1965 Ford Mustang 289

Christian Odin, 1965 Ford Mustang 289, Tour Auto, 1st  Special Stage 2016.

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Ford, Dearborn, USA.  The first Mustangs appeared in 1964, even if they were referred to as 1965 models and were either 2 door hardtops or convertibles.  Driver train components were from the Ford Galaxy but the car was designed to have universal appeal, including to women, with bucket seats, room for 4 people and a $2,500 price tag.  The basic model had a low power 2.8 litre 6 cylinder engine but the 289 had a 4.7 litre V8 with better performance.  Top speed for the 289 was a little under120 mph and it had a 0-60mph time of a little over 8 seconds.   It was immediately a successful car with huge sales for Ford and the term "Pony Car" was created for it and its imitators.  The Mustang made its public debut as the pace car at the Indy 500 in 1964 and a convertible appeared in the film Goldfinger.  They were immediately raced and rallied worldwide.  In 1964 the Alan Mann entered Mustang 289 won its class and finished eighth overall in the Tour de France Auto driven by Peter Procter and Andrew Cowan.  The Mustang emblem on the front of the car has become a true automotive icon.

Answers to my New Year's Quiz

If youhaven't seen the quiz yet - click here.

Answers

1. Graham Hill and A.J.Foyt.  1 point for each correct answer..

2. Graham Hill, Phil Hill, Mike Hawthorn and Jochen Rindt. 1 point for each correct answer.

3. Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jacques Villeneuve.  1 point for each correct answer.

4. Clockwise from Top left - Nelson Piquet Jnr, Sam Bird, Robin Frijns, Loic Duval.  It is Loic Duval who has won the 24 hrs.  1 point for each correct answer.

5. Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell.  1969, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987. 1 point for each correct answer.

6. Top row from the left - Bugatti Circuit at Le Mans,  Laguna Seca,  the Charade circuit at Clermont Ferrand, Middle row from left - Dijon-Prenois, Zandvoort, Sonoma Raceway.  Bottom row from left - Autodrome Linas-Montlhéry, Magny-Cours, Brands Hatch. 1 point for each correct answer.

7. Jean-Eric Vergne, 2012, 2013, 2014, 6th place. 1 point for each correct answer.

8. Macau Grand Prix,  Antonio Felix Da Costa, Vern Schuppan , Geoff Lees, Ricardo Patrese have won it twice.  1 point for each correct answer.

9. The Mount Panorama Circuit at Bathurst, Armin Hahne, Denny Hulme. 1 point for each correct answer.

10. Sébastien Bourdais (2008, Magny Cours in a Torro Rosso), Alain Prost, René Arnoux and Jean-Pierre Jabouille.  1 point for each correct answer.

11. Jackie Stewart, Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Ronnie Peterson, Patrick Depailler, Alain Prost and Lewis Hamilton. 1 point for each correct answer.

12. Denny Hulme, Brabham, Lola, Rover, Oulton Park, Silverstone, 1965, 1966, 1968 and 1986. 1 point for each correct answer.

13. Keke Rosberg, Brian Henton, Patrick Tambay and Johnny Cecotto. 1 point for each correct answer.

14. Japanese Grand Prix, Niko Rosberg.  1 point for each correct answer.

15. Imola (San Marino GP and Italian GP), Dijon-Prenois (French GP and Swiss GP), Nurburgring (German GP and Luxembourg GP).  1 point for each correct answer.

16. Jean Alesi, Olivier Panis and Juan-Pablo Montoya.  1 point for each correct answer.

17. Jacky Ickx, Giancarlo (Clay) Regazzoni and Ronnie Peterson. 1 point for each correct answer.

18. Niko Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado.  1 point for each correct answer.

19. Porsche, Ford and Lola Chevrolet. 1 point for each correct answer.

20. Jack Brabham, John Surtees, Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart and Ludovico Scarfiotti.  1 point for each correct answer.

21.  Top row from left - Spice, Alpine-Renault.  Middle row from left - MG, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo.  Bottom row from left - Porsche, Jaguar.  1 point for each correct answer.

Maximum point are 101. I think you did very well if you got 65 or more.  Certainly a veritable expert if you got over 80.

