1968 Sunbeam Stiletto

Bruno Illanoi, 1968 Sunbeam Stiletto, Montée Historique de Beaune-St Romain 2016.

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For more photos of the first Montée Historique (untimed hillclimb) at St Romain in Burgundy, click on the link above.

Rootes, Linwood, Scotland.   The Stiletto was the better looking fastback coupé version of the Imp with the uprated sport engine and four headlamps .  It was produced from 1967 to 1972. The orginal version of the Stiletto had a top speed of about 90mph and apparently was no more aerodynamically efficient than the Imp despite its appearance.  Nearly 9,000 Stilettos were made.  I note the one in the photo has the 998cc engine which was a fairly common replacement from the Rallye version of the Imp.I certainly remember special saloon versions of the Stiletto in British club racing.  They also took part in many other forms of racing and rallying but had no really famous successes.

Envoy-Cosworth Mk1 Formula Junior

Envoy-Cosworth Mk1 Formula junior, Coupe des Printemps, Autodrome Linas-Montlhery 2015.

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Envoy, Chelmsford, England.  The Envoy Mk1 was designed/constructed  by Ken Cooper in cooperation with Ian Raby and raced by Ian Raby and others.  It had a 1 litre Cosworth modified Ford Anglia 105E engine.  About nine of these cars were built in 1959 and 1960.  Ian Raby finished eighth at Goodwood in 1960 in a race won by Jim Clark.  He also drove one in FJ race at Monaco.  Brian Spicer came fourth in an Envoy at a Silverstone FJ race in 1960. At least two Envoys were sold and raced in the USA.

Sunbeam Imp

Sunbeam Imp, Montée Historique de Beaune-St Romain 2016.

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For more photos of the first Montée Historique de Beaune-St Romain, click on the link above.

Rootes Group, Linwood Scotland.   The Hillman Imp and its badge engineered derivatives such as the Sunbeam Imp were Rootes' competitor to the Mini from 1963 to 1976.  Unlike the Mini it had a rear engine with the engine being based on an aluminium 875cc Coventry Climax unit.  The cars were built at the Rootes' Linwood plant near Glasgow in Scotland.  Badge variations included Hillman, Sunbeam and Singer.  There was even a Commer van version.   In France I believe the Sunbeam name was used exclusively for the Imp.  The Imps had successful Motor Racing careers with Bill McGovern winning the British Saloon car championship in a George Bevan prepared Sunbeam Imp from 1970 to 1972.  Rosemary Smith won the 1965 Tulip Rally in a Hillman Imo.

Click here to read about the amazing Zimp.

1969 Grac MT6 Formule France

1969 Grac MT6 Formule France à Kartland pour le Slalom Seine et Marne 2015.

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Grac, Valence, France.  Grac were a successful marque in Formule France in the late sixties winning the championship in 1968 and 1969.  GRAC was founded by Serge Aziosmanoff and stood for Groupe de Recherches Automobiles de Course or Grangeon, Roche, Aziosmanoff, Cromen. The MT stood in respect of Maurice Trintignant the great French GP driver.  About 16 of these MT6s were made.  Their main competitors in 1969 were Pygmée and Martini.  The works Grac driver Denis Dayan easily won the 1969 championship in a works MT6 winning eight of the races.  Sadly Denis Dayan died the following year driving a Grac F3 at Rouen-les-Essarts.

1926 Miller 91 Armacost Special Indy Car

Miller 91 Armacost Special Indianapolis 500 car, Pertersen Auto Musueum, Los Angeles.

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Miller, Los Angeles, USA.  Harry Miller became a a builder of engines and racing cars especially for the Indianapolis 500 race.  They were very successful in the nineteen twenties and thirties.  This particular car raced 4 times at Indy but only managed a best place of ninth in 1929.  The 91 refers to its engine size in cubic inches.  The engine was supercharged and the car had a top speed of 155mph.  Today this car is part of the Charles Nearburg collection.

Chevron B16

Felix Haas, Chevron B16, 2015 GP de l'Age d'Or, Dijon-Prenois.

