Ferrari: Modena Italia presenta: 166 millemiglia. 250 millemiglia.
Love the high-contrast illustration style in this page from a 1953 Ferrari brochure. I’ve looked high and low for a higher resolution image with no luck, so I can’t read the listed specifications. Anyone have any idea what the olympic rings are doing here?
Update:I found another page from a 1955 Ferrari brochure that uses a graphical device similar to the olympic rings and discusses championship wins. Were the interlocking olympic-style rings used more generically to symbolize international competition in the years before the International Olympic Committee cracked down on unauthorized use? Worth noting that the graphical device used in the ’55 brochure page bears a resemblance to the Auto Union/Audi rings. Curiouser and curiouser.
Speed. Safety. Long Life. Economy. Everything you’d expect of motorcycle tires you get in Firestones. Most miles per dollar. Note the winners who choose and stick to: Firestone Motorcycle Tires
Confidence! A “427 Cobra” reeks of it. There’s nothing timid about one of Carroll Shelby’s new “Snakes”: He’s built an automobile for individuals* who not only appreciate fine cars, but really know how to use one.
When first told of the plans for the new car, even his team racing drivers said, “what are we going to do with an additional 215 horsepower?” Typically, Shelby had the answer—he put it on the road with a totally new suspension design. A computer-engineered geometry that fills every slight depression and variation in the road surface with pure horsepower. It’s delivered in such a smoothly engineered manner, however, that the Cobra can no longer claim to be a true sports car in the classic tradition. Yes…it still looks the same…almost. But it sure doesn’t taste like tomato juice!
Owning a new “427” Cobra isn’t quite like your first sports car…remember? There won’t be any excuses to the young fellow with the channelled ’32 that lives down the road about how “this car was meant to cross the winding roads of Europe not burn rubber for three hundred feet.” Or the old saw about the power not coming in till you got to 4500 R.P.M. A Cobra will blow them all off from point “A” to point “B,” whether it’s a stoplight gran prix or a twenty-four hour enduro. In short the Cobra is an automobile, a real one in the Shelby tradition. In case you don’t know what a “real one” is, stop in at your Total Performance Ford/Cobra dealer and find out. If you happen to live in one of those rare areas where performance isn’t as “total” as you’d like, write to us and we’ll tell you where it is!
* We build only 500 a year, how individual can you get?
Cobra Powered by Ford Shelby American, Inc. • 6501 West Imperial Hwy. • Los Angeles, Calif. 90009
For Sale My 212 Ferrari… In perfect tune and in showroom condition Top Speed… 130 mph • 0 to 60…7.5 sec. • 0 to 100 mph…16sec. • Perfectly behaved in city traffic (getting 20 mpg) • Road tested in Nov. ’52 issue of Road and Track • Price…$7,800. Write or phone Phil Hill, 5670 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood 28, HEmpstead 3165
Finally! I have been looking for this commercial for years; occasionally running a variety of searches on YouTube in case it’s been uploaded. In August it finally made its way online. Many, many thanks to Richie Ginther’s son Bret, who says:
“I found a few 16mm reels from my dad’s archives and had them converted to digital. This is an undated (ca 1966?) era commercial my father did for Shell oil. The true jewel in this is hearing the Ford GT with my dad piloting it. I hope you enjoy this clip. I have uploaded another Shell commercial of same era with a triple endoresement. Enjoy.”
