Tag Archives: Ginther

Dealer Pressure – Aston Martin DP 212

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Following the success of the Aston Martin DBR1 at Le Mans and the 1959 World Sports Car championship the Aston Martin team refocused it’s attentions on an ill timed Grand Prix effort that folded by the end of 1960, by which time the front engined Aston Martin DBR4 and DBR5 were completely out classed by rear engined cars.

Aston Martin DP212, Goodwood Revival

Under pressure from dealers to come up with a new racing program David Brown sanctioned the development of the DP 212 for the 1962 Le Mans 24 hours.

The cars was built using an Aston Martin DB4GT frame with a 345hp 4 litre / 244 cui six cylinder motor and a sensuous slippery long body to suit the potential of 4 mile Mulsanne straight at Le Mans.

Graham Hill and Richie Ginther were engaged to drive the car at Le Mans where it had a brief moment of glory leading the opening lap of the 24 hour endurance race with Graham Hill at the wheel, however from there on the car dropped down the field over the next six hours until it retired from 9th place with piston failure following an oil pipe fracture.

The original bodywork was found to experience stability problems at speed and after aerodynamic tests was replaced with a Kamm tail of the sort that was later used on the back of the Aston Martin DB6.

Subsequently DP212’s only other appearance was at the 1963 Le Mans test weekend where Jo Schlesser, Bruce McLaren, Lucien Bianchi and William Kimberly drove the car which recorded 5th fastest time. By the 1963 Le Mans 24 hour race the DP212 had been replaced by the DP 214 and DP215 models.

DP212 was later converted to a road car with even larger 349 hp motor and driven in a variety of events by Hon.John Dawnay, later Viscount Downe, and Mike Salmon the later winning the 1974 Classic Car Championship with it.

Thanks for joining me on this “Dealer Pressure” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a look at a Le Mans winner from Germany. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Biting The Hand – Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa 59/60 #0774

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After attracting the attention of US Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti in 1957 Dan Gurney found himself at the wheel of a North American Racing Team Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, owned by Chinetti at Le Mans in 1958 and drove the car up to 5th place before handing over to his team mate Bruce Kessler who got caught up in someone elses accident before the car retired. That drive impressed Ferrari sufficiently to earn Dan a drive with the works Ferrari team.

Ferrari 250 TR, Goodwood Revival

For their 1959 Le Mans effort Ferrari built today’s featured Ferrari 250 TR chassis #0774 for Gurney to share with Jean Behra the car managed twice as many laps as Dan’s first attempt but still fell way short of a result.

Next time out Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien drove the car at Goodwood in the TT Race where they also failed to score a result both the 1959 Le Mans and Goodwood TT had been won by Aston Martin in what turned out to be a championship winning season for them.

Ferrari 250 TR, Goodwood Revival

1960 would see a return of fortune for the Ferrari sports car team and chassis #0744 played an important role winning two championship races first Phil Hill and Cliff Alison won the 1000 kms at Buenos Aires and then Olivier Gendebien and Paul Frére won the Le Mans 24 hours scoring Ferrari’s third win in the Endurance Classic and helping Ferrari to their sixth World Sports Car title.

Ferrari 250 TR, Goodwood Revival

Between these successes #0774 was loaned to Chinetti’s NART team for Ritchie Ginther and Chuck Daigh to drive in the Sebring 12 hours but they failed to finish and after Le Mans the car was sold to Eleanor von Neumann who entered it for Phil Hill to drive in the 1960 LA Times Grand Prix at Riverside where he finished 7th overall.

Ferrari 250 TR, Goodwood Revival

In 1963 Tom O’Connor bought the car for his Rose Bud racing team which promptly stripped the motor out and fitted it to their Lotus 19 chassis 952 that featured here on GALPOT a couple of years ago.

Ferrari 250 TR, Goodwood Revival

Under the ownership of Paul Pappalardo #0774 was reunited with it’s original motor in the 1980’s and the car won two class Concours d’Elegance awards at Palm Beach and Pebble Beach in 1993.

Ferrari 250 TR, Goodwood Revival

In a twist of biting the hand that feeds irony Dan Gurney eventually won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1967 with co driver AJ Foyt driving for Ferrari’s sworn enemy Ford in a Mk IV.

After 26 years in Paul’s custody ownership of #0774 passed to Hong Kong sourcing and logistics magnate William E ‘Chip’ Connor who kindly took it to the 2012 Gooodwood Revival for the Tribute to Dan Gurney Parade.

