samedi 27 décembre 2014
Peugeot 2008 DKR
Cars we love: Audi quattro
To look at, the Audi quattro is a squarish, practical sort of car. Its styling doesn’t begin to hint at the fact that, under its utilitarian skin, it’s one of the most innovative cars ever launched onto the world stage...
All bite, no bark
Before Jensen FF enthusiasts get all hot under the collar, we have to admit that the quattro wasn’t quite the first high-performance 4WD road-going coupé. But in 1980, the year the quattro first appeared at Geneva, the new Audi fitted perfectly with the German company’s plans to beat its rivals – both in rallies and, more to the point, in road car sales.
Any hint of weird and wacky styling could have deterred potential customers, so Audi kept things plain and simple: but in our opinion, that makes its strong, functional lines all the more appealing.
However, the real reason we love this car is that the quattro is a technical masterpiece. Audi avoided many potential pitfalls of the 4WD system, such as heavy tyre wear and loss of comfort, partly by using three differentials, while the 5-cylinder, turbocharged engine promised 200HP and – thanks to the astonishing traction – acceleration from zero to 60mph in 7.3 seconds. (The later 20V, built from 1989 to 1991, boasted 220HP and brought the 0-60mph time down to 6.3 seconds.)
While enthusiasts saw the road-going quattro as the last word in technical charisma, things were going even better on the rally stage. In the early 1980s, the Audi quattro dominated the World Rally Championship and changed the course of the sport for all time.
Shorter, lighter, faster
Which brings us to the car in the pictures. In 1984, Audi produced a limited run of just 224 road-going ‘Sport quattros’ to homologate the Group B rally cars. This is one of them. With more than 300HP, the Sport quattros could reach 60mph in less than five seconds; plus they had a significantly shorter wheelbase and a much lower weight. Technical genius and phenomenal performance in a very unassuming package. Definitely one for the connoisseurs.
Photos/Video: Erik Fuller © 2015 Courtesy of RM Auctions / © GF Williams
The 1984 Audi Sport quattro pictured here is to be offered for sale by RM Auctions in Arizona on 16 January 2015.
Audi quattro RC Car Challenge
Hot blood, cold feet: Porsche prepares for the 1969 endurance season
A story of rubber on plain old Tarmac doesn’t quite cut it on the cusp of Christmas. As a result, we fade back to 1969 and relive Porsche’s mid-winter preparations for an assault on that year’s International Championship of Makes, and ultimately the 24 Hours of Le Mans…
An all-star driver line-up and a heady dose of commitment come into play
“Phew,” exclaimed a mechanic, watching Porsche’s quintet of 908s being pushed into the Daytona pit lane. “If there’s any truth in the saying that Porsche is a small company, then Ford should have fielded 30 works entries.” But in a quest to dominate the 1969 International Championship of Makes, Porsche didn't only flex its mechanical muscle: an all-star driver line-up and a heady dose of commitment also came into play, as proven at a snow-covered Hockenheimring on January 8, 1969 – a few weeks before the descent on Daytona.
Even the most determined works teams would reschedule a press conference and testing session in these conditions, but not Porsche's. Not only did the team bring along one of the 908/2 Spyders being tweaked in preparation for imminent battle, but also the full gathering of its team hand-picked from racing’s elite. Among the other cast members, Hans Herrmann, Jo Siffert, Brian Redman, Richard Attwood, Pauli Toivonen and Björn Waldegård were all present.
Signing the stars
For reasons to be justified at a later date, Attwood and Hermann were among the first names on the team sheet. The former signed up for the project immediately; the latter – the oldest member at 40 years – was already a long-serving veteran with 17 racing seasons under his belt, including a win for Porsche at the previous year’s 24 Hours of Daytona. The in-demand Jo Siffert took a little longer to convince: only after his request for a £50,000 golden handshake was refused point blank by Enzo Ferrari did he sign for Porsche. Meanwhile, an injured Brian Redman was plucked from rival John Wyer's team – having diced with Porsches in the 1968 season – and ‘Quick Vic’ Elford’s services were again called upon, having recently proved himself for Porsche not only in terms of speed, but diversity too.
A drawn-out duel
Despite the glorious gaggle, not all went to plan that year. While the Championship of Makes was won at a canter (the team claimed seven victories from 10 races), a stiffer challenge was present at La Sarthe. Ultimately, though two works 917s were fielded, it was Herrmann’s 908/2 which was in the spotlight, locked in a legendary battle with Jacky Ickx’s John Wyer GT40. “Over one and a half hours, we overtook one another several times each,” recalls Herrmann. “After 24 hours of driving at the absolute limit, Ickx won by one and a half seconds.” The last lap saw Ickx allow Herrmann to overtake at the start of the Mulsanne Straight, only to use his slipstream to snatch back the place and retain it until the chequered flag. Of course, Herrmann and his comrades would famously taste that longed-for victory champagne a year later – a fitting conclusion to our warming winter story.
