Post-Irene, everything is fine here at MCB HQ— hope others were just as fortunate.
Without further ado, here’s this week’s grab bag.
Porsche wheel candy
•August 26, 2011 • 4 CommentsHere’s some Porsche wheel candy for the weekend. Dressed up or dressed down, street car or race car, it’s all so very tasty.
Oh, and for anyone in the path of the hurricane (er, that would include us), stay safe out there! This is one weekend you’ll probably want to park – or better yet garage, above ground – the car.
Images: Pelican Parts, rgruppe.blogspot.com, manonthemove.com, WERK CREW
Not a combination you see everyday
•August 25, 2011 • 1 CommentWould love to own either, quite frankly (though there’s no doubt as to which we’d rather have in this particular setting).
EVO founder Harry Metcalfe welcomes you into his 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2
•August 23, 2011 • 2 CommentsNot a favorite, but still very, very nice obviously.
Hat tip to Pieter Ameye for the find.
Exhibit A: motoring con brio
•August 23, 2011 • 2 CommentsThis wonderful image by Jeroen Peeters. Way to hustle the old girl ’round a dirt road! No idea whether it’s a replica or not.
Shot at one of the numerous historics rallys in Europe (the Beerens Classic Rally, to be exact).
Assorted grab bag of stuff we like
•August 22, 2011 • Comments Off on Assorted grab bag of stuff we like
Guest contributor: Kevin McCauley on the roads of Texas Hill Country
•August 19, 2011 • 9 Comments
I spent more than three years living without a car in New York City. So it’s really quite a leap, 18 months later, to find myself driving my own sports car in the remote hills of central Texas.
1977 E21 320i Group 5 Art Car by Roy Lichtenstein
•August 18, 2011 • Comments Off on 1977 E21 320i Group 5 Art Car by Roy Lichtenstein“I pondered on it for a long time and put as much into it as I possibly could.”
— Roy Lichtenstein
The BMW Art Car by Roy Lichtenstein, 1977
“I wanted the lines I painted to be a depiction the road showing the car where to go,” said Roy Lichtenstein commenting on his design of the BMW 320i. “The design also shows the countryside through which the car has travelled. One could call it an enumeration of everything a car experiences – only that this car reflects all of these things before actually having been on a road.” And indeed – if one looks closer, one can perceive a passing landscape. The oversized “Benday Dots” are characteristic and reminiscent of Lichtenstein’s world famous paintings of comic strips.
Roy Lichtenstein, who was born in New York in 1923, is considered to be one of the founders of American pop art. Until 1938 he painted portraits of jazz musicians, attended the “Art Students League”, finally studying art in Ohio. His earlier works range from cubism to expressionism. He did not become interested in trivial culture such as comics and advertising until the late fifties. His pop art paintings were created in 1961. These were followed by caricatures of the “American way of life”, experiments with well-known works of art, sculptures and films. He died in New York in 1997.
Roy Lichtenstein – The BMW 320i group 5 racing version
- four-cylinder inline engine
- 4 valves per cylinder
- twin overhead camshafts
- displacement: 2000 cm³
- power output: 300 bhp
- top speed: 257 km/h
After its completion, Roy Lichtenstein’s Art Car was able to celebrate its premiere twice – as a work of art at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and as a racing car in the 24-hour race at Le Mans in June 1977. The car was driven by Hervé Poulain and Marcel Mignot from France. The car with the number 50 achieved a ninth place in the overall rating and finished first in its class.
(source: BMW Group)
Here’s a short clip of Lichtenstein at work:
See the previously featured BMW Art Car here.
Eyes wide open
•August 17, 2011 • 10 Comments
And apparently, if you must own a Ferrari (and you don’t have unlimited discretionary income), the 308 or the 328 is the one to buy. Good to know (nevermind that the older Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 is prettier). We’re not in the market now – nor do we plan to enter it any time soon – but 10 years from now? 20? We don’t have a burning desire to own one today, but down the road? You never know 🙂
All these reports reinforced the opinion that the later galvanized-body 308s (after January 1984) and 4-valve engines (introduced in late 1982) were worth pursuing, and that the 328 was the best developed—if more quietly styled—of the family. Home mechanics and the impoverished were advised to avoid the 348s that followed the 308/328 series, as the now-longitudinal engine had to come out for service. I called Keith Martin himself, whom I’ve known for years, and he said, “Yes! Get either a 308 or a 328. I’ve had a couple and they’ve been excellent cars. In any case, you must have a Ferrari in this lifetime.”
On the advice of former Ferrari owner and Cycle World Editor Allan Girdler, I called a respected—and now retired—Ferrari mechanic named Harold White (who used to work with Dan Gurney), and he reiterated Tom and Keith’s advice. “I’d look for the nicest, lowest-mileage 328 you can find,” he told me. “They’re wonderful cars, and quite tough and reliable” (source).
Also worth a read:
How to buy a secondhand Ferrari 308 GTB
Long-Term Test: 1984 Ferrari 308 GTSi Quattrovalvole
(Above image: Sevan Calians)
Motoring Con Brio 