Tag Archives: Goodwood

Super Bug – Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle

After successfully racing super saloons that included a race winning Jaguar powered Ford 105E Anglia called “Janglia”, a championship winning Gurney Weslake V8 powered Boss Ford Capri and championship winning 6 litre / 366 cui Capri Mick Hill turned his attention briefly to racing a Formula 5000 March in 1975.

Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

On May 9th 1976 Hill announced his return to Super Saloon racing with today’s featured liberal interpretation of a Volkswagen Beetle body which sits atop a chassis fitted with Trojan T102 Formula F5000 front suspension and rear end including a 530hp 5 litre / 302 cui Formula 5000 Chevrolet motor in the back.

Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Mick raced the car for two seasons with sponsorship from fellow Super Saloon Competitor Tony Hazelwood’s Templar Tillers business.

Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

At the end of 1977 Doug Niven bought the Super Bug who went on a winning rampage recording 47 Super Saloon victories up until the end of 1979 when it was sold on to Jeff Wilson.

Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Mick went onto race the ex Tony Hazelwood Can Am powered Jaguar XJ8 before building a championship winning Skoda known as Phoenix using the Can Am engine from the Jaguar and a chassis of his own devising, his last project was a race winning BMW M1 again powered by the Can Am engine now fitted to a Lola T400 Formula 5000 chassis and with a BMW M1 clone body.

Volkswagen Trojan Chevrolet Beetle, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The Super Bug, seen in these photo’s at Goodwood Festival of Speed in it’s original colours in the top three photos and in Doug Niven’s colours in the bottom 2 photos is currently owned and looked after by Dave Taylor who has started a facebook page for the car linked here.

My thanks to Mr Taylor for inadvertently giving me the courage to go with this months Super Saloon Saturday blogs.

Thanks for joining me on this “Super Bug” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Mini Cooper Panda Car. Don’t forget to come back now !

Last Vignale Rebody – Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake #7963

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As soon as I laid eyes on today’s featured Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake at Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this year I thought “what a cool car for Santa.”

Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

In 1963 Ferrari produced it’s first 300hp 4.0 L 244 cui Tipo 209 V12’s for road cars installing them in the 250 GT/E chassis with Pininfarina bodywork naming the model 330 America.

The 330 GT 2+2 launched in January 1964 was the only 330 Ferrari to have a unique to model chassis.

Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The 330 GT 2+2 launched in January 1964 was the only 330 Ferrari to have a unique to 330 engine chassis.

Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Today’s featured car chassis #7963 started life as a red with beige interior 1965 330 GT 2+2 and was shipped to Chinetti in the United States for a client known today only as Desy.

Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

In 1967 Luigi “Coco” Chinetti Jr, son of the US East Coast Ferrari importer sent #7963 to Vignale who built the shooting brake body designed by Coco and commercial artist Bob Peak, that is seen on the car today.

Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Vignale exhibited the unique Shooting Brake on their stand for the 50th Turin Show in 1968, shortly before the company went under, making #7963 the last Ferrari to be rebodied by the Turin coach builder.

Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

#7963 meanwhile was returned to the United States where it spent time in Philidelphia and North Virginia before being acquired by Parisian collector Jean-Claude Paturau.

Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Musician Jay Kay now counts #7963 among his collection of Italian exotica.

Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Thanks for joining me on this “Last Vignale Rebody” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, here’s hoping Santa delivered to all GALPOT readers in a timely fashion and that you will join me again tomorrow, seasons greetings. Don’t forget to come back now !

Not A Mopar – Renault Magnum

Since 1956 the commercial and military vehicle of arm has undergone many transformations from nationalised industry to stand alone privatised business in 1996 to most recently in 2001 an arm of the Volvo Group.

Renault Magnum, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Renault launched it’s stylish Magnum range of rigid and semi rigid trucks in 1990, they were availble with either 6 x 4, 6 x 2 or 4 x 2 axle / drive configurations.

Renault Magnum, Goodwood Festival of Speed

Power for the European version of the Magnum was derived from a 12 litre / 732 cui straight 6 cylinder Volvo motor fitted with fuel injection and engine management system co developed with Delphi, note Australian versions of the Magnum used the European Magnum cab and chassis equipped with a Mack Trucks motor, Roadranger 18 speed transmission and Rockwell or Dana drive axles.

