The most brilliant racing car exhibit I have ever seen
Discussion
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
The Phoenix Art Museum has mounted an absolutely unforgettable display of some of the world’s most iconic racing cars. Walking into the small display it an awe-inspiring experience, as here in this room lies the work of giants.
I think of W.O Bentley, Colin Chapman, Ferdinand Piëch, Carroll Shelby, Enzo Ferrari, the brilliant engineers like Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Lampredi, Colombo, Vittorio Jano, The drivers such as Moss, Fangio, Andretti, Clark, Woolf Barnato, AJ Foyt, Dan Gurney, and Tazio Nuvolari are all here. How much genius, drive, and creativity must it have taken to produce and drive such astonishing cars?.
Yet, to a person they would have been surprised to see the cars here, because to a person they were unsentimental and looked at last year’s model as disposable if it were no longer competitive
I have lost count of the number of manufacturers’ museums, private collections, concours, junkyards and just about anywhere that cars might be seen that I have visited in my life. Some have been dull, many interesting.
Almost every car has massive provenance.
Indy 500 winners, Le Mans 24, Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, FI championship cars are all included, and some of the cars have interesting stories.
I went back to try to get a little background on a number of the cars rather than just showing photographs, so this will be a longer post.
The Phoenix Art Museum has mounted an absolutely unforgettable display of some of the world’s most iconic racing cars. Walking into the small display it an awe-inspiring experience, as here in this room lies the work of giants.
I think of W.O Bentley, Colin Chapman, Ferdinand Piëch, Carroll Shelby, Enzo Ferrari, the brilliant engineers like Rudolf Uhlenhaut, Lampredi, Colombo, Vittorio Jano, The drivers such as Moss, Fangio, Andretti, Clark, Woolf Barnato, AJ Foyt, Dan Gurney, and Tazio Nuvolari are all here. How much genius, drive, and creativity must it have taken to produce and drive such astonishing cars?.
Yet, to a person they would have been surprised to see the cars here, because to a person they were unsentimental and looked at last year’s model as disposable if it were no longer competitive
I have lost count of the number of manufacturers’ museums, private collections, concours, junkyards and just about anywhere that cars might be seen that I have visited in my life. Some have been dull, many interesting.
Almost every car has massive provenance.
Indy 500 winners, Le Mans 24, Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, FI championship cars are all included, and some of the cars have interesting stories.
I went back to try to get a little background on a number of the cars rather than just showing photographs, so this will be a longer post.
Edited by RDMcG on Monday 23 December 04:12
Edited by RDMcG on Monday 23 December 12:25
With all of the Ford vs Ferrari story still in the cinema this is a timely exhibit. Here we have the actual GT40 (chassis 1075) that won the Le Mans 24 twice , a very rare occurrence. 1968 with Rodriguez/Bianchi and 1969 with Ickx/Oliver.
Still a good looking car.
Very interesting interview here with Jacky Ickx about the race and the car:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7O5zpRXEhQ
Still a good looking car.
Very interesting interview here with Jacky Ickx about the race and the car:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7O5zpRXEhQ
1929 Bentley “Old No.1”
This is the car that won the 1929 and 1930 Le Mans 24. There was much dispute about its provenance that led to a lawsuit in 1990; the suit concluded beyond a doubt that this is the original car. Woolf Barnato/Tim Birkin (1929) and Barnato/Dunfee (1930). The car was originally delivered with two bodies, a race body and a touring body.
Story here:
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/26/the-astou...
Period film from 1929 race here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6govIwp7ru8
This is the car that won the 1929 and 1930 Le Mans 24. There was much dispute about its provenance that led to a lawsuit in 1990; the suit concluded beyond a doubt that this is the original car. Woolf Barnato/Tim Birkin (1929) and Barnato/Dunfee (1930). The car was originally delivered with two bodies, a race body and a touring body.
Story here:
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2015/05/26/the-astou...
Period film from 1929 race here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6govIwp7ru8
After the war Mercedes was shattered of course, but got back into racing quickly using often reclaimed materials. The Uhlenhaut-designed 300SL of 1952 was a pure racer, bearing little resemblance to the 300SL roadster that followed. The gullwing doors are purely functional to fit over the tubing in the bodywork but shallower in the 1954 road car.
Ten of the original cars were built.
This car won the 1952 Le Mans 24. Drivers Hermann Lang/Fritz Riess.
Link here
https://www.sportscardigest.com/mercedes-benz-wins...
Video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ole_tsoD48w
The frontal grille treatment on this car is presumably the inspiration for the current AMG GT
Ten of the original cars were built.
This car won the 1952 Le Mans 24. Drivers Hermann Lang/Fritz Riess.
Link here
https://www.sportscardigest.com/mercedes-benz-wins...
Video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ole_tsoD48w
The frontal grille treatment on this car is presumably the inspiration for the current AMG GT
1957 Ferrari 315 S Scaglietti
This car was driven by Taruffi to win the 1957 Mille Miglia, the very last race.
Towards the end of the race the Marquis de Portago in a sister car had a blown tire and plunged into the crowd with multiple fatalities. Thus, the Mille Miglia
was never held again. (The current race is an historic parade that is not the wild original).
Videos of the 1957 race here- second video is de Portago wreckage.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d4ItiBBO8c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cov6dhvSelE
This car was driven by Taruffi to win the 1957 Mille Miglia, the very last race.
Towards the end of the race the Marquis de Portago in a sister car had a blown tire and plunged into the crowd with multiple fatalities. Thus, the Mille Miglia
was never held again. (The current race is an historic parade that is not the wild original).
Videos of the 1957 race here- second video is de Portago wreckage.:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d4ItiBBO8c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cov6dhvSelE
Lancia D24 Spyder
This is a car (chassis 0050) with an extraordinary history, and is one of only two surviving models in the world.
Driven by Taruffi it won the 1954 Targa Florio, but had previously been driven by Fangio/Castelotti in its maiden outing at the Sebring 12 hour classic.
It was a very successful car with a short history, when Lancia presented it to Juan Peron in Argentina in 1955. It was raced in national colours but ultimately returned to Italy in the eighties.
Article here:
https://www.conceptcarz.com/profile/397,12481/1954...
Video ( In Italian) here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq6a2b-muuk
This is a car (chassis 0050) with an extraordinary history, and is one of only two surviving models in the world.
Driven by Taruffi it won the 1954 Targa Florio, but had previously been driven by Fangio/Castelotti in its maiden outing at the Sebring 12 hour classic.
It was a very successful car with a short history, when Lancia presented it to Juan Peron in Argentina in 1955. It was raced in national colours but ultimately returned to Italy in the eighties.
Article here:
https://www.conceptcarz.com/profile/397,12481/1954...
Video ( In Italian) here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq6a2b-muuk
MASERATI 450S
The Maserati 450S V8 was an immensely powerful car, but was plagued by reliability problems throughout its career. It had only a few major victories. The video below shows it in action at the 1957 Sebring 12 hours where Fangio/Behra won and Moss placed second , both in 450S.The video is mislabelled. I was unable to trace the provenance of this particular car.
Video here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzegAlq92V0
450S details here:
https://www.supercars.net/blog/1957-maserati-450s/
The Maserati 450S V8 was an immensely powerful car, but was plagued by reliability problems throughout its career. It had only a few major victories. The video below shows it in action at the 1957 Sebring 12 hours where Fangio/Behra won and Moss placed second , both in 450S.The video is mislabelled. I was unable to trace the provenance of this particular car.
Video here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzegAlq92V0
450S details here:
https://www.supercars.net/blog/1957-maserati-450s/
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
Famed for being the world’s most valuable car, the GTO is doubtless beautiful, a simple unadorned racer. I have seen many of them over the years. This car owned by Robb Walton was raced privately but never in major events. Still a stunning car.
Link to to Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_250_GTO
Famed for being the world’s most valuable car, the GTO is doubtless beautiful, a simple unadorned racer. I have seen many of them over the years. This car owned by Robb Walton was raced privately but never in major events. Still a stunning car.
Link to to Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_250_GTO
Bugatti T35B
Hellé Nice was a successful racing driver of the 1930s and led an exceptionally exotic and glamorous life outside of racing. At the time she was one of the most famous women in France, but died penniless.
The Bugatti T35B here:
Her story here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell%C3%A9_Nice
Video here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU1B2YasIEM
Hellé Nice was a successful racing driver of the 1930s and led an exceptionally exotic and glamorous life outside of racing. At the time she was one of the most famous women in France, but died penniless.
The Bugatti T35B here:
Her story here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell%C3%A9_Nice
Video here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU1B2YasIEM
This Alfa Romeo Tipo B3 has a story.
In 1935 the Third Reich was in the ascendancy and everything including motor sport was about national prestige. Hans Stuck Sr had previously arranged for Ferdinand Porsche to meet with Hitler and had secured an agreement to finance a second German team, and so the Silver Arrows from Mercedes and Auto Union were born.
The 1935 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring was a foregone conclusion … until it rained and Nuvolari managed to win the race in his outdated Alfa.
This is the actual car.
I am no Ferrari historian, but the presence of the logo would suggest that this was the period when Enzo Ferrari was the team manager. Is it possible that Ferrari and Alfred Neubauer of Mercedes were managing in the same race?? - Very brief ( In Italian) video shows the Ferrari logo during the race and also a pic of Enzo Ferrari and Nuvolari.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grLmttE831g
In 1935 the Third Reich was in the ascendancy and everything including motor sport was about national prestige. Hans Stuck Sr had previously arranged for Ferdinand Porsche to meet with Hitler and had secured an agreement to finance a second German team, and so the Silver Arrows from Mercedes and Auto Union were born.
The 1935 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring was a foregone conclusion … until it rained and Nuvolari managed to win the race in his outdated Alfa.
This is the actual car.
I am no Ferrari historian, but the presence of the logo would suggest that this was the period when Enzo Ferrari was the team manager. Is it possible that Ferrari and Alfred Neubauer of Mercedes were managing in the same race?? - Very brief ( In Italian) video shows the Ferrari logo during the race and also a pic of Enzo Ferrari and Nuvolari.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grLmttE831g
1927 Miller 91
Milers were hugely dominant in American racing in the 1920s and were brilliantly engineered, with wins in the Indy 500. Ettore Bugatti was so impressed with the engineering of the Miller 91 that he traded three Bugattis for two Millers in order to disassemble them and study them thoroughly.
This particular car has a claim as the 1928 Indy 500 winner, but the history here is very obscure (Chassis 2604). The car had numerous crashes and rebuilds in its long life and it is possible a bitsa using original Miller parts. Nonetheless, a very successful design in its time
Here is a brief video of a historic Miller run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYBDA7mS3-E
Milers were hugely dominant in American racing in the 1920s and were brilliantly engineered, with wins in the Indy 500. Ettore Bugatti was so impressed with the engineering of the Miller 91 that he traded three Bugattis for two Millers in order to disassemble them and study them thoroughly.
This particular car has a claim as the 1928 Indy 500 winner, but the history here is very obscure (Chassis 2604). The car had numerous crashes and rebuilds in its long life and it is possible a bitsa using original Miller parts. Nonetheless, a very successful design in its time
Here is a brief video of a historic Miller run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYBDA7mS3-E
1953 C TYPE JAG
Chassis 053 was a lightweight C type, of which three were constructed. This car placed second to another C type ( Duncan Hamilton) at the Le Mans 24 and and driven but Moss/Walker.
Brief clip of race here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4FIRadFoDc
Chassis 053 was a lightweight C type, of which three were constructed. This car placed second to another C type ( Duncan Hamilton) at the Le Mans 24 and and driven but Moss/Walker.
Brief clip of race here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4FIRadFoDc
Shelby Daytona.
The car here is the second of the six cars built and the most successful, placing fourth overall and a class winner at the 1964 Le Mans.
Story here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_Daytona
I have seen the first car ( pic below) which was lost for many years and only rediscovered a few years ago. It is in the Simeone collection in Philadelphia. Fred Simeone elicited to keep the car in its original condition apart from mechanical reconditioning. ( The Simeone collection is one of the finest sports car museums I have ever seen).
The car here is the second of the six cars built and the most successful, placing fourth overall and a class winner at the 1964 Le Mans.
Story here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_Daytona
I have seen the first car ( pic below) which was lost for many years and only rediscovered a few years ago. It is in the Simeone collection in Philadelphia. Fred Simeone elicited to keep the car in its original condition apart from mechanical reconditioning. ( The Simeone collection is one of the finest sports car museums I have ever seen).
1973 Porsche 917/30
This is the Mark Donahue car and was run by Penske Racing in the 1973 Can-Am series. It took all eight poles and won six of the eight races.
It is regarded as the most powerful racing car ever built - flat 12 with 1580 bhp in qualifying trim.
A full description here:
https://silodrome.com/porsche-917-30-can-am-spyder...
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEex0HSjATA
This is the Mark Donahue car and was run by Penske Racing in the 1973 Can-Am series. It took all eight poles and won six of the eight races.
It is regarded as the most powerful racing car ever built - flat 12 with 1580 bhp in qualifying trim.
A full description here:
https://silodrome.com/porsche-917-30-can-am-spyder...
