Are you like me and prefer classics over that, mostly revolting, stuff they call cars nowadays? Then GT Racer is something for you. A two season documentary series covering such classics as the Six Hours of Spa, Le Mans Classic, La Carrera Panamericana and many more.
Here’s the trailer for La Carrera Panamericana:
Wanna learn how to handle a car properly? Get one without any electronic or aerodynamic aids and drive it really fast. Hopefully, you’ll end up as talanted as this fellow after som proper practise:
There’s something about slow motion that makes everything look cool.
At the end of the eighties and early nineties, German DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft) featured some iconic racing cars, like the BMW E30 M3, the Mercedes 190E Evo and Ford Sierra Cosworth. Even a Volvo 240 Turbo managed to snag the title once in 1985.
While Emil was busy finding faults with the GT-R, the crew of Garage 419 got busy fitting NOS in a rented Corvette!
See the result:
Les vingt-quatre heures du Mans, the twenty-four hours of Mans, is the legendary competition where men have been separated from boys under extreme circumstances since 1923. The track, called Circuit de la Sarthe, runs on both public road and race circuit and is 13.65 kilometers long in its current state. The fastest lap ever achieved, after the chicanes on the Mulsanne straight were introduced in 1990, is 3 minutes 23.3 seconds and was set by Allan McNish in an Audi R10 TDi (that makes for an average speed of 241.3 kph) in 2008. For more classic lap times, hit this link.
Click on the photo to see it in full size.
What differed the 24 hour Le Mans from other races, was the structure of the competition. Since it was held during the course of 24 hours and the track was public roads, a whole other set of conditions applied, like durability, fuel economy and all of a sudden better aerodynamics and stability were important because of the high speeds the cars would reach during the long straights.
Who can forget Steve McQueen in the 1971 classic Le Mans?
Below, I have two videos for you. The first one is from 1956 and features Mike Hawthorn commenting the lap while driving a Jaguar D-Type. Mike Hawthorn won the 1955 Le Mans with a D-Type and an average speed of 197 kph!!
The second is from 1983 and the driver is Derek Bell, the car is, of course, a Porsche 956.
I have this dream where I take a Bowler Wildcat around the world in all the great races, the Dakar, The Baja 1000, the great African run Budapest-Bamako, etc. Not only would it be an adventure, I’d probably stand a good chance at winning too considering how well made the Bowler’s are, and I can’t think of a vehicle better suited for this than a Wildcat. Perhaps the Nemesis then, but it’s essentially the same thing.
Now I just need to find myself a sponsor to cover the €500,000 I’ll need.
The Top Gear hamster likes the Bowler too, so much in fact that he’s had it on the show three times (or more, I am sure some Top Gear nerd can correct me here).
I wish I had my own airfield to practise on. It seems Mr Ken Block has. Just take a look at this.
While it’s not me that’s taken this picture, it could’ve been. When I lived in Paris they had this on display at the Champs Elysées showroom, and I’d stop by every now and then and just drift away. I remember thinking it was the coolest thing I had ever seen. That’s how you build cars! The Espace F1, and Alain Prost of course, made certain Renault always had a special place in my heart.
Anyone find a R5 Turbo 2 yet?
Nürburgring, this mythical place, talked about by many but experienced by few. The ultimate test for a track junkie, no matter whether you’re in a formula car or a standard family box. They even have buses doing laps as part of sightseeing trips.
This Tuesday will focus on what it was like flying around the track back when Jackie Stewart named it The Green Hell, Die Grüne Hölle. See and behold, two movies featuring the 1967 German Grand Prix.
Don’t forget to click on the map to see it in its natural, and glorious state!
Hillclimb must be one of the most gentlemanly motorsports there are, and I absolutely love it. If I could, I would spend the rest of my days doing hillclimbs in a vast array of different motors.
With all the visitors on this site, I find it rather depressing to know that only a handful of you rate the posts you’re reading. Would you mind clicking on the stars above so I will know what it is you like?
It is very fascinating to see how you rate the posts as a Dino 246 GT can get anything between 1 and 5 stars, whereas in my book, it can only be a 5! In order to have a monthly summary of the best and worst posts, you need to go ‘n click on them stars! Go on, do it!
World premiere at The Cartorialist, YouTube Tuesday.
I have long been admirer of Tiff (Timothy) Needell’s. Not only is he a brilliant presenter, he’s also got the moves to shame some of the best. He has been widely suspected of being The Stig on Top Gear as he used to present the show for a long time as well as making a swift appearance on the Top Gear Special for Comic Relief on February 2005. I doubt that he is however, as Tiff would then have the best contractual situation ever, working for two competing motor shows on two different channels at the same time.
OK, based on your input, the new, weekly schedule for The Cartorialist goes something like this:
There will be a minimum of two posts every day; one regular posting – you know, the car on the street – and one “special” post.
Below you can see which day will have which “special” posting.
Monday – Links to the five best reads of the previous week. I read a lot and some of it is really good and I would like to share it with you.
Tuesday – YouTube Tuesday will show videos that I, for some reason, think you should see.
Wednesday – Regular posts, but two of them.
Thursday – Car of the week.
Friday – Brief recap of the week, I’ll also list the best comment of the week and the reason for it. In the future, the best comment will be worth a prize, so you may as well start practising now.
The last day of every month will also feature a recap of the best and worst rated stories that particular month so start rating.
This is an experimental process and I will be evaluating this strategy until the end of December 2008. If it’s deemed successful enough, and you like it, then we’ll continue.
Have a great weekend y’all!
For the past fifty years, we have had about the same speed limits on the roads and it’s amazing to see how far safety engineering has come in that time. Not that politicians have noticed, or the speed limits would be much higher. It is actually enough to compare a 15 year old car with a new one, even if the old one is about 1/3 bigger in size and weight. Have a look at when Fifth Gear crashes a Volvo 940 Estate into an almost new Renault Modus:
I need your help! I want to take The Cartorialist to the next level and I want to know what you would like from The Cartorialist. What is it that makes you return here? If you’re a new visitor to this site, what made you stick around and read this? What would you like to see more of, and at the same time, what would you like to have me remove or publish less of? Please post your suggestions in the comment section or send me an email: jens (at) thecartorialist (dot) com. Thank you kindly.
It is time to start thinking about LONDiNO 2009. We have re-structured the entire tour to be the same but very different. Did that sound complicated? It’s not. Next year, the LONDiNO Tour celebrates its 5th year and we want to commemorate this by adding some extra stops. The exact venues have not been decided upon yet, however we’re working on it. The dates have also changed so that we’ll be leaving an autumn London to reach a summery Italy in the middle of October, 2009. Does this sound intriguing? Of course it does.
Just to get in that special mood, please follow this link and watch the videos from our latest tour. You know where to turn if you want to reserve a spot in the Tour.
We have finally launched The Cartorialist in Swedish!
The international site will receive the same stylish makeover in a short while.
After Rubens Barrichello, Riccardo Patrese has the most Grand Prix starts in Formula 1 of all the drivers throughout F1 history. His active career spanned from the 1977 Monaco Grand Prix to the 1993 Australian Grand Prix and he was stable mate with Michael Shumacher during his last season in F1 with Benetton. This is what he does in his spare time.
Whenever a Porsche Turbo is featured in a car chase, you automatically know it’s going to be a good one. Unfortunately Hollywood needs to keep the suspense up so the Porsche can never seem to outrun even a Lincoln Continental Mark V or get away from its chasers, until the bad guys, or whom ever is following crashes in to a schoolbus or a boat parked in the town square.
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