Tag Archives: Festival

Ciao Enzo – Ferrari F40

Today’s Ferrari Friday blog is dedicated to the person who first suggested Ferrari Friday blogs to me many months ago, Jr Cracker, otherwise known to me as Mike who’s Birthday it is tomorrow.

The Ferrari F40 what was technical tour de force intended to bring together 40 years of learning and achievement in one road vehicle to celebrate the first 40 remarkable years in the story of Ferrari S.p.A.

With a tested 200 mph capability the F40 held the title of worlds fastest production car, when it was launched in 1987, to underline it’s technical superiority.

The F40 was not only the companies most powerful and fastest car, but at US$ 400,000 in 1987, it was also the most expensive car Ferrari had ever offered for sale.

1,315 examples of this type were manufactured between 1987 and 1992 the last of them selling for a rumoured US$1.6 million.

Many of the technical specifications were advanced from the Ferrari (288) GTO including the twin turbo V8 engine which in this application was increased to 3 litres / 183 cui producing 470 hp.

Keeping such a powerful motor cool in such a small vehicle required ventilation through the rear screen.

Until 1990 F40’s like this particular 1989 example, seen at the Italian Auto Moto Festival, were bereft of power sapping catalytic converters.

During Bonneville Speedweek 2006 Amir Rosenbaum recorded a top speed of 226 mph in his lightly modified F40, standard versions could reach 120 mph in just 11 seconds faster than both the Lamborghini Countach and Porsche 959 which were it’s main competitors.

Enzo Ferrari knew when setting out the specifications of the F40 that this would be his final engineering statement and it was indeed the last vehicle bearing his own name that he was to commission before his death aged 90 in August 1988.

Thanks for joining me on the F40 Edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Woodland For The Tenacious – Spyker Silvestris V8 Prototype

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If innovation were enough to guarantee success everybody would know the name Spyker and quite a few of us would probably be driving one, given that in 1903 Spyker launched a 60 hp racer that was the first motor car with a six cylinder engine, four wheel drive AND four wheel brakes.

The company motto “Nulla tenaci invia est via” translates as “For the tenacious, no road is impassable”, to which might be added “even if the way is blocked for 70 years”, for despite building the royal horse drawn ‘Golden’ carriage for the Dutch royal family in 1898, which is still in use today and introducing 6 cylinder powered vehicles, four wheel drive and four wheel braking systems, Spyker went under in 1929.

Between 1990 and 1996 Maarten de Bruijn hand built the Silvestris (translation ‘Woodland’) V8, seen here at Goodwood, Festival of Speed, with which he and Victor Muller would revive the Spyker brand.

Many of the design features of the Spyker C8 model which went into production in 2000 can be seen in the Silvestre which has smaller overall dimensions than the production C8.

Power for the prototype Spyker came from a 265 hp quad cam (dohc) Audi V8 attached to a similarly sourced gearbox.

The Silvestris weighing just 960 kgs 2,116 lbs is thought to be capable of 0 – 62 mph in 4.5 secs.

Builder Maarten de Bruijn still owns the Silvestris which won it’s class in the Cartier Concours at Goodwood this year.

In 2005 Maarten left Spyker to start a new venture Silvestris Aquamotive which builds aluminium space frame speed boats.

Thanks for joining me on today’s Woodland edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Baby Testarossa – Ferrari 348 TS

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On Monday I looked at the GMC Syclone that was faster than a Ferrari, up to the 1/4 mile, today I am looking at the Spyder version of the Ferrari 348 that Car & Driver pitted the Syclone against in a road test.

The Ferrari 348 replaced the Ferrari 328 in 1989,

taking many of it’s striking styling queues from the Testarossa launched in 1984. The side mounted radiators meant passengers did not get toasted by the radiator pipes that ran alongside the cabin of the earlier 328 which featured a radiator mounted in the nose.

The 300 hp V8 motor was mounted longitudinally with a transverse gearbox ahead of the rear wheels, the opposite configuration of the earlier 328 which featured a transverse V8 engine and longitudinal gearbox.

