Tag Archives: Colmar

Drive With Care – Dodge Coronet Super Bee

Fritz’s Kabinenroller – Messerschmitt KR200

Unlike Bristol Aeroplane Company which chose to prepare for and switch from aircraft production to car production after the ’39-’45 war Messerschmitt was temporarily banned from aircraft production after the cessation of hostilities and had little choice but to switch to automobile manufacture in order to survive.

In 1952 Fritz Fend showed Messerschmitt his idea for a three wheeled motor scooter, Kabinenroller, based on the design of an earlier invalid vehicle which found a market among non invalids desperate for cheap transport alike.

The KR175 was produced from 1952 to 1955 when it was substantially redesigned around the original frame.

The new KR200 as seen here at the Bristol Classic Car Show featured cut outs in the wheel wings / fenders.

Note this car was driven to Regensburg in 1999 where the designer Fritz Fend signed the dash.

Other improvements on the KR200 included improved canopy design, larger wheels and suspension improvements attributed to the introduction of hydraulic shock absorbers.

The larger 10 hp 200 cc / 12.2 cui 2 stroke motor gave the KR200 a top speed of 56 mph and because it was a two stroke it could be reversed by pressing a button which reversed the direction in which the motor spun.

To prove the viability of the KR200 a single seat low drag body version was taken to the Hockenheimring in 1955 where it set 22 international class records including an average speed of 64 mph for 24 hours.

The KR200 was a huge success such that when Messerschmitt resumed aircraft manufacturing in 1956 Fend was allowed to purchase the assets needed to carry on with car production and carry on using the Messerschmitt brand name.

In all 40,000 KR200’s were manufactured up until 1964 including a KR201 roadster. A 4 wheel version was also developed along with a variety of 3 wheel utility vehicles.

Fritz Fend is also credited with inventing the alarm system that goes off when one pulls the key out of the ignition of a vehicle after one forgets to turn the light off.

Thanks for joining me on this “Fritz’s Kaninenroller” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Swinger that suffered repeated damage when being parked in the Bay area. Don’t forget to come back now !

Continental Tourer – MG 18/80 Six Saloonette Mk I

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Today’s featured MG 18/80 Six was through University Motors of, the then very fashionable, Park Lane, London W1 in 1931 for £625 painted black and cream.

Technically this car is similar to the Tigress bodied 18/80 featured a couple of weeks ago with a 2468cc / 150 cui six cylinder motor that gives an 80 mph potential.

The history of this particular car is unknown between its original sale and the 1960’s when it resurfaced several times as it changed ownership. Since it’s restoration in the 1970’s it has been used for touring in the UK and on the Continent.

Thanks for joining me on this “Continental Tourer” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will loin me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a classic Messerschmitt. Don’t forget to get to come back now !

Coffee, Croissant & Cars – Avenue Drivers Club

007 @ Beaulieu – Bond In Motion

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To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Beaulieu opening as a visitor attraction, 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise and 40th anniversary of the National Motor Museum “Bond in Motion” is an exhibition of 50 vehicles from the James Bond franchise films at Beaulieu National Motor Museum which I visited last month. Here are seven of my favourites from the exhibition.

The first Bond car I can remember was the Aston Martin DB5 in Goldfinger which featured swivelling number plates for overseas duty, a passenger ejector seat for unwelcome guests, forward machine guns, rear bulletproof shield, smoke screen and oil slick dispensed from the rear light clusters, evil tyre scythe in the rear hubs for puncturing enemy tyres, radio telephone and a Sony route finder with which to track enemy movements. Despite the usefulness of all these gadgets the car came to a sad end crashing into a wall of a factory belonging to Bond’s foe Mr Goldfinger. The special effects won Goldfinger an Oscar in 1965.

George Lazenby replaced the quintessential Sean Connery in the role of Bond in “On Her Majesties Secret Service” after a ski chase Bond jumps into a car driven by his amour Contessa Teresa “Tracy” di Vicenzo played by Diana Rigg who drives the Mercury XR7 through the gates of an ice racing event in her attempt to get away from Blofeld and his henchmen. This is the film in which James Bond finally get’s hitched, though not without a tragic ending.

Roger Moore took over the role of Bond after a final reprise by Connery in “Moonraker”. The debonair Moore’s first appearance in the role of Bond was in “Live and Let Die” which featured numerous boat chases. Moore’s second Bond role was in “The Man With The Golden Gun” in which Bond commandeers an AMC Hornet from an AMC showroom in Bankok and with Sherrif J.W.Pepper in the passenger seat the car executes a 360 barrel role over a sunken bridge. This is said to be the first ever stunt to be calculated with the aid of computer modelling and was performed in a single eight camera take by the uncredited stunt man “Bumps” Willard.

Secret Service Quartermaster ‘Q’ issues Commander Bond, still played by Roger Moore, with a Lotus Esprit for the film “The Spy Who Loved Me“. The Esprit, known as ‘Wet Nellie’, is equipped with a surface to air missile, torpedoes, cement sprayer, rear mounted ink jet, mine launcher, periscope and is convertible for submersible amphibious operations.

Moving forward a decade to 1987 and the fifteenth Bond film saw Timothy Dalton take over the role of Bond in “The Living Daylights“. His Aston Martin V8 Volante is equipped with optional extra twin heat seeking missiles, jet booster engine, ice tyres and retractable ski’s which come in handy during a getaway sequence in Bratislava.

