Sometimes I do wonder if it’s a part of getting older, to shift one’s focus from the future into the past…. although many of my friends accuse me of perhaps being too future/goal oriented in my own personal outlook, I do tend to seem to spend an awful amount of time looking into the history of various aspects of automotive culture. Dunno… for me it’s fun to look at the patterns of the past in order to understand the patterns of the present.
So in this respect the Autosport show was great fun, as it was a chance to get up close and personal with many a famous historical racing car, some of them being absolutely priceless and one-of-a-kind.
… case in point: look at this Gold Leaf Lotus…. This car is an example of the very first experimentations with wings on Formula 1 cars. As downforce was an unknown art at the time, it was also unregulated. There were no limits on wing size, placement or height. And thus the race car designers chose to mount the wings as high as possible and bolted them directly to the suspension. It was only after some terrible accidents as a result of wing strut failures that aero regulations started to come into effect.
BTW I absolutely LOVE the wheels on this car!
The mechanical simplicity of this car is absolutely beautiful.
Special thanks to Kev Horsley for the photos!
This ex-Mansell early 1990s Williams looks amazing doesn’t it? In the BG is a ex-Jacky Stewart Tyrrell: official legend.
There is no need to scratch your head, wondering if this is a fiberglass replica model is there? This is a McLaren M23… yes young children there was a time that McLarens were known for their red and white liveries… not silver…. and let’s not talk about orange….
Got meat?
Sometimes when you see these cars it’s hard to believe they are real… I’m more used to seeing grainy film of them, not perfectly restored, shiny museum pieces.
Here’s an ex-Senna Lotus….. A moment of silence please….
Historical rally cars were a dime a dozen at Autosport 2009.
The Lancia Statos is legend in rally circles. It was unstoppable in its day.
There were many rally spec Ford Escorts left, right and centre…
This Z rally car was on display with a host of more modern WRC machines…
Maybe this could be a new trend for vintage car styling? Rally Spec?
This Escort was stunning….
Check out how clean and detailed it is….
The Escort is Europe’s answer to the AE86 isn’t it? Just needs to be lowered…
Andy Blackmore just pointed out to me how ironic this statement is: “The AE86 engine is a knock-off of the Ford DBA twin cam engine, which made those Escorts so successful…so maybe its the other way around and AE86 owners should thank Ford ;)”
Check the diffuser on this mid 80s March prototype racer. It’s a bit out of control!
Many GT40 replicas were present…. Most of them I couldn’t be bothered to photograph… but this example from Superformance caught my eye.
The company claims that 90% of the components are interchangeable with the original cars…. it’s a perfect recreation of the original…
I quite like the look and style of this Ferrari….
In examining the car, it was unclear how much of it was original….
The inside of the nose looked like an alloy monocoque more than anything else…. is this a silhouette racer? Not sure…
Lastly, I’ll leave you with an image of this absolutely mental 400 horsepower, mid engined tube framed Mini made by Z Cars.
Crazy huh?
:R
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
ha ha ha, love the quote Rod - I'll have to watch how I word email's to you in future
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Knock off might be a bit strong, but based/copied etc is close to the mark. One of the reasons the CHMS Corolla was so quick in BTCC,,,its engine builder had specialised in BDA engines
That ferrari is amazing! is that a 308 or 328?
any links to other pictures/cars?
to me,the ferrari look like a 288gto.
Ya know, seeing all this vintage stuff kinda depresses me. I mean I was never able to see them when they were at the top of their game, and when no one knew what was gonna happen. Now all I can do is watch a recording of it while knowing the results. Its a bitter-sweet thing....
The Ferrari is a 308 I think. 328 had different bumpers. Doesnt look like that much is stock/original. Its not a 288 GTO, snoro, although it has the rear fender vents
Mm, Stratos! That Mini looks absolutely crazy, what with the airfilter sticking out like that! More of the GT40 please!
McLaren papaya orange. Still one of my favorite colors ever.
Definitely loving Senna's JPS Lotus. A classic livery even today.
That Senna car (may he rest in peace) is from the year of my birth! I can still remember seeing his races on tv when i was a youngin'... i didn't really watch motorsport again for a few years after his unfortunate demise. It's great to see his car in immaculate condition though! so shiny and beautiful, i hope it stays like that for a long time to come.
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and the Venturis on that March racer are HUUUGE! :O
its funny that most of the formula 1 cars were mainly sponsored by tabacco/cigarette brands until it was band, which also was the main reason for the graphics/colouring of the cars such as red and white mcclaren (marlboro)
Yeah is a 308. And the 288GTO has the design made by using the 308 as a base. So a circuit tuned 308look like a 288GTO...