See an action-packed programme of motor racing at the Nation’s leading circuit. Feature event is a 15-lap Championship Race for Formula Juniors. Others include a 10-lap event for racing cars under and over 1500cc’s, as well as races for sports cars and touring cars. First race commences 11.30 a.m. Ample parking—snack bars and quick-service luncheons. Reservations phone 29-6409.
Promoters: AARC, 184 Sussex St., Sydney
Practice Day—Saturday, 4th August—Admission Adults 3/-, Children 1/-
Warwick Farm Motor Racing.
The ad doesn’t mention a year, but the only year in which August 5th was a Sunday that makes sense is 1962.
I’m an unabashedfanofthePorsche 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.
The Fantastic Bocar XP-5
Square tubular space frame for springs $795.00
Round 4130 chrome-moly space frame for torsion bars $995.00
The body of the magic touch…. $598
Finished cars from …. $3800
Aerodynamic to 200 M.P.H. · Beautiful — Functional · Spacious Interiors · Optional Hardtops · 7 Optional Suspension Systems · Available for Immediate Delivery.
Designed, Manufactured & Distributed by — Bocar of Denver. Write or Phone:
Bocar Mfg. Co. 1240 Harlan Street, Dept. MT4. Denver, Colorado, BElmont 7-2217
I was looking through my Triumph Haynes manual the other day trying to sort out a gearbox issue I’m having and realized that it’s nearly impossible to make sense of the low-contrast photography that accompanies the instructions.
It’s a few things, really: the low quality printing; the poor cropping that makes it difficult to discern what is the relevant item that I’m supposed to be looking at; the lack of quality lighting. It all made me wish that my trusty old copy of John Muir’s How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot was available for every make and model. The illustrations—cartoony as they are—do a much better job of highlighting the relevant information. It’s part of what makes it, in my opinion, the best repair manual ever written.
When I stumbled across this image of an E-Type’s rear end dropped, it prompted the same thought. The Haynes or Chilton version of this image would be full of shadows and low-contrast grays and make the whole thing a jumbled mess to understand. I can’t even read German and I can understand what’s going on here.
World Champion drivers choose… Abarth Free Exhaust Systems Illustrated Porsche 911 Abarth exhaust systems are used on the world championship Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati and other outstanding cars. Note: Abarth exhaust systems have nothing in common with standard mufflers. Each Abarth is a precision exhaust system, custom-designed and tuned for your exact make and model of car, giving increased horsepower with decreased fuel consumption. Seam welded heavy gauge steel finished in black-crackle heat-resistant enamel with chromed tail pipes. Models available for most cars. Porsche 1300, 1500, 1600 .. $71.45 Porsche Super 90 ………… $77.90 Porsche 356 C & SC ……… $94.80 Porsche 912 ………………. $94.80 Porsche 212 ……………… $139.60
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.
Browsing through the archives on Silodrome I spotted this amazing photo of a naked 1951 Alfa Romeo Tipo 159 Alfetta and was enthralled with the beauty of this machine’s lines under the bodywork. All that riveted aluminum… How could I not fall in love? Then something made me think that I’m actually looking at the Exoto model of the Alfetta. Something about the photo style planted in my mind the idea that this isn’t the real deal. Have I just had some mistaken Inception-style conviction of an illusion?
I guess this speaks to the quality of scale models available today that I can’t tell the difference.
Backing the Winner When the name of Jack Brabham appears in the international press as the victor on world circuits, few people realise that it’s the automotive parts and equipment that help him to victory. Backing the Repco-Brabham racing car is an unremitting programme of scientific research and quality control. Shown here is Jack Brabham himself with a Repco engineer watching the recording of dynamometer tests on an engine at the Repco Engine Laboratory. Repco Winner of Award for Outstanding Export Achievement Jack Brabham looks to Repco – Where the standard is perfection
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.”
Hans Herrmann’s Porsche gets a push. Monza, 1960.
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.