Renault Magnum, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The European Magnum could be ordered with either 440hp, 480hp or 500hp and either a ZF servoshift air-assisted 16-speed manual, or Optidrive II 12 speed automated, with 4 reverse gears, transmissions.

Renault Magnum, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The keys to the last Magnum were presented to hauliers Robert Chabbert on Wednesday 26 June 2013.

Renault Magnum, Goodwood Festival of Speed

The Renault Sport F1 4 x 2 Magnum in these photographs was seen at Goodwood Festival of Speed a couple of years ago.

Baby Bertha – Vauxhall Holden Repco Firenza

After disposing of “Old Nail” at the end of 1974 Bill Blydenstein received funding from Dealer Team Vauxhall to create a new Super Saloon based on a 4 door Vauxhall Ventora saloon shell and fitted with a 476 hp 5 litre / 302 cui Repco tuned Holden V8, Borg Warner T10 gearbox, Salisbury Power Lock differential, AP racing disc drakes, double wishbone suspension on the front with 12″ x 15″ slicks and de Dion rear suspension with 15″ x 15″ slicks.

Vauxhall Holden Repco Firenza, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

Driver Gerry Marshall soon dubbed the car Big Bertha and won three of the six races he started in the beast before it shed some brake pads and ended up in the Silverstone crash barriers, it’s meticulously built shell beyond repair.

Vauxhall Holden Repco Firenza, Race Retro, Stoneleigh

Vauxhall had second thoughts about offering a V8 Ventora to the public in light of the fuel crises, so Bill and DTV decided to build today’s featured Droop Snoot Firenza out of all the bits salvaged from the wrecked shell of Big Bertha.

Vauxhall Holden Repco Firenza, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

It was not long before the car became known as Baby Bertha and over the next three years Gerry raced the car in 40 events and won 37 of them, retired from 2 and was beaten only once by a cheeky little 270 hp Hillman Imp driven by Jonathon Buncombe that was built on a 1971 Chevron B19 sports car chassis and known as The Chimp, soon after it’s win The Chimp was effectively banned from Super Saloon events because of protests regarding it’s wheel base which was longer than the mandated standard Imp length.

Vauxhall Holden Repco Firenza, Piers Ward, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Paul Haywood-Halfpenny bought Baby Bertha in 1978 and had a disastrous season with it that he reckoned cost him £1,000 per lap, at a time when the average wage was only £5000.

Vauxhall Holden Repco Firenza, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

In the 1980’s current owner Joe Ward bought Baby Bertha after Gerry Marshall, among others, had owned it and raced it one more time to a second place finish at Thruxton. Joe’s son Piers is seen at the wheel in the photo above at Goodwood Festival of Speed.

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

D Modified – Mercedes Benz 300 SLS Replica

After 2 successful seasons winning two SCCA Class D Production (DP) championships the Mercedes Benz supplied team of George D Tilp and driver Paul O’Shea were hoping to make it a threepeat even though they were planning on swapping from the 300 SL Gullwing to the new for ’57 300 SL Roadster model.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLS, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

However the SCCA would not mandate running the 300SL Roadster in the DP class in 1957 on the grounds that insufficient numbers of the Roadster had been built.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLS, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

To get around this problem the Mercedes Benz Rennabteilung built two special lightweight SLS Roadsters for George Tilp to run in the SCCA class D modified for Paul O’Shea.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLS, Dario Franchitti, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

Despite sending George Tilp two cars, two Mercedes Benz race mechanics, Erwin Strupp and Karl Bunz with a container load of spares, the plan was to run only one car to give the operation the semblance of a privateer effort, however after Paul crashed one car at Thompson Connecticut and turned up six days later with an apparently completely repaired car at Elkhart Lake in Wisconsin the cat was out of the bag that George Tilp had two cars at his disposal for Paul.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLS, Dario Franchitti, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

Paul went on to threepeat his and Mercedes Benz third SCCA class championship and the two SLS Roadsters were returned to the Mercedes Benz factory where they were scrapped, allegedly over fears the lightweight bodies would deteriorate.

