‘Container-find’ Stratos to feature at Bonhams’ 2013 Quail Lodge sale

For many years stored away in a shipping container, with only a dusty surfboard for company, this 1970s supercar will be making a dramatic reappearance on 16 August when it’s offered for sale by Bonhams at its 2013 Monterey week auction...

The Lancia, built in 1972, was originally delivered to a German client. Around 10 years later it was exported to the USA and then purchased by a British ex-pat, who saw the car in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He still remembers the 1000-mile drive home to San Francisco, a trip that saw the Stratos passing over snowy mountain passes and through the two driest valleys in the Mojave Desert.

It was then used as an everyday car, handy for the commute down Highway 1 from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. As time went on, the family grew and the Stratos was used less. Eventually, in 1998, it was decided to lay the exotic Italian car up in a container.

With just 50,116 believed-to-be-genuine miles on the clock, this is the car you see now, in ‘container-find’ condition. Needless to say, some reconditioning work is essential before the punchy 2.4-litre Ferrari V6 is fired up again.

The car is just one fine lot in a catalogue of collectors’ cars to be offered by Bonhams at its 16 August 2013, Quail Lodge Carmel Valley auction. Estimate: USD 250,000 – 300,000.

Photos: Bonhams

The very best of 100 years: Aston Martin at Kensington Palace Gardens

It was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. Sunday saw Aston Martin’s 100th birthday celebrations take over London’s Kensington Palace Gardens, with a display of 100 important cars from the company’s history. But that was just the start…

Less than a month ago, British meteorologists were predicting not only a sodden summer, but a full decade of moody weather for the British Isles. A few weeks into a heatwave and Aston enthusiasts couldn’t believe their luck as Sunday’s centenary event was blessed with balminess, all the better to highlight the staggering array of machinery.

The best of 100 years

Together with the Aston Martin Heritage Trust (AMHT) and Aston Martin Owners Club (AMOC), the company gathered 100 of the best models from its century-long lineage. In most cases, this means ‘the best available at the time…’, but Aston’s loyal aficionados turned up with the full works for each generation.

The pre-War era boasted the likes of Razor Blade, the Headlam coupé and several Ulsters, while important versions of all post-War models were present. Highlights included the high-riding DB2 prototype, the DB2/4 Competition Spider by Bertone and the Bahama Yellow DBS from The Persuaders. The Bulldog, Ogle and CC100 concept studies also drew particular interest with their unfamiliar lines.

Centenary selection - The Chef recommends

As CEO, Dr Bez has had a considerable influence on Aston’s fortunes in the last decade. For the anniversary, he chose his favourites for a ‘centennial selection’. The three 'Bertone Jet' Astons contrasted with each other well, while Bez’s own green DB2/4 looked particularly pretty. World debuts were also seen in the form of Zagato’s pair of Centennial one-offs: one, a convertible, based on a DB9, the other coupé using a DBS as its basis. Of course, the current line-up was also present in full.

Legends of Le Mans

The 1959 Le Mans win was without doubt the firm’s most important racing victory. But alongside the DBR1 that finished second that year was a host of other machines which had a good go at La Sarthe, all packed into a special mini-exhibition. The ‘Project cars’ rubbed door handles with more modern Nimrods and DBR9s, while the ‘VEV’ DB4GT Zagatos added a touch of curvaceous beauty. Nearby, the 1967 Lola-Aston looked about as menacing as they come, wearing dark paint with minimal sponsor interruption.

Shaken and stirred - the Bond cars

Even though James Bond now has as many product placements as the QVC shopping channel, Aston owes a large part of its worldwide ‘gentlemen’s sports cars’ image to 007. The original Bond DB5 and V8 Vantage were obvious favourites, but Bond’s more recent company cars were also well-received, despite needing a ‘little TLC’. Some didn’t quite understand the fuss behind the slain DBS though: “Dear, in what kind of world are we living where you present a horribly damaged car and people seem to appreciate it,” one spouse asked her husband. 