While the Syclone proved faster than the 348 up to the 1/4 mile it soon ran out of puff when it reached 126 mph meaning this is the view Syclone drivers would get of the Ferrari as it powered up to 166 mph in a straight race.

8844 of these vehicles were produced from 1989 to 1995.

Thank for joining on this Ferrari Friday edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

F.A.Turbo Express – Joest Porsche 962 C #962-011

Feeding the Need – Goodwood Festival of Speed

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On Thursday I managed to pop in to the Goodwood Festival in the early morning and afternoon.

It was one of those mornings when even a the Renault Magnum transporter held a good deal of visual allure.

The truck certainly held more allure to my eyes than this 28 m 175 tonne steel macaroni E-Type Jaguar by Gerry Judah but I am no judge of ‘art’. (08 12 11 Update turns out this sculture was illuminated at night, whih I have say in the photo’s I have seen did give it a far more interesting appeal.)

Jaguar was very much the manufacturer under the spotlight of this years Festival, with not only the 50th Anniversary of the E- Type but also the 60th anniversary of Jaguars first victory at Le Mans being celebrated. Above the private XK 140 entered at Le Mans in 1956 for Roger Walshaw and Peter Bolton did not finish despite recording 1 lap less than 14th and last classified finisher.

Jaguars senior ambassador and former test driver Norman Dewis, extreme right facing camera above, was in evidence amongst the Jaguar exhibits, Norman competed in numerous races for Jaguar and most amazingly IMHO in 1953 he was bolted into an XK 120 and then proceeded to set a production car speed record of 176 mph in it !

There appeared to be a lot of emphasis on manufacturers efforts to go electric, among the more feasibly stylish concepts was the SEAT IBE, while I am all in favour of zero emissions travel I seriously believe we would be doing our great great grand children a great favour if we talked about these vehicles being ‘DISPLACED EMISSION VEHICLES’ since the power to recharge batteries has to come from somewhere.

I wonder if it was a coincidence that in the week when Porsche announced that they were planning to return to Le Mans with a hybrid car in 2014 what must rank as one of the original hybrid vehicles a, Porsche AG built, replica of a 1900 Lohner – Porsche Semprus Vivus powered by two de Dion petrol motors which charge the batteries that drive the front electric hub motors, one of which can be seen above, should appear at the Goodwood Festival of Speed ?

Former Jaguar apprentice Richard Attwood, left with green bottle above, who won the Le Mans 24 hours in 1970 with Hans Hermman driving a Porsche 917 was down to drive the 1965 #9 BRM P261 this weekend, seen also on the left, similar apart from it’s engine size to the BRM he drove to a win at Levin in the 1966 Tasman Series.

The action on the hillclimb track at Goodwood on Thursday was restricted to a huge range of road cars being tested by prospective clients in an event known as the moving Moving Motor Show. Returning after a lunchtime meeting the tempo of the day was picked up by the Red Arrows who’s display of airpersonship is nothing short of staggering.

While the Red Arrow’s Hawk trainer aircraft usually fly around 350 mph during displays and have a top speed of 630 mph they will be left standing by the Bloodhound SSC if all goes to plan when it is completed. Project founder Richard Noble hopes to have the 14,000 lb 42 foot long car powered by a Eurofighter Jet engine to 350 mph and a rocket, fed oxidiser by a pump connected to Cosworth Formula One motor ready to attempt to take the LAND SPEED RECORD up to 1,000 mph in 2013.

The Centenary of the first running of the Indianapolis 500 was celebrated by a large selection of vehicles from the past 100 years including the Grant King Piston Ring Special Ferrari 375 from the Louwman Museum seen being given the once over by two latter day Ferrari technicians with over 23 years experience working at Marranello between them.

I was advised to look out for the Dayton Steel Foundry Special a Kurtis Kraft – Offenhausser by GALPOT regular and soon to be contributor Dave Wolin, this car was unsuccessful in the hands of Juan Fangio at Indy who withdrew from qualification after trying this car in 1958. Indy Winner Scott Dixon was down to drive the car during the Festival of Speed.

Some of you may remember my blog on The Kimberely Cooper Special a Cooper T54 driven by Jack Brabham at Indy in 1961. Today the car is owned by Philippe de Lespinay, it was a treat to see this car in the flesh and to meet Philippe and his wife Kathryn.

There were a handful of vehicles representing manufacturers that have or at least attempted to have been revived including this 1996 Audi V8 Turbo powered Spyker Silvestris V8 Prototype, which looks like it has been kept in a barn for 15 years while still retaining many of the hall marks although with a tad less testosterone of the current Spyler models.

Seeing the Jankowitz Special was a wonderful surprise, though it was very disappointing to see the owner Georg Gebhard embarrass himself by still repeating the myth that discredits the ingenious Jankowits brothers by incorrectly claiming this special was an Alfa Romeo project.

I soon lightened up when I saw this Rolls Royce Phantom Convertible in the car park on the way out. My need for speed satiated by a near perfect day at Goodwood I enjoyed a slow amble home taking the back roads into the sunset through West Sussex, Hampshire and Wiltshire.

Thanks for joining me on this Festival Speed edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a European bodied one off special owned and driven by a life long competitor. Don’t forget to come back now !

Pininfarina Renaissance – FIAT 130 Coupé

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Returning to the Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival back in April today’s car is the stylish sharp edged FIAT 130.

Launched to much acclaim at the 1971 Geneva Motor show the FIAT 130 Coupé was designed by Paolo Martin at Pininfarina and won a design prize which marked a renaissance for a company that had fallen from favour since it’s heyday designing the Fiat 1800 Peugeot 404 and Austin A55 and A60 concepts for large volume producers in the late 50’s and early 60’s.

This smart new vehicle was powered by a 165 hp 3235 cc / 197 cui twin over head cam V6 designed by Aurelio Lamperdi designer of the original 4 cylinder Testa Rossa engine.

Just 4,294 examples of the FIAT 130 Coupé were produced from 1971 to 1977, this marked the end of FIAT’s presence in the Executive end of the automotive market, future vehicles for this market segment were handled by the Lancia marque which was also owned by the FIAT conglomerate.

Thanks for popping in to today’s Paolo Martin styled edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Sundance Winner – Senna

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Last night I was taken to the cinema at Watershed in Bristol by a non racing fan Fiona with a professional interest in documentary films to go and see ‘Senna’ a 90 min documentary about three time Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna.

Directed by Asif Kapadia the film is apparently unusual in being the first such documentary which is made entirely of archive footage for its visuals, with a handful of contemporary voiceovers by persons who knew and were involved with Ayrton during his 34 year life.

The film focuses on Senna’s Formula One career from 1984 to 1994 using some excellent TV highlights of his driving prowess mixed with interviews, many of the best conducted in his native Portuguese language, along with drivers meetings which took place before crucial races in Ayrton’s career.

I have to confess, perhaps as a result of having become aware of Grand Prix racing at a time when racing drivers were killed at an alarming rate, I was never the biggest of Senna fans. I always respected his achievements but found the aggression, which I saw him display racing wheel to wheel first hand, in the lower formula before he reached Formula One just a little too foolhardy for my tastes.

However this documentary did leave me with a useful reminder and insight into just how exciting Brazilian Ayrton Senna was to watch at the wheel and just how focused he was with the job at hand.

I loved the relatively low fi 80’s TV picture quality on the giant cinema screen, and could have easily enjoyed this film if it had been an hour longer in the same vane. Much to my surprise Fiona and her partner Caroline both announced they had also enjoyed it !

This cross gender appeal of the drama of Senna’s life no doubt contributed to ‘Senna’ wining the World Cinema Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

No matter how little you know or even like Formula One racing this is a seriously engaging documentary, definitely one not to miss.

My thanks to Fiona for taking me out last night.

Thanks for joining me on today’s ‘Sundance award winning’ edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I hope you’ll 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