The Numbers Game
Discussion
moffspeed said:
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….
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,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….
Adrian was also the first owner of this fabulous "silver violet" color code DB377, 300SL Gullwing - which I believe is a one off colour.
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
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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