As road races go, the Targa Florio has to be one of the most glamorous, gruelling and legendary of them all. Although the 11-lap race around the 45-mile Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie in Sicily was last held in 1977, its evocative legacy lives on.
One of the greatest eras of the Targa Florio was the early seventies, when the race was still a world championship sportscar event, and Alfa, Porsche and Ferrari prototypes streaked through sleepy Sicilian villages.
Of this era the nimble Porsche 908, which won in 1969 and 1970, is perhaps the most memorable of all the Targa winners - and Porsche is very kindly bringing along a pair of the stubby-but-wonderful racers to this year's Festival of Speed.
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So to celebrate this we've delved into Porsche's archive to retrieve these two gems, possibly the two most 1970s pictures in existence.
We love the total and unashamed absence of any form of safety barrier in the black-and-white photo, but it's the period detail and nonchalance of the colour snap that really gets us. Presumably this is a test snap while an 'official' publicity photo is set up, but the cupped cigarette, relaxed atmosphere and carelessly discarded newspaper make it immensely appealing and full of wonderful period detail.
Back in a time when life could be lived without nanny states ruining any sort of fun and desperately trying to take away any risk. Okay I was only one myself at the time but it just makes me realise how controlled life has become and makes that black and white picture all the more awesome.
For me 1972 was tge zenith for the Targa with Elford/Marko in the T33 going toe-to-toe with Merzario/Munari in the 312PB. I can understand why it ceased to be, but what a wonderful snapshot of the great days of Italian road racing.
Back in a time when life could be lived without nanny states ruining any sort of fun and desperately trying to take away any risk. Okay I was only one myself at the time but it just makes me realise how controlled life has become and makes that black and white picture all the more awesome.
Or just get yourself to the Isle of Man for the TT
Says something that a great POTW like this only gets 20 comments where a piece about any old rehashed Ford or Renault hot hatch will get 200+ comments though
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