Tag Archives: USA

Chassis or Aerodynamic Aid – Lotus Ford 88

The Lotus 88 was a development from the ideas tested with the twin chassis Lotus 86. It differed, and was developed, in two crucial respects from the Lotus 86 it was designed to run with out skirts to seal the flow of air and would meet the 6 cm minimum ride height mandated by rules around late in 1980 for the 1981 season.

By having a secondary independently sprung chassis Lotus hoped to avoid the need to run their car with solid suspension which aided the road holding of ground effects pioneered by the Lotus Ford 79 which were sucked to the road surface as they moved through the air.

Lotus Ford 88B, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Gordon Murray designer at Brabham also came up with a solution to the 6 cm ride height rule which involved using hydraulic rams to raise the car above the minimum ride height in the pits, the only place the measurement could be checked, and lowering the ride height out once out on the track. This left the Brabham running effectively solid suspension once out of pit road.

All of the teams protested that the second Lotus chassis was in fact an independently aerodynamic aid and eventually the ruling body changed it’s mind having accepted the idea of a twin chassis car before the season started.

Lotus Ford 88B, Goodwood Festival of Speed

As a consequence after being protested during practice for the the United States West, Brazilian and British Grand Prix Lotus withdrew the 88 bodies with out ever having raced and used the more conventional Lotus 87 which used inner Lotus 88 chassis but with conventional side pods to generate ground effect and a similar hydraulic ram system for the suspension as used by Brabham.

Colin Chapman is said to have been disappointed that the twin chassis Formula One cars developed with Peter Wright, Tony Rudd and Martin Ogilvie were never allowed to compete believing that Formula One was supposed to be a proving ground for new innovation.

Thanks for joining me on this “Chassis or Aerodynamic Aid” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t for get to come back now !

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Drogo Nose Needs Fuel – Ferrari 250 LM #6217.

Completed on January 14th 1965 today’s featured Ferrari 250 LM #6217 was delivered to Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi, a well known racer and hillclimb competitor, in time to take part in the 1965 season.

Ferrari 250 LM

Unlike chassis #5843 which I looked at a few weeks ago that has an extensive racing history, Edoardo appears to have used the car for primarily for hillclimbing a use to which it was eminently suited as evidenced by at least 8 overall wins he recorded in 1965 and at least a further four recorded in 1966 before Edoardo returned the car to the Ferrari factory.

Ferrari 250 LM

This particular 250 LM carries a distinctive ‘Drogo’ long nose that replaced the standard Scaglietti item at the end of 1965.

Ferrari 250 LM

Towards the end of 1966 #6217 was shipped to North America and ended up being converted for street use in New York of the same year.

Ferrari 250 LM

In 1969 this Ferrari was traded for a Lamborghini Muira which with the benefit of 50 years of hind sight may not have been the smartest of financial moves.

Ferrari 250 LM

Since then #6217 has resided in Gstaad Switzerland, Bologna Italy, Nelson New Zealand and Düsseldorf Germany before it was acquired by it’s present owner in the USA.

Ferrari 250 LM

Edoardo Lualdi-Gabardi appears to have started racing by 1950 when he shared the #024 FIAT 500 with a driver named Ranzini with whom he came home 160th in the 1950 Mille Miglia completing the 1000 miles 20 hours, 10 mins and 51.8 seconds some 6 hours behind the winning #724 Ferrari 195 S driven by Giannino Marzotto and Marco Crosara.

Ferrari 250 LM

Edoardo progressed through a variety of cars including a Dragada, Lancia, OSCA and numerous Ferrari’s to become a regular winner on the European Hillclimb Circuit.

Ferrari 250 LM

He stopped competing somewhere around 1971 when he was the owner of the one off 2 litre / 122 cui flat twelve Ferrari 212E sportscar, though he is also recorded as having destroyed an Osella on a hillclimb in 1972.

Ferrari 250 LM

When Ferrari 250 LM’s were first built in 1963 they came with a 3 litre / 183 cui V12 motor fitted.

Ferrari 250 LM

Later examples like the one featured today were fitted with 3286cc / 200.5 cui motors good for 320 hp. The later cars with the bigger motors should have been renamed 275 LM’s according to Ferrari nomenclature in use at the time, but they were not.

Ferrari 250 LM

As a result of the complete lack of factory support for it’s GT teams in 1965, stemming from the FIA governing bodies refusal to recognise the 250 LM as a GT car Shelby Cobra succeeded in winning the 1965 World Sports Car Championship, run for GT cars.

Ferrari 250 LM

Just 32 250 LM’s, of the 100 required to be recognised as a GT car, were built between 1963 and 1965.

My thanks to John Aibel who kindly sent me the photo’s of today’s featured car.

Thanks for joining me on the “Drogo Nose Needs Fuel” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Choking on a clothes peg – Austin 10/24 Ripley Sport

The Austin 10 produced from 1932 to 1947 was a mid range car fitting between the Austin 7 and Austin 12.

Austin kept the chassis low by dipping the chassis frames 2 3/4 inches between the front and rear axles.

Capable of 55 mph and 34 imperial mpg this 1935 version, originally registered in Derbyshire, would have cost £168 when new. The clothes peg operating the choke is a not a factory fitted item.

In 1939 the Austin 10 was restyled by Argenrtine Ricardo “Dick” Burzi and 53,000 ’10s’ were produced during the course of WW2 for use by the UK armed forces. After the war almost all Austin 10s were exported the first exported to the USA in July ’45, in September ’45 the first cars to be imported into Switzerland after the war were a pair of Austin 10s.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s open top edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil psycho on tyres’ and that you’ll be up for getting down and dirty with me for some grass track fun tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

08 04 12, the full name of this model was added today, I have also found out this car is thought to be the first of an eventual fleet of 7 used by the Derbyshire County Constabulary.

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