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

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Four Pot Revisited – Ferrari 860 Monza #0604M

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A couple of years ago Steve Arnaudin sent me a photo of todays featured 1956 Ferrari 860 Monza, chassis #0604, purchased by his father from the Californian photographer and racing driver Carlyle Blackwell. I wrote a blog which summarised the 1956 World Sports Car Championship which is linked here.

Ferrari 860 Monza. Goodwood Revival

Today’s blog will focus on the story of this particular chassis which is seen above with Lord March at the wheel in the Juan Manuel Fangio Celebration parade at the Goodwood Revival in 2011. The car is seen above carrying the same #17 as when Fangio and Eugenio Castellotti drove it to a debut victory in the Sebring 12 Hours Race in March 1956.

Ferrari 860 Monza. Goodwood Revival

#0604M was subsequently sold to Californian John von Neuman and the following month he entered it for Phil Hill to drive at Pebble Beech where he finished second overall and first in class behind Carrol Shelby who was driving 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza #0510M.

Ferrari 860 Monza. Goodwood Revival

John Von Neuman took over the driving duties in #0604M for the rest of the 1956 season and through 1957 until he put Ritchie Ginther in the car at Laguna Secca at the end of 1957 and at Riverside at the beginning of 1958. Ginther scored a class win and 5th overall first time out and 2nd overall at Riverside. Up to that point von Neumans best results had been a couple of 2nd place finishes in ’56

Ferrari 860 Monza. Goodwood Revival

Jerry Barker bought the car for the 1959 season and on every occasion it finished it was either 1st or 2nd driven by Lew Florence, Barker took the wheel at the Maryhill Lops Hillclimb and also won setting a new record.

Ferrari 860 Monza. Goodwood Revival

Charles Caverns was the owner of 0604M in 1960 and he also recorded a win in the Novice Race at Shelton in April 1960 which is the car last recorded contemporary race appearance.

Ferrari 860 Monza. Goodwood Revival

Amongst the owners of #0604M since 1960 was Jean Sage former Sporting Director of the Renault Formula One team from it’s inception in 1977 and eventual, temporary closure, in 1987. Not long before the top photo was taken #0604M was bought by the current owner a DJ by the name of Chris Evans.

Ferrari 860 Monza. Goodwood Revival

At last years Goodwood Revival meeting Danny Sullivan became the fifth Grand Prix driver to sit at the wheel, after Fangio, Castellotti Hill and Ginther, and only Indy 500 winner to race the car powered by a Lampredi designed 4 cylinder motor. He qualified 15th for the Sussex Trophy Race but did not finish.

Thanks for joining me one this ‘Four Pot Revisited’ 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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Chinese Whispers – Ferrari 375MM Vignale #0286AM

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Today we are looking at a one off Ferrari 375MM Vignale chassis #0286AM, seen here at the recent Phil Hill Tribute at the Peterson Museum, that for 35 years was reported as being buried in a hole in the ground.

The Vignale bodied chassis 0286AM started life as one of four from a total of 10 340 MM’s with a 4.1 litre 250 cui Lamperdi V12. However before #0286AM left the factory it’s motor was upgraded first with a 4.5 litre / 274 cui V12 which had it’s origins in the Ferrari 375 Grand Prix Car, bringing the erstwhile Vignale bodied 340 MM up to 375 MM spec, in fact today’s car is seen as the prototype 375 MM. The motor was then bored out to 4.9 litres / 299 cui to the so called 375 plus spec.

Ferrari 375 MM Vignale, Peterson Museum

#0286AM appeared at four events in 1953, Luigi Villoresi qualified on pole for a sports car race at Spa but the car was withdrawn before the start due to engine problems. Villoresi set fastest lap in the Circuito di Senigallia Race but again retired with engine problems.

Alberto Ascari and Giuseppe Farina drove #0286AM to victory at the 1953 Nurburgring 1000 kms after the engine had been changed from one of the other team cars before the start of the race. Somewhere around this time #0286AM was scheduled to transfer to the ownership of Tony Parravano however the engine problems at the Nurburgring meant this transaction never took place and Tony was given another 375 MM chassis #0362AM.

US Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti then bought #0286AM painted it black added a full width screen and entered it for himself and Alfonso de Portago in the 1900 mile 1953 Carrera Panamericana where engine problems prevented the car from completing the race. The car was then sold to Carlos Braniff in Mexico City.