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEex0HSjATA
1956 Maserati 250F
This is the car ( chassis 2525) in which Moss won the Italian Grand Prix. It has a slightly angled engine at 5 degrees and a cockpit set five inches lower to handle the Monza banking. It had it first and only victory of 1956 and crossed the line with no fuel. Moss passed Fangi0 at the last minute.
Race video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53QNzZ8h_Ns
This is the car ( chassis 2525) in which Moss won the Italian Grand Prix. It has a slightly angled engine at 5 degrees and a cockpit set five inches lower to handle the Monza banking. It had it first and only victory of 1956 and crossed the line with no fuel. Moss passed Fangi0 at the last minute.
Race video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53QNzZ8h_Ns
Two Indy cars.
The two cars in the picture are significant for different reasons.
The #10 car is the first Duesenberg racer was entered in the Indy 500 in 1914 by Fred and Augie Duesenberg. Prize money even in the early days was huge. The driver was Eddie Rickenbacker who achieved great fame as a pilot.
This was not to be a win, but the inaugural outing got them a respectable tenth place.
The second car (#1) is and 1961 Offenhauser and won the Indy 500 driving by AJ Foyt who would have a legendary and very long career- description below. Foyt is thew only driver to win the Indy 500 ( four times) , the Daytona 500, the Daytona 24 and the Le Mans 24.
Quick race video of Foyt’s win in this car.. Very close run thing:
: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEJwwOWZnuY
The two cars in the picture are significant for different reasons.
The #10 car is the first Duesenberg racer was entered in the Indy 500 in 1914 by Fred and Augie Duesenberg. Prize money even in the early days was huge. The driver was Eddie Rickenbacker who achieved great fame as a pilot.
This was not to be a win, but the inaugural outing got them a respectable tenth place.
The second car (#1) is and 1961 Offenhauser and won the Indy 500 driving by AJ Foyt who would have a legendary and very long career- description below. Foyt is thew only driver to win the Indy 500 ( four times) , the Daytona 500, the Daytona 24 and the Le Mans 24.
Quick race video of Foyt’s win in this car.. Very close run thing:
: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEJwwOWZnuY
1965 Lotus 38 Jim Clark
This was the car in which Jim Clark won his only Indy 500, and normally resides at the Ford Museum in Detroit.
Story here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_38
Video here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7e5yhWUcfo
This was the car in which Jim Clark won his only Indy 500, and normally resides at the Ford Museum in Detroit.
Story here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_38
Video here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7e5yhWUcfo
Gurney Eagle
A very complex car using some quite exotic materials for the time , this is chassis 104 that won the Belgian GPO at Spa, driven by Dan Gurney. It is a ravishingly beautiful car. This was its only victory.
Detailed video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu0G4HbtbOk
A very complex car using some quite exotic materials for the time , this is chassis 104 that won the Belgian GPO at Spa, driven by Dan Gurney. It is a ravishingly beautiful car. This was its only victory.
Detailed video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu0G4HbtbOk
1978 Lotus 79
This is the car in which Mario Andretti won the FI world championship in 1978. He secured the championship at Monza by winning just a single point . His championship that day was marred by the fatal crash of teammate Ronnie Peterson in a Multicam accident at the beginning of the race. These cars were much modelled- very nice to see the real article
The ummm..Lotus position perhaps?
Some highlights of the last part of the 1978 season here where the car can be seen in action::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvk-hNS3Ugs
Info on the 79 here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_78
This is the car in which Mario Andretti won the FI world championship in 1978. He secured the championship at Monza by winning just a single point . His championship that day was marred by the fatal crash of teammate Ronnie Peterson in a Multicam accident at the beginning of the race. These cars were much modelled- very nice to see the real article
The ummm..Lotus position perhaps?
Some highlights of the last part of the 1978 season here where the car can be seen in action::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvk-hNS3Ugs
Info on the 79 here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_78
Edited by RDMcG on Monday 23 December 00:05
1956 Maserati 250F
This is the car ( chassis 2525) in which Moss won the Italian Grand Prix. It has a slightly angled engine at 5 degrees and a cockpit set five inches lower to handle the Monza banking. It had it first and only victory of 1956 and crossed the line with no fuel. Moss passed Fangi0 at the last minute.
Race video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53QNzZ8h_Ns
This is the car ( chassis 2525) in which Moss won the Italian Grand Prix. It has a slightly angled engine at 5 degrees and a cockpit set five inches lower to handle the Monza banking. It had it first and only victory of 1956 and crossed the line with no fuel. Moss passed Fangi0 at the last minute.
Race video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53QNzZ8h_Ns
Edited by RDMcG on Sunday 22 December 15:22
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