Mercedes Benz 300 SLS, Dario Franchitti, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

Subsequently numerous SLS variations have appeared most notably Chuck Porter built and raced one very successfully, where the second S stood for scrap, from a burned out Gullwing that closely resembled the 1955 300 SLR’s, several roadsters have also been converted to Tilp / O’Shea SLS replica’s more recently using 300 SL Roadster donor cars, including one by Kienle Automobiltechnik, in Heimerdingen, Germany.

Today’s featured replica seen at Goodwood Festival of Speed with Indy Legend Dario Franchitti at the wheel, was converted to SLS spec by Mercedes Benz who used one of their former test 300 SL Roadsters as a starting point.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for information on his Uncle George Tilp’s racing team.

Thanks for joining me on this “D Modified” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a triumph of presence over elegance. Don’t for get to come back now !

Old Nail – Vauxhall Firenza

In May 1971 Vauxhall launched a two door coupé version of it’s Viva sedan known as the Firenza and the shell of today’s car started life as one of the prototype Firenza’s on which Vauxhall put through it’s paces to ensure the model met it’s performance and quality criteria.

Vauxhall Firenza, Donington Grand Prix Collection

After Vauxhall had finished with the car they rewarded Bill Blydenstein of Blydenstein Developments who with driver Gerry Marshall had campaigned a success Vauxhall Viva GT with the car and a funding deal which became known as Dealer Team Vauxhall.

01 Vauxhall Firenza_6158sc

Bill Blydenstein and Gerry Johnston prepared the car, which included lowering the front suspension and widening the wheel arches to incorporate wide slick racing tyres, for Gerry Marshall to drive in the 1972 BARC Forward Trust Championship which he promptly won outright.

Vauxhall Firenza, Race Retro,

In 1973 Vauxhall introduced the Firenza HP with its distinctive “droopsnoot” for which Bill Blydenstein claimed some of the credit.

Vauxhall Firenza, Gregor Marshall, Goodwood, Festival of Speed

“Old Nail” as Gerry Marshall dubbed her, was similarly modified and raced to two further Class Championship wins in the BARC Forward Trust Championships in 1973 and 1974 by which time Gerry had clocked up 62 race victories in the car.

Vauxhall Firenza, , Goodwood, Festival of Speed

Bill Dryden acquired Old Nail in 1975 and he drove the car to a further three race victories and a Championship Class win in the 1975 Scottish Saloon Car Championship.

The 250hp 2.3 litre motor fitted with Lotus twin cam heads seen in these photographs, has been in the car since 1973, Gerry’s son Gregor is seen driving the car at Goodwood Festival of Speed a couple of years ago.

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

A Glimmer Of Hope – Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet S2 #1865GT

Today’s featured Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet S2, chassis #1865GT seen at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, was initially sent to Ferrari Representatives of California in 1960 before being bought by a former lab assistant, book salesman and piston ring salesman turned successful broadcaster of the Today show David Garroway.

Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet S2, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

“The Roving Announcer” Garroway was a pioneer of the informal conversational style and tone of television presentation, that had hitherto been more authoritative in the style of public oration, introducing one show thus :- “And how are you about the world today? Let’s see what kind of shape it’s in; there is a glimmer of hope.” in 1957.

Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet S2, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

David broadcast the Today show from a variety of locations including; Paris, Rome, car shows, technology expos, plays, movies and aboard a B-52 bomber for a practice bombing run, his catch phrase when signing off was “Peace”.

Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet S2, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

In the 1980’s this cars original engine stamped 326/F was installed in a Ferrari 250 GT Coupé chassis # 2027GT of similar vintage, while the engine from a 250 GTE chassis #2929GT had already been installed in today’s featured car a decade earlier.

Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet S2, Goodwood, Festival of Speed,

#1865GT is the 29th of the 201 Ferrari 250 GT Series 2 Cabriolet’s to be built between 1959 and 1962, it was entered at Goodwood Festival of Speed by John Collins.

Thanks for joining me on this “There Is A Glimmer Of Hope” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !