Experiments in Speed

Experiments in speed. Inspired by those great men of the salt flats, those men that in the 60s pushed the Land Speed Record from the 300s up towards the 600mph mark in jet-propelled cars built in their sheds. We decided to do what we do: build a bicycle, but this time, in the spirit of those pioneers of speed, build it to see how fast we could go…

Experiments in Speed from SpindleProductions on Vimeo.

donhoubicycles.com
spindleproductions.co.uk

LEGENDS NEVER DIE: SPOTLIGHTING AT THE ROLEX HISTORICS

Now that I’ve given you guys a solid taste of the machinery that gathered last weekend at Laguna Seca for the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, I’d like to continue on with a selection of spotlights from the event. With hundreds of great racing cars to choose from, this was not an easy task by any stretch – but I’ve rounded up six vehicles here that helped define the event for me.

Let’s begin with one of the most outright badass cars to take to the track the entire weekend – the 1988 Audi 200 Quattro Trans Am racer. This is a car that I’ve heard so much about, and finally getting the chance to see it not just in person, but being driven at a full clip on the track was unforgettable.

While you could easily dedicate an entire post to the historical significance of these groundbreaking AWD machines, I will just say that it’s every bit as great in person. With those ridiculous wide body panels, and aero fin-covered wheels the car still manages to look ahead of its time, even 25 years on.

Surprisingly though, for all the technology that was packed into this car, the interior is about as bare bones as it gets.

And as impressive as it is while sitting still, nothing compares to seeing this thing out on the track. Just as it did during its time, the Quattro was out there running right with its V8-powered rivals, shooting flames and making glorious music from its 510-horsepower turbocharged five cylinder. Seriously, go check out some videos if you’ve never seen this beast in action.

Sitting just feet from the Trans Am Quattro, was another equally badass Audi built from the same racing DNA – an S4 GTO that competed in South Africa’s Wesbank Modified Championship during the early 1990s.

This machine began life as an IMSA GTO Audi 90 in the states before being acquired by Audi Sport South Africa in 1993. Because the Audi 90 wasn’t offered in South Africa, Audi Sport South Africa designed all new bodywork for the car based on the C4 Audi S4, with running gear and chassis carried over from the IMSA GTO machine.

It was also great to see the car wearing an iconic Rothmans racing livery, which is most commonly associated with Porsche but looks absolutely fantastic on this wide body sedan.

The interior meanwhile, is just as spartan as the one in the 200 Quattro.

While both of these Audis are state of the art modern machines compared to most of the field at the Rolex Historics, it’s great to see that the event has a place for these modern classics.

One of the more unusual race cars I came across the entire weekend was this Triumph TR8 Trans Am machine from 1980.

The car was a product of Bob Tullius famous Group 44 Racing outfit, which although known primarily for its work with Jaguar also built race cars for British Leyland’s Triumph brand.

Rather than using the roadster body that most of the production TR8s were built out of, Group 44 used the more rigid coupe platform for its race project.

The car is powered by a modified version of the Rover all-aluminum pushrod V8, which made a very impressive-for-its-time 360 horsepower.

In fact, with the light weight of the TR8′s chassis, the Group 44 cars were so dominant that the SCCA imposed severe weight restrictions on the team. This caused Tullius and company to leave the SCCA altogether in favor of IMSA’s GT series, where they also found great success. This is all history I was unfamiliar with until I stumbled across this car in the Laguna Seca paddock.

With the Corvette being the featured marque at this year’s Rolex Historics, it was only fitting that I’d include one in my spotlight selection. While the track was packed with ‘Vette race cars of all types, one that grabbed my attention was this 968 Owens/Corning C3 L-88 in GM’s display.

This car is considered the most victorious Corvette in history, with tremendous success in both SCCA National and FIA GT racing in the late ’60s and early ’70s. This car won 12 of 22 SCCA/FIA national events between 1969 and 1971, with its sister car taking the other 10 for a perfect team record.

But more than that, the car encompasses everything that was great about Corvette race cars from this era – the enormous tires, the flared fenders and those tough looking side pipes, all of which would be replicated on many a street car.

The ‘Vette is powered of course by a 685 horsepower 427 mated to a Muncie Rock Crusher 4-speed transmission, and needless to say this historic car has been meticulously restored to its original competition spec.

Earlier this year, the car was purchased at auction by famed NASCAR team owner and Corvette collector Rick Hendrick for a cool million bucks. Not bad.