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Chevron, Bolton, England.  Chevron was founded by Derek Bennet an enthusiastic clubman's racing driver and engineer.  His Chevron sports cars and single seaters soon became successful customer racing cars. The Chevron B19 was a 2 litre fully enclosed sports car built for the 1969 and 1970 seasons.  It raced with various powerplants such as the Cosworth FVA, FVC, BMW 4 cyl, and Mazda rotary engines.  It was a Group 5 car and around 25 were built in 69/70 and many more since.  Brian Redman won the Nurburgring 500kms on the car's debut but it quickly found its match in the Lola T210.  However, Redman won again in 1970 at Paul Ricard, John Burton won at Hameenlina and Vic Elford at the Nurburgring.  A later version of the B16 was a spyder and it won at Spa in the hands of Brian Redman.  This victory gave Chevron the manufacturers title in the European 2 litre Sports Car Championship, just beating Lola.

1969 Alfa Romeo T33/3

Gianlucca Ratlazzi, Alfa Romeo T33/3, 2015 GP de l'Age d'Or, Dijon-Prenois.

Alfa Romeo, AutoDelta, Milan, Italy. AutoDelta was an Alfa Romeo subsidiary that created some of its great sixties and seventies racers under the guidance of Carlo Chiti.  The 33/3 had a 3 litre V8 engine and made its debut at the 1969 Sebring 12 hours.   The car did not really become successful until 1971 when, after further modification, it won victories in the Brands Hatch 1,000kms, the Targa Florio and the Watkins Glen 6 hours.  Drivers included Andrea de Adamich, Henri Pescarolo, Nino Vaccarella, Toine Hezemans, Rolf Stommelen and Ronnie Peterson.

1971 Ligier JS3-DFV

Mr John of B, Ligier JS3-DFV, Dijon-Prenois, GP de l'Age d'Or 2015.

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Ligier Automobile, Abrest, France.  This F1 Cosworth engined car was designed to be competitive with the best 3 litre sports cars of its day.  At the 1971 Le Mans test weekend it finished second in the 3 hour race driven by Guy Ligier after a drive up the field from the back of rthe grid.  The following week it won the 15 lap Coupe de Printemp at the Autodrome Linas-Montlhery.  in the 24 hours of Le Mans it was not classified after completing just 270 laps and after some other minor races at Magny Cours and Montlhery it was put away to pasture until revived for historic racing by its current owner.  It always looks beautiful in its original yellow and green BP colours.  In 1971 as well as Guy Ligier, Patrick Depailler was one of its drivers.

Porsche 908/3

Porsche 908/3, Dijon-Prenois, GP de l'Age d'Or, June 2015.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  The 908/3 was a development of the successful 908/2 of 1969 and the Porsche 909 bergspyder and ran in races in 1970 and 1971 on circuits which were less suitable for the ultra powerful 917.  It scored victories in the 1970 Targa Florio and the 1970 & 1971 Nurburgring 1000kms.   It had a 3 litre flat eight engine, very short wheelbase and was very light.  After 1971 the cars were sold to privateers such as Reinhold Joest and they continued to race successfully for many years. Top speed was over 170 mph.  Drivers during 1970 and 1971 included some of the sport's greats including Vic Elford, Jo Siffert, Brian Redman, Pedro Rodriguez, Leo Kinnunen, Gerard Larrousse, Richard Attwood, Bjorn Waldegaard, Hans Herrmann and Kurt Ahrens.

2007 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup

Thomas Winkler, 2007 Porsche 997 Cup, ROSCAR race, Magny Cours March 2016.

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For more photos of the ROSCAR race at Magny Cours in March 2016, click on the link above.

Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  The Porsche 997 Cup is based on a road going 911 GT3 modified for racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup and other racing series.  It was produced from 2006 to 2009 and is one of the best selling racing cars of all time. Compared to the road car it has a bigger wing, racing wheels and tyres and other modifications for racing.  It has a 3.6 litre flat 6 engine and is to GT3 spec. This car won its class in the ROSCAR race at Magny Cours in 2016.

2008 BRS 4.0 V6 Proto

Guy Heliou, BRS 4.0L Proto, ROSCAR race at Magny Cours, March 2016.

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For more pictures of the ROSCAR race at Magny Cours in March 2016, click on the link above.

Tork Engineering, Bouhier d'Amilly, France.  22 BRS were produced for a French green BioRacing Series in 2008.  Sodemo converted a Nissan V6 motor to accept E85 Bioethanol fuel.  It produced 350bhp.   The cars were produced by Tork Engineering in association with Geoscan Concept, E.Design and Aéro Concept Engineering.  A nice looking sports prototype.  One now races in the ROSCAR series.

