Wonderful writeups on the Spider Nuvolari at Silodrome and Italian Ways. Gorgeous!
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Factories at Work: Lamborghini 1968
If you thought that vintage track footage was hard to find, you should try digging up old tours of sportscar workshops. I can’t help imagining that this precious film is the result of an expectant Miura buyer visiting the line to check in on their purchase. Whatever the reasons or motivations for the filming, it’s a wonderful artifact of Lamborghini’s early days.
Listen to that Super-8 projector whirr.
It’s official. As they did last year, and for this year’s Festival of Speed, The Goodwood team will be livestreaming the Revival festivities this weekend. What a tremendous joy for those of us not making the trek to the track.
Hopefully, they’ll archive the feeds for later viewing as well so we don’t have to rise before the sun here in the States. An embeded feed should be available here on The Chicane as we approach the weekend. Stay tuned.
1st at Le Mans
The Finest Car of its Class in the World: Jaguar
With a record speed fo 93.5 M.P.H.—record distance of 2,244 miles and a record lap of 105 M.P.H. Jaguar has again justified its rapid rise to fame as “The Finest Car of its Class in the World.”
No less spectacular has been the post war rise in popularity of Jaguar in the U.S. where people who enjoy fine craftsmanship and superlative performance are buying more and more Jaguars.
Hoffman
New York
487 Park Avenue • PL 90-7036
Broadway at 62nd St. • JU 6-0664
Chicago
Esquire Building • FR 2-6976
There are few things I love more than an uncovered treasure trove of unseen (preferably amateur) motorsport photography. I wonder about all the thousands of slides and negatives and prints hidden away in attics around the world; worrying if they’ll ever see the light of day; daydreaming about being the one to find them. That this group of photos shot by Watkins Glen resident Jack Holliday over several years of Watkins Glen sportscar races. These amazing shots were discovered when avid photographer John Oliver inherited his grandfather-in-law’s Leica camera that was used to shoot these scenes from the Glen. John has posted about his discovery of his late grandfather-in-law’s hobby on Film Foto Forever.
Frank Bott’s OSCA in the 1954 Watkins Glen Queen Catherine Cup by Jack Holliday
1954 Watkins Glen Ticket Booth by Jack Holliday
There are some marvelous images captured here: including Frank Bott’s 1954 Catherine Cup winning OSCA MT4 (#118 above) and several years of preparation in various incarnations of the paddocks. My favorite shot might actually be the rather disinterested-looking ticket and program seller from the 1954 event. It’s scenes like this that are almost never captured. We’re used to seeing images of the cars and the track but ephemeral moments from amongst the fans or support staff are almost never preserved.
1955 Watkins Glen Paddock by Jack Holliday
Watkins Glen Paddock by Jack Holliday
Seneca Cup Entrants at Watkins Glen by Jack Holliday
John has tantalizingly labeled his post “Part 1”, so I’m hoping that more will be revealed shortly. In the meantime, you can see more of Jack Holliday’s wonderful photos at Film Foto Forever.
Thanks to John Shingleton for bringing this to my attention.
I’ve been re-listening to the “Sounds of Sebring 1957” album I posted about last week and all this talk up and down the pit lane about the Corvette entry made me want to see them again. And the Maseratis. And the Lotuses.. And so on.
If you’re familiar with the BARC Boys (Binghamton Automobile Racing Club, that is) at all, you’ll know that if there was a race in the mid-century anywhere on the East coast, there’d be more than a few members there. The group of enthusiasts always had cameras in tow and became chroniclers of the East Coast SCCA scene. Naturally, they were at Sebring in 1957 and had these wonderful photographs to mark the occasion.
Now that I see these photos, I can understand why the racers were abuzz about the new ‘Vette. Sure, the interviewers were asking some questions that were… slightly leading, but you have to remember the context of the arrival of the new Corvettes. After a jittery start, the Corvette program looked like it might actually be ready to take on European road racing stalwarts.
