vintage60. motorsport footstools

British-based company Vintage60 designs and sells footstools and bar stools influenced by famous motorsport liveries and helmet designs.

We’re going to assume for the purposes of this piece that those of you who read our feature back in 2011 on racing&emotion.com(who design chairs inspired by famous motorsport liveries) have spent the time in between thinking, “that’s all well and good, but I’ve got nothing to put my feet on.”

We’re nothing if not thorough at crankandpiston. It’s taken 18 months of ceaseless searching and a remarkable amount of coffee, but we think we’ve found the solution to this problem at Vintage60. To match the racing&emotion Ayrton Senna-inspired chair in your living room, you can now buy a stool inspired by the Lotus 97T he drove to two victories during the 1985 Formula One season.

If however you went for Gulf Racing colours chair instead then don’t worry, British-based Vintage60 has you covered. Also up for up grabs are footstools bearing Graham Hill’s famous Oxford Rowing Club influenced helmet colours, Stirling Moss’ Mercedes 1955 Mille Miglia Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (#722), and Jim Clark’s 1963 Lotus 25 among others.

Each stool comes in either premium leather or synthetic leather-effect contract vinyl. Footstools and bar stools are already available, and the team is looking at moving into coffee table and club chair territory soon.

Now, we’re not going to lie, the asking price is a little on the steep side, and you won’t get much change from $600. Still, how often is it that you get put your feet up on Gilles Villeneuve’s 1986 #27 Ferrari 126C?

from crankandpiston

W196 STREAMLINER

The W196 Streamliner is a motorcar that I would have sworn blind was a 1955 Mercedes-Benz, it turns out that its beautiful hand-beaten aluminium body is a recent creation, as are the car’s underpinnings.

The “new” W196 Streamliner is built in Britain by The Streamliner Motor Company, each car has a triangulated steel chassis modelled on the original from 1954. The engine and suspension elements are all more modern Mercedes-Benz derived units with the 3.0 litre 24-valve 6-cylinder engine coming from a 1992 model Benz, the transmission is a race-spec Getrag 5-speed and the single-seat arrangement is identical to the original W196.

The Streamliner is designed with both road legality and race track performance in mind, the car you see pictured here is road legal in the UK and EU and is also fully certified to take part in historic rallies and races.

The Streamliner Motor Company will be building Streamliners to order and will also be offering a gullwing model in the spirit of the original Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé. As you might imagine, pricing information is not listed however you can click the link to visit The Streamliner Motor Company and send them the specification requirements for your personal Streamliner. Or you can do what I’m doing and just daydream about it.

from SILODROME

Additional information provided by the excellent Sports Car Digest.

Bol d'Or : Renaud Lavillenie, de chronométreur à pilote

After securing another European indoor pole-vaulting title with a jump of 6.01 metres in Goteborg, Sweden, last weekend, the Clermont-Ferrand based athlete has set himself another challenge when he will line-up for the 2013 Bol d’Or as AZ Moto Expert’s reserve rider.

Tout juste auréolé de son nouveau titre de Champion d’Europe en salle à Göteborg (Suède) avec un saut à 6,01 mètres, le perchiste clermontois va relever un nouveau défi en s’alignant au départ du prochain Bol d’Or en tant que pilote remplaçant du Team AZ Moto Expert.

Renaud Lavillenie has an accomplished pole-vaulting record, including four French titles and three European crowns, in 2009, 2011 and 2013. He is also the world indoor champion and was gold medallist at the London Olympics. That isn’t sufficient apparently, since the Frenchman, who has always been a big bike fan, will be AZ Moto Expert’s reserve rider for this year’s Bol d’Or (April 20-21).

Renaud has experience of endurance racing, but on the other side of the pit-wall, as the French team’s timekeeper since the 2011 Bol d’Or. Last August, he even got a taste of track action on a Suzuki Gladius at the final round of France’s Twin Cup series at Le Vigeant.

Now well and truly bitten by the racing bug, he has made the jump this year and will form part of the N°63 Suzuki/Michelin’s rider line-up alongside Stéphane Mezard, David Nivière and Eddy Dupuy. “It’s a chance to try something new and see what it feels like race on such a powerful bike,” says Renaud who knows he will only take part in the free practice and qualifying sessions. “I will try to be fast, consistent and smooth, and also get as close as possible to the times of my team-mates.”

Renaud recently took advantage of his association with Michelin to visit the company’s tyre school where he actively contributed to the production of a tyre. He also received tips on how to get the best out of his rubber when he starts testing at the five-day pre-Bol d’Or run at Nevers-Magny-Cours in March when he will familiarise himself with the French circuit.

Renaud Lavillenie a tout gagné, quadruple champion de France, triple champion d’Europe (2009, 2011 et 2013), champion du monde en salle, et champion Olympique. Mais l’athlète clermontois n’est jamais rassasié. Avide de nouvelles sensations et passionné depuis son plus jeune âge de moto, il se lance un nouveau challenge en devenant le quatrième pilote du Team AZ Moto Expert lors du prochain Bol d’Or les 20 et 21 avril.

Renaud connait déjà le monde de l’endurance mais de l’autre côté de la barrière, dans le stand du Team AZ Moto Expert où il est chronométreur depuis le Bol d’Or 2011. En août dernier, il a goûté brièvement à la course moto lors de la dernière manche écourtée de la Twin Cup sur le circuit du Vigeant au guidon d’une Suzuki Gladius.

Piqué par le virus de la compétition, il décide cette année de faire le grand saut et sera au guidon de la Suzuki/Michelin n°63 aux côtés de Stéphane Mezard, David Nivière et Eddy Dupuy. « C’est l’occasion de vivre une nouvelle expérience de l’intérieur » souligne Renaud « et de découvrir les sensations d’une course moto au guidon d’une puissante machine » même s’il ne participera que seulement aux essais libres et qualificatifs. « J’essayerai d'être le plus performant à mon niveau, d'être régulier, propre, et si possible, de réduire au maximum l'écart avec mes coéquipiers. »

Renaud a profité de son partenariat avec Michelin pour visiter l’école du pneu où il a pu participer activement aux différentes étapes de fabrication d’un pneu. Il en a également reçu quelques conseils pour exploiter au mieux ses gommes lors de ses prochains roulages. Il participera à cinq journées d’essais au mois de mars sur le circuit de Nevers-Magny-Cours pour mettre à profit ces conseils et se familiariser avec la piste et la moto.

Retrouvez les aventures de Renaud sur www.motoracinglive.com

Digital Art ......

by ~KarayaOne