1971 Lola T212 FVC

Mauro Poponcini, Lola T212 FVC, Dijon-Prenois, 2015 GP de l'Age d'Or.

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Lola, Huntingdon, England.  The Lola T212 was a popular 2 litre sports car driven by the likes of Guy Edwards, Jo Bonnier, Tony Birchenough and Vic Elford, It was a big rival to the Chevron B19 and Abarth-Osellas of the time.  Helmut Marko won the European Championship 2 litre drivers championship and Lola won the manufacturers championship in 1971 with the T212.  Vic Elford won at the Nurburgring and Jo Bonnier won at Jarame for Scuderia Filipinetti in cars similar to that pictured.

1958 Lister Jaguar Monzapolis

Rod Jolley, 1958 Lister-Jaguar, Dijon-Prenois 2015

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Lister Cars, Cambridge, England. Lister Cars started in 1954 but became successful from 1957 when they started using Jaguar engines and components for their sports racing cars.  In 1958 Brian Lister produced a single seater for the Race of Two Worlds based on his successful Jaguar engined sports car.  Both the race and the Lister single seater ended up with the nickname Monzapolis.  The Race of Two Worlds was held on the backed circuit at Monza and was a challenge with a mixture of Indianapolis cars, F1 cars, European sports cars and specials.  The Lister, entered by Ecurie Ecosse, was driven into 11th place in Heat 1 and tenth place in Heat 2 by Jack Fairman.  It didn't start Heat 3. Thus not a successful debut.  Following this it was used in sprints and hillclimbs and later Historic events.  In this it became more successful.

1974 Ford Capri RS3100 Cologne

1974 Ford Capri RS3100 Cologne, Dijon-Prenois 2015.

Ford, Cologne, Germany.  The Group 2 RS3100 was prepared for the 1974 European Touring Car Championship. They also entered some sports car endurance events.  It had a very special 3.4 litre V6 motor producing over 420bhp.  It was designed to fight against the BMW 3.5CSL.   Drivers included Niki Lauda, Jochen Mass, Dieter Glemser and Toine Hezemans.  In the hands of Jochen Mass and Rolf Stommelen the Capri RS3100 won at Zandvoort and in the hands of Hans Heyer, Klaus Ludwig and toine Hezemans won at Jarama.

1973 Porsche 917/30

Peter Harburg, Pprsche 917/30, Laguna Seca, 2015 Porsche Rennsport Reunion V

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Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany.  The 917/30 followed on from the 917/10 which had broken McLaren's domination of the Can-Am series by winning with George Follmer driving in 1972.  The 917/30 entered by Penske Racing and driven by Mark Donohue dominated the 1973 Can Am championship. It had a 5.3 litre twin turbocharged V12 engine generating a massive 1,100 to 1,500+ bhp.  The domination of this car killed the Can-Am series and it disappeared in its original form after 1974. This car owned by Australian Peter Harburg was built as a spare for the 1974 season.  it never actually raced in the Can-Am series at the time as Penske and Porsche withdrew.  This car was capable of a 0-60mph time of under 2 seconds and had a top speed of over 260mph.  In 1975 at the Talledega Superspeedway Mark Donohue set a lap in the 917/30 of 221.16mph!

2015 Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1

The leading Audi R18 that finished third at Le Mans in 2015.

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Audi AG, Inglostadt, Germany.  The Audi R18 raced at Le Mans and in other endurance events from 2011 to date.  It has retained the same model number despite various evolutions as Renault hold the trademarks for the R19 numbers onwards.  The 2015 version was the first year that Audi hadn't won Le Mans since 2009 and only the third time since 2000.  However, it kept Porsche honest and they finished third just 2 laps behind the winner.

Oreca 03R-Nissan LMP2

Murphy Prototypes LMP2 Oreca 03R-Nissan, Le Mans 2015.  It finished 13th.

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Oreca, Magny-Cours, France.  A manufacturer of racing cars since 2008.  The 03R was first raced in 2011 and has been a successful car with Nissan or Judd engines.

