Tag Archives: Green

Pull Up Two The Bumpers – Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé #0257EU

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At the end of 1952 Vignale started producing it’s definitive 2 bumper coupé bodies designed by Giovanni Michelotti for the 116 mph Ferrari 212 Inter.

Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

It is believed no more than six of these twin bumper 212 Inters were produced from a total of 26 Vignale bodied 212 Inters and that today’s featured #0257EU was the first chassis to be so futuristically equipped,

Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

This particular car was initially sold in 1953 to a Turin dealer called Fontanella who exhibited it at the Concorso d’Eleganza San Remo the following year.

Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Later in 1954 Luigi Chinetti sold #0257EU to paper product tycoon Robert C. Wilke of Milwaukee who was president of Leader Card Inc who would become a well known sponsor of Indy cars.

Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The cars engine block is believed to have been replaced twice, first due to a crack that developed and secondly after a mechanic who over torqued the heads causing the studs to be pulled from the second block.

Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

The car resided in the United States until 1979 when it was acquired by a Belgian who kept it until 2006 when it returned to the United States.

Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

In 2009 Michael Green in Texas bought #0257EU and the original engine block from John Hadjuk in Indiana whom he entrusted with the mechanical restoration of the car while Gassman Automotive in Waynesboro Virginia took care of the rest.

Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé, Goodwood Festival of Speed,

Mr Green sold the car for just over US$1.7 million including buyers premium at Scottsdale in January 2014 and it is my understanding that the car, seen at Goodwood Festival of Speed in July this year, is being offered for sale again by Tom Hartley Jnr £POA.

Thanks for joining me on this “Pull Up Two The Bumpers” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a Chevron. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Five Classic Racing Ferraris – Silverstone Classic

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The Silverstone Classic meeting usually offers the Ferrari fanatic a bonanza of Maranello’s finest road and racing cars and I am sure this year’s Silver Jubilee edition of the event will be no different.

Ferrari 500 TRC, David and James Cottingham, Silverstone Classic

Among the myriad of Ferrari racers seen in recent years have been the Cottinghams Ferrari 500 TRC which finished 7th both at the 1957 Le Mans 24 hours and on the 1958 Targa Florio.

Ferrari 246 Dino, Tony Smith, Silverstone Classic,

Another regular competitor is Tony Smith’s 1958 Ferrari 246 Dino which counts among it’s former occupants Wolfgang von Trips, Oliver Gendebien, Dan Gurney and Phil Hill the latter drove the car to the last win for a front engined Grand Prix at Monza in 1960.

Ferrari 166/206, Harry Leventis, Gregor Fisken, Silverstone Classic,

Ing. Forghieri, responsible for the design of Harry Leventis’s Ferrari 166/206, above, was never the cars biggest fan, once likening the design, in conversation with desginer Gordon Murray, as to sticky brown smelly stuff, however that did not prevent Ludovico Scarfiotti driving the car in an earlier form to claim the 1965 European Hillclimb Championship.

Ferrari 512M, Nathan Kinch, Silverstone Classic

Ferrari 512’s are not an uncommon sight at Silverstone Classic weekends, #1030 seen above with Scotsman Nathan Kinch at the wheel, was raced in S form in 1970 and M form in 1971 under the Ecurie Francorchamps banner but found it’s greatest success under JC Bamford’s ownership for whom Peter Brown, Willie Green and Neil Corner all drove it on various occasions to seven straight wins in it’s last seven races during 1972 six victories were claimed in the Motoring News GT Championship and the other in the Interserie race held at Silverstone.

Ferrari F40 LM, Stefano Sebastiani, Silverstone Classic,

Finally the Silver Jubilee edition of the Silverstone Classic will see the first race for GT cars from the 1990’s, above Stefano Sebastiani is seen about to put his 1989 F40 LM, a converted road car, through it’s paces during last years popular GT demonstration run.

Tickets for this years advance ticket only Silver Jubilee Silverstone Classic are available from this linked website.

Thanks for joining me on this “Five Classic Racing Ferraris” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at the first of a series of Formula Junior open wheelers. Don’t for get to come back now !

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Hollywood to Withywood – Ford Mustang GT 35th Anniversary

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In 1999 Ford upgraded the fourth generation Mustang with a minor, more aggressive, face lift know as ‘New Edge’.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall

Being the 35th Anniversary of Mustang production all 1999 Mustangs left the factory with 35th Anniversary wing / fender badges.