Reading recommendation and a Christmas competition
'World Champion by Technical Knockout' is a reprint of Helmut Zwickl's book from 1969, when the Austrian photojournalist accompanied the Porsche team on the way to its first victory in the International Championship of Makes. The new edition is limited to 1,500 hand-numbered examples and is available now from PetrolPics priced at 79 euros each (also available in English).
In the spirit of Christmas, we're giving away copies of the book to a randomly selected trio who can tell us which driver took the chequered flag to claim Porsche's first overall victory at Le Mans. Email your answer to contact@classicdriver.com quoting 'World Champion by Technical K.O.' in the subject field to be in with a chance of winning. The deadline is 31 December 2013.
ANDY’S UGLY DUC-LING
Andy from Mount Beauty in Australia has owned this 2002 Ducati 900ss from new, in those 12 years he’s fettled with the bike several times and has also completed a couple of other builds and has a few more waiting in his kitchen (yep… he is an Aussie after all, any space is a workshop to them). More mods are planned for this bike, but they currently reside on various sheets of tracing paper and I’m sure there’s a few in the depths of his imagination too.
Make no mistake; no-one is trying to pass this bike off as a Café Racer, Andy says if it had to be labelled, it would be a Café Fighter as it has the soul of a Café Racer and the heart of a Street Fighter. When it comes to riding this thing, Andy says that “if a modern sports bike is like drinking a well-defined red wine produced from a century old family winery, then this bike is like having a shot of Absinthe out of a dark back street bar”; it is with out a doubt an acquired taste!
If Andy is anything like his motorcycle, then we can confidently assume that he is a bold chap, what we do know about him is that he used to be a professional skier, during this time he acquired the nickname Crash Test Dummy, or more affectionately CTD, it seems he was rather good at jumping, but less so at landing, which could explain a lot with how radical this build is. In winter Andy works as a Ski Patroller in his local resort, the rest of his time is spent studying architecture.
As for the bike, it’s black and blue, which may be another reference to the CTD… In case you were unsure where the blue is, the frame is powder coated blue, the forks anodised blue, the mudguards, fairing, clutch and engine plates painted blue, the brake lines are braided… and blue, the single sided swing arm, light surrounds, levers and reservoir caps are blue and lastly, the HT leads are of course… red!
The Donor is a 2002 Ducati 900ss, the last of them before they moved to the DS1000 motor, but Ducati seem to have used a few upgrading parts on the last generation 900’s, perhaps in a test for the DS1000, alas the workshop manual that Andy had didn’t incorporate these upgrades, so there was some learning along the way. The build began when Andy stripped her bare of her fairings and saw just how great these bikes look when exposed, the depth of the SS trellis frame is so full of character, it’s criminal to hide it away.
If it weren’t for the mechanical assistance of Pier; a friend from the ski resort that is responsible for the upkeep of Snowmobiles and Piste Groomers, this bike would still be on the bench, the motor needed fully rebuilding after one of the belt guide wheels ceased, snapping the belts and dropping the valves… this understandably caused a grown man to cry… but the tears were wiped away and the motor was treated to Flowed heads by the legend Andrew Hallam, JE Hi comp pistons, TPO Beast velocity stacks with K&N filters, Lightened fly wheel and a Power Commander.
The exhaust was a challenge tackled early on in the build years, Andy found it somewhat of a black art to find much information supporting the different styles and lengths, in the end he found the Ex-Box from Quad D in Italy was perfect for his needs, at the time this was done, manufacturers where still mounting exhausts to the side or under the seat, so it was pretty modern in its appearance…. unlike now of course where it makes this build look so vintage!
Permanent modifications took place, mainly by cutting away the rear sub-frame; then Andy fabricated a new carbon fiber one, attached it to the tank and welded new tank mounts so the whole thing lifts up in one piece, why? Easier to work on motor… you know, just in case! The forks have been completely rebuilt, anodised and then given new triple clamps. The rear swing arm is from a 2005 Monster and is 40mm longer than the SS one, so the bike now feels more stable. She has also benefitted from a rewire and includes a digital dash, keyless start, electronic fuse box, new switch blocks, heated grips (yep, he rides in the winter) and clear water LED lighting system.
Out front the fairing is made from a Multistrada wind shield, this is mounted on a new front subframe that also houses the Shorai miniature battery and all the required electrical items that were moved from under the seat and tank. The front view shows the nod to the original Ducati 900 Super Sport that gave way for this epic transformation.
We asked Andy how he feels about the result, he says: ‘Happy’ is owning a bike period. I’m proud, smitten and out right in love with this bike…that is until the one on the work bench is finished!