Bret Ginther
Here’s another of Brett’s uploads from the Ginther Archives featuring Luigi Chinetti, Ginther, and Jim Hall: also for Shell:
New Fiberglas Bodies by Victress 1. The stunning S-4, designed for conversion of stock Ford or Chevy chassis without extensive frame alterations… $695.00 2. America’s fastest, most beautiful sports car (203 MPH plus). 99″ wheelbase, a dream to drive. S1-A body as lo as… $595.00 2. Beauty for MG’s too! The S-5 is designed to fit standard TC or TD frames and convert the MG into a sleek beauty… $575.00 4. The Dragster, long lean and potent, perfectly balanced for sprints. Its low, low weight (40 lbs.) adds speed… $250.00 Special Offer: We have assembled all the know-how you need for Fiberglas construction and design. A book on building Fiberglas bodies, complete plans on frame modifications and Victress’ new 24 pg. catalogue will be sent to you for the bargain price of just… $1.00 Victress Manufacturing Co. 11823 T, Sherman Way, N. Hollywood Calif. (ed: Talk about a bummer. this location is now a dirt lot with a trailer on it. Take a look) Please send me the complete construction & design kit. I am enclosing $1.00 Name: Address: City: State:
Porsches change. What makes them Porsches doesn’t. What is it about a decades-old Porsche that makes it so very desirable—even with the $15,000-plus price tag such a car is more likely to command these days? Horsepower? Top speed? None of the above. Its true value lies in the total commitment of two uncompromising men to build cars that would be more than simply a means of getting from one place to another. Cars that would be a joy to drive. Cars like no one else had ever built. Or ever would. This commitment has been passed on successfully—some might say miraculously—to the uncompromising people who build Porsches today. The workers on the Zuffenhausen assembly line who, in their off-hours, have been known to grab their friends, point at a passing Porsche and say with genuine pride, “That’s one of mine.” The quality control technicians—one for every production workers—whose goal is to take the ideal of “zero defects” and make it a daily reality. And, of course, the engineers at our R&D facility at Weissach. For them, the pursuit of excellence will never fit comfortably between the hours of 8 and 5. Or within the theoretical vacuum of an air-conditioned office. For them, theories have value only on the inside of a Porsche, at speed, on the Weissach test track—preferably with one of them behind the wheel. The results of their labors, and the extent of their success, is reflected in the procession of cars you see below. From the first recorded Porsche win on July 11, 1948 at Innsbruck to the most recent victory at LeMans, these cars have dominated the racing circuits of a world that loves fast cars. As they have dominated the highways, turnpikes, interstates, autobahns, city streets and winding back roads of a world that loves to drive them.
Have we really gone from a society that expresses itself through every color of the rainbow to one that only cherishes black, silver, white or red in only 36 years? Soon enough we’ll be back to Henry Ford’s Model T color availability.
Slightly smaller than a Ferrari Monza… Will fit 80″ to 88″ wheelbase, treads from 45″ to 50″… Engine compartment may be varied to fit all but the largest engines… Integral headrest optional for left side only is included in price… $25.00 additional for removable headrest for either side… Integral instrument hood at no additional charge… Weight of body approx. 70 lbs, crated weight approx. 100 lbs… Body surface will require light sanding to remove high gloss prior to painting… Body makes ideal installation on TR3 and specials with Chevrolet V8 engines… Many of the longer wheelbase car frames can be shortened to take body at very reasonable costs… Suggestions for mounting included… Overall length approx. 150″, floor to top of instrument hood approx. 27″, floor to top of headrest approx. 32″… Width of body at front wheel opening 58″, at rear wheel opening 56″… Moulding for mounting windshield $10.00… Liner for rear of cockpit, includes bucket seats, drive shaft tunnel and part of floor boards, makes installation very strong, light and simple, $20.00… Frames for our body and Chevrolet V8 engine and all American components available very soon… Sorry we haven’t answered sooner but we are covered with correspondence and orders… Prices and specifications subject to change without notice… All prices f.o.b. Fontana, California… Dealer inquires invited.
Devin Enterprises, P.O.Box 357, Fontana California See authorized dealer nearest you Competition Cars Class H and G
Also available: complete competition cars from $3000.00 to $4500.00.
Cars available with single or dual ignition.
Engines may be ordered with standard push rod valves or the new 4 cam engine, blown or unblown giving a power to weight ratio of approximately 6 pounds per horsepower.