02 Ford Mustang GT_2614sc

There were also 4,628 US$ 2,695 Option Code 54Y 35th Anniversary Limited Edition models all powered by the GT 4.6 litre / 280 cui V8 of which 515 were white, 1,259 in silver, 1,299 in black and 1,555 in Performance Red.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall

Official documentation on today’s featured Mustang GT show’s it was purchased in 2000 by the First Entertainment Credit Union, an organisation that was originally founded to serve employees and former employees of Warner Brothers, for the first registered keeper in Hollywood.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall

It was my great privilege to be allowed to drive this car for a couple of miles on Bank Holiday Sunday from Redhill Village Hall south of Bristol to it’s current home near Withywood.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall

As it appears the vehicle is currently fitted with a non cat exhaust, not required of a personal import of this age, the consequent sound it emits was music my ears.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall

So long as left hand drive is not too alien to the driver the car is surprisingly easy to drive, the pedals are taught and the gear change is slick, with the tremendous torque of the V8 it will pull effortlessly in any gear from 1,000 rpm.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

The steering is typically vague as per many US vehicles I have driven be they blue oval or bow tie, but apart from that this car is great fun to drive, as it should be with less than 40,000 miles on the clock.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

Seating is infinitely more comfortable than my Euro box and I’m sure I could spend a couple of hours emptying the fuel tank and get out afterwards completely relaxed.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

The car is fitted with a Ford Mach Sound System which includes radio/cd and compact cassette, as initimated earlier, for the purposes of the test the hi fi was completely superfluous.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

The current owner reckons he gets around 22 mpg which given the weight of this Electric Green beast is not too bad.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

When I had finished backing the car into the owners drive I was left wishing I did not need a vehicle capable of carrying 4 passengers or a couple of hay bales, as this car would never cease to put a smile on my face.

Ford Mustang GT, Redhill Village Hall,

Alternatively I wish I could afford a second car for cruises, the occasional spit and shine event, bring what you brung and or a bit of track day fun all of which this car could be suited to without much in the way of additional work.

My thanks to Nick, who is currently offering this car for sale, for further details get in touch in the comments box below or see the new GALPOT classified ads page.

To hear this great car in action check out this youtube link.

Thanks for joining me on this “Hollywood to Withywood” edition of “Getting’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again for a look at a Speciale Ferrari Friday tomorrow. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Equalled Best Season – Force India Mercedes VJM06

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Force India’s story begins with a plucky Irishman called Eddie Jordan who 1991 burst on to the Formula One scene with one of the most attractive Formula One cars ever built, a fist full of Pepsi Co sponsorship dollars to fly the 7 Up flag and an Italian called Andrea de Cesaris, who had a reputation for crashing and under achieving, as their lead driver.

Force India Mercedes VJM06, Young Driver Test, Silverstone

Against the odds Jordan finished a highly creditable 6th in their first season of competition. When Jordan’s second driver, Bertrand Gachot, was incarcerated for an incident involving pepper spray and a cab driver in London, Eddie introduced Micheal Schumacher to Formula one at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix, but failed to keep him beyond his debut race, from which retired with clutch failure on the first lap, for which he qualified an impressive seventh.

Force India Mercedes VJM06, Young Driver Test, Silverstone

Jordan’s highlight season came in 1999 when with cast off Mugnen tuned Honda V10 motors the team finsihed 3rd in the constructors championship behind only Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes. Jordan’s lead driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen also came third in the World Drivers Championship with 2 victories.

Force India Mercedes VJM06, Sutil, British Grand Prix, P2, Silverstone

In 2005 Eddie sold out to Alex Shnaider who rebranded the team Midland F1 which became the first F1 entry. Midland F1 achieved nothing in 2006, unless you count two top ten non points paying finishes, and Alex sold the team on to late season Dutch sponsor Spyker before the 2006 season had ended.

Force India Mercedes VJM06, Sutil, British Grand Prix, P2, Silverstone

Spyker F1, like Midland F1, only lasted for a single season during which Adrian Sutil scored a single world championship point for an 8th place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix. Before the 2007 season has ended Spyker F1 was sold to a consortium led by Vijay Mallya an was rebranded Force India for the 2008 season.

