Tag Archives: Mercedes

Goodwood Revival #1 – Track Action

After four all to brief hours sleep I woke up at 4:30 am on Friday and got togged up in swinging sixtyish accessorized fancy dress which included button collard shirt, period scarf, flat hat and a pair of round blue shades.

By 5.30 am I was headed back towards Lord Marches renowned Goodwood estate, this time to visit his private race track which I had not seen since in 1987. Back then I was visiting to take part in a track day, the circuit had not been used for racing since 1966 and the facilities were in a sad state of disrepair.

Five years after the runaway success of the inaugural 1993 Goodwood Festival of Speed, held on a special hill climb track round the main buildings of his estate, Lord March decided to revive events on his racing circuit with an event dedicated to vehicles that raced in the Circuits halcyon days from 1948 to 1966.

The Revival has become a huge fancy dress party covering possibly the most optimistic two decades the Western World has ever known. More on the fancy dress side of the Revival will follow with a special blog on Saturday. Like the Festival of Speed the Goodwood Revival has also become a runaway success both racing days this year were completely sold out. Seen here a Standard 6CWT Pickup, XK140 and a Mk2 Jaguar.

I got to the track in plenty of time to catch all the practice sesions which were held on the Friday, but I had not counted on spending well over an hour dribbling around the car park reserved for those spectators arriving in classic cars ! The first action I caught on track came courtesy of the touring cars, here Brian Redman in his Mercedes Benz 300SE leads another former Grand Prix driver and, in my humble opinion, one of the better former Top Gear presenters, Tiff Needell driving a Ford Anglia through Woodcote.

Organisers hoped to gather 15 Supermarine Spitfires at last weekends event here a Mk5, short wing 5 blade screw Mk 15 and two seater Mk9 fly past these awesome machines are powered by 24 litre / 1465 cui Rolls Royce Merlin motors.

Ford of Britain celebrated it’s centenary with a stupendous collection of passenger, military and commercial vehicles, none quite as breathtaking as the Ford 3 litre / 183 cui formula 1 DFV powered Ford P68 /F3L designed by Len Bailey and built by Alan Mann Racing. Jim Clark was to have driven this car on it’s debut at Brands Hatch but because of conflicting tyre contracts Jim ended up racing a Formula 2 car at Hockenheim with fatal consequences.

Surprise car of the meeting that I had never heard of before is the #23 Marina Special powered by Rolls Royce V8 driven by Mark Ashworth, turns out this car was built by Alan MacDonald at the Beagle Aircraft Hanger in Shoreham for Alan Mann who would later be responsible for the Ford P68. Rolls Royce were not in the least impressed with the Marina RR and the car appears to have been exiled in Belgium for fear that it might be impounded.

Ueber Formula One aerodynamicist Adrian Newey has an important day job at with reigning Formula One Champions Red Bull Racing, during this rare weekend off he teamed up to drive the #25 E-type Jagaur with 10 time Grand Prix winner Gerhard Berger. Some interesting tweaks to the boot lid helped the pair stick this car on pole over 2 seconds clear of the rest of the field for Saturdays Fordwater Trophy Race.

I had never seen or heard a screaming formula Junior car before Friday and their 1100 cc / 67 cui 4 cylinder motors scream enough to make your eyes water. The #9 Elfin Ford above of Bill Hemming was one of two Antipodean designed and built Formula Junior cars entered in the Chichester Cup.

Among the many features was a display of cars driven by the first five time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio. The #1 Maserati 250 F seen above was driven by Fangio to his last and perhaps the most masterful Grand Prix victory of all time at the Nurburging in 1957, after a botched pit stop Fangio made up over 50 seconds on two Ferrari’s over taking them on the penultimate lap and holding on to win by three seconds. Seen at the wheel of a 250F for the first time in his trade mark hat is Sir Jackie Stewart, who by his own admission also drove his finest race at the Nurburgring winning a wet and foggy 1968 German Grand Prix by four minutes despite driving round the torturous 14 mile track with a broken wrist !

