The Numbers Game
Discussion
We got there. Lotus Sunbeam 2172cc. Back in the days it felt like a rocket ship to me - 150 BHP to tame. Nowadays my wife’s 1.5 Litre VW Golf shopping car has the same output….
A definite love-hate relationship. On the open road or charging down some Welsh lane I was Frequelin or Toivonen. In service reception at Warwick Wright I transformed into Victor Meldrew, quibbling over the latest monumental service/repair bill.
A definite love-hate relationship. On the open road or charging down some Welsh lane I was Frequelin or Toivonen. In service reception at Warwick Wright I transformed into Victor Meldrew, quibbling over the latest monumental service/repair bill.
pubrunner said:
WPA said:
Not being certain of the model of this car, I entered the numberplate to check the tax/MOT status (and find what it is) and it comes up as a Volvo, but surely, it's an Aston Martin DB4 ?Edited by pubrunner on Friday 26th April 13:54
The plate feels familiar. Richard Davies who was the commentator at Llandow & Castle Combe circuits for many years ran a DB5 with a personalised plate. My memory doesn’t stretch quite far enough to remember whether this was his plate.
Surely one of the most beautiful but flawed racing cars of all time, the Ford F3L (P68/69). The wheelbase of 2210 cms only just exceeded the rear track width - so almost a “square” racing car.
Errant handling and downforce issues meant that the car had a nasty habit of trying to kill its drivers. Elongating the wheelbase in the P69 design did not cure the malevolence.
Errant handling and downforce issues meant that the car had a nasty habit of trying to kill its drivers. Elongating the wheelbase in the P69 design did not cure the malevolence.
The RAC Tourist Trophy, Silverstone 1987. A good race by all accounts, won by an M3.
Jacques Laffitte at 44 years was the oldest competitor, Nicola Larini at 23 years was the youngest (that would be considered positively geriatric these days).
Allowing for turbo equivalency the average engine size that day was 2224cc.
Desperate, I know.
Jacques Laffitte at 44 years was the oldest competitor, Nicola Larini at 23 years was the youngest (that would be considered positively geriatric these days).
Allowing for turbo equivalency the average engine size that day was 2224cc.
Desperate, I know.
Yes Jim, it’s a SWB 250GT but not as we know it. Chassis no. 2231.
Owned in period by Adrian (son of Arthur) Conan Doyle. Adrian front-ended it near his Villa in Cannes in 1964. During the rebuild he decided to a dramatic nasal transformation on the 250. So,inspired by the early 60’s Ferrari F1 & Le Mans cars, it gained a pair of nostrils.
Some 30 years later a subsequent owner decided to return the car to original spec. On the balance I think that’s a shame….
Owned in period by Adrian (son of Arthur) Conan Doyle. Adrian front-ended it near his Villa in Cannes in 1964. During the rebuild he decided to a dramatic nasal transformation on the 250. So,inspired by the early 60’s Ferrari F1 & Le Mans cars, it gained a pair of nostrils.
Some 30 years later a subsequent owner decided to return the car to original spec. On the balance I think that’s a shame….
Turbobanana said:
Dapster said:
As an aside, the Conan Doyle brothers were keen racers, their father's cash hose probably having something to do with it. They campaigned 4 Mercedes S Types in the day, here are 2 of them,
Adrian was also the first owner of this fabulous "silver violet" color code DB377, 300SL Gullwing - which I believe is a one off colour.
As beautiful as the Benz is, my eye is drawn to a rare sighting of the 1969 Fascination Prototype in the background.Adrian was also the first owner of this fabulous "silver violet" color code DB377, 300SL Gullwing - which I believe is a one off colour.
Read all about it
Quite why SL’s look so good with those simple 2-eared knock-off Rudge wheels is beyond me - allegedly they add approx $10,000 per corner to the value of an SL…..
Every day is a school day so, after 69 years restlessly kicking around this planet, I asked myself why a classic German supercar should have wheels with such an Anglo Saxon name. Fuchs OK - but Rudge ?
Rudge Whitworth bicycles was founded in Coventry in the 1860’s. By the early 20th Century they enthusiastically headed into the car wheel market with great success. Things went belly-up after the Depression and by the mid 30’s it was all over - Raleigh absorbed the name & various patents. Borrani in Italy established “Rudge Whitworth Milano” in 1922 building Rudge wheels under licence. A decade later Mussolini banned the use of English names in Italian manufacture and Borrani wheels became,well, Borranis.
Post war sporty Mercs & BMW’s persevered with the Rudge design and, although manufactured in Germany, were rightly referred to as Rudges.
So now you know (you probably did anyway).
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