The power and performance of the home-grown sportscar—from the largest carmaker in the world, no less—must have been a thrilling prospect for American racing fans. Perhaps it was even moreso for the American drivers that were scraping together a career on European racing circuits, they must have hoped for a real American racing program that might bring them on. This was always my favorite styling era for the Corvette and it’s marvelous to see her in action at Sebring… and a few more from the more traditional pits for good measure.
More at BARC Boys’ 1957 Sebring page.
When I posted a vintage advertisement yesterday for Everoak helmets, I thought I’d simply stumbled upon another wonderful piece of old racing ephemera. It never occurred to me for even a moment that Everoak would still be out there selling the same helmets. Instead of just another piece of throwaway advertising from an old magazine, I instead found something far more exciting: yet another example of the miraculous little surprises that keep me returning to the vintage racing community.
Everoak is indeed still selling Racemaster and Classic helmets. The grandson of the founder of the company, Bill Vero, was the craftsman who would mold and paint helmets for Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, Barry Sheene, Jo Bonnier, and others throughout the golden age of racing… And Bill Vero still molds and paints the helmets today.
They have even produced the occasional replica of those iconically liveried helmets, like the Jim Clark example above, which sold at Bonhams 2013 Goodwood sale for £1,250.
Sure, they’re slightly more expensive than the prices listed in yesterday’s ad… but they’re doubtless worth every penny. Save it for touring—I’m going to go ahead and assume this isn’t FIA approved.
More information and available for purchase at EveroakHelmets.com.
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Renowned for Headgear
Wise heads wear Everoak (impact tested) safety helmets. B.S.I. Approved
Everoak T.T 62/-
Everoak Ace 48/-
Cork Everoak 61/-
Standard Everoak 52/6
Made exclusively by
Everitt W. Vero & Co. LTD., London, S.E.22
Renowned for Headgear!
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Sounds of Sebring 1957
The Riverside record company, in addition to a large catalog of musical acts, also put out a number of LPs of auto racing field recordings. Perhaps the most well known from their discography are the “Sounds of Sebring” series from 1956—1962.
For the 1957 outing, most of the pre-race interview chatter centered around Corvette’s effort for the race, which brought a huge unknown into pit lane. The concensus among the drivers and teams interviewed (including de Portago, Phil Hill, Briggs Cunningham, Huschke von Hanstein, Shelby, and others) was one of excitement that a huge manufacturer like General Motors was starting to enter European-style sportscar racing. Perhaps it’s just the American-centricity of the production and interviewer, but the interviewees really seemed impressed by the power and speed of the new Vettes. There were doubts (correctly so, as it turns out) as to whether they could go the full 12 hours, but it’s fantastic to see an as-it-happened impression that Chevy was making with people around the circuit.
Despite the gossip and chatter, Maserati was heavily favored and with Moss and Fangio in different cars, the only question was would the smaller 300 of Moss/Schell or the bigger 450 of Fangio/Behra take the checkers. I won’t spoil here, but it’s all there in the audio above.
I’ve started to track down the original LPs of these Riverside releases and when I sit in front of the turntable with the headphones on I imagine what it must have felt like for racing fans around the world—and particularly the United States (who had limited access to racing media)—for whom these recordings were the most visceral way to experience the race without actually venturing to the track. What a thrill it must have been to lie of the floor of a dimly lit room with stack of racing reports and magazine clippings spread out, hearing these astonishing engine notes for the first time.
You can almost hear the footfalls as the drivers run across the street and leap into their cars for the famous LeMans-style start. Glorious.
This is much, much newer than the typical fare here on The Chicane, but I think I include it here for good reason. This machine has already proven itself to be one of the great collectable sportscars of the modern era and examples will doubtless be drawing top dollar at auctions for decades to come. This distinction, however, is not without a curse all its own. This car was masterfully constructed by McLaren in 1995. In the 19 years since, this poor neglected piece of perfect has driven a scant 1,000 miles. That’s just over 50 miles a year.
What’s the point?
When this McLaren F1 crosses the block at Gooding & Co’s Pebble Beach auction next month, there’s a very good chance that it will achieve the estimated hammer price of $12,000,000 – $14,000,000. If you’re the one to take her home, do yourself a favor and drive it a little, wouldja?
More information at Gooding’s Lot Detail page.