No further commentary necessary, so on to photos.
Cinematic cars Moment of zen: Jackie Stewart and Roman Polanski in "Weekend of a Champion" (1972)
•November 7, 2010 • 7 CommentsJackie Stewart explains driving the Monaco GP… to Roman Polanski. At breakfast. In his underwear. 1972’s “Weekend of a Champion”, the Polanski film you probably never heard of (although technically he is credited as producer and as a cast member, not as director), is one of the more remarkable (and surreal) things we have come across in recent memory. The two were apparently friends (new to us, maybe old hat to others), and Polanski trailed Stewart with a camera in tow on race day in 1971 (a year that Stewart won).
From a user review (the film is also known as “Afternoon of a Champion”):
Not really that great a documentary but still an interesting and surprisingly intimate look at Jackie Stewart’s race day at the 1971 Monaco GP. The fact that Polanski is obviously a close friend of both Stewart and his girlfriend makes it possible for him to get his subjects to be quite revealing and candid. However it does drag on a bit and could benefit from some rigorous editing.
This was made prior to Stewart’s safety crusade had gotten into full swing, he had by this time however lost most of his close friends to fatal racing accidents. You can see the seeds of his interest in improving driver safety in the conversations he has with Polanski. For his part Polanski is probably a bit too much the friend and the film has a bit of a superficial feel as a result, no really probing, revealing questions or insights here (source).
(h/t! classic car adventures)
Guest contributor: Will Beaumont on his 1971 BMW 2002
•November 5, 2010 • 5 Comments
In a family where British and Italian cars are considered to be the only cars worth owning, my penchant for something German makes me a slight outcast. Okay, that’s not exactly true – we are all enthusiastic about good cars no matter the nationality – but it is true that out of the four of us (and a garage with more cars than people), I am the only on who owns something that isn’t British or Italian— a 1971 BMW 2002.
Audi V8
•November 4, 2010 • 1 CommentAlso known as the predecessor to the A8. Given that mesh wheels – like these factory BBS RSes – aren’t a common look on A8s and S8s (where you are more likely to find either monoblocks or multispoke wheels), they’re a bit surprising to see on the big Audi— and not in a bad way, either.
DS on the Turini
•November 4, 2010 • Comments Off on DS on the TuriniSuch a funky commercial – Lelouch-esque, even – although we wouldn’t expect anything less given the time, place, and company behind the spot. We, of course, love it.
Lotus
•November 4, 2010 • Comments Off on LotusSomething about this just makes our pulse quicken just a tad. Some weighty imagery here, achieved out of the sparest of details— proof positive that less is usually more.
Oh, and yet another reminder that we need a vintage Lotus (or heck, any Lotus) in our lives.
The Porsche 917
•November 3, 2010 • 3 CommentsCan you imagine shoehorning an aircooled flat-twelve into a shell smaller than a 914’s? Nuts.
Gray cars
•November 3, 2010 • 15 CommentsStone. Slate. Pewter. Whatever you call it, we’ve been loving variations of this non-metallic color for awhile now. Here are a few we’ve come across.
Nice color.
Images via Pelican Parts, Jim Bauer, James Lipman for Inside Line, robson.m3rlin.org, tcl, and other secondary sources
This is why we like Mustangs
•November 2, 2010 • 1 CommentBecause done right, few cars are more indisputably badass. This one, for example.
And a tangentially-related clip. Pretty interesting and understated (for a change), even though it doesn’t teach us anything new (and is poorly dubbed).
Another, featuring a highly desirable newer model (as well as the driving talents of MCB reader Derek, who sent in this recently-filmed spot with him behind the wheel of the 2011 Shelby Mustang GT500):
(image via)
We need to rub our eyes for a second
•November 2, 2010 • 22 CommentsThere are two things wrong with these Porsche photos:
- it’s a Panamera
- it’s the V6 Panamera
Or so we would have thought.
Instead, what we’re left wondering is this: could it be that the Panamera is actually – horror of horrors – growing on us? Maybe it’s just this particular package (the black paint, the 997.2 Turbo wheels, the lowered (?) ride height); maybe it’s the skillfully-executed photographs; heck, maybe it’s just the light that’s flattering the car— but we must confess, we had to do a double-take to make sure our eyes weren’t deceiving us. As in, is that a Panamera… looking… good?
Make no mistake: she still needs to go on a diet. And some angles continue to not work. But this might just be the first time where we didn’t find ourselves having to avert our eyes.
Let us know if you think we’ve lost our marbles. We confess, we’re not so sure ourselves.
(via)
Motoring Con Brio 