 

Photos: Jan Baedeker

via Classic Driver

MOTOPED

Have a spare XR50/pit bike engine and parts lying around and an old mountain bike collecting cobwebs in your garage? Spend your weekend turning them into a fun, efficient way of getting around town with a Motoped ($1,000) conversion kit. All you need to bring to the project are a Honda 50-190cc motor, gas tank, seat, and a couple other parts, along with forks, brakes, wheels, tires, cranks, and pedals from a mountain bike. The kit comes with everything else: frame, swing arm, jack shaft, bottom bracket, rear hub, sprockets, and exhaust. When you're finished, you'll have a 4-stroke motorized bike that you can pedal, or ride on- and off-road
via uncrate.

THE BATTLE-HARDENED WHITE WARRIOR

In a land far, far away, there live mighty warriors. Warriors of tarmac, possessing steeds of hundreds and even thousands of horses, determined to slay rubber and conquer the cursed opponents of time. For months at a time their land lies under a curtain of darkness and snow, but they bide their time until the warring months by building vast legions of brave chariots. For they know that only the strongest and the bravest will survive the coming battle…

Alright, so it’s all a bit dramatic, but likening Gatebil to a battle is no exaggeration (just look at Paddy’s post). And with battles you need warriors. Which serves as the perfect introduction to Kai Bakken’s fire-breathing, no-prisoners-taken Audi. If you’ve seen any coverage of Gatebil at all, you will no doubt have seen the car before. Let’s face it, it’s not as if you could miss it.

This car is the antithesis to the trailer queen. It’s a raw and ready racer, brutal and in-your-face; a serious weapon of mass destruction designed and built from the ground up to do just one thing – wage war on the track.

My first up-close-and-personal introduction to the car was during the Swedish leg of Gatebil at Mantorp Park. Arriving on the Thursday evening, Paddy and myself went for a wander round the paddock to see what crazy machinery had already turned up. After a photoshoot with the Black Smoke Racing W203 Wagon, we rounded the corner and saw the KRB trailer.

Paddy wandered over and said hello to the KRB guys, but I remained rooted to the spot. Looming before me was the inimitable shape of one of the most bonkers builds I think I’ve ever seen in the flesh. I’d seen pictures of the car before but in person, my brain went into overload; my eyes flicked between the animal-scooping front end, the insanely wide box arches and that rear wing, not knowing which one to try and take in first. I was transfixed.

It’s hard to believe that this car started off life as a lowly FWD Audi Coupé Type 85. But even mighty warriors have to start off as children. Since Kai started KRB Tuning back in 1994, he’s earned a reputation as one of the best Audi tuners in Norway. With his background in racing and after building a race-spec Ur-quattro, he was faced with piecing together his ultimate build based on the experience he’d garnered.

The aim was simple: a full-on race build with all emphasis on going quick. And so, like a sacrificial animal, the Coupé was butchered and pulled apart before being rebuilt again from the ground up with a full tube chassis. As well as lightening the car, Kai was out to improve upon the Audi’s customary nose-heavy weight distribution.

In doing so, the engine was moved a massive 80cm rearwards of its original position. That’s more than half of my height! The entire engine now sits behind the front wheels, and the work done on the Audi means that it’s ticked Kai’s box, with the car now sporting a perfect 50/50 weight distribution.

With the aim being to build a circuit racer with a touch of Pikes Peak influence, the bodywork originally came a fibreglass S1 Pikes Peak replica bodykit, but Kai wasn’t content with it as is. The bodywork you see now has all been moved around and adjusted and besides the roof and spoiler side plates, is all fashioned from carbon fibre. The end result is akin to a thrash metal singer going up to a small child and screaming their lyrics into their face. It’s pure intimidation.

Just look at how wide it is – that’s two full metres of aggression right there. Although you don’t look quite as tough climbing in and out of it…

Of course, there’s that wing too. It originally had six wings (yes, six!) but has since been reduced to two, down one from last season (as in the picture above). Why you’re wondering? Well it might be something to do with the time that Kai was racing at Mantorp Park. After being full throttle all down the back straight, he went to brake for the corner and found that he barely had any brakes. But it wasn’t brake failure. No, he just had so much downforce on the rear of the car that the front wheels were lifting off the ground. At 160mph+. That’s definitely new underwear time.