Among many evocative vehicles of US origin at Goodwood was this 1953 Chrsyler Hemi powered Cunningham C4R replica roadster, initially designed to compete at Le Mans, driven by Ben Shuckburgh during practice for the in the Freddie March Memorial Race.

The Madgwick Cup for under 3 litre / 183 cui sports cars built between 1960 and 1966 featured this rare Elva Porsche Mk 7P driven by Helmut Ries. Most Elva’s entered for the Madgwick Cup were BMW powered.

The Richmond Trophy of the last front engined Grand Prix Cars had a fittingly international entry of vehicles, Hubert Fabri is seen here at the wheel of his Aston Martin DBR4.

The one and only Stig Blomquvist, 1984 World Rally Champion, mercifully no relation to the poor imitation on Top Gear, shared the 2 stroke #28 1963 Saab 96 Sport with Anders Jensen seen here at the wheel during the second touring car practice for the St Mary’s Trophy.

I made time to take a break from the on track action to catch fellow blogger artist Paul Chenard who came all the way from Nova Scotia to promote his latest publication the illustrated story of the 1934 Grand Prix season “Silver Clouds”. Apparently the Daimler Benz Museum were so impressed with this hand bound limited edition they have acquired two copies. Going fast, act now ! To avoid forthcoming seasonal disappointment you can contact Paul to order your copy on his blog here.

A number of incidents during the days qualifying sessions for the races held on Saturday and Sunday conspired to delay the proceedings by up to an hour. Gerhard Berger, sharing Grahame Bryant’s #1 AC Cobra entered in the Glover RAC TT Celebration race, left the course going into Woodcote,

the resultant damage precluded the vehicles participation in the rest of the weekends proceedings.

Fortunately Gerhard was not seriously injured and finished second sharing Adrian Newey’s E-type Jaguar in the Fordwater Trophy Race on the Saturday.

The 1.5 litre / 91.5 cui era of Formula One goes back to the heyday of British driver participation in Grand Prix racing when Graham Hill, Jim Clark and John Surtees took three consecutive World titles from 1962 to 1964 and Jim Clark won his second title in 1965. Above Kurt DelBene in the 1964 #29 BRP-BRM, Roy Walzer the 1964 #1 Brabham Climax BT11 and Paul Drayson in the 1962 #18 Lotus BRM during qualifying for the Glover Trophy. This era of cars were immortalised in the film Grand Prix, though many of the chassis used in the film are actually cheaper Formula Juniors.

For romantic dreamers like myself there is a sad tale to relate to the prototype E2A ‘VKV 752’ seen here being driven by Tony Dron. This was the second of two E type Jaguar prototypes featuring components including the independent rear suspension that would be carried over into the production ‘E-Type’ model.

E2A was driven at Le Mans by Hangsen & Gurney without success in 1960 and used by the Cunningham team in the USA with Sir Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren amongst others at the wheel scoring a single minor victory against weak opposition. In 1961 Jaguar used E2A as a test mule back in England.

Roger Woodley Jaguar’s customer competition manager at the time was allowed to save E2A from the scrap heap on condition that the car would not be raced again. Sadly the first thing new owner Stefan Ziegler did after acquiring E2A for US$4,957,000 was turn E2A into a weapons grade racer and disregard Jaguars request that the car not be raced again.

Seems rather pointless when any number of weapons grade ‘D-types’ can be acquired for a fraction of the cost of E2A. More on the ‘to race or not to race E2A’ argument can be seen on this Nostalgia Forum thread.

After the qualifying sessions were over it was time to head back through the spectators Classic Car Park, I could have stayed longer but it was getting to the dark end of an already long day.

