Tag Archives: Motor

Left In Dar es Salaam – Mercedes Benz W18 Typ 290 Cabriolet

The Mercedes Benz W18 Typ 290 series cars were powered by a 60 hp 2,867 cc / 174 cui straight six side valve engine and first seen in 1933 was capable of 67mph.

Mercedes Benz W18 290 Tourer, Classic Motorshow, NEC, Birmingham

The W18 was initially offered only with a 113″ chassis which was supplemented from 1934 with a 130″ chassis option, the front suspension was by transverse leaf and coil springs while the rear wheels were attached to swing axles, hydraulic breaks were fitted all round.

Mercedes Benz W18 290 Tourer, Classic Motorshow, NEC, Birmingham

Among the body options offered on the original short wheel base chassis were three cabriolets, 4 door 4 seat as seen here, 2 door 4 seat and 2 door 2 seat which was supplemented by a fourth 2 door 2 seat cabriolet with a lower body in 1936.

Mercedes Benz W18 290 Tourer, Classic Motorshow, NEC, Birmingham

This particular right hand drive Cabriolet was built for the German Consul in Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika Territory which had been handed over to British Colonial rule, where driving on the left was the norm, from German Colonial Rule, where driving on the right was the norm, by a League of Nations Mandate in 1922.

Mercedes Benz W18 290 Tourer, Classic Motorshow, NEC, Birmingham

The Consul did not have long to enjoy the car before Adolph Hitler, who had no interest in the British colony, became the Chancellor and recalled the Consul and his staff back to Germany in 1934.

Mercedes Benz W18 290 Tourer, Classic Motorshow, NEC, Birmingham

The car appears to have remained warehoused in Africa until 1987 when it was shipped from Durban in South Africa to the UK with just 3,678 documented miles on the clock.

In all 3,566 short wheel base models, 3,929 long wheel base models and 719 military variants of the W18 were built between 1933 and 1937 when the 290 was replaced by the W142 Typ 320.

Thanks for joining me on this “Left In Dar es Salaam” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a three seat sports car. Don’t forget to come back now !

Coventry Dealer Car – Peugeot 205 T16 EVO 1

In 1983 Peugeot launched the Gerard Welter styled 205 front engined front wheel drive hatchback that would be declared Car of the Decade by CAR magazine in 1990.

Peugeot 205 T16 EVO 1, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

In 1984 Peugeot built two hundred 205 Turbo 16’s with a turbocharged transverse petrol engine, using the the cast iron block of the Diesel version of the XU engine with a 16 valve cylinder head, mounted behind the passenger seat that powered all four wheels through a Citroen SM sourced gearbox.

Peugeot 205 T16 EVO 1, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

Having built the 200 Turbo 16’s Peugeot had a vehicle with which they could compete in the top Group B Rally class with an evolution of the car known as the 205 Turbo EVO 1, or T16 EVO 1 in the UK.

Peugeot 205 T16 EVO 1, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

Today’s featured 205 T16 EVO was built from factory supplied parts by the Peugeot UK dealer funded Peugeot Sport UK at their base in Coventry for Finns Mikael Sundström and co driver Voito Silander to drive in the British Rally Championship in 1985 and 1986, it was registered on the 1st of June 1985.

Peugeot 205 T16 EVO 1, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

Mikael’s best result in this car came in the 1986 Scottish Rally which he won from the Ford RS200 driven by Mark Lovell with co driver Roger Freeman, Mikael finished 4th in the World Championship RAC Rally at the end of the season.

Peugeot 205 T16 EVO 1, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

Mikael went on to win the 1986, ’87 and ’88 Finnish Rally Championships driving a Group A Mazda 323, he retired from driving Rally cars in 1992. While running his own Rally team in Finland in 2001 Mikael died unexpectedly of a heart attack aged just 43.

Peugeot 205 T16 EVO 1, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

206 Turbo 16’s in EVO 1 and EVO2 form would become the most successful of the Group B cars that entered Rally events from 1984 to 1986 when the class was abruptly abandoned in the interests of safety.

Peugeot 205 T16 EVO 1, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham,

The model claimed 16 World Rally Championship wins, seven for Timo Salonen partnered with Seppo Harjanne, five for Ari Vatanen and Terry Harryman, three for Juha Kankkunen and Juha Piironen and one for Frenchman Bruno Saby and Jean-François Fauchille, Peugeot also finished the 1985 and 1986 seasons as World Rally Manufacturers Champions.

Five Cylinder Tim – MANBAT Pegasus Sprint Castle Combe

Last month saw the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club organise it’s final sprint of the year the MANBAT Pegasus Sprint at Castle Combe, as ever with an event involving over 100 competitors many members of the BPMC the Bristol Motor Club and a few others besides along with the team at Castle Combe all mucked in to make it happen.

GTM K3, Graham Matthews, MANBAT Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

Here are a few random snaps of the day taken from my vantage point on the start line that I hope give a flavour of the day that was probably better suited to ducks than Motor Sport, above Graham Matthews only made one successful practice run in his GTM K3 before withdrawing from the event.

Marcos Mantis, Philip Jones, MANBAT Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

Before the weather was forecast Philip Jones must have fancied his chances of Marcos Mantis competing for the fastest time of the day in his 4.6 litre V8 powered machine but he had to settle for 1st in the Road going Specialist Production Cars class and consul himself that the conditions kept him 14 secs off the fastest time of the day.

MG PA, Howard Harman, MANBAT Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

If there had been a prize for being quickest of the two pre war MG’s present it would have gone to Howard Harman seen above in his 1 litre MG PA who was one and a half seconds quicker than Martin Price in his 1 1/4 litre MG TA.

TVR Vixen, Ian Stallard, MANBAT Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

Given the power of some of the more recent TVR’s present it is perhaps surprising that the fast TVR time was set by Iain Stallard, above, in his four cylinder Ford powered TVR Vixen which had less than half the cubic inch capacity of all the other TVR’s present.

Triumph TR3A, Tom Purves, MANBAT Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

Tom Purves Triumph TR3A was the oldest and slowest representative of the marque present of those who set a time.

JCB LOADALL, Les Rawlins, MANBAT Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

Les Rawlins, Castle Combes Mr Fixit, might have struggled to set a competitive time in his JCB LOADALL, fortunately his skills fixing the barriers were only called on the once.

Mitsubishi EVO6 GSR, Mike McBraida,MANBAT Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

Mike McBraida set fastest time at the wheel of his turbocharged Mitsubishi EVO6 GSR in the Road going Series Production Cars over 2600cc class.

Reliant Scimitar GT, Nick Hall, MANBAT Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

The Reliant Scimitar GT driven by Nick Hall was third in the Road going Specialist Production Cars, Car engines over 1800cc and Motor Cycle engines class.

Audi Quattro, Tim Clarke, MANBAT Pegasus Sprint, Castle Combe

Winner of the MANBAT Pegasus Sprint was Tim Clarke who set the fastest time of the day in his five cylinder turbocharged Audi Quattro, a car last seen on these pages indulging in a spot of lawn mowing at Hullavigton.

My thanks to all those who contributed to such a splendid day in the rain, and thanks for joining me on this “Five Cylinder Tim” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a cool one off contender for the Carrera Panamericana. Don’t forget to come back now !

Kick Down Supercharged – Mercedes Benz 36/220

With the merger of Karl Benz’s and Gottlieb Daimler’s companies into the Daimler-Benz company, the first vehicles to appear with the Mercedes Benz brand name appeared in 1926.

02 Mercedes Benz 36 220_2069sc

One of the first new models sold as a Mercedes Benz was the 36/220 for which chief engineer Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Porsche directed the design, the model was first seen in the UK at the 1927 Olympia Motor Show where the 4 1/2 litre Bentley also made it’s first appearance.

03 Mercedes Benz 36 220_2066sc

Among the novel features the 36/220 was powered by a 6 cylinder 6.8 litre / 414 cui motor fitted with a kick down supercharger that only deployed only when the throttle pedal was fully depressed boosting the motors output from “sufficient” to “most effective” as described in one contemporary report.

04 Mercedes Benz 36 220_2073sc

Today’s featured example seen earlier this year at the Wheels Festival in Bournemouth was once the property of Renaissance man and proto petrol head Sir Peter Ustinov who’s novelty record “Grand Prix of Gibraltar” drew on his creative wit and ability at car engine sound-effects and voices.

05 Mercedes Benz 36 220_2074sc

This car first registered in the UK on the 31st of December 1927, has recently been restored to it’s original condition by the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu.

06 Mercedes Benz 36 220_2067sc

Only 146 36/220’s were built they had a top speed of 110 mph, you can read an entertaining little story about a how a precocious 14 year by the name of Boddy was disappointed to be taken for a test drive in a chauffeur driven 36 220 that only recorded 99 mph on the Barnet By-Pass in 1927 here.