Force India Mercedes VJM06, Sutil, Young Driver Test, Silverstone

With the aid of some financial stability the team progressed from scoring no points with their Ferrari powered car in 2008 to becoming 6th place finishers in the 2011 constructors championship.

Force India Mercedes VJM06, di Resta, British Grand Prix, P2, Silverstone

During that time Giancarlo Fisichella, who scored Jordan’s last Formula One win in 2002, scored Force India best ever result a 2nd place in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix with the now Mercedes powered VJM02, a result that led Giancarlo to join Ferrari as a replacement for the injured Felipe Massa for the remainder of 2009.

Force India Mercedes VJM06, Sutil, Young Driver Test, Silverstone

In 2012 Adrian Sutil sat out the season to focus on a legal issue and Paul di Resta was joined by another German Nico Hülkenberg at Force India. Both drivers scored season high 4th place finishes but the team still only finished the season 7th in the constructors championship.

Force India Mercedes VJM06, Young Driver Test, Silverstone

With half an eye on a possible drive at Ferrari as an eventual replacement for Felipe Massa, Nico Hülkenberg Force India’s top scorer in 2012 left to join the Ferrari powered Sauber team for 2013 and Adrian Sutil rejoined Force India.

Force India Mercedes VJM06, Sutil, Young Driver Test, Silverstone

The design of the VJM 06 featured today was over seen by Technical Director Andrew Green, the all new carbon fibre chassis is powered by a 2.4 litre / 146 cui Mercedes Benz FO 108F motor with a mandated maximum 18,000 rpm limit and a Mercedes AMG Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). The transmission is 7 speed semi automatic built by McLaren Racing.

Force India Mercedes VJM06, di Resta, British Grand Prix, P2, Silverstone

Paul di Resta seen above managed 9 points paying finishes in 2013 with a season high 4th in Bahrain to finish 12th in the Drivers Championship. His services will not be retained in 2014 when Paul is expected to return to the German DTM Touring Car championship.

Force India Mercedes VJM06, Sutil, Young Driver Test, Silverstone

Adrian Sutil, seen above, managed eight points scoring finishes but with a season high of ‘only’ 5th in Monaco on his way to finishing 13th in the drivers championship. With Ferrari opting to re employ Kimi Raikkönen Nico Hülkenberg decided to leave Sauber and rejoin Force India for 2014 while Adrian move the other way to join Esteban Gutiérrez at Sauber.

After equaling their best Constructors Championship finish with another 6th place finish in 2013 Nico will be joined at Force India by Mexican hot shot Sergio Pérez for 2014 when the teams VJM07 cars will be again be powered by Mercedes.

You can follow Force India’s progress on their website linked here, Facebook page linked here and Twitter feed linked here.

Thanks for joining me on this “Equalled Best Season” edition of “Gettin a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at an Edwardian Mercer Raceacout. Don’t forget to come back now !river

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Versatile Winner – Ginetta Zetec G12 by DARE

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A contemporary of the similarly mid engined Lotus Europa, the Ginetta G12 launched in 1966 was designed for the club racer which could be bought for £1,200 in component form.

Ginetta Zetec G12, Prescott

The car was built round a tubular space frame with the fibre glass panels bonded to the frame to make up the cockpit.

Ginetta Zetec G12, Prescott

Numerous motors were fitted to G12’s including the 1 litre / 61 cui Ford (Cosworth) SCA from formula junior, 1.5 litre 91.5 cui Coventry Climax pre 1966 Formula One Motor, 1.6 litre Lotus Twin cam as used in the Elan and Lotus Cortina models, 2 litre Martin V8 and in at least one instance a 3.5 litre / 214 cui all aluminium Buick V8.

Stephens, Ginetta Zetec G12, Prescott

In it’s first year of track competition was the most successful G12 driver winning 11 national races and setting 5 fastest laps in 1966. By the following year the new Chevron B6 provided stiff competition for the G12 and by 1968 it had been succeeded by the open G16. G12’s were raced internationally at Spa and the Nurburgring but without any notable results.

Stephens, Ginetta Zetec G12, Prescott

The G12’s were however good hillclimbers and sprinters with successes by Walter Flückiger won the Swiss Hillclimb championship in his SCA powered example in 1968 and repeated the experience in 1969 after chopping the roof off. Similarly David Render drove his Buick powered example, chassis 05, to the British Sprint Championship title in 1971.