Next up for Andy is a BMW bobber/drag/cruiser/sports… He certainly enjoys blurring the lines of the conventional genres and for that we salute him, keep it up Andy, todays difference is often the norm of the future!
via The Bike Shed
WRC ; Bouffier et Dumas au Monte-Carlo / Bouffier and Dumas head for Monte Carlo
Après sa deuxième place l’an passé, Bryan Bouffier est de retour au Rallye Monte-Carlo sur une Ford Fiesta RS WRC M-Sport. Romain Dumas sera lui aussi au départ du Monte-Carl’ sur sa Porsche 997 GT3 RS.
L’an passé, grâce à un choix judicieux de pneumatiques, Bryan Bouffier avait pris la tête du Rallye Monte-Carlo à l’issue de l’ES3 au volant d’une Ford Fiesta RS WRC/Michelin. Il était resté aux commandes de l’épreuve jusqu’à un tête-à-queue dans l’ES9. Puis une erreur de notes dans l’ES11 l’avait définitivement relégué à la 2e place du classement général derrière l’ogre Ogier.
Bryan sera de retour sur les spéciales du Monte-Carlo 2015 au volant d’une Ford Fiesta RS WRC toujours suivie par M-Sport ; l’équipe britannique avait beaucoup apprécié la collaboration avec le Français l’an passé. Bryan avait ensuite terminé la saison avec Hyundai Motorsport, en tant que pilote de développement, puis sur les Rallyes d’Allemagne (abandon) et de France-Alsace (9e). Il a également fini 2e du Tour de Corse sur une Ford Fiesta RRC.
Bryan Bouffier connait bien l’épreuve monégasque qu’il va disputer pour la 6e fois. Il avait remporté l’édition 2011 en Intercontinental Rally Challenge (Peugeot 207 S2000). En 2013, il avait terminé à la 5e place pour sa 1ère participation au volant d’une World Rally Car (Citroën DS3 WRC).
Son fidèle copilote Xavier Panseri sera-t-il à l’heure pour le début des reconnaissances, lundi 19 janvier ? En effet, Xavier va participer au Rallye Dakar au côté du Polonais Krzysztof Hołowczy sur une Mini ALL4 Racing/Michelin.
Le même problème de timing va se poser pour Romain Dumas, engagé au Dakar sur un Buggy MD Rallye, et attendu au départ du Rallye Monte-Carlo 2015 sur sa Porsche 997 GT3 RS 4.0 qu’il avait conduit à la 19e place finale du Rallye de France-Alsace. Le pilote officiel Porsche en Endurance à l’autorisation de son employeur de « s’amuser » jusqu’au 31 janvier. Après, arbeit sur la Porsche 919 Hybrid…
Bryan Bouffier (Ford Fiesta RS WRC) will be hoping to go one place better on next year’s Rallye Monte-Carlo after coming second in 2014, while Romain Dumas has entered his Porsche 997 GT3 RS.
A judicious tyre choice helped Bryan Bouffier to take the lead after SS3 of the 2014 Rallye Monte-Carlo. He then kept his Ford Fiesta RS WRC/Michelin in front until a spin on SS9, before a pace-note mix-up on SS11 dropped him even further behind the charging Ogier.
The Frenchman has decided to try his luck once more in 2015, again in a Fiesta tended by M-Sport which was impressed by his performance last January. Although he ended the season as development driver at Hyundai Motorsport, in whose colours he competed in Germany (retired) and France-Alsace (9th), he concluded the year with second place in Corsica (ERC) driving a Ford Fiesta RRC.
It will be Bouffier’s sixth Monte Carlo start and he won the event outright in a Peugeot 207 S2000 in 2011 when it was an Intercontinental Rally Challenge round. He then celebrated his first outing in a WRC car (Citroën DS3) with fifth overall in 2013.
His co-driver Xavier Panseri will have a race on his hands to be ready for recce on Monday, January 19, since he is also navigating Poland’s Krzysztof Holowczyc (Mini ALL4 Racing/Michelin) on the Dakar which finishes the previous Saturday!
He might find himself on the same flight back from Argentina as Romain Dumas who has entered the Dakar in a buggy (MD Rallye), then the Monte in the Porsche 997 GT3 RS 4.0 he steered to 19th place on October’s Rallye de France-Alsace. The factory Porsche endurance racing driver has permission to have fun until January 31. After that, it will be back to work developing the Porsche 919 Hybrid prototype…
Snapshot, 1953: The fastest ski-lift in the Alps
Back in the 1950s, some hardy swashbuckling types grew fed up with the low-speed ski-lifts of the day, and instead launched the first motorcycle ski championships in the small Tyrolean village of Ehrwald.
A rope, a pair of skis and a motorcycle with spikes - that's all it took 60 years ago to let rip through the snow. There is, sadly, no record of the speeds attained in this unlikely sport, but we look back wistfully on these pictures, especially when we think about freezing our feet in the next queue for the ski-lift...
Suitable two-wheeled ski-lifts can be found in the Classic Driver Market.
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