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

The Noisy Terror From Poissy – Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77

SRT the Simca Racing Team was founded in 1972 to “To restore the joy of young people participating in motorsport” for owners and fans of the Simca 1000 chaired by Daniel Cébile the club grew to have 4,000 members with in two years.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Part of the clubs programme was to encourage members to compete in motorsports events with their vehicles in a variety of disciplines, unlike most manufacturer supported programmes of a similar nature it was not designed to manufacture professional drivers more to provide young drivers a framework within which to compete.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The SRT ’77 is the ultimate evolution of the Simca 1000 Rallye 2 which was a non street legal kit made available in 1977, the year before production of the entire Simca 1000 range was brought to a halt.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

It comprised engine modifications which boosted the power output from 84hp of the standard Rallye 2 to 110hp including a noisy exhaust.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Front and rear spoilers were also augmented by plastic wheel arches which enabled the fitting of wider tyres that included slicks for track applications.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2 SRT 77, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

The SRT ’77 Kit allowed Rallye 2 owners to move up from the production orientated Group 1 to the more racing orientated Group 2 class, perhaps the greatest exponent of the SRT ’77 was German Ernst Thierfelder who drove his SRT ’77 to victory in the first VLN championship, Langstreckenmeisterschaft, at the Nurbürgring in 1977.

The road registered SRT ’77 in these photographs was seen at the Classic Motor Show at the NEC Birmingham.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Noisy Terror From Poissy” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when we will be visiting the Niello Concours at Serrano. Don’t forget to come back now !

The Terror Of Poissy – Simca 1000 Rallye 2

Afrer a varied career, that started aged just 14 when his father disappeared, that included running the family transport business, selling war surplus motorcycles, experience in the coal import business and founding a business importing scrap steel from France to be recycled into FIAT’s in Italy Henri Théodore Pigozzi was appointed as FIAT’s man in France responsible for the distribution of, and later assembly of, FIAT’s for the French market aged just 28.

Henri founded Société Anonyme Français des Automobiles FIAT (SAFAF) to handle the work and purchased premises formerly used by Donnet to establish manufacturing operations in 1934 for a new entity the Société Industrielle de Mécanique et de Carrosserie Automobile (SIMCA) of which FIAT was the major share holder.

The “Simca Mille” was primarily designed by a team headed by Dante Giacosa and was chosen with FIAT’s blessing by Henri from a variety of four door concepts FIAT were exploring to expand the FIAT 500 and 600 series range into the up to 1 litre / 61.5 cui market segment.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2, Classic Motor Show, NEC, Birmingham

Former GM employee Mario Revelli de Beaumont and Felice Mario Boano were responsible for developing the Simca 1000 to production readiness in time for it’s launch in 1961, by which time FIAT had given up on the idea of launching it’s own four door model electing instead to go with another two door vehicle the FIAT 850 which was launched in 1964.

The Simca Mille remained in production until 1978 by which times variants had been built in France, Spain, Colombia and Morroco with 4 cylinder engines in the boot / trunk varying from 777cc / 47 cui to 1294 cui / 79 cui which were sold at a rate of over 100,000 a year up until 1974 with over 2 million examples built by 1978.

FIAT tuner Abarth started producing modified versions of the Simca Mille but they never went into regular production after SIMCA first bought Ford’s French interests and then itself came under the control of Chrysler’s European arm, however Simca started offering the 53hp, red only, Simca 1000 Rallye in 1970, which became known as the The terror from Poissy, where it was built, to fill the rear engine rear wheel drive gap left by the popular Renault 8 Gordini that was replaced by the front engine front wheel drive Renault 12 Gordini.

Simca 1000 Rallye 2, Frank Breidenstein, Oulton Park,

The next evolution of the Mille was the 60hp Rallye 1 which had a top speed of 96mph that was launched in 1972, today’s featured model the twin carburetor 82 hp Rallye 2 was built alongside the Rallye 1 and had a top speed of 100 mph and was the first Rallye to be fitted with 4 discs brakes as standard.

The Rallye 2 was used in touring car racing from 1973 to 1981 particularly in France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Spain and Germany during which time it recorded at least 11 class (1.3 litre / 79.3 cui) victories.

The #31 Rallye 2 seen in these photographs is driven by Daniel Burrows while I believe President of ”Simca Heckmotor (rear engine) Deutschland, Frank Breidenstein is seen at the wheel of the #131 during a track day at Oulton Park a few years ago.

Thanks for joining me on this “The Terror Of Poissy” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow for a Concours d’Elegance edition of Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”. Don’t for get to come back now !

Worth Travelling 200 miles To Hear – Autumn Classic Castle Combe Preview

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Next Saturday Castle Combe will be marking the 60th Anniversary of it’s one and only International Formula One race that was won by Harry Schell driving a Vanwall with some of the cars that took part in that race present for a fantastic selection of displays, demonstrations and and most importantly races.

