Friday, August 25, 2017

Ferrari 350 Can-Am


After the Ferrari 330 P4s finished their duties in 1967, they were returned to the factory and two were converted for the Canadian-American Challenge (Can-Am). Even with their striking new body and enlarged engine, these spyders were no match for the competition in Group 7 and fell behind cars like the McLaren M6A-Chevrolet.
In Maranello, the defunct P4s were converted into the 350 Can-Am. Ferrari fitted a smooth spyder body that had no front headlights and gave the car an exceptionally low frontal area. On the engine deck were two curved intake scoops that fed the intake trumpets.
Ferrari enlarged the engine as much as they could to keep pace with the big-block American specials they would be up against. An increase in bore brought the engine displacement up to 4176cc, but it was still no match compared to competition. Ferrari retained the Tipo 237 designation as the Can-Am engine shared the same crankshaft and stroke.
Late in the '67 season two Ferraris joined the Can-Am championship with mediocre results. At Ferrari's Laguna Seca début, Chris Amon finished fifth overall. It would be the best result a Ferrari would achieve in Can-Am.
Ferrari P4s are considered by many to be the ultimate and most breathtakingly beautiful of all racing prototypes and they are, in our opinion, a very important and highly desirable part of Scuderia Ferrari racing history.
Source; RM Auctions

Take a closer look at the car on this video.

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Monday, August 21, 2017

Mercedes SLR McLaren



Mercedes-Benz is a multinational division of the German manufacturer Daimler AG, and the brand is used for luxury automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is head quartered in Stuttgart, Germany.
The name first appeared in 1926 under Daimler-Benz but traces its origins to Daimler’s 1901 Mercedes and to Karl Benz’s 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen, widely regarded as the first automobile.
The two companies which were merged to form the Mercedes-Benz brand in 1926 had both already enjoyed success in the new sport of motor racing throughout their separate histories. A single Benz competed in the world’s first motor race, the 1894 Paris–Rouen, where Émile Roger finished 14th in 10 hours 1 minute. Throughout its long history, the company has been involved in a range of motorsport activities, including sports car racing and rallying. On several occasions Mercedes-Benz has withdrawn completely from motorsport for a significant period, notably in the late 1930s, and after the 1955 Le Mans disaster, where a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR collided with another car and killed more than 80 spectators. Stirling Moss and co-driver Denis Jenkinson made history by winning the 1955 Mille Miglia road race in Italy during a record-breaking drive with an average speed was almost 98 mph in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR.
Although there was some activity in the intervening years, it was not until 1987 that Mercedes-Benz returned to front line competition, returning to Le Mans, Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM), and Formula One with Sauber. The 1990s saw Mercedes-Benz purchase British engine builder Ilmor (now Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines), and campaign IndyCars under the USAC/CART rules, eventually winning the 1994 Indianapolis 500 and 1994 CART IndyCar World Series Championship with Al Unser, Jr. at the wheel. The 1990s also saw the return of Mercedes-Benz to GT racing, and the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, both of which took the company to new heights by dominating the FIA’s GT1 class.
Mercedes-Benz is currently active in three forms of motorsport, Formula Three, DTM and Formula One.
The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is grand tourer car jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive, built in Portsmouth and the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England and sold from 2003 to 2009. When it was developed, German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz owned 40 percent of the McLaren Group.
Due to the automatic gear box, front mid-engined arrangement, and its driving characteristics, some commentators classify the SLR McLaren as a GT, whose rivals would be vehicles such as the Aston Martin DBS V12 and Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.
SLR stands for “Sport, Leicht, Rennsport” (sport, light, racing). Mercedes-Benz stated that they would build 3,500 SLRs over seven years, with an annual production of 500 cars.

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Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Maserati 5000GT