Ferrari 375 MM Vignale, Peterson Museum

Braniff had the car prepared for the 1954 Carrera Panemericana with a standard 4.5 litre / 274 cui motor he had a second spare wheel fitted in the tail and added the distinctive head rest and fin as well as adding cooling vents for the wheels. Carlos drove the car to a second place finish at the The Lone Star National Sports Car Race held at Bergstrom and Phil Hill came second in the Orange Empire National Races held at March AFB prior to the Carrera Panemericana for which Hill was teamed up with Richie Ginther.

Hill & Ginther were in contention for the 1954 Carrera Panemericana win when they ran out of fuel on the 7th of 8 stages, on which they only managed a forth place finish. Hill & Ginther made up for the disappointment by completing the 572 mile final stage of the event, held on open roads remember, at a blistering 137 mph average to recover a 2nd place finish overall. That 137 mph average for the eighth stage of the Carrera Panamericana has never been beaten.

In 1955 Lou Buero became the owner of the car now repainted dark red / brown during the 1955 season Carrol Shelby drove the car to a victory at Torrey Pines. Lou Buero then had the head cylinder heads crack at the end of season races at Nassau and #0286AM would then go unseen in public for 39 years.

Ferrari 375 MM Vignale, Peterson Museum

It turns out that the reports of the car being buried in the earth were just a tad far of the mark, after Lou Buero Snr passed away his son had tried to revive #0286AM by attempting to fit a Jaguar motor and gearbox, however having failed he entombed the car in a 20ft trailer barricading it in so that no one could steal it in 1956. The myth of the car being buried in the ground stemming perhaps the inevitable Chinese Whispers over the ensuing 39 years owing to the dark red / colour of the car when it was last seen and the fact that it had been entombed in a trailer.

#0286AM was in need of a ground up restoration after spending 35 years in less than ideal conditions in Arcata, California, galvanic corrosion of the steering wheel had been so bad the wood rim of the steering wheel had dropped off ! The process began in 1994 and by 1997 Phil Hill was reunited with #0286AM and he promptly drove it to victory at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races. That same year #0286AM also won the Pebble Beach Cup at the Concours d’Elegance.

My thanks to Mark Savory who was partly responsible for restoring #0286AM who’s website gives a more complete history and further photo’s of the car.

Thanks for joining me on this 137 mph edition of ‘Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres, I hope you will join me again tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

PS Don’t forget …

Automobiliart GALPOT Seasonal Quiz

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December 26th – January 2nd

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Sports-GT cars set, Paul Chenard

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Phil Hill, Sharknose Ferrari Set, Paul Chenard

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Set 3 1934 Season

1950s Grand Prix Engines

Set 4 Grand Prix Engines of the 1950’s

or

Mike Hawtorns racecars Card set, Paul Chenard

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The Automobiliart GALPOT Seasonal Quiz will comprise 8 categories.

Overall winner chooses one set of Paul Chenard Greetings Cards from the five sets shown above.

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Which set will you choose ?

The free to enter Automobiliart GALPOT Seasonal Quiz will run from December 26th – January 2nd Entries close January 8th 2012, Winner announced January 16th 2012.

Full details on December 26th at GALPOT.

Looking for Automotive Seasonal Gift Idea’s? Visit Automobiliart Now !

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Millionaire Mystery – Scuderia Parravano Pt 2 of 2

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Last Ferrari Friday we got a glimpse of a few of Scuderia Parravano’s fabulous Ferrari’s financed by building millionaire Tony Parravano.

Carlyle Blackwell, Ferrari 750 Monza

Photo Carlyle Blackwell, Publised Courtesy Blackwell Archive, for sales enquiry’s please e-mail infoATpsychoontyres.co.uk and your contact details will be forwarded to the Blackwell Archive.

This week we are looking at Parravano’s 750 Monza chassis number #0538 being driven by an as yet

Carlyle Blackwell, Ferrari 750 Monza

Photo Carlyle Blackwell, Publised Courtesy Blackwell Archive, for sales enquiry’s please e-mail infoATpsychoontyres.co.uk and your contact details will be forwarded to the Blackwell Archive.

unidentified driver in a studio shot by Carlyle Blackwell.