1964 Porsche 904 GTS

Porsche 904 GTS, Tour Auto 2015

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Porsche, Stuttgart, Germany. The Porsche 904 GTS or Carrera GTS was a sports racing car produced in 1964 and 1965 to compete in the GT class at major endurance events.  It had a 2 litre flat 4 Porsche engine. The car featured Porsche's first ever plastic body. The top speed was 160mph and it had a 0-60mph time of around 6 seconds.  In its first season it took overall victory in the Targa Florio and class wins in many other endurance events including Le Mans.  It also won many The Alpine and Tulip rallys and took a class win in the 1965 Monte Carlo Rally

2015 McLaren 675LT

McLaren 675LT, Roscar meeting, Magny Cours, March 2016

Mclaren Automotive, Woking, England.   This car introduced in 2015 can be used as a road car but was designed as a track day car.  It has a top speed of 205mph and a 0-60mph time of under 3 seconds!  To help stop the car from these speeds it has a big airbrake.    The engine is an M838TL twin turbo charged 3.8 litre V8.  At a price of under £300,000 it is rather a bargain for this type of performance!

1964 Rover P6 2000 SC

Ranald White & Karsten Brown, Rover 2000 SC, Rallye Monte Carlo Historique 2015, Reims.

Pour plus de photos de la Rallye Monte Carlo Historique 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the 2015 Historic Monte Carlo Rally, follow the link above.

Rover, Solihull, England.  The Rover 2000 was the very first European Car of the Year in 1964.  It had a new Rover 4 cylinder 2 litre engine and was a leap ahead from previous Rovers.  The series was built from 1963 to 1976.  It was intended as an executive saloon with more appeal to younger drivers than previous Rover models.  The SC had a single carburettor and the TC had twin carburettors.  Roger Clark co-driven by Jim Porter in a Rover 2000  finished sixth in 1965 Monte Carlo Rally and won the Group 1 class, a great driver in the difficult conditions that year. They also finished tenth in the Alpine Rally.

Ferrari 308 GTB Group 4

Olivier Panis, Ferrari 308GTB, 2014 Tour Auto

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Ferrari, Maranello, Italy.  The 308 GTB was 3 litre V8 mid-engined 2 seater sports car produced by Ferrari from 1975 to 1985.  It replaced the Ferrari Dino 246GT.  Top speed was around 160mph and it had a 0-60mph time of under 6.5 seconds.  The GTB had a fixed hard top whilst the GTS had a removable hard top.  Although, not originally designed as a racing car, eventually, some Group 4 versions were built for racing and rallying by Michelotto.  Jean-Claude Andruet won the 1981 Targa Florio Rally in a Ferrari 308 GTB and then went on to win the Tour Auto the same year and the following year.

1974 Lancia Stratos HF Group 4

Erik Comas, 1974 Group 4 Lancia Stratos, Tour Auto 2014

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Lancia, Turin, Italy.  Designed by Bertone, the Stratos had a Ferrari Dino V6 engine.  Over 400 were built to meet the Group 4 regulations.  The Stratos was an enormously successful rally car over a very long period during the seventies and eighties.  It won a hat trick of World Rally titles from 1974 to 1976 and took 17 WRC rally victories overall including the Tour de Corse in 1981.

BRM P25

Three BRM P25s perform demo laps at the Goodwood Revival 2010.

View my post on the Top Ten BRM drivers by clicking here.

BRM, Bourne, England.   The BRM P25 was the first successful F1 GP car built by BRM.  It raced in the 2.5 litre formula in the late fifties.  Jo Bonnier scored the marque's fist GP victory at Zandvoort in 1959 driving won of these cars for the work's team. Harry Schell, Jean Behra and Stirling Moss also scored GP podiums with this car in 1958 to 1959.  Behra scored a couple of non-championship victories in the P25.

Heron Europa

Heron Europa, Montlhery 2015

Heron, Greenwich, England.  A small British manufacturer from 1962 to 1964.  Only 12 of these Europa were built.  They had 1 litre Ford Anglia engines or the larger 1.5 litre Ford engine.  It had a stteel backbone chassis and plywood floorpan with a GRP body.  As a kit car they cost £580 in the early sixties.

Hommell Berlinette Echappement

Hommell Berlinette Echappement, Montée de Guichet 2015.

Pour plus de photos de la Montée de Guichet 2015, suivez ce lien.