Another Great Car today from the Maserati stables. The 5000 GT were thirty-two 2-door coupés, made by Maserati.
The first car in the Tipo 103 series, was the Shah of Persia, delivered to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who had been impressed by the Maserati 3500. He commissioned Maserati's chief engineer Giulio Alfieri to utilize a slightly modified 5-litre engine from the Maserati 450S on the 3500GT's chassis. Carrozzeria Touring developed the superleggera tubing and aluminum body of the two-seater coupé. The second car, also by Touring, was displayed at Salone dell'automobile di Torino 1959.
Specifications for the first 5000 GT were:
Maserati 450S-derived V8 cylinder, four-OHC, 4937.8 cc,
Lucas mechanical injection or four 45 DCOE Weber carburetor (325 bhp at 5500 rpm),
mechanical Magneti-Marelli ignition, dual spark plugs and dual fuel pump
4-speed ZF (later 5-speed)
Front discs, rear drums (later all-discs)
In 1960 the engine got some modifications. It received a displacement of 4940cc with a bigger stroke and a smaller bore and were fuel injected; in the new configuration engine developed 340 bhp.
After the first body by Touring, the main body partner since 1960 became Carrozzeria Allemano which did 21 of the cars, designed by Giovanni Michelotti. Other builders were Pietro Frua (2), Carrozzeria Monterosa (2), Pininfarina (1), Ghia (Sergio Sartorelli) (1), Michelotti (1) and Carrozzeria Touring (2 more).
In 1961 Bertone made a 5000 GT, but the car had Tipo 104 chassis and different engine. Purists don't qualify it as a true 5000 GT.
The 5000 GT was sold at prices around USD 17000 (twice the cost of a Maserati 3500), and in many respects individualized to the desires of its celebrity buyers, including Aga Khan, Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli, sportsman Briggs Cunningham, actor Stewart Granger, Ferdinando Innocenti (Ghia-bodied 5000 GT), Basil Read, count Giuseppe Comola, and president Adolfo López Mateos.
Over time, some of the cars were added to Alfredo Breners collection, that was auctioned in 2003.

A short video looking closer at the car here.

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Monday, August 07, 2017

Alfa Romeo 8C 2900


In the mid-30’s, Italy was fully engaged in its politics of colonial expansion. Many factories were being adapted for weapon production and Alfa Romeo was one of them. But despite the wartime production, Alfa continued to dedicate a part of its efforts to the development of racing and passenger cars. Mussolini surely had an interest in nourishing the motor racing for the obvious reason of prestige but he also wanted to have a super-racing car from Alfa as an example of the Italian creativity in the world. In Germany, Mercedes and Auto Union were in a similar situation and they suddenly had a lot of finances for the development of their sports cars.

This is how the 2900 A was born in 1935 as a dedicated sports car with an engine directly originating from the famous P3. It became one of the most successful Grand Prix cars of the era. Then in 1937, a more “civilised” passenger car, type B, was derived from 2900 A. The two versions differed mainly by the compression ratio and by the length of their chassis.

Right from the beginning the 2900 B seemed to be fated by its very nature to sell just in few numbers and it did indeed. It is estimated that there were 20 exemplars of the passenger version with short wheelbase and only about 10 with the long wheelbase. In all, there were little more then 40 of these cars ever produced, including the racing A models.

Alfa Romeo was not alone in these low number productions as for some strange coincidence many of prestigious cars of this period never produced in more then 50 exemplars.

The 8C 2900 was designed to compete in sports car races in general and the Mille Miglia in particular. It used the 2.9 L version of the 8C engine and was based on the 8C 35 Grand Prix racing chassis. As such, it had an inline 8-cylinder 2.9-litre engine using two Roots type superchargers fed by two updraught Weber carburettors and fully independent suspension with Dubonnet-type trailing arm suspension with coil springs at front and swing axles with a transverse leaf spring at the rear.

The 8C 2900A was shown to the public at the 1935 London Motor Show and was advertised for sale there. The engine, with a stated power output of 220 bhp (160 kW) at 5300 rpm, was detuned from the Grand Prix racing version. Ten 2900As were built, five in 1935 and five in 1936.

Scuderia Ferrari entered three 8C 2900As in the 1936 Mille Miglia and again in the 1937 Mille Miglia. In 1936 they finished in the top three positions, with Marquis Antonio Brivio winning, Giuseppe Farina finishing second, and Carlo Pintacuda finishing third. In 1937 they finished in the top two positions, with Pintacuda winning and Farina finishing second; the third 2900A, driven by Clemente Biondetti, did not finish. The 8C 2900A also won the 1936 Spa 24 Hours with Raymond Sommer and Francesco Severi.

The 8C 2900B began production in 1937. The 2900B design made some concessions to comfort and reliability. The engine was detuned further to 180 bhp (130 kW) at 5200 rpm. The 2900B chassis was available in two wheelbases: the Corto (short) at 2,799 mm (110.2 in), which was longer than the 2900A's 2,718 mm (107.0 in) wheelbase, and the Lungo (long) at 3,000 mm (118.1 in).The wheels of the 2900B had 19-inch rims fitted with 17-inch (432 mm) hydraulic drum brakes.

Thirty-two 2900Bs were built in regular production, ten in 1937, and twenty-two in 1938. Another 2900B was assembled from parts in 1941. Most of these cars were bodied by Carrozzeria Touring, although a few were bodied by Pininfarina.

A 8C 2800 with Pininfarina cabriolet bodywork was auctioned for US$4,072,000 by Christie's at Pebble Beach, California. This was the tenth highest price ever paid for a car at auction at the time

A rare video of one of these Great Cars on the move here.

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