Tag Archives: Car

Four Rings Return – Auto Union 1000 S

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At the end of the 1939 – 45 the once great name of Auto Union disappeared off the map as a consequence of the new communist administrative arrangements that emerged in East Germany.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

What assets remained of Horch, Audi and the Auto Union racing departments in Chemnitz and Zwickau were liquidated and those in Zwickau were handed over to VEB (Volkseigener Betrieb = Peoples owned Enterprise) which went on to build a series of two stroke vehicles, starting with pre war DKW designs, that were eventually sold under the Trabant brand after a law suit compelled VEB to desist selling models with the DKW name.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Auto Union AG was reconstituted in 1949 with only the DKW brand name surviving which sold a variety of two stroke vehicles including a motor cycle and delivery van before moving back into automobile manufacture.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

In 1958 the now Daimler AG owned Auto Union brand returned to the market place with the Auto Union 1000 S powered by a 44 hp 1 litre / 61 cui two stroke straight 3 cylinder motor driving the front wheels.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

The 1000 S model was available in 2 door saloon, as seen here, 4 door saloon, 2 door pillarless Coupé and Estate variations. There was also a “baby” thunderbird” sports car option which I’ll be looking at in a future Wednesday Continental Curiosity edition.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

As with most front wheel drive vehicles the Auto Union 1000S gave occupants greater interior space than their competitors which in this case was the Volkswagen Beetle.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

In 1960 a now 50 HP Auto Union was tested with a rest to 60 mph acceleration time of 23.6 seconds and top speed of 80.9 mph. Auto Union 2 stroke motors branded DKW were to be found in the proving ground open wheel series known as Formula Junior.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

1961 saw the introduction saw the introduction of a clean oil regulator which was intended to reduce the blue exhaust smoke haze, common to two stroke motors, by ensuring an exact 40 to 1 petrol to oil mix using a separate oil tank to feed the carburetor. Unfortunately because of the severe European winter in 1962/63 oil viscosity and flow through the narrower new carburetor feed was adversely affected resulting in crankshaft damage.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

This 1963 model seen at the Rare Breeds show at Haynes International Motor Museum a couple of years ago is said to have come to Britain from Sweden via Norway.

Auto Union 1000S, Rare Breeds, Haynes International Motor Museum

Between 1958 and 1963 171,008 Auto Union 1000 S models were manufactured at Auto Unions plant in Dusseldorf. By 1964 Volkswagen had acquired Auto Union and DKW and Audi. VW ditched the Auto Union and DKW brands as production of 2 stroke models was phased out in favour of new water cooled four stroke models that derived from the DKW F103 which was marketed as the Audi F103 in 1965 which transformed the fortunes of first Audi and then as the new motor was further developed later Volkswagen.

Thanks for joining me on this “Four Rings Return” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Black Or White – Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0

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Today’s featured Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 is the ultimate road version of the 997 bodied GT3’s built between 2004 and 2012 topped only by the track only GT3 R and RSR models.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0, Family Club Day, Castle Combe

GT3 cars are marketed as an entry competition model to Porsche customers the first was offered on the 996 bodied 911 in 1999. The GT3 RS models come fitted with a roll cage and carbon fiber seats for added safety.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0, Family Club Day, Castle Combe

According to contemporary reports in Road & Track Porsche had to reopen the assembly line on which the 4 litre / 244 cui motor’s were built because the decision to build the GT3 RS 4.0 limited edition had come after the decision had been made to launch the new 991 bodied 911 series.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0, Family Club Day, Castle Combe

The GT3 RS 4.0 493hp and can accelerate to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds and on up to 193 mph, making it fractionally quicker than the one off 1998 Porsche 911 GT-98 Straßenversion I looked at yesterday.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0, Family Club Day, Castle Combe

Only 600 GT3 RS 4.0s, like the one seen here at last years Family Club Day organised by the Bristol Motor Club at Castle Combe, were built and they were available only in black or white.

Thanks for joining me on this “Black Or White” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at some more Porsche Automobilia. Don’t forget to come back now !

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The Seriously Flared One – Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0

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Having won the 1970 and 1971 Le Mans 24 Hours and sports car championships with the short lived Porsche 917, Porsche had no suitable motor with which to compete in the top tear of sports car racing which mandated maximum displacement 3 litre / 183 cui motors, of which those designed for and adapted from Formula One dominated the overall honours from 1972 until 1975.