Next up, we have an entry from the packed field of vintage SCCA Trans Am cars – a 1970 Pontiac Firebird originally built and campaigned by Jerry Titus.

Despite the fact that it took its name from the series, the Firebird/Trans Am never achieved a whole lot success on the track – but that doesn’t stop the Titus-built Firebird from being one of the more interesting cars of the group.

A big reason for the car’s lack of wins was due to a lack of much factory support. Because Pontiac didn’t have a small block engine that would meet Trans Am’s cubic inch limit, the car ran a Pontiac 400 that was destroked to 305 cubic inches and fitted with a single four barrel carburetor.  Even with its decreased displacement, the car still made somewhere in the neighborhood of 450 horsepower.

While the cockpit is stripped out as you’d expect, I do like the way the car still uses a factory Pontiac steering wheel. My dad actually has the same wheel in his ’70 GTO, which is how I recognized it so quickly.

Of course when Pontiac first rolled out the Trans Am in 1969, the SCCA wasn’t happy about having its trademark used for the car’s name so they came to an agreement where GM would pay the SCCA $5 for every Trans Am sold. I wonder how that worked out for them during the height of Burt Reynolds Trans Am mania in the late ’70s?

Last but not least, we have car that wasn’t actually participating in the Rolex Historics but was just too neat not to share – a 1974 Porsche ‘Baja 911′ built by a fellow named Ned Bacon (who was campaigning a 911 RSR in the main event).

That’s right, a Porsche 911 that’s been modified in the same style that you often see on aircooled Volkswagen Beetles.

We are talking Fuchs with big knobby tires, tons of suspension travel and everything you’d need to go roaring across the open desert.

But of course all this stuff isn’t done to the car just to get funny looks. The Porsche is built to be a legit off-road racer, and it ran in this year’s NORRA Mexican 1000 race.

It’s something that you might call sacrilege – if it wasn’t so damn cool.

With that I’ll wrap up my selection of spotlights from the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Hope you’ve enjoyed my picks.

Mike Garrett

VINTAGE (CAR) PORN: OLD IS GOOD AT LAGUNA SECA

In yesterday’s post I talked a little about the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion experience and broke down some of the reasons why I consider it one of my favorite events of all time. Today though, I want to talk about some of the automobiles that make the Rolex Historics so damn good.

Where to start? How about with that ridiculous Mustang seen in the opening shot. This car caught my eye when it popped up in Sean’s coverage of last year’s event, so I was pleased to see that it was out competing at the Rolex Historics again this year.

It turns out the Mustang is an original Northern California car, beginning life as a ’70 Boss 302 Mustang and evolving over the course of the 1970s to become the tube chassis IMSA Camel GT racer you see here. Even more fascinating is the fact that the car ran as a privateer effort the entire time, competing against many of IMSA’s well-funded factory teams.

The Mustang was just one entry on the huge roster of 1970s and 1980s FIA and IMSA GT cars in Group 6A. It was easily one of the most enjoyable races to watch, with a packed field of everything from Porsche 911 RSRs…

… to BMW CSLs and M1 Procars.

The great thing about this class is the diversity. Whether it was the turbo power of cars like Bruce Canepa’s beloved Porsche 935…

… or the raw American horsepower coming from the equally badass Greenwood Corvettes and the always competitive DeKon Chevy Monza. It’s two vastly different methods of race car engineering that are amazingly well matched on the track, and a great throwback to an era when race cars had no shortage of character.

One of the more unusual entries in this class was this ’69 AMC AMX. The factory-backed AMC Javelins in the SCCA Trans Am series are quite well known, but this AMX was a special-order from the AMC factory in 1969 and was immateriality converted for race use by a privateer named Bruce Moorehead.

Among the engineers that lent a hand in preparing the AMX was the team at Holman Moody, who are know mainly for the efforts with Ford’s racing program. The car would go on to compete all around the Southeastern USA, including appearances at both Daytona and Sebring.

Of course, it’s not all European and American machines that make up this wonderful group of race cars. Adding its distinct inline-six sound and Japanese flair was the Brad Frisselle 240Z, which Larry and I recently featured in detail.

That wasn’t the only Nissan mixing it up in the group. Comedian and Podcast king Adam Carolla can be found at the Rolex Historics every year driving some sort of of cool Datsun or Nissan. This year he brought out his 1988 Newman-Sharp 300ZX.

