Pedro Rodriguez – The Chicane

Available in the UK: Ex-Pedro Rodríguez BRM P133 Formula 1 Car

The restoration masters at Hall & Hall call this ex-Pedro Rodríguez BRM P133 one of the most original 3 liter Formula 1 cars left. I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt as Hall & Hall have no shortage of remarkable Formula car restorations under their belts. Which means they’ve seen lots of F1 cars at their worst, and in desperate need of restoration. This car, chassis P133-01, on the other hand, retains a good portion of the car as it was when Pedro crossed the finish line in 2nd place at the 1968 Belgian GP at Spa. Or 2nd at the Brands Hatch Race of Champions in March, ’68. Or 3rd at the ’68 Dutch GP at Zandvoort. Or 3rd at the Canadian GP. Or 4th at his home race in Mexico.

And that leaves out entirely the car’s history with Jackie Oliver the following season. There’s no doubt the car has a brilliant history.

Hall & Hall mentions that the current owner bought the car directly from the team to enter in F1 races in 1971. They must mean Robs Lamplough, who entered the car in the ’71 Jochen Rindt trophy at Hockenheim and in Brands Hatch the same year (without much success, I’m afraid).

I’ve always thought that BRM’s 60’s livery as among the most beautiful of all time. The simple orange belt around the nose that is immediately recognizable but subtle. The dealer’s photos show the car both with and without it’s nose and rear wings. Which makes me think it’s still possible to run the car with the setup Pedro preferred in the ’68 season. See the dealer’s detail page for more.

Available in the UK: Ferrari 296S “Dino”

That’s right friends. 296.

I know when we see “Dino”, we automatically think of the simply stunning 60s-70s mid-engined, Pininfarina designed, Dino 246, and with good reason; the 246 is an absolute masterpiece of automotive design. This Dino, however, is a bit earlier and every bit as beautiful. The 1959 296S Dino (chassis # 0746) has a fascinating history of her own to be proud of.

She debuted at the 1958 Silverstone race with racing’s best dressed driver Mike Hawthorn at the wheel pushing her hard to a 3rd place finish. Some sources, however, claim 0746 actually had an earlier race at the hands of Wolfgang Von Trips; finishing 3rd at the January, 1958 Nurburgring 1000km. In either event, the Scuderia quickly sold 0746 to retired racing driver, N.A.R.T. founder, and America’s first Ferrari distributor, Luigi Chinetti. Luigi soon had a handful of North American talent driving talent throughout the US and beyond. The car’s primary drivers in this era were Mexican phenoms the Rodriguez brothers, who had early success with 0746 in Nassau (1st and 2nd in various races that weekend) and Sebring (3rd).

Pedro Rodriguez, of course, went on to major international success as a Formula 1 driver for the Scuderia, Lotus, and BRM in various seasons from 1963-1971. He also won the LeMans 24 Hours race in 1968 with co-driver Lucien Bianchi in a Mk. I Ford GT-40. His brother, Ricardo, had his promising career tragically cut short in a fatal crash in 1962 during a practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix. Ricardo’s potential was staggering, barred by the LeMans officials from driving in 1958 because he was too young, Ricardo returned in ’59 to claim 2nd in an OSCA with co-driver André Pilette. A string of Formula 1 races for Ferrari followed, making Ricardo the youngest-ever Formula 1 driver at the time. He also claimed outright victory in a Ferrari Testa Rossa in the 1962 Targa Florio. With such an amazing string of successes, it’s all the sadder to think of the amazing career he might have had.

Following Luigi Chinetti’s stewardship of 0746, The car went on to further successes with American driver, George Constantine, who had top-five finishes with the car in three 1961 SCCA National races and won the 1961 Grand Prix Watkins Glen.

Today, UK dealer Duncan Hamilton offers Ferrari 296S #0746 in fantastic condition in her Rossa Corso N.A.R.T. livery. She’s a sight to behold. Included with the car are two of the underrated Ferrari V6s and wrapped in disc brakes all around. Sure, Ferrari means V12 to most, but I have an affinity for the early 6 and 8 bangers. She’s an absolute beauty and I hope to see her slicing around Goodwood or the Monterrey Historics soon.