Porsche 911 RSR, Tour Britannia, Castle Combe

To meet the demand from customers running in the GT class Porsche embarked upon a programme of building RSR race cars based on the 911 shell for GT competition in 1973. Initially these cars came with a ‘duck tail’ and motors up to 2.8 litres to 178 cui. Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood scored back to back overall victories at the Daytona 24 hours with this type of car in 1973 and 1975, and were joined by Dave Helmick in 1973 to win the Sebring 12 hours. Perhaps the single most famous victory for any RSR came on the epic Targa Florio where Herbert Müller and Gijs van Lennep won beating the 3 litre / 183 cui protoypes in the process.

Porsche 911 RSR, Tour Britannia, Castle Combe

By the end of 1973 the first RSR’s with 330hp 3 litre / 183 cui motors, coil springs replacing torsion bars, flared wheel arches housing wheels with centre locking nuts and ‘whale tales’ came onto the scene most notably in the first International Race of Champions (IROC) series. The first IROC series ran in the winter of ’73 and ’74 at Riverside and Daytona for which 12 identical Carrera 911 RSR 3.0’s, like the one seen in today’s photographs, were prepared for the likes of, Formula One champions; Emerson Fittipaldi and Denny Hulme, Indy 500 winners; Bobby Unser, AJ Foyt, Gordon Johncock and Mark Donohue, Can Am Champions; Peter Revson and George Follmer, NASCAR Champions; David Pearson, Bobby Allison and Richard Petty with USAC Champ Roger McKlusky. Mark Donohue won three of the series four races to become the first IROC Champion.

Porsche 911 RSR, Tour Britannia, Castle Combe

The RSR remained competitive in the Daytona and Sebring endurance classics until 1977. Haywood, John Graves and Helmick drove an RSR to victory at Daytona in ’77, with Al Holbert and Mike Keyser winning the ’76 race at Sebring then George Dyer and Brad Frissell repeating the feat in another RSR in ’77. In Europe Clemens Schickentanz is thought to have made over 75 starts with at least seven outright victories in RSR’s primarily for the Kremer Brothers.

Porsche 911 RSR, Tour Britannia, Castle Combe

In all 60 RSR 3.0’s were built by Porsche and many more 911’s have been upgraded to RSR spec since the models inception. RSR’s were still being raced regularly in front line competition into 1993 when an all new Carrera RSR was introduced with a 3.8 litre / 231 cui motor.

Porsche 911 RSR, Silverstone Classic

I do not have a history for the 1974 Martini liveried car featured today which, in the 2011 dated pictures, are seen at Castle Combe with Jeremy Cook and Mike Dowd who were taking part in the Tour Britannia, the 2012 and 2015 photo’s were taken at Silverstone Classic where Jeremy and Mike competed in the FIA Masters Historic Sports Car races, if you know anything more about this car please do not hesitate to chime in below.

Porsche 911 RSR, Cooke, Dowd, Silverstone Classic

Thanks for joining me on this “The Seriously Flared One” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Cat Under The Bonnet ! – Aston Martin DB3 #DB3/6

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The Aston Martin DB3 was designed to compete at Le Mans in 1951 by ex Auto Union D-Type designer Eberan von Eberhorst. Ten cars were built the first five for the factory team, who’s most notable success was a victory in the 1952 Goodwood 9 hour race won by Peter Collins and Pat Griffith.

Woodgate, Aston Martin DB3, VSCC, Castle Combe

Originally the DB3’s used the 133 hp Vantage version of the 2.6 litre / 158 cui straight six designed by W O Bentley for Lagonda that was also used in the Aston Martin DB2. However despite the win at Goodwood in 1952 this motor proved uncompetitive when run against the 3.4 litre Jaguar C-Typesand eventually a 2.9 litre / 178 cui straight six was introduced to the model. Later still the DB3 was replaced by the lighter DB3S.

Woodgate, Aston Martin DB3, VSCC, Castle Combe

This particular chassis #DB3/6 was the first of the customer cars is known to have been raced by Bob Dickson in 1953, with the FHH534 registration plate, when he scored a best finish of 5th with Desmond Titterington at Dundrod in the Tourist Trophy. Bob is also known to have won his class in the 1953 Rest And Be Thankful Hillclimb which ran at Glen Croe in Argyll, Scotland.

Woodgate, Aston Martin DB3, VSCC, Castle Combe

The following season R H Dennis acquired #DB3/6 and took part in at least won event at Goodwood in September 1954 where he finished 6th. By this time the car had been fitted with a larger 200hp Jaguar motor, acquired a hard top, first seen on the works racer #DB3/1 at Le Mans in 1952 and had large sections of body work removed from behind the front and rear wheels.

Woodgate, Aston Martin DB3, VSCC, Castle Combe

Dennis raced the #DB3/6 until mid way through 1956 without much success and then entered Geoff Richardson for at at least three events at Mallory and Goodwood in which he finished 2nd, 3rd and 2nd before the car vanished from the known racing records.

The DB3’s body could be removed in twenty minuets and this may have had a role being fitted with a bizarre two tone body, initially with conventional doors, and later with gull wing doors and a third headlight.

In 1965 it was all change again as #DB3/6 was united with an Aston Martin motor and the body was swapped for again with the body from a 1957 Aston Martin DBR2.

In 1989 #DB3/6 was sold for a £180,000 pounds without anybody work or even a motor, 14 years later the gullwing body also passed through auction. #DB3/6 is seen in these photo’s with a 2.9 litre / 178 cui Aston Martin 6 cylinder motor being driven by Chris Woodgate on his way to victory in the Historic Aston Martin race at Castle Combe last year.

During the research for today’s post I stumbled across the Aston Martin Scrap Book which I can heartily recommend to anyone interested in the marque and one off Aston Martin bodies.

Thanks for joining me on this “Cat Under The Bonnet !” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at another racing Aston Martin, albeit from an altogether more recent era. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Longer Taller – Aston Martin DB4 Series V

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The Aston Martin DB4 launched in 1958 was an all new car that would be updated and modified through the DB5 and DB6 models built up until 1971.

Aston Martin DB4, Brooklands, Double Twelve

The all aluminium six cylinder Tadek Marek designed motor featured twin overhead cams and produced 240hp. Enough to propel the car from rest to 60 mph in 9.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 139 mph. DB4’s were fitted with servo assisted disc brakes.

Aston Martin DB4, Brooklands, Double Twelve

The superleggera body was designed by Carrozzeria Touring in Milan and could be ordered with the headlights faired in.

Aston Martin DB4, Brooklands, Double Twelve

DB4’s were built in five distinct series, the model seen here at Brooklands Double Twelve meeting last year is a 1963 Series V, first seen in 1962, which is distinguished by having a longer and taller body on smaller diameter wheels than the first four DB4 series.

Aston Martin DB4, Brooklands, Double Twelve

In all 1,110 DB4’s were built with 2+2 coupé, 2 seat Coupé or 2+2 drophead bodies, additionally 75 DBGT’s were built on a shorter wheel base shared with 19 DB4GT Zagato’s and one DB4GT with bodywork by Bertone known as the Bertone Jet.

Thanks for joining me on this “Longer Taller” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at an Aston Martin DB5 Convertible. Don’t forget to come back now !

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To Turbocharge Or Supercharge – Halford Special / Aston Martin #1916

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In 1922 Bamford & Martin built 2 cars to compete in the French Grand Prix, the spare engine for this project was fitted to Razor Blade in 1923.

Cheyne, Halford Special, VSCC, Prescott

Bamford & Martin also built a number of vehicles for customers to race and the Halford Special carrying the chassis number #1916 and the registration number OR 1 was one of these. In 1923 W G Barlow is known to have competed with #1916 at the Aston Clinton Hill Climb, from which Bamford & Martin adopted the “Aston” and merged it with “Martin” to arrive at the ‘Aston Martin’ Marque name, and at Brooklands where he finished 4th in the JCC Spring meeting.

Cheyne, Halford Special, VSCC, Prescott

Captain G E T Eyston, later of Thunderbolt Land Speed Record Fame, drove #1916 in a Voiturette, (up to 1.5 litre / 91.5cui) race at Boulogne where he crashed. Major Frank Halford, who along with Eyston had competed with Razor Blade bought the wreck and replaced the 55hp four cylinder motor with a new 1.5 litre / 91.5 / cui twin plug, twin overhead cam, 12 valve, six cylinder motor of his own design. The Major fitted the motor with a turbocharger, probably the first to fit such a device to a racing car, but it proved unreliable in testing and so he reverted to using Roots type super charger driven off the crankshaft to produce 95 hp.

Cheyne, Halford Special, VSCC, Prescott

Fitted with a new two seater body #1916 the Major raced the car in 1925 only to find the radiator was too small. After it was replaced with a larger one, a second 120 hp motor fitted with a Berk supercharger was also used in the car which was renamed Halford Special. In 1926 the Major drove his Halford Special to 3 victories at Brooklands on the long and short tracks and “podiumed” on at least half a dozen further occasions.

Cheyne, Halford Special, VSCC, Prescott

Captain Eyston bought the Halford Special in 1927 and won another race at Brooklands before finishing 4th in the French Grand Prix run at Monthléry. During the 1930’s Viscount Ridley dismantled the Halford Special fitting one of the motors to his Bugatti Type 35 and the other into a speed boat which sank to the bottom of a lake, where it remained for two years.

James Cheyne, seen at the wheel of the Halford Special at Prescott, collected all the pieces and rebuilt the Halford Special in the 1970’s, since when it survived an accident at Silverstone in 2008.

Turbocharging eventually started making an impact on racing, first in the Cummins Diesel Special at Indy, in 1952 and ’53.

Thanks for joining me on this “To Turbocharge of Supercharge” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psychoontyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Poetry and Motion – Aston Martin Razor Blade

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During the course of the coming month “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” will be celebrating the centenary of Aston Martin with posts featuring the marque on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays and on Thursdays I’ll be celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Corvette, Friday’s will be devoted to Ferrari’s and Tuesdays to Automobilia.

Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford founded Bamford & Martin in 1913 to sell Singer cars. The first car built by Bamford and Martin was given the marque name Aston Martin in 1915, but because of the Great War of 1914 – 1918 it did not go into production. The Aston name was adopted from the Aston Hill near Aston Compton where Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin were regular successful competitors.

Shaw, Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

During a period of post war financial turmoil and several bankruptcies up until 1926 Bamford & Martin built 55 cars for sale along with ‘Razor Blade’ which was built for in an attempt to become the first car to record an average speed of 100mph over one hour in a light car at Brooklands, however AC Cars pipped Martin & Bamford to the post recording 101.39 mph (163.17 km/h).

Shaw, Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

The chassis was specially made, but many of the remaining parts were standard Aston Martin items. The 55 hp 1.5 litre / 91 cui four cylinder motor, based on half a 1921 Ballot 3 litre / 183 cui 8 cylinder motor, was a spare Aston Martin had built for their 1922 French Grand Prix car.

Shaw, Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

The body work, built by the De Havilland Aircraft Company, is just 18 1/2″ wide at it’s widest point making it one of the, if not the, narrowest racing cars ever built. Originally an aerodynamic bubble was fitted on top of the cockpit and the car was temporarily known as “The Oyster”, but Lionel Martin could not find drivers diminutive enough to fit inside. SCH Davis managed to lap Brooklands consistently between 103 mph and 104 mph, faster than the one hour record set by AC Cars, but had to give up their record attempt because the front offside tyres repeatedly came off.

Shaw, Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

Major F.B. Halford was the first driver to race Razor Blade, crossing the line first in a handicap race, 5th on handicap, during the B.A.R.C. August Meeting at Brooklands and the following month the following poem appeared in the The Light Car and Cyclecar magazine :-

Major F. B. Halford
(The intrepid driver of the “razor blade” Aston-Martin racer)
With razor blades we’re all acquainted;
Some are good, others painted.
Halford Smiles; he’s found a winner;
Diet follows – make him thinner.

Later in 1923 the Major set a standing kilometer class record of 66.54 mph, while Herbert Kensington-Moir drove Razor Blade to a standing mile class record of 74.12 mph.

Halford Special, Aston Martin, Razor Blade, Prescott

Razor Blade is seen in these photographs at Prescott Hill Climb with Colin Shaw at the wheel, above Razor Blade is seen next to the Halford Special built by Major F. B. Halford on an Aston Martin chassis which I’ll be looking at in greater detail tomorrow.

Thanks for joining me on this “Poetry and Motion” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now.

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