The 750 Monza took it’s name from the track on which Mike Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli took a debut victory in 1954, powered by a 250 hp 3 litre / 183 cui version of the four cylinder engine that was also used in the 500 TRC in the 1954 season. The 750 Monza allowed Ferrari to retain the World Sports Car Championship in 1954 but was not strong enough against the onslaught of the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR’s to give Ferrari a third consecutive championship.

Tony Parravano is rumoured to have paid Scaglieti over the odds for the unique body work on this particular vehicle which has a narrower radiator intake and a pronounced hump over the engine compared to a standard 750 Monza.

This unique car was crashed by one of the Caroll Shelby / Gino Munaron crew in the 1955 Targa Florio and does not appear to have been driven to any victories though Richie Ginther took 2nd place at New Smyrna Beach in 1957.

In December 1956 this photograph appeared on the cover of Road & Track magazine with the caption on the inside cover that reads “The closest photographer Carlyle Blackwell could come to a red sleigh for St Nick is this 3.5 litre Ferrari. The scene is a quiet village at Christmas Eve (on the 20th Century Fox’s back lot), but if the kiddies are still awake, it’s not the sound of sleigh bells they’ll be hearing as midnight strikes.”

Ed Arnaudin who purchased a copy of this photograph recently told his son Steve that there were rumours in the 1950’s about Tony Parravano having connections to ‘the mob’ which never gained a foothold in Southern California where Tony lived and worked, these rumours are also present on the internet today. There is however no doubt that Tony might have legitimately made a lot of money from the post WW2 housing boom in California.

In mid 1957 Tony Parravano and an associate were charged with tax evasion by the Inland Revenue Service (IRS) and Tony went on the run attempting to take some of his 11 Ferrari’s and 13 Maserati’s with him. Some of these vehicles were seized in the US, others were sold in Mexico. All have since been accounted for.

#0538 M pictured here only made it as far as a Save On supermarket parking lot in Van Nuys, California where it was auctioned off by the IRS for $3500 to Sydney Coolidge along with a $275 trailer in 1958. The car is known to have been used in competition until at least 1963.

Tony Parravano disappeared for good in April 1960 three days before he was due to appear in court. In January 1964 Tony’s associate paid 5 x $100 dollars in fines for 5 counts on a 27 count indictment and walked away a free man while Tony’s wife settled with the IRS and ended up with most of Tony’s assets.

There is no official record of what became of Tony, who, if he were alive today, would be a still credible 94 years old. He is reported to have been seen in a Rome launderette by a US racing journalist and there are reports on the net that the US Attorney General had a “Parravano Room” full of evidence against Tony though the fact remains his single indictment was on tax evasion charges and his associate had to pay $500 in fines on similar charges.

In 1986 #0538M resurfaced completely unrestored fitted with a Chevrolet V8 in the hands of a Mr Bill Shaker in Leesburg, VA who neither knew of the vehicles identity or it’s value. In 1987 the vehicle acquired a new war wound the day before the Ferrari Club of America National meeting when it went on an unmanned trip down a drive way and hit Mr Shakers daily driver a Volvo.

David Smith #0538’s next owner managed to reunite it with it’s original motor and in 1993 #0538 won the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Richard J Fraser tells his part in the story very well on the Barchetta website here.

If anyone recognises the driver of the car in the photo please chime in below.

My thanks to Ed Arnaudin who purchased a copy of it and to his son Steve who forwarded a scan of the copy to me, my thanks also to all the contributors on various threads at Ferrari Chat and The Nostalgia Forum who have knowingly and unknowingly contributed to today’s blog.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s fugitive edition of ‘Gettin’ a lil’ psyco on tyres’ and that you’ll join me again tomorrow for a look at a Sebring Sprite. Don’t forget to come back now !

28 07 12 PS Many thanks to Pamela Blackwell who has kindly retrospectively given me permission to post the photo’s her father took.

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I’m in the wrong business – Ferrari 860 Monza #0604M

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There are photographs and then there are some photographs one could write a book about, today’s photograph by Carlyle Blackwell of then future world champion Phil “I’m in the wrong business” Hill driving a Ferrari 860 Monza to 2nd place overall and first in class at Pebble Beach on the 22nd of April 1956 is without question one of the latter. I’ll do my best to summarise the story here.

Ferrari 860 Monza, Pebble Beach

Photo Carlyle Blackwell, Publised Courtesy Blackwell Archive, for sales enquiry’s please e-mail infoATpsychoontyres.co.uk and your contact details will be forwarded to the Blackwell Archive.