You can see just how far back the engine sits here – completely behind the front wheels. Of course, with a car that looks this aggressive, you need some serious power to back up that appearance. It’s safe to say nothing’s been left untouched in the five-cylinder, 20V, turbocharged 2.5-litre lump. Forged internals come courtesy of CP pistons and KRB rods, and are mated to a race-prepped cylinder head with custom cams and valvetrain, and KRB’s own intake and exhaust manifolds, as well as a host of supporting mods.

Of course, there’s no missing the Comp CT43-7279 turbo. It’s an interesting choice too – the ceramic ball bearing turbo is oil-less, using a high temperature grease instead for lubrication. This set-up allows for faster spool-up due to less friction, removes any issues with cold start-ups or hot shut-downs and also gives the added advantage of being able to be mounted anywhere and in any direction. Trick!

With everything being controlled by an Autronic SM4 ECU, and the engine safely cared for by a KRB/Petersen dry sump system, the end result is a mind-blowing 1061whp, with a staggering 1004Nm of torque. Given that this is a car running AWD, which means big losses through the transmission too, that figure is almost difficult to comprehend. On track, Kai runs between 700-850whp to keep things manageable.

Of course, that much power means heat, and a lot of it. So those boxy rear arches aren’t just for show, with the vents leading to…

… the twin rear-mounted radiators…

… while the exhaust gases are dumped straight out of the side-mounted exhaust.

Inside the car it’s all business. There’s no frills or luxuries here, just the bare basics of what’s needed to get the most out of the car. That stuffed bird mascot you see in the background? Definitely essential equipment.

Sparco seats and harnesses keep both Kai and a passenger firmly planted as they ride into the fray.

Doing the job of transmitting all that power to all four wheels is a custom Sellholm MPG sequential gearbox with an integrated centre diff. Both front and rear diffs are also uprated Sellholm units, as are the driveshafts. It’s all needed to take that power and actually put it down on the ground.

If, like me, you’re wondering what the other tunnel is, it’s actually to house the prop. The car features a full flat bottom and as the prop would interfere with that, it’s been housed in its own custom tunnel to keep the flow of air as clean as possible underneath. See? No stone unturned.

Making sure that Kai’s kept up to date with everything that’s going on out on track is a Racepak IQ3 dash display.

With all that power, you need plenty of grip and lots of stopping power. The 18×10-inch Zito ZL789s are shod with grippy Michelin slicks and the job of hauling the Audi down from speed falls to XYZ calipers and discs – 8-pots up front and 6-pots at the back, plus EBC OrangeStuff pads.

This is a build that’s bound to split opinion. The Audi’s savage looks may not be to everyone’s tastes but you can’t deny that it’s got the performance to back them up. And that’s exactly what I love about this car. It makes no apologies for what it is. In fact, it doesn’t need to.

Of course, it’s now been joined in the KRB stable by the new/old Lotus Esprit silhouette race car.

Does it mean the end for the Audi then? The Esprit is already posting faster lap times at some circuits, but as Kai admits, even the pure-bred Lotus race car can’t yet compete with the Audi in terms of sheer traction out of the corners and outright power.

Agile, brutal in its application of power and showing the scars of its battles, the Audi is a true track-hardened warrior. This is a car that doesn’taim to look good – the form follows function. It doesn’t aim to please others – it exists only to slay its track-based opponents. It’s seen battle numerous times and come out victorious. And as a Sun Tzu quote says, “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” This is one warrior that’s definitely winning.

Words by Suzy Wallace
Instagram: speedhunters_suzy
suzy@speedhunters.com

Photos by Paddy McGrath
Twitter: @PaddyMcGrathSHInstagram: speedhunters_paddypaddy@speedhunters.com

Kai Roger Bakken’s Pikes Peak-inspired Audi

NumbersMaximum power: 1061whp. Maximum torque: 1004Nm. Curent race condition between 700-850hp at the wheels.

