I found this video of Candlestick Park SCCA event in 1965. Take a look at the battle between the Jag and the Ford. I can't help thinking that with proper TV coverage that would have been one of the most famous battles of all time.
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Luigi Chinetti has been one of my personal heroes for a long time. His life a manifesto of motorsport. Being a huge enthusiast for long distance racing, especially for the "golden age", I came across his Scuderia N.A.R.T many times. I won't even try to make a short story of his life, achievements, designs and victories. I would like to remember him for his Le Mans in 1949. His 166M was the first Ferrari to ever win the legendary competition, but the incredible aspect of the event is that he gave the steering wheel to the Baron Peter Mitchell-Thomson for a mere 20 minutes. This was in fact the minimum time necessary for him to be recognised as official co-driver. I can't even start to understand what it would be like to drive flat out a raging sportscar for that amount of time, lap after lap after lap, in a track where the only rest for the mind is in a neverending Mulsanne straight. Simply amazing.
Click here for a short news reel of the time.
Monday, 7 March 2011
Charterhouse Auctioneers have been instructed to sell the highly important collection of photographs, trophies, Brooklands badges and ephemera belonging to the great late Claude F Temple, the motorcycle manufacturer, Brooklands racer and motorcycle speed world record holder. The collection is expected to sell for over £5,000 when it goes under the hammer.
“Rarely do such historically important motorcycle items appear on the open market, as the majority is held by museums, institutions or is in private collections.” Commented Matthew Whitney. “He was the first person to cover 100 miles in less than one hour on a motorcycle at Montlhery in 1924, when he covered 100 miles in 58 minutes and 50.6 seconds which is equivalent to 101.982 mph. Just a couple of years later, in 1926, he became the fastest man on two wheels when he took the world speed record on a motorcycle at 121.3 mph. This is a fantastic collection from a golden age of motorcycles, when men were men and health and safety had not been invented.”
This is the first time the collection has appeared on the open market. It comes direct from a close family friend who lives on the Isle of Man, home of the famous motorcycle races. The collection will be auctioned at the Footman James 32nd Bristol Classic Car Show on Sunday 17th April together with other interesting items of automobilia, motorcycles, vintage and classic cars, including a 1948 Bentley Mk VI Special, at £48,000 – 52,000 and a 1960 Jaguar Mk II 2.4 litre manual overdrive saloon, with only three owners all living within 10 miles of each other in Devon estimated at £10,000 -12,000. Perhaps more fittingly however, there is monster of a motorcycle in the form of a Suzuki GSX-R 1000. This has been extensively modified by Harris Racing as their show bike and demonstrator. Painted in Barry Sheene racing colours, this bike is capable of over 200 mph, and estimated at £7,500-9,000.
For more information regarding this auction or to consign a single item or a complete collection, please contact Matthew Whitney at our head office in Sherborne on 01935 812277 or via email mw@charterhouse-auctions.co.uk and please visit our website www.charterhouse-auctions.co.uk to view the regularly updated Classic Car preview pages.
Making history on a motorcycle – a group of photographs of Claude Temple from his own archive.Quick Links
| Forthcoming Sale Previous Sale Sale Preview | Tel: (01935) 812277 |
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Monday, 24 January 2011
Lot 183 A 1972 Jaguar E-Type Series III V12 coupé, £32,000 - 35,000
Lot 186 A 1933 Lagonda 16/80 four door pillar-less saloon, £28,000 - 32,000, also in the sale
One of the motor industries icon, a Jaguar E Type coupe, is included in the Charterhouse auction of classic cars on Sunday 13th February held at The Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet.
Please click on the logo to go to the Bristol Classic Car Show Events Web Site, where you will be able to buy tickets to the show and catalogues to gain entry to the auction
“We have sold many E Types over the years, but this one is a little more special than most, having covered just over 4,000 miles since new. It is a Somerset registered car, having been bought by a Commander at Yeovilton in 1972. I can only assume that the Commander served abroad for some time which could explain the lack of use of such an iconic motor car. “Commented Matthew Whitney”. When the Commander sold the car, it remained locally and the purchaser then passed the car onto his son. At this point, the car had about 3,000 miles put on it and was then laid up in a barn until the Charterhouse vendor went to buy a tractor but spotted the car and bought it instead!”
The car has subsequently undergone a total nut and bolt restoration, and a change in colour from maroon to metallic ice blue which is still a Jaguar colour. As the car has been dry stored for most of its life, it was very straight forward to dismantle the car, with only two bolts shearing in the process. The car was then rebuilt rather than restored even having a complete new cream leather interior. This E Type is now presented in a better than new condition and is so clean you could eat your dinner off it! Not unsurprisingly, the cost of parts alone came to over £27,000 and combined with 6 months of labour to be added on top, it is estimated at £32,000-35,000. This “new” E Type is ready to celebrate 50th anniversary of the E Type and will no doubt give the new owner miles of smiles.
Charterhouse is now accepting entries for their busy programme of auctions including classic cars and automobilia on Sunday 13th February followed by silver, jewellery and watches with a special section of wine port and spirits on Friday 25th February.
For advice or to arrange a free home visit, please contact Matthew Whitney, Head of the Charterhouse Classic Car Department or Sarah Parsons at Charterhouse, The Long Street Salerooms, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3BS, 01935 812277 or via email
mw@charterhouse-auctions.co.uk
| Forthcoming Sale Previous Sale Sale Preview | Tel: (01935) 812277 |
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Beautiful as much as cursed, the Lancia D50 is without any doubt one of the most beautiful Formula One cars ever built. Brainchild of a genius of motorsport such as Vittorio Jano, it embodied all the Lancia spirit.
In a nutshell we are talking about a car that was the first and last F1 of the marque, the only one on the grid with a V8, the only one with the engine as a stressed chassis member, the only one with pannier tanks, the only one with gearbox on the rear axle and the only one whose engine was tilted 12 degrees.
It would have taken a lot of courage to anyone, but not to Lancia. They put Alberto Ascari in the driving seat for the debut in the Spanish GP of 1954 and got the pole position straight away.
A clutch failure will stop the car during the race.
Lancia’s brand new DOHC V8 was shorter than the other straight six and with a lower center of gravity. Tilting it 12 degrees allowed the propshaft to pass on the left of the driver’s seat and the 5 speed gearbox was on the rear axle. Jano also joined the wheels aerodynamically with pannier tanks on both sides. The car was extremely compact and well balanced, probably even too much for the driving style of the time. The “limit” for sliding was much higher and the was hardly space for recovery beyond it.
Ascari won the two pre-season races and luckily escaped a dive in Montecarlo’s harbour. He wasn’t so lucky four days later testing a Ferrari at Monza. That 26th of May took the life of one of the greatest drivers of all time and the hopes of Lancia which could not afford another experienced driver. He sold the F1 program to Ferrari.
The slightly different Ferrari D50 and Fangio will take home the World Championship for 1956.
Only two original survived in a museum and a collection in Turin.
From the spares a minimum of 7 replicas are known to be around the world.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
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