The Ferrari 860 Monza is perhaps the ultimate expression of mid 1950’s sports cars before the regulations governing such vehicles changed in the aftermath of the tragedy at Le Mans in 1955. Mercedes and Jaguar had withdrawn their factory supported entries from the World Championship Sports Car races entirely, though Jaguar supported successful private entries of Ecurie Ecosse at Le Mans in 1956 and 1957.

Ferrari were the only serious contenders left for the World Sports Car Championship in 1956 and the 860 was fully poised to sweep the board with a 280 hp 3432 cc / 209 cui Lamperdi straight 4 engine.

With the withdrawal of the Mercedes team from all forms of racing no less a free agent than reigning 3 time world champion Juan ” El Maestro ” Fangio became the ‘must have’ free agent of the 1956 season if not all time and Enzo recruited him to replace Ascari who had recently died in an accident.

Ferrari did not take the 860’s to Buenos Aries for the first round of the Championship which let Maserati off the hook. For the Sebring 12 Hours chassis #0604 M pictured here was prepared for Fangio and the suave up and coming man Euginio Castellotti and duly took a comfortable 2 lap victory ahead of a sister 860 Monza.

Just one month later the Sebring winning car had changed ownership and now belonged to John von Neuman, himself a competent driver who would take #0604 to victory lane at Santa Maria later in 1956, and entered his new possession for freshly signed works Ferrari driver Phil Hill at Pebble Beach, where we can see him driving to a class victory behind Carol Shelby in an older modified Ferrari 750 Monza.

This turned out to be the last event run at the Pebble Beach venue, Ernie Macafee’s fatal accident during the race was enough to persuade organisers to seek a safer facility which led to the opening of the Laguna Seca track in 1957.

Chassis #0604 M continued to be raced until 1962 with future works Ferrari driver Richie Ginther being one of many to drive her and Lew Florence being the last to take her to Victory Lane at Shelton in 1959.

Since then #0604 M has become a sought after collectors item with former head of the Renault F1 team Jean Sage counting among it’s owners. In 2006 the vehicle was offered for sale at $3.5 million., it is said to currently reside in Italy.

Ferrari won The World Sports Car Championship in 1956 despite a second defeat at the Nurburgring by Maserati.

For those new to the history of motor racing here is a brief introduction to a hugely popular driver. Phil (no relation to the British two time champion Graham) Hill was born in Miami FL and raised in Santa Barbra, California, dropped out of college to pick up a wrench to work on racing drivers cars before becoming a driver himself.

Phil won his first race a 3 lap even at Carrell Speedway driving an MG TC in July 1949. In 1958 he drove a Maserati 250 F in his first Grand Prix and in the same year sharing a Ferrari with Olivier Gendebien won the Le Mans 24 Hours a feat he repeated with Olivier and Ferrari in 1961 and 1962.

In 1960 Phil won the Italian GP driving a Ferrari becoming the first American to win a Grand Prix in nearly 40 years and the following year he won two Grand Prix on his way to becoming the first US World Grand Prix Drivers Champion. Unfortunately a dispute between Ferrari and Grand Prix racing’s governing bodies meant Phil never got to properly celebrate on home turf in fact arguably Phil never got to compete in all the Grand Prix races in a single season.

In 1967 Phil retired after driving a Chaparral to victory in the BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch. He continued working in TV for Road & Track and his own vehicle restoration business Hill & Vaughan until he retired in 1995.

Phil aged 81 succumbed to complications from Parkinsons disease in 2008. He is quoted as saying of his presence on the motor racing circuit, “I’m in the wrong business. I don’t want to beat anybody, I don’t want to be the big hero. I’m a peace-loving man, basically”.

Finally I am reliably informed this photograph made the cover of Road & Track Magazine in September 1956, I have not seen it yet if you have a copy and can scan it please get in touch using the e-mail link on my profile page, I’d love to see it.

My thanks to Ed Arnaudin who purchased this slide, to his son Steve who sent it on, to El Wayne and Miltonian at Ferrari Chat who passed on essential information on the identification of the car, its location, date and details of the publication.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s “I’m in the wrong business” edition of Gettin’ a lil’ psycho on tyres” and that you’ll join me for a look at the Maserati model the Ferrari had to beat to win the 1956 World Sports Car title. Don’t forget to come back now !

28 07 12 PS My thanks to Pamela Blackwell who has kindly retrospectively given me permission to post the photo’s her father took.

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