Thanks for joining me on this Goodwood Revival edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’, I will continue to bring you more stories from Goodwood all week, I hope you will join me again for the first anniversary edition of ‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’ tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Direct Injection Of Kudos – Mercedes Benz 300 SL

4 Replies

In 1952 the underpowered 115 hp carburettor 3 litre / 183cui Sport Leicht Mercedes Benz W194 demonstrated remarkable versatility by winning the Le Mans 24 hours, the Eifelrennen sports car race at the Nurburgring and the Carrera Panamerica in Mexico racing against more powerful opposition from Ferrari and Jaguar.

These successes lay in the lightweight tubular steel chassis and a low drag body which was facilitated by canting the straight six cylinder motor at a 50 degree angle.

New York Mercedes distributor Max Hoffman suggested a road going version of the W194 would make a viable commercial impact in the United States and so the 300 SL was launched in 1954 with a the worlds first mechanical direct injection petrol engine which produced 175 hp.

In order to accommodate the high sided tubular steel chassis, designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut, distinctive aluminium gull wings were used in conjunction with a tilt away steering column to facilitate access.

The spare tyre fills the boot / trunk space entirely meaning one had to travel light in the 300SL as demonstrated by the suitcase on the parcel shelf.

The 300SL was not without problems derived from it’s racing heritage the large volume oil system rarely got up to proper operating temperature on shorter journeys and in turn the oil would get diluted by the mechanical fuel injection by unburned petrol that remained in the cylinders when the engine was switched off. This meant that the 300 SL needed an oil change every 1000 miles.

But for all of it’s problems the aerodynamic shape of the 300 SL meant that with a 160 mph capability it was easily the fastest road car of it’s day when it was launched. 80% of the nearly 1400 units built went to the USA changing the image of Mercedes Benz from staid to sporty overnight forever.

For a look at a contemporary interpretation of the 300 SL checkout Dave Wolin’s wild Chevrolet powered 300 SL I blogged about a couple of weeks ago.

If your interested in the pre war silver arrows racing vehicles I strongly recommend a visit to Paul Chenard’s Automobiliart website and check out his ‘Silver Clouds‘ illustrated book of the 1934 Grand Prix season.

Thanks for joining me on this Direct Injection edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres’ I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

To Roll And Not to Rock – Silverstone Classic

6 Replies

Thanks to my friend Caroline lending me her Audi Convertible for one last time I managed to cram a substantial part of what was happening at the Silverstone Classic this weekend into just one 10 hour visit.

If you like discovering vehicles you never new existed the Silverstone Classic is just the place for you, amongst many vehicles I have never seen before are this streamlined Porsche ‘Diesel’ powered Allgaier agricultural vehicle.

Unfortunately my visit coincided with qualification sessions only, Roger Willis, seen here, shared this Mercury Cyclone with 1966 British Saloon Car Champion John Fitzpatrick making a welcome change to a field dominated by Mustangs, Galaxies and a couple of Jags all of varying 1960’s vintages.

The Vauxhall Ventora on which this cut down funny car is loosely based was a 4 door saloon / sedan by a General Motors owned marque.

This well known transporter reg JAH 1L was in use by Team Lotus from 1973 until the 1980’s is painted here in it’s original 1973 John Player Special colour scheme.

I was disappointed not to see the CGA Engineering March 761 out but this 1977 spec Formula 1 March 2 4 0 more than made up for it. Allegedly the car was built as a publicity stunt, it never raced but was used to good effect on hill climbing events.

Six wheel vehicles, and steam powered vehicles were very much in evidence at Silverstone, found the idea of having this Sentinel steam powered truck delivering tea quite amusing.

I believe the brave lads from the British Army had the tallest vehicle present, I believe this is a Foden 6×6 DROPS vehicle, the Foden marque has disappeared as has a significant contingent of the British Forces.

At the other end of the scale one of the smaller, electric kiddy Land Rover was the smallest , 4 wheel vehicles I saw was this 1959 Berkley.

