Tag Archives: Festival

Déesse Of The Sky – Citroën DS19

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When Citroën put their minds to replacing the Traction Avant which had been in production since 1934 they wanted a car that would be equally revolutionary and innovative setting new standards in style, comfort and safety.

Citroën DS19, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Italian sculptor and industrial designer Flaminio Bertoni and the French aeronautical engineer André Lefèbvre took care of the styling and engineering while Paul Magès took care of the hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension that could be adjusted to ride height.

Citroën DS19, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Additionally the DS featured a single spoke steering wheel, lightweight fiber glass roof to keep the center of gravity down, semi automatic transmission requiring no clutch and was the first mass production car to be fitted with disc brakes.

Citroën DS19, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

It was originally intended to scale up the aircooled flat 2 cylinder 2CV motor into a flat six motor for the DS, but when the development costs could no longer be met the 1,911 cc (116.6 cu in) in line four from the Traction Avant was upgraded with an aluminium hemi cylinder head that bumped the horsepower up from 60hp to 75 hp and mounted behind the gearbox which drives the front wheels.

Citroën DS19, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The DS pronounced “Déesse” in French double meaning “goddess” was received with tremendous enthusiasm, which translated into 12,000 orders on the 5th of October 1955 the day it was launched at the Paris Motor Show and was described by structuralist philosopher Roland Barthes as looking as thought it had “fallen from the sky”.

The DS19 seen above at Goodwood Festival of Speed was built in 1957.

Thanks for joining me on this “Déesse Of The Sky” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be visiting Goodwood Festival of Speed. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Americana Paddock Questions – Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival

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At the end of May Geoffrey Horton popped along to the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival and kindly sent a large number of photographs, including those selected today which have an American theme.

Kurtis 500S, Tom Claridge, Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival,

Built in 1953 Tom Claridge’s Kurtis 500 S #022 was originally supplied with a de Soto motor, after an accident in 1954 the car was rebuilt with the current Chrylser Hemi # C53-8-I5990, this car has been seen at the Goodwood Revival meetings.

Chevrolet Corvette, Bruce Miller, Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival,

I am not sure of the racing provenance of Bruce Millers Sunoco liveried 1963 Chevrolet Corvette, but I understand the chassis number is #30867S118408, if you know more please chip in below.

Mercury Cougar XR7, Ike Keeler, Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival,

The racing provenance of cars raced in the 60’s is never easy, there are references pertaining to Ike Keeler’s #14 Mercury Cougar,chassis #7F91C597587, being the Bob Estes sponsored #79 driven by Mark Waco which do not tie up on the dates I have found elsewhere on the internet, a Burien Mercury sponsored #14 Cougar was driven at least twice in 1967/68 by Dave Tatom, again if you can clarify these anomalies please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Doug Schultz, Dodge Daytona, Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival

I beleive Doug Schultz’s #7 Hilton Charger is a 1969 Dodge Daytona driven by 1966 and 1973 NASCAR Camping World Series West Champion Jack McCoy who recorded 54 wins during his career from the late 1950’s to early 1990’s.

Ford Boss Mustang, Jim Hague, Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival,

Ken Epsman’s #16 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 appears to be the car Bud Moore entered for Peter Gregg in the 1971 Trans Am series.

Pontiac Firebird, William E. (Chip) Connor, Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival

After an accident during practice for a Trans Am race at Road America Jerry Titus lost his life in August 1970 after crashing his #8 Terry Godsall Racing Pontiac Firebird similar to the one belonging to William-E.-Chip-Connor above.

Chevrolet Camaro, John Hildebrand, Sonoma Historic

2011 Indy Rookie of the Year JR Hildebrand was inspired to start racing after watching his Dad John race the #56 Peerless Racing Chevrolet Camaro that I believe was raced by Craig Carter from late 1978 to 1979.

If you have any additional information on any of the vehicles above please do not hesitate to chip in below. My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for sharing today’s photographs.

Thanks for joining me on this “Americana Paddock Questions” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at five favorite Ferrari’s that have appeared at Silverstone Classic. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Wheels Festival – Bournemouth

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A couple of weeks ago David Roots told me he was going to Bournemouth for the weekend over the Festival of Speed, he advised me it was at the friendly price of completely free so I made a note to pop down for the day myself.

Peerless, "Princess" Bournemouth Wheels Festival,

I was not in the least disappointed with the sheer variety of machines on display some of which were static but obviously ready to go like this 1907 Peerless Steam Engine built in Waynesboro PA.

McLaren P1, Bournemouth Wheels Festival,

Of greatest interest to me were the demonstration runs along East Overcliff Drive, unfortunately there was no literature advising visitors who the drivers were and the pa system tended to get drowned out by the glorious sounds of the motors, above the a 2014 McLaren P1 was among a group of contemporary supercars that included a tyre smoking Chrysler Viper, Mercedes Benz SLS and Porsche 997 and Ferrari Italia.

Ferrari 365 GTB/4, Sally Mason-Styrron, Bournemouth Wheels Festival,

The best sound of the day to my ears came from the 1972 4.4 litre / 267 cui V12 Ferrari which I believe is the former Maranello Concessionaires / JCB chassis #15681 that currently belongs to the Mason-Styrron family and was I believe driven by Sally Mason-Styrron.

Other Le Mans car present included the Ford GT40 chassis #P/1017 shared by Jochen Rindt and Innes Ireland at Le Mans in 1966, and two cars from the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, their 1932 4 1/2 litre Blower Bentley and a 1912 3 litre Sunbeam Coupe de l’Auto team car.

Standard Ten, Peter Clements, Bournemouth Wheels Festival,

Among the “touring” cars present was this raucous 1959 Standard Ten which I believe is owned by Peter Clements and has been a regular at the Goodwood Revival meetings, other cars in this class included a Mini Cooper, Ford Anglia, ex Roland Ratzenberger BMW M3, and Josh Cooks 2015 Racing For Heroes #80 Chevrolet Cruze.

Toleman Hart TG181C, tba, Bournemouth Wheels Festival,

The Formula One display did not disappoint either lined up alongside the well Toleman TG181C “General Belgrano” above were the Benetton B191 driven by Lorina McLaughlin, an Arrows A10B driven by Gerry Harrison, a Lotus Judd 101, Jordan Honda EJ12 and Yamaha Arrows A18.

Lancia Delta Integrale Evo, Mick Wood, Bournemouth Wheels Festival,

While among the Rally cars were Mick Wood’s Lancia Delta Integrale Evo seen above, a WRC Subaru Impreza, WRC Martini Ford Focus and Paul Swift indulged in some show boating with a non standard Ford Escort Mk2.

Big Pete, Grim Reaper, Bournemouth Wheels Festival,

At this point I ventured off to look at some of the static displays which included a 1970’s Austin Princess, and wonderful selection of British sports cars of all ages, above Big Pete and Grim Reaper were parked up when I passed but they could be heard in action from the road above.

Maudslay, "Big Maude", Bournemouth Wheels Festival,

One of the many memorable cars on display closer to the city centre was the 1904 Maudsley above, known as “Big Maud” she was one of the first cars to be sold with an overhead cam engine, the 9.6 litre / 585 cui 6 cylinder overhead cam engine powering this car produced an impressive 60hp, and the car cost nearly twice as much as a Rolls Royce !

Thanks for joining me on this “Wheels Festival – Bournemouth” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Chrysler Viper. Don’t forget to come back now !

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166 mph From 79 cui – Alpine M65 #1719

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In 1963 Alpine started building a series of Renault powered and sponsored prototype race cars that included the M63, M64 and two 1965 M65 prototype racers.

One Len Terry designed M65 chassis, #1718 was powered by a 1149 cc / 70 cui Renault engine and the other today’s featured chassis #1719 was by a 1296 cc / 79 cui engine from the same source.

Alpine M65, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

#1719’s known history covers just eight events in 1965 and 1966 starting with the Le Mans Test weekend in April 1965 when Mauro Bianchi, Roger Delageneste, Jean Vinatier, Roger Masson and Jean-Pierre Hanrioud all took turns at the wheel and recorded 15th best time overall, fastest in the 79 cui class.

#1718 was taken to the 1965 Targa Florio for Mauro Bianchi and Henri Grandsire to drive but they failed to finish after the car was fire damaged as the result of an accident.

Alpine M65, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Mauro and Henri were entrusted with #1719 for the 1965 Le Mans 24 hours where they qualified 33rd with a time of 4m 20 seconds but retired with gearbox failure after completing just 32 laps.

Mauro was then joined by brother Lucien Bianchi for the 500kms race at the Nurburgring which was restricted to vehicles with engines no larger than 1.3 litres / 79 cui and they won the event.

Alpine M65, Portron/Frankowski, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

At the 1965 Albi GP Mauro drove to a 3rd place finish solo before the car was renamed an Alpine A210 for the 1966 season.

Mauro and Henri Grandsire retired from the 1000km race at Monza with a recalcitrant 1.3 litre / 79 cui engine.

Alpine M65, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

At Le Mans the car was fitted with a 1 litre / 61 cui motor and was driven by André de Cortanze and Jean-Pierre Hanrioud who completed 118 laps before the water pump failed.

#1719’s final appearance was at the 1967 Nurburgring 500kms where Roger Delageneste won the prototype class, but finished second to the similar capacity Abarth 1300 OT of Ernst Furtmayr which was running in the Sports Car class.

At Le Mans in 1965 #1719, seen in these photo’s at Goodwood Festival of Speed last year where Hughes Portron and Piotr Frankowski shared the driving, with just 130 hp recorded a top speed of 268 kph / 166 mph.

Thanks for joining me on this “166 mph From 79 cui” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I will be returning to Hullavington. Don’t forget to come back now !

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13 Unlucky For Some – Jaguar XJ13

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Using techniques learned at Bristol Aeroplane Company, Malcom Slayer, who designed the C-Type, D-Type, and E-Type Jaguars, was also responsible for XJ 13 prototype Le Mans racer in 1965.

Jaguar XJ13, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Unfortunately as Jaguar were in financial difficulties at the time of it’s conception, late in 1966 Jaguar merged with BMC which eventually came under government control in 1975, putting racing ever further down the list of priorities. As a consequence the XJ 13 project never received the attention required to develop it into a vehicle capable of contending with either the brutally functional Ford GT 40 or the gorgeous Ferrari 275LM’s and P2’s.

Jaguar XJ13, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The XJ 13 was powered by an all aluminium 5 litre / 305 cui V12, essentially two XK straight sixes using a common crankshaft, with double over head cams and this unique car was both the first mid engined Jaguar, the next was not to appear until the XJR6 race car in 1985, and the first V12, the next being the Series 3 E Type V12 of 1971.

Jaguar XJ13, Goodwood Festival of Speed

On the 21st January 1971 while filming, for publicity of the Series 3 E – Type V12, this vehicle was nearly destroyed, with out harm to the driver Norman Dewis, when a magnesium wheel disintegrated on the banked MIRA test circuit in England.

Jaguar XJ13, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The car was rebuilt at a cost of £1000 / $ 1600 in 1973 with much wider wheels and tyres than the original specification and officially shown to a surprised public for the first time later the same year.

Thanks for joining me on this “13 Unlucky For Some” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at another Jaguar with a Le Mans story to tell. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Ultimate Cars Ultimate Race – Porsche 917K #053

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If there is one race I’d love to be able to turn the clock back for in order to attend it would be the 1971 Le Mans 24 hours which for my money was the ultimate road race with the ultimate cars.

Porsche 917K, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Lined up on the grid were seven Porsche 917’s with a variety of body configurations against 9 Ferrari 512s in both closed M spec, earlier open S Spec and two unique 512’s one from the Penske team which had a large rear wing and the F spec car of Scuderia Filipinetti that had a narrow cockpit built around a Porsche 917 windscreen.

Porsche 917K, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

The race was an uneven contest between the Porsches as the Ferraris suffered from inferior reliability and top speeds were down on the Porsche’s 230 mph plus capabilities. However it was the fastest to be run at the circuit until 2010.

Porsche 917K, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

The winning car chassis #056 seen here at Goodwood Festival of Speed featured a special lightweight magnesium chassis built only for the works supported Porsche Salzburg team much to the annoyance of Porsche’s other works supported team run by John Wyer who’s employees had developed the Porsche body work in short (K Kurz) and long (LH Lang heck) tail forms and shared them freely with all the other teams running 917’s.

Porsche 917K, Goodwood Festival Of Speed

Gils van Lennep and Helmut Marko shared the winning 600 hp 4.9 litre 299 cui aircooled flat 12 powered #22 car which traveled 3,107.7 miles in 24 hours covering 397 laps at an average speed of 138.6 mph the equivalent to five consecutive Coke 600’s !

They beat the next car driven by Richard Attwood, Herbert Muller and Brian Redman in a Gulf Porsche 917 by two laps, 16 miles, and the third finisher the Ferrari of Sam Posey and Tony Adamowicz by 31 laps.

After the race chassis #053 was immediately retired and so has a 100% winning record.

Thanks for joining me on this “Ultimate Cars Ultimate Race” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a 1925 3 litre / 183 cui Bentley. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Which Type ? – Lotus Esprit X180R

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In 1990 Lotus built 2 racing cars based on the Peter Stevens designed Esprit Turbo SE X180 which became known as the X180R and everyone appears to agree that the car was given the Lotus Type 105 number. These cars were built to be raced in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Escort World Challenge by Doc Bundy and Scott Lagasse and won 4 times in 8 races.

Lotus Esprit X180R, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Flush with success Lotus then built three new 300hp versions of the X180R’s the following season for the IMSA Bridgestone Super Car Championship in 1991 which Doc Bundy duly won in 1992.

There is some disagreement amongst internet sources about the type numbers of the 3 cars built in 1991 which some sources suggest were given the Type 106 number while others have it that all five race cars built in 1990 and 1991 are Type 105’s and that 20 road going versions of the X180R racer were given the Lotus Type 106 type number. Other sources suggest the 20 road going versions of the X180R are actually Type 105’s.

To confuse the identification issue further it would appear the 2 1990 race cars were updated to 1991 spec so technically these might be Type 105/106’s.

If you are a Lotus historian and can definitively put the record straight on the type 105’s and 106’s please do not hesitate to chime in below. I’d be most grateful.

The car seen above driven by Doc Bundy at Goodwood Festival of Speed carries the later 1991 spec body work differentiated by the splitter (green) that runs into extended lower front wheel arches (also green)

Thanks for joining me on this “Which Type ?’ edition of “Getting 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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