EngineAudi 5 -cyl 20v 2.5L, billet main caps, KRB rods, CP pistons, KRB-spec cylinder head, valvetrain and camshafts, springs, titanium retainers and mec lightweight lifters, KRB intake and exhaust manifold, Nuke fuel rail, 5x 2200cc injectors, Autronic SM4 ECU, 5x coil, KRB/Petersen dry sump lubrication, Comp turbo CT43 7279, TiAL wastegate

DrivelineSellholm MPG sequential gearbox with integrated centre diff, Sellholm front and rear diff, Sellholm driveshafts (front and rear), Tilton clutch, KRB flywheel

Suspension/BrakesMacPherson (front) suspension with Sellholm 2-way adjustable coilovers, double wishbone (rear) suspension, KRB-made uprights and A-arms, Sellholm knife anti-rollbars, XYZ 8 pot calipers with 380mm discs (front) and 6 pot calipers with 356mm discs (rear), EBC Orangestuff brake pads

WheelsZito 18×10-inch ZL789, Michelin 27/65-18 front + rear,

ExteriorCustom tube chassis, custom-made carbon-fibre exterior developed at KRB out of an S1 Pikes Peak replica body kit

InteriorSparco seats, Sparco belts, Sparco steering wheel, Racepak SmartWire, Racepak IQ3 dash logger, Peltor intercom, Tilton pedal box

ThanksMy family, the team and of course our sponsors that made it happen

Bombshell Bonnie

When I first got into the vintage motorcycle scene, it was suprising to find out how many pilots owned and rode old motorcycles. Flying a Jumbo jet all over the world or performing impossible manoeuvres in a Pitts Special with South Africa’s elite stunt flying team are far removed from riding a basic vintage motorcycle at a maximum speed of 80km/h. Yet there the pilots were, as passionate about these sedate machines as they were about the state of the art aeroplanes that they flew for a living or as a hobby.

For whatever reasons, throughout the history of motorcycling, pilots have been motorcyclists. Many of the WWII pilots, together with other military veterans returning after the war, found themselves uncomfortable with the routine of civilian life. To satisfy their need for adventure they bought ex army motorcycles, which they stripped down to increase performance. Mudguards were cut or “bobbed”. If it wasn’t for these pilots and soldiers the “bobber” style of motorcycle may never have been born.

“Bombshell Bonnie” pays tribute to the planes and pilots of WWII who played such a crucial part in creating those first bobbers. This Triumph bobber has the tank painted like the fuselage of a fighter aircraft, rivets and all. The Union Jack is a clear indication that the bike is British and the Iron Crosses indicate the number of German machines, probably BMWs, destroyed in battle.

The concept, design and building of this outstanding motorcycle were executed by brothers Don and Marchum together with their stepfather Ginger. It was a Friday evening project. Every Friday the three guys would get together over a few beers and do some work on the build. Some Fridays saw more beers being consumed than building as the three just sat and stared at the bike, discussing the next part of the build. Needless to say the project took a lot longer than planned. It was well worth the wait.

The bike was originally a 1970 model Triumph Bonneville 650cc. The previous owner had turned it into a chopper but had lost interest and the bike had stood for years. The motorcycle was rebuilt from the ground up. The bolt on rigid tail section was bought on eBay in the USA. The motor was completely rebuilt. The wheels were powder coated black and other parts like the fork legs and brakes also got the black treatment. This was not going to be a bling custom.

The airbrush work on the tank makes this motorcycle. Without it many of the other custom elements would not make sense. The artwork on the tank establishes the fighter plane theme. This sprayjob was a Bid or Buy deal and worked out very reasonably.

Don fabricated the oiltank in the shape of a bomb. He also made the machine gun barrel lookalike exhaust ends. The rear mudguard is fibreglass, which they formed off the back tyre.

Clip on handlebars are fitted which always looks more aggressive. The small headlight was imported from England. The propeller on the headlight, ammo pouch and goggles are finishing touches to the theme. The bottle opener is obviously fitted for more practical reasons.

When we asked Don if we could shoot (excuse the pun) the bobber, he asked if we could photograph the motorcycle in a hangar to compliment the theme. The very kind folks at the South African Air Force Museum gave us full access to take the photos of Bombshell Bonnie in her natural environment.

from retro write up