Rain added a little authenticity to the late Group C practice session which was only about 20mins long, I could have stayed out all night listening to the mighty roar that eminates from the Sauber C11 of Bob Berridge by far the best sounding and looking Group C ever IMHO.

Car of the day for me was this 1953 Touring Aston DB2/4 I believe the RHD is a giveaway that this car was won by a Mr Smith who responded to a newspaper competition to sum up the cars design with a catch phrase.

Even if I had been camping I probably would have been too exhausted to catch the line up of tribute bands on the first night of the Silverstone Classic festival I guess all of my passion is focused on cars and very little of it on music.

PS It would appear NASCAR contractors who prefer to settle their differences in pit row rather than on track might want to take a leaf out of events that unfolded at the Silverstone Classic in the pit lane. See linked story by Tony ‘Giraffe’ Gallagher.

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

50 Foot Special – Mercedes Chevy 300SL

6 Replies

Back in the 1950’s US Mercedes Benz importer Max Hoffman is credited with encouraging Daimler Benz AG to build the Mercedes 300 SL (W198) based on the successful 1952 Le Mans Winning 300 SL (W194).

Chuck Porter amongst a few other US racing drivers took wrecked 300 SLs and turned them into full blown race cars giving them the ‘SLS’ moniker.

The body of today’s car owned by multi championship winning driver and owner Dave Wolin is thought to have possibly started as such a project. The body is said to have been abandoned in a San Gabriel Valley back yard for 50 years after incurring the legal wrath of Daimer Benz AG for being too close a copy of the original.

When Dave found the body it had a tree growing in it ! After the body was rejuvenated it was fitted to a modern chassis powered by a Chevrolet small block crate motor. The power is transmitted through a four speed Richmond T 10 gearbox and Speedway Engineering Quick Change rear axle.

Dave successfully competes with this cool car in races, hill climbs and surprisingly, given that he modestly calls his Merc a 50 Footer*, also enters his Mercedes into Concours events such as the Sacramento State Capital Concours as seen here.

* Looks good from 50 feet but it’s a racing car not a show car.

My thanks to Geoffrey Horton for the photos, for introducing me to Dave Wolin and to Dave for the additional photos and information about this ultra cool 300 SL.

I hope you have enjoyed todays Gull Wing edition of ‘Gettin a lil’ psycho on tyres’ and that you will join me again tomorrow for a trip to the Donnington Park Museum. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Recommend aficionados of the 1930’s era Silver Arrow’s visit my friend Paul Chenard’s blog about his limited edition book ‘Silver Clouds‘ on the 1934 season.

He who is first will later be last – Auto Gymkhana

3 Replies

Flush with success after my first production car trial, last weekend I joined members of The Bristol Pegasus Motor Club and took part in an Auto Gymkhana for the first time at Sheepcot Farm not far from Chepstow.

(Ben in his Mitsubishi Colt finished 6th Overall)

There were 12 entries 11 of which stayed for the full 24 stages of the competition which centred on variations of 4 basic tests.

(Nick and Andy shared Andy’s Marlin, Andy finished 2nd and Nick 8th)

The first group of tests focused on parking skills in forward and reverse alongside a plank of wood. Not such a difficult task but when done competitively in one manoeuvre surprisingly difficult to get the wheels as close to the plank as possible without touching the plank. The competitor who parked with the front wheel closest to the plank won. There were further parking tests to see who could park closest to a cone.

(Kia Picante in which I came 10th)

Next came a timed slalom first time round I got the gates a bit mixed up at the end which meant I somehow contrived to travel a longer distance than necessary. Driving my landladies mothers Kia Picante I was woeful on this test deciding that discretion was the better part of valour I aimed to improve my times through each timed run and tried to avoid scratching the car by running too close to the markers.

(Daihatsu Curore shared by Chris and Coralie who finished 3rd and 4th.