Ginetta Zetec G12, Prescott

It is thought around 27 of these cars may have been built between 1966 and 1968, it appears several may have ended up in Japan. As with the Ginetta G4 production of the G12 was restarted by DARE.

Ginetta Zetec G12, Prescott

Today’s featured 2 litre / 122 cui Zetec powered example, built by DARE, is seen at Prescott where it was driven by Nick Stephens, it should be good for rest to 60 mph times in the region of 4.9 seconds with a top speed of 150 mph. Last time I saw it in November it was for sale, if you would like to speak to the owner do not hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks for joining me on this “Versatile Winner” 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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Imperial Green – Lotus T104 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton

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In 1990 Britain and Germany’s GM divisions launched a new Q car that could blow the contemporary Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4×4 performance model into the weeds. The new vehicle was known as the Vauxhall Lotus Carlton in the UK and Lotus Omega in the rest of Europe.

Vauxhall Lotus Carlton, Classic and Sports Car Action Day, Castle Combe

Lotus project Type 104 was responsible for turning the 3 litre / 183 cui executive saloon, into a barnstormer which included a body kit that fed more air into the engine and two small louvered out lets on the bonnet hood.

Vauxhall Lotus Carlton, Classic and Sports Car Action Day, Castle Combe

The six cylinder motor was comprehensively revised; the swept volume was increased to 3.6 litres / 219 cui and twin Garret T25 turbochargers with a Behr water to air inter cooler were fitted to take the power up to 377 hp at 5200 rpm. Transmission came courtesy of the contemporary Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and the limited slip differential from the Australian Holden Commodore.

Vauxhall Lotus Carlton, Classic and Sports Car Action Day, Castle Combe

The performance figures included rest to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds with 100 mph being reached in 11.1 seconds and a controversial top speed of 176 mph, which made the car the worlds fastest four door saloon. There had been, unheeded, calls for GM to follow the lead of BMW and others to restrict the top speed to 155 mph.

Vauxhall Lotus Carlton, Classic and Sports Car Action Day, Castle Combe

The suspension was also suitably modified for improved stability and handling to match the straight line performance of the car, standard Carlton / Omega Servotronic power assistance for the worm and roller steering was used as space and budgets precluded the development of rack and pinion steering.

Vauxhall Lotus Carlton, Classic and Sports Car Action Day, Castle Combe

You could have your £48,000 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton or Lotus Omega any colour you liked so long as it was imperial green, which as can be seen looks black in any light other than direct sun light. Just 320 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton’s were built and 630 Lotus Omega’s.

Thanks for joining me on this “Imperial Green” 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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BP Green – Ferrari 250 GTO #3767GT

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In July 1962 British racing driver David Piper took delivery of a British Petroleum (BP) Green right hand drive (RHD) Ferrari 250 GTO chassis #3767, Italian registration MO 79460 and raced it in Europe, Africa and the United States before selling it on to Ed Cantrell.

Ferrari 250 GTO, Goodwood Revival

Pipers best result with the car was an overall win in the Kyalami 9 hours with South African Bruce Johnstone, the following year David shared another Ferrari 250 GTO chassis #4491GT with South African Tony Maggs to win the Kyalami 9 Hours again in 1963.

Ferrari 250 GTO, Goodwood Revival

Ed Cantrell shared the driving #3767 with former owner Daivd Piper in the 1963 Sebring 12 Hours where they finished 14th overall and 5th in class. The continued to be raced through 1963 until the end of 1964 when Tom Fleming and Ray Heppenstall appear to have been entered to drive #3767 by the North American Racing Team in the Nassau Trophy Race where they finished 14th.

Ferrari 250 GTO, Goodwood Revival

Ten years later Anthony Bamford acquired the car and it was given the British registration plate 63 GTO which remains legal to this day.

Ferrari 250 GTO, Goodwood Revival

#3767 is seen here at last years Goodwood Revival meeting where Joe Bamford and Alain de Cadenet, who owned the car prior to selling it to Anthony Bamford in 1974, shared the driving in the RAC TT celebration race in which they were unclassified.

Thanks for joining me on this “BP Green” 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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