It’s never an encouraging thing when you encounter a photo like this one. This photo of a “written off” BMW CSL popped up this morning on Bring A Trailer’s Facebook feed. I remember seeing this photo last fall shortly after a driver fell asleep at the wheel and careened into Jon Furley’s 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL. The loss of a CSL is a bad thing.
Any CSL is rare, but this is one of only 500 RHD models made. That sounds bad, right? But Furley’s example is a damn-sight rarer, as her original owner was Chris Amon. This CSL was Amon’s street car during the era when he raced the Batmobile BMWs. Noooo!
So, what has happened in the year since the crash? I’d assumed that this one was stripped of her valuable bits and given a tearful good bye. Thankfully that’s not the case. A very brave team has decided that she must live again. After all, what’s one lost corner between friends?
This album on CSI Garage’s Facebook shows that her restoration has begun this past November. Looks like they’ve welded in a replacement front end, rebuilt part of the frame, and pulled and assessed the engine (which was relatively unscathed with only a broken timing case cover and cylinder head cover).
There’s something infectious about the optimism in the vintage sports and racing car community that I love. Insurance adjusters look at this and call her a write off. A random person off the street looks at it and calls it scrap. Hell, most “car guys” would see these photos and say it’s beyond saving. A good restoration workshop looks at this and says, “Yeah, we can do that.” This is not a project for the weak of heart and I’m looking forward to their continued updates—though perhaps not as much as Jon.
Also see this thread on PowerFanatics for many more photos of the teardown. More good news, the family cat that went missing after the crash made it home. Ok, now I’m going from concerned sports car nerd and entering weird internet stalker territory.
Whether you love him as the heroic WWII fighter pilot, the American pioneer in European road racing, or as an advocate for motorsport safety—it’s a tremendous loss. Not a lot of drivers of his era made it to 95. RIP, John.
More at AutoWeek.
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Moss and McQueen
Not much information available on these photographic lots from the upcoming Heritage Auctions Vintage Movie Poster and Signature Auction in Dallas next month.
Whether McQueen was taking in (what looks to me like) the 1965 Monaco Grand Prix as research for his potential role in Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix, or—more likely—just because he was a fan, I don’t know. But since this workshop photo is from ’63, and they were photographed together at Brands Hatch in ’62, it seems to me more like a couple of pals taking in the races.
I adore the rough-hewn, suggestive painting technique on these posters from the ’53 and ’54 Gran Premio de España motorcycle races. Even better to see the tradition carrying on until at least this 1969 Premio Internaccional poster.
Is it simply because they’re Spanish that they’re bringing to mind Picasso’s gestural Bull paintings? Or is there something there—a certain Spanish style.
Hat tip to Distinguished Company
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Beauty in Imperfection
If this photo were perfectly focused, if it were perfectly exposed, if the print was perfectly executed; it wouldn’t look half as good as it does.
Much of what I love about old race reports is that the imperfection of the printing technologies often helps communicate the speed and daring-do of the drivers. When a photo is a perfect still of the action it takes on a certain calm. When the details can’t be seen or the photo is blurred, it looks like barely controlled chaos. It looks like all Hell is about to break loose. It looks like the engine could blow at any second. It looks like the car is about to careen off the track.
It looks like racing.
More of the 1933 Muroc dry lake races on Belly Tanks.
Music to Charm a Cobra!
The incredible roar of a Ford “289 High Performance” V-8 being tested at peak R.P.M. on the Shelby American engine dyno! A powerful, thundering, bellow that has shaken the ground and reverberated in a million thrilled road racing fans from LeMans to Riverside. A sound as smooth as it is brutal; the culmination of thousands of hours of research, testing, and development, to field the most fantastic production sports car the world has ever known, the Cobra! It’s the sound of precision engineering… of victory!
Cobra powered by Ford
Shelby American, Inc. 1042 Princeton Drive, Venice, California
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?
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A Bit of a Wiggle-Woggle
Then again, why just listen to Graham Hill talk about Monaco when we can just ride shotgun.
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Graham Hill on the “Proper Road Race”
If you’re going to get an audio tour of Monte Carlo’s road racing circuit, you may as well get it from Mister Monaco.