I did much better when it came to driving round the slalom holding a pint of water in my own time spilling less water than most I finished in the top 3 each on each of the 3 occasions this test was run.

(Ken in the Mercedes C220 CDi with the amazing turning circle finished 11th)

The hillclimb proved relatively simple for everyone except for Ken in his Mercedes C220 CDi which could handle the turns but had no weight over the rear axle to afford the necessary traction over the final incline which got progressively more slippery.

(Nick soon came to the conclusion that his Mazda 626 did not have a good enough turning circle)

Finally there was an autotest which involved driving round a course of tight circles parking in garages and some reversing. Nick dropped his Mazda 626 out of the competition immediately when it became apparent his car simply did not have anything like enough steering lock to compete. He ended up sharing Andy’s Marlin instead.

(Alan brought his Hawk HF3000 in 9th.)

Alan driving a Hawk HF 3000 Lancia Stratos replica powered by a 3 litre ALFA Romeo V6 needed a co-driver on the autotest in order to open the passenger door and make calls on the positions of the cones when reversing ! I jumped in to help Alan on a couple of occasions and was struck by the heat coming off the radiator in front of the footwell and the engine mounted directly behind the seats. A fabulous car to sit in for the slalom though.

(Mal in his all conquering MG Midget Mk3 )

Clear winner of the event was Mal in his MG Midget Mk3 which he bought for just £250 many years ago.

My thanks to Martin and team of marshals who ran a wonderful days competition, to Tim who kept score of the days activities to Alan for the the ride in the HF 3000 and congratulations to Mal.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s Auto Gymkhana edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres, and that you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

Classic Expo – Race Retro, Stoneleigh, Coventry 2/2.

4 Replies

Today I am concluding my overview of the Race Retro exhibition I started yesterday.

One of the things I loved about this exhibition was exhibitors enthusiasm to show visitors

what was under the bonnet of their exhibits.

Several exhibitors displayed their handy work and craftsmanship in the form of finished motors for display.

There was far more to see than my six hour visit would allow, I did not get a chance to look in any detail at the many motor cycles on display.

The event is best described as a mini Goodwood Festival of Speed,

slightly more intimate because of the smaller crowds but still like being a kid in a toy shop.

With thanks to Tim Murray and the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club without home this blog would not have been possible.

Hope you have enjoyed my overview of the Race Retro Exhibition and that you’ll join me again tomorrow for for a look at the first of a couple of vehicle manufacturers I do not recall hearing of before visiting Race Retro. Don’t forget to come back now !

Real Fast Lorry – Bentley 3/4.5 litre Fixed Head Coupe 1924

2 Replies

For a carceaologist like myself vintage Bentley’s, referred to by Ettore Bugatti as ‘the fastest lorries in the World’ are a bit of a nightmare because the original bodywork of many of them has long since rotted away, many of those bodies have been replaced with replica Van den Plas Le Mans bodies. A few of Bentley’s have chassis with not much in the way of original fabric either.

One disputed Bentley chassis recently turned up in the law courts which had chassis members from three different models front, middle and rear ! Unless you have an exceptionally strong belief in the concept of ‘entity’ you may struggle to accept that some vintage Bentley’s are vintage and or indeed Bentley’s at all.

Gareth Graham is seen here driving a vehicle owned by BJA Collings, not to be confused with the BBC comedy ‘Stig’ character Ben Collings, during the VSCC meeting at Loton Park in September.

The Fixed Head Coupe featured today has a 1924 chassis but with a 110 hp 4,398 cc / 268 cui 4 cylinder engine that was not available with these 3 litre chassis until 1927. If the vehicle is on its original licence plates it was first registered in Essex.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s vintage edition of ‘Getting a lil’ psycho on tyres’, and that you will join me tomorrow for a look at a gargantuan contemporary Bentley. Don’t forget to came back now !

Gettin' A Li'l Psycho On Tyres

Art Tidesco blogs on all things motoring