The track will also be celebrating the 60th Anniversary since the last in period Formula 500 F3 race was run at the track.

Blue Bird Sunbeam 350hp, Don Wales, Pendine Sands

The National Motor Museum will be bringing along a mouth watering selection of vehicles including Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Blue Bird Sunbeam V12 which 90 years ago became the first car to set a World Land Speed Record of over 150 mph, seen above with his grandson Don Wales at the wheel earlier this year, the NMM will also be bringing along the 1955 Connaught Type B Tony Brooks drove at Castle Combe in 1955 prior to winning the 1955 Syracuse Grand Prix and a 1966 Lotus 49 chassis R3.

Other exhibits and vehicles to look out for will be Nick Mason’s 1957 Maserati 250F, of the type Bristols Horace Gould drove to second place at Castle Combe in 1955, and the Pink Floyd drummers distinctive 1953 Ferrari 250MM.

Gordon Keeble, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe,

Expect to see many motor clubs in attendance with pre 1970’s vehicles, a rare Gordon Keeble is seen on the Bristol Pegasus Motor Clubs stand last year, this year their stand will feature a couple of Abarth’s from Tony Castle Millers Middle Barton Garage.

Owners clubs confirmed this year will represent Alvis, Bristol celebrating 60 years since the marques last 1-2-3 class victory at Le Mans, Gordon Keeble, Lotus, Marcos and Reliant.

Cooper Mk X, Steve Jones, Autumn Classic, Castle Combe

60 years after the very last all 500 F3 race run at Castle Combe in period, the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club will again be sponsoring the BAC MSC Challenge Trophy, won last year by Steve Jones driving the #74 Cooper Mk X after a close race with the pursuing George Shackleton driving a slightly older Cooper Mk 8.

Look out for some rare cars to take part in the races like Richard Bishop Miller’s successful in period Revis and other on display only including the locally built 1950 Milli Union and the Swedish built Effly the owners of these cars all have wonderful stores to tell about them.

Volvo 122, Gavin Watson, Oulton Park

New for this year at the Autumn Classic meeting will be the Terry Sanger Trophy for pre 1966 Saloons like the Lotus Cortina of the type the much missed Terry drove back in the day and the Volvo 122 seen above driven Gavin Watson seen at Oulton Park last year.

Terry drove some incredible machinery including a Ford GT40 V8 powered Cortina with outsize wheels and the 1971 Harrier F5000 car which he designed and built, the latter will be present next as a static display next Saturday, other races will be for fifties sports cars, VSCC pre war sports cars, look out for the ever entertaining Patrick Blakeney Edwards in his Fraser Nash, the ever popular Healey Challenge, Formula Junior and Historic Aston Martin’s in which Nick Mason’s daughters Holly and Chloe driving a pair of Aston Martin Ulsters were stars last year.

05-Jaguar D-type_1947sc

The life and times of two time Le Mans winner Ivor Beub will also be celebrated at the event Ivor born in East Ham but later resident from nearby Cheltenham won Le Mans driving Jaguar D types in 1955 with Mike Hawthorn and 1957 with Ron Flockhart, cars present in the ‘Danco Dream Garage’ that Ivor drove will include a 1955 Cooper T39 Bobtail sports car 1959 Cooper T51 formula two car along with some of the cars already mentioned.

Other cars present in the dream garage will include event sponsor Bristol Forklifts Julian Bronson’s Scarab which has been rendered hors d’combat after it’s recent outing at Goodwood Revival, also lookout for Andy Wallace in the The Norman Dewis Trophy race for pre ’66 Jaguars, last year the 1988 Le Mans winner drove a Jaguar D-type, at Oulton Park Andy was seen at the wheel of a rather more pedestrian but equally effective class winning Mk 1.

BRM Type 15, Doug Hill, BRM Day, Bourne,

Finally the piece de resistance of the day, and worth making a 400 mile round trip to hear in my opinion will be the National Motor Museum’s BRM Type 15, the sound of which is quite unlike any other you will hear in motor racing and will be demonstrated on the track where such a machine was last raced in anger in a Formula Libre event at Castle Combe 60 years ago.

Castle Combes charity of the day will be the National Motor Museum Trust’s BRM Preservation Appeal which will go toward’s keeping the Type 15 in full running order.

Full details of the action packed Autumn Classic day can be found on this link where tickets can also be purchased online, for those who want a sneak preview of the racing action there is usually a test day for competitors on the Thursday before the event.

Hope to see you there.

Thanks for joining me on this “Worth Travelling 200 Miles For” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a hot Mercury Convertible. Don’t forget to come back now !