive a kiss from a former Lufthansa stewardess.

Something tells me that 1957 derby champion, Van Steiner, still thinks about that stewardess.
via

Categories
Porsche Racing Ephemera

Pinstripes and Porsches

While it may lack the enthusiasm and exuberance of our last look at fashion shoots with racing cars, I have to give Visvim credit for pairing this Carrera RS and 910 with their Spring collection which clearly draws inspiration from the era. The styling and fits are a little dainty for my tastes (I’d like to see these fellows try and climb into the 910 in pants this tight!), but the overall shoot is very nicely done—if a bit sterile. I don’t know when art directors decided that modernity and beauty were best illustrated through disaffected boredom.The 1967 Vogue drag strip shoot is all the more exciting and fun because it captures an atmosphere, it captures excitement, and it captures emotion.

That said, the collection itself has some very nice pieces that jibe well with the vintage racing aesthetic. Their take on a racing jacket meets Baracuta is quite nice in this photo. The highlight of the collection, for me, is the racing boot. It’s surprisingly difficult to find a driving shoe that isn’t in brash colors and heavily logoed, but still looks like a competition boot rather than a driving moccasin. I’d like them even more if they were a true driving shoe, what’s with this little heel and lack of tread on the heel?

The 1967 Vogue drag strip shoot is all the more exciting and fun because it captures an atmosphere, it captures excitement, and it captures emotion.
That said, the collection itself has some very nice pieces that jibe well with the vintage racing aesthetic. Their take on a racing jacket meets Baracuta is quite nice in this photo. The highlight of the collection, for me, is the racing boot. It’s surprisingly difficult to find a driving shoe that isn’t in brash colors and heavily logoed, but still looks like a competition boot rather than a driving moccasin. I’d like them even more if they were a true driving shoe, what’s with this little heel and lack of tread on the heel?

More images from this shoot at CadmusFamily.

Categories
Historic Racing Photos Racing Ephemera

Jaeger

All from the Nostalgia Forum’s Detail Thread

Categories
Gear Racing Ephemera

Moss & Jenks’ Path


StirlingMoss.com is offering this meticulous reproduction of Dennis Jenkinson’s innovative roller map that helped revolutionize rally navigation and secure victory for the team in the 1955 Mille Miglia.
I happened upon a photo of Jenks’ roller map and wondered what became of the original artifact, imagining it was the star attraction in an automobilia auction. A few moments of Googling later I realized that this replica is a far better investment. While it would be worth a trip to see the original roller map in a museum, that pesky layer of plexiglass between me and it would preclude me from using it to take the greatest road trip. With the replica, you can strap yourself behind the wheel, make your way to Brescia, and be off!

£749.95 at StirlingMoss.com (shouldn’t that have been £722?)