For more photos of the Hillclimb recreation at Chateaudin "La Montée de Guichet", follow the link above.

Hommell, Loheac, Brittany, France.  A marque that existed between 1990 and 2003.  Only 180 cars were made.  The marque was named after Michael Hommell the owner of Echappement magazine.  It has a Peugeot 306 motor.

1979 BMW M1 Procar

1979 BMW M1 Procar, 2016 GP de l'Age d'Or, Dijon-Prenois. 

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BMW, Munich, Germany.  The BMW M1 Procar Championship was an International one-make series that ran in 1979 and 1980 as a support series for F1 GP and other major events.  Drivers such as Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, Hans-Joachim Stuck and others competed and won.  The cars were built to Group 4 specs.  They had a BMW straight 6 engine tuned to produce over 450bhp.  These M1 procars had a top speed of 190mph and a 0-60mph time of close to 4 seconds.  From 1981 some of these cars entered endurance events in their Grp 4 guise. in 1988 the M1 Procars again supported the German GP.  Bruno Giacomelli's best result in a Procar round was eighth.

BMW M3

BMW M3, Emmanuel Hervieu / Pascal Viquesnel, Rallye National de la Cote Fleurie 2016.

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For more photos of the 2016 Rallye de la Cote Fleurie, follow the link above.

BMW, Munich, Germany. The M3 is the high performance model of the 3-series and has been very successful in motorsport for many years, winning Touring Car races and Championships all over the World.  It has also had success in rallies, particularly in tarmac rallies such as the Tour de Corse.. The M3 originated in 1985 and has been though a number of generations and is still produced today.  The car in the photo looks like it is the classic E30 model from the eighties and early nineties.  Top speed was around 150mph with a 0-60mph time of under 7 seconds.

Seat Ibiza

The Seat Ibiza of Patrice and Nadia Leon start the sixth stage of the Rallye National de la Cote Fleurie.  They finished an excellent 15th overall and won their class.

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For more photos of the 2016 Rallye de la Cote Fleurie, follow the link above.

Seat, Spain.  The Seat Ibiza supermini was first produced in 1984 and in his now in its fourth generation of design.  I think the car pictured is a second generation car produced after the 1999 facelift.  It is front engine, front wheel drive.  Seat is of course part of the Volkswagen group and the Ibiza shares parts with other parts of Volkswagen range such as the Polo.  The Ibiza has been a successful rally car and won the 2 litre WRC class championship in 1996, 97 and 98 in its Seat Ibiza Kit Car guise. 

This is the third year that Patrice & Nadia Leon have campaigned the Seat Ibiza.  Previously they rallied a Volkswagen Golf GTi for many years.  They frequently win their class.

Citroen C2 VTS

Pascal leclamus/Anthony Bourgeas, Citroen C2 VTS, Rallye National de la Côte Fleurie.

Citroen, Aulnay, France.   The C2 was a supermini made from 2003 to 2009. The VTS was the top sports version of the C2.  The VTS had a 1.6 litre engine.  It had a  performance of 0-60mph in 8.0 secs and a top speed of 125mph.  The C2 S1600 rally car was a successful rally car in the hands of Sebastien Loeb and others.  Pascal Leclamus and Anthony Bourgeas finished a creditable 25th in the 2016 Rallye National de la Côte Fleurie.

Subaru Impreza Sti N11

Sébastien Bret/Julia O'Brien Subaru Impreza Sti N11, 2016 Rallye de la Cote Fleurie

Subaru, Japan.  Originally introduced in 1992, the Impreza has been a successful hot saloon and rally car for many years. The Subaru Impreza has scored an amazing 46 World Rally Championship round victories. The car pictured is a Group N rally car.  I think it must be a second generation car from he mid-2000s.   It is pictured here at the start of the St Benoit d'Hebertot stage of the Rallye de la Cote Fleurie at the end of February 2016.

More pictures of this Rally soon on Rouenlesafx.blogspot.com

2015 Chevrolet SS Generation 6 NASCAR

Kyle Larson & Paul Menard at Sonoma 2015, Chevrolet SS Nascar Generation 6

The Generation 6 NASCAR.  This is the Chevrolet SS version which is rear wheel drive and powered by a fuel injected small block V8 Chevrolet engine and looking like the road going Chevrolet SS on the outside.