“Tomorrow Never Dies” released in 1997 saw Pierce Brosnan playing the role of Bond for the second time. By now Bond drives a somewhat unlikely bullet and fire proof BMW 750iL which is armed with high voltage security system, missiles mounted in the sunroof, grenades, wire cutting bonnet badge and conventional, for Bond, smoke and tear gas jets and can be controlled remotely from a cell phone. The car comes to a premature end in an Avis showroom.

Th final car in this brief overview of the Bond in Motion exhibition at Beaulieu National Motor Museum is the BMW Z8 which featured in the 1999 release “The World Is Not Enough“. Pierce Brosnan’s Bond features remote control pads in the ignition key, bullet proof windscreen and radar guided Stinger missiles “AND six beverage cup holders”. The car meets it’s match in the form of a helicopter rotor blade which slices the car in half.

Thanks for joining me on this “007 @ Beaulieu” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be revisiting Queens Square for Coffee & Croissant with the Avenue Drivers Club. Don’t forget to come back now !

Out Of The Ark – Lotus Elan (Ark Racing)

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In 1976 one year after production of the Lotus Elan had ceased the 4th generation Group 5 regulations came into effect for “Special Production Cars” for cars that met the criteria for groups 1 to 4 but were allowed almost unlimited bodywork modifications excluding the bonnet, roofline and railpanel combined with unlimited lightening of the chassis.

Porsche dominated the series overall from 1976 to the series demise in 1981 with numerous variations of the 935 model, though it’s ultimate development ‘Moby Dick’ 935/78 ironically only one one race. Lancia was most successful in the smaller under 2 litre / 122 cui division with it’s Lancia Beta Montecarlo winning two championships with BMW and Ford taking the smaller category once each.

Three different Lotus models were entered into selected Group 5 (Silhouette) races three Elan’s like the one featured today, a Europa and a couple of Lotus Esprit’s. Over the next couple of weeks I will be looking at how three of those teams faired.

In 1968 Derek Mathews built the first of several well known and successful racing cars a Sprite for John Banks, which by 1970 became the Ark Sprite powered by Ford Twin Cam engine. After building and running a Group 6 2 seat open sports car with F Lester Ray originally called the (Derek Matthews) DM6 (sixth car) which became the Vogue Derek built a Lotus Elan for John Evans to race in the 1974 in British Modsports races a combination which recorded many class wins in 1974 and 1975 being crowned BRSCC (British Racing Sports Car Club) Modsports Champions in 1975.

For 1979 Ark Racing built an Elan for Max Payne and John Evans to run in selected World Manufacturers Championship, German DRM, and Belgian events, becoming the third Elan to be used in Group 5. According to ‘The Oracle” and Richard Jenvey the Ark Racing Group 5 Elan, seen above making it’s debut at Silverstone, was built on a Lotus chassis.

At Silverstone the Elan qualified 23rd overall, 3rd last in class and retired with gearbox issues. The car was raced four times in 1979, Max Payne beating a de Tomaso Pantera to win a Benelux race at Zandvoort in The Netherlands.

The last time I saw the Ark Racing Elan was in 1982, again at Silverstone above, when Max Payne was sharing the car with Chris Ashmore they qualified 32nd and were disqualified for a push start. The Ark Racing Elan is thought to have been the last one to have raced taken part in an international ‘in period’ race qualifying 25th and finishing 18th at the 1982 Brands Hatch 1000 kms race with Payne and Ashmore at the wheel.

My thanks to The Oracle, his spokesman Pete Taylor and Edward Fitzgerald for their comments at The Nostalgia Forum and to Richard Jenvey for his private comments.
Thanks for joining me on this “Out Of The Ark” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Une voiture et un film – Ferrari 250 LM #5843

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The Ferrari 250 LM was a development of the 250 P built for customers to race in 1964, Enzo Ferrari tried to get it classified as a GT car however the authorities denied the request because Ferrari could not prove the required minimum of 100 had been built so the cars were raced as prototypes.

Graham Hill and Jo Bonnier driving the Maranello Concesionaires owned chassis #5907 appear to have taken the models first victory at the 1964 Rheims 12 hours finishing ahead of the NART entered 250 LM #5909 driven by John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini.

The 250 LM is known to have won at least 32 races outright, including Ferrari’s last ever outright win at Le Mans. Future World Champion Jochen Rindt and Marsten Gregory shared a 250 LM that after early ignition problems was famously driven flat out in a vane attempt to break the car so the drivers would not miss a nights sleep and ended up winning the race after the faster Ford GT40 Mk II’s had retired and the faster works Ferrari’s required unscheduled pit stops to change their brake discs.

Another future World Champion, Jackie Stewart, scored his only victory at the wheel of a Ferrari at Surfers Paradise in the 1966 12 hour race where he shared a Scuderia Veloce 250 LM with Andy Buchanan.

Thanks Cyril Teste at Ferrari Chat I believe the car seen here at Goodwood Festival of Speed last year, which is not mentioned in the programme, is chassis #5843 a car originally supplied to Ecurie Francochamps in May 1964. If the identity is correct this car is known to have won several races and hillclimbs in the hands of Lucien Bianchi, Armand Blaton and “Beurlys”.

At Le Mans in 1964 Pierre Dumay and Grégoire Langois Von Ophem shared a 16th place finish, this race was used as a background for the 1966 film “Un Homme et une femme” the red painted #5843 carrying the #23 was captured in the film on pit road and during the race.

This car first raced in the Belgian national colour yellow in 1965. I believe the owner of #5843 recently also acquired a 250 GTO for a cool $35 million dollars. Some boys sure have all the fun !

Thanks for joining me on this “Une voiture et un film” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring