The Col de Turini (we think— correct us on this if we’re wrong). Nice image, nice road! Would love to drive it someday.
Some video. If you must watch only one of these, skip to the last one.
MGBs
•August 15, 2011 • 1 CommentHere’s the latest Depth of Speed video, and as before, it’s a beauty.
Assorted grab bag of stuff we like
•August 15, 2011 • 3 Comments
Assorted grab bag of stuff we like
•August 5, 2011 • 6 CommentsWe’re going offline for awhile, so please enjoy this Friday grab bag. Regular programming should resume the week of the 15th.
Have a great one.
Porsche 911 Turbo (930), Paris
•August 4, 2011 • 7 CommentsMCB friend and recurring contributor Amaury Laparra took a break from shooting historics events and priceless race cars to photograph this rather fine Porsche 930 in his hometown City of Light. And what light it is.
A friendly word of advice to anyone wanting to dedicate themselves to taking exceptional photographs: if you ever needed a reason to drag yourself out of bed at an ungodly hour in the pursuit of heavenly light (not to mention parking your 911 askew in the middle of a deserted Pont Louis-Philippe for a photoshoot), this is it. Set the alarm clock.
Another one from the ‘unexpectedly sort of hot’ files
•August 3, 2011 • 29 CommentsFrom a time (long ago) when Toyotas had any semblance of coolness about them. Not quite approaching the Datsun 510 – which was in a whole ‘nother league – but getting there.
Design work was started in 1974 by Fumio Agetsuma. The goals he told his team were:
- Quiet cars will have a definite edge. Conservation of both resources and fuel will be very important. Economy and value will also carry considerable weight.
- Our new Corolla must be as aerodynamically perfect as the parameters allow. It must be comfortable, with enough interior room to move about in. It will need all the modern features that future customers will want as well.
- Corolla must change. But we should never destroy the popular base upon which Corolla sales are built. Our new car must reflect the wishes of the consumer, the ordinary people who drive Corollas.
- There should be no generation gap with Corolla. It should appeal to young and old alike. Corolla must also transcend national boundaries. It must perform as well in sub-zero temperatures as it does in the tropics or in the heat of the deserts of the world. Above all, Corolla must be a car that pleases.
- Corolla has an illustrious tradition. Now, let us build our new Corolla on that tradition, the kind of new Corolla we know the drivers of the world will expect (source).
Don’t laugh— this little car had RWD and weighed next to nothing. But why does it feel like we are taking a page out Raphael Orlove’s playbook? (tuner aesthetic notwithstanding)
John Player Badass
•August 2, 2011 • 7 CommentsWish we could provide this one larger— so much extraordinary detail! If anyone can come through, let us know.
John Player’s brands (a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer, based in Nottingham, England… [and] today a part of the Imperial Tobacco Group) are also well known among motor racing fans following their long association with the Lotus Formula One team, and Norton motorcycle racing team. John Player’s sponsorship of Team Lotus began with the Lotus 49 in Gold Leaf colours at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix, continued with the Lotus 72, which changed to the black and gold John Player Special colours in 1972 and ended in 1986 with the Lotus 98T. The JPS livery was also used by BMW in touring car racing in Australia during the 1980s. In 1984, BMW released a limited-edition road version of its 323i touring car in JPS colours to the Australian market.
Player’s brands also sponsored the Forsythe Championship Racing team in Champ Car racing until tobacco advertising in automotive series was banned midway through 2003 (source).
Saturday. Rural Pennsylvania somewhere.
•August 1, 2011 • 11 Comments
Snapped this under the glare of a sun that was already going gangbusters by mid-morning (among the worst conditions under which to shoot if you ask any photographer), so definitely trying to make lemonade out of lemons here. Or rather, wheatgrass juice out of wheat grass. If that makes any sense.
Also, test-fitted some 15″ wheels (seen here), which will eventually be going on winter tires. The 16s that the car normally wears are sporty and have a bit of a modernizing effect, but the 15s have a classic look and feel to them that’s more ‘period’. They are both great looks— one OEM and the other “OEM+”.
Next, the black front lower valance will be painted to color-match the rest of the car. Somewhat of an annoying mod (purely cosmetic, and borderline unnecessary), but there will be a better ‘flow’ in the way the lower part of the car looks as a result. After that, the goal is largely to leave well enough alone as far as exterior modifications go.
1933 Bugatti Type 59 Grand Prix
•July 29, 2011 • 2 Comments“We’re collectors. We see objects of great beauty and we must have them.”
— Ralph Lauren (okay, not really)
Lauren does not collect art—“You can’t drive a painting,” he said to me—and he makes much of his desire to treat his cars as more than just aesthetic objects. “I drive these cars—they don’t just sit here,” he said at least three times as we walked through two floors of classic Porsches, Ferraris, Morgans, Jaguars, Aston Martins, and Mercedes-Benzes…
And if a car doesn’t look perfect, Ralph Lauren will make it so. “These Bugattis were light blue,” he said, stopping in front of a 1934 [sic] Type 59 Grand Prix. “I said I wanted them black. I wanted to restore them as I thought they should ideally be” (source).
Sacrilege? Maybe. But you can’t deny that it is jaw-droppingly beautiful, even if it isn’t wearing Gauloises Blue.
Motoring Con Brio 