Besides being a collector of Paul Newman race cars, Adam is actually in the process of producing a documentary film about Newman’s racing career, which I can’t wait to see.

All of those fantastic cars, and that’s just one of the 16 different race groups that took to the track over the course of the weekend. Such is the greatness of the Rolex Historics.

Although significantly down on horsepower (and average tire width), another class that proved just as exciting to watch is the group of GT cars under 2500cc. This was the realm of machines like the Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT…

… and its rival, the BMW 2002.

There were also a few Mini Coopers spread through the field, like this car which won the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally and is now a regular at vintage racing events.

But in this crowd, it always seems the cars to beat are the Lotus 26Rs. Thanks to their feather weight chassis, high winding motors and responsive handling, they can always be found at the front of the field and rarely lifting off the throttle.

Another group that always makes for some fantastic battles is the pack of 1963-1966 GT cars above 2500cc. This is the place where the age-old rivalry between the Corvette and the Shelby Cobra plays out.

And with the Corvette being the featured car this year, there were even more historic ‘Vette race cars on hand than usual. Included in GM’s special display was the Corvette that Dick Guldstrand, Bob Bondurant and Don Yenko drove at Le Mans in 1967.

While replica Shelby Mustangs and Cobras are everywhere these days, you can rest assured that every one of them you see driving in this group is the real thing. Few sounds resonate more at Laguna Seca than that of those high revving small-block Fords…

Perhaps the most unusual car in the class was this 1964 Iso Rivolta GT, a 2+2…

… that happens to get its horsepower from a small-block Chevrolet V8. The big Italian GT car certainly stands out in a field of Corvettes, Cobras and Mustangs.

Also running in the pack was this 1964 Sunbeam Tiger, driven by none other than Mr. John Morton – the man who helped drive the BRE Datsuns to fame, among many other motorsport accomplishments.

The late ’50s and early ’60s GT cars is another fantastic group to watch, and in terms of combined value it’s likely the most expensive race group of the weekend.

This is thanks in large part to the selection of Ferrari 250 GTs and GTOs spread throughout the field. Sometimes I think it’s best just to forget about how much these cars are worth and just enjoy the spectacle. Although I would be curious to hear how the guys in the ‘cheap’ Corvettes and Porsches feel about racing alongside these multi-million dollar machines. Gotta be nerve-racking, right?

Other rarities in this group include cars like the 1961 Porsche Abarth Carerra and its very distinct nose treatment and aluminum bodywork.

As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also the vintage Formula 1 group, which is home to entries like this 1974 March 741-1 and its 3-liter, 10,500rpm Cosworth race motor.

There’s no denying the beauty of this 1967 Alfa Romeo T33-2, which was running amongst its purpose-built brethren in the 1960s sports car class. Have function and form ever mated so well?

With all of the focus on Corvettes over the weekend, it was really cool to see some examples of the first generation ‘Vettes on the track – like this 1955 model that’s powered by a hot-rodded 265 cube V8.

Last but not least, we’ve got the most ‘modern’ race group of the weekend – the class of 1980s and early ’90s GTP and GTO cars. In addition to the expected roster of Porsche 962s and other protoypes, the field also included some very cool ’80s and ’90s GTO machines with Ford bodywork.

The group included this 1986 Merkur XR4Ti, which was the North American version of the European Ford Sierra. Although the production XR4Ti came equipped with Ford’s 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine…

… this race example is powered by a thumping, naturally aspirated Ford V8.

But to balance that out, there was also a 1991 IMSA GTO Roush Racing Mustang powered not by a V8…

… but by a fully-built version of the aforementioned turbo four-cylinder. This one displaces 2.5 liters and is capable of an incredible 950 horsepower. This particular car was driven by Robby Gordon who took second place in the drivers championship in ’91.

Another one of these GTO machines was covered with Ford Thunderbird bodywork. While I know these cars share virtually nothing with their road-going counterparts, I really love the NASCAR-meets-IMSA style they have going on.

The field also included a rarely-seen IMSA 240SX from 1989. Needless to say, we are working on getting a hold of this thing for a full feature, which I’m very excited for.

Hopefully that that gives you a nice little sample of the machinery that makes the Rolex Historics so wonderful. Tomorrow I will return with a selection of spotlights I captured over the weekend.

Mike Garrett