Do take some time to click on the letters at the top of this page and then click on a car to search this blog

Maserati Gran Tourismo MC Trofeo GT4

Mark Klenin, Maserati Gran Tourismo MC Trofeo, Sonoma 2016, Pirelli World Challenge.

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For more photos of the 2016 Pirelli World Challenge, click on this link.

Maserati, Modena, Italy.  This car is the racing version of the road going Gran Tourismo S and was designed for a 2010 one-make series.  It has a 4.7 litre V8 488 bhp engine powering its steel chassis and carbon fibre body.  The body has been lightened and given more aerodynamic aids compared to the base road car.  The windscreen and windows are all lightweight lexan.  The one make series ended with the 2015 championship.  Since then the cars have been raced in GT4 spec in series such as the Pirelli World Challenge and the European GT4 championship.  In GT4 spec the power is reduced to 430bhp.  A beautiful car like almost all Maseratis. 

Shelby Mustang GT350 Fastback

Shelby Mustang 350GT Fastback, Rallye du Médoc 2015

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For more photos of the 2015 Rallye du Médoc, click on this link.

Shelby, Los Angeles, USA. Shelby made high-performance versions of the sixties icon, the Ford Mustang from 1965 until the very early seventies.  The car pictured is the fastback version of the Shelby Mustang GT350 and is the version produced from 1967 to 1968.  The engine was a high performance 300hp 4.7 litre V8 Ford.    They had a top speed of just under 130mph and a 0-60mph time of just over 7 seconds.  In the USA in 1967 one would have set you back about $4,000.  The Shelby version had more aggressive styling than the standard Mustangs and from 1967 onwards were known just as Shelby GTs rather than Mustangs.  Ford produced the basic car and then deliveredcit to Shelby for upgrading.

Riley One Point Five

Riley One Point Five, Rallye du Medoc 2015.

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For more photos of the 2015 Rally du Medoc, click on this link.

Riley, BMC, Abingdon, England.  The Riley 1.5 was produced from 1957 to 1965. It used many of the parts of the Morris Minor but had a different body, larger engine and an MG gearbox. It was similar to the Wolsey 1500 but had twin SU carburettors which gave the engine 68hp. Top speed was over 80mph  The cars were often raced and rallied and can still be seen on historic events today.  Les Leston won Class B of the 1959 RAC British Saloon Car Championship in one and Pat Moss won some Ladies Cups rallying one the same year.

Cadillac ATS-VR GT3

Johnny O'Connell, Cadillac ATS-VR GT3 winning at Sonoma 2016 in the Pirelli World Challenge.

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For more photos of GT cars at Sonoma in 2016, click on this link. 

Cadillac, GM, New York, USA.  In Europe we know Cadillac as a luxury car maker but in the USA they have had a successful racing program for many years.  The ATS model is a compact luxury sedan that has been in production since 2013.  For the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge Cadillac has built a FIA GT3 version of the ATS-V coupe powered by a 3.6 litre twin-turbocharged V6 producing 600hp.  Cadillac have chosen to built a GT3 model for the first time so that they can if they wish sell and race versions of this car worldwide and thus build the brand.  The body is a production one but with reinforcement and a safety cage.  There is also the addition of an aero package to add downforce.   Top speed is around 170mph. Johnny O'Connell won the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge GT class in this car and came fourth in 2016.  His team mate, Michael Cooper came third in 2016. Between them they have nine victories.  

KTM X-Bow GT4

Martin Barkey, KTM X-Bow GT4, Sonoma 2016, Pirelli World Challenge.

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For more photos of Sonoma GT racing in 2016, click on this link.

KTM, Graz, Austria.   KTM is a motor cycle manufacturer whose first  four wheel model was the spartan, lightweight and technologically advanced X-Bow. Together with Reiter Engineering they have produced a GT4 version of the car for racing.  It has a 4 cylinder 2 litre 335hp VW/Audi engine and an aerodynamic lightweight body and chassis.  Compared to the street legal X-Bow there is much more bodywork on the GT4 version. The car won the Pirelli World Challenge GTS class in 2016 driven by Brett Sandberg who had 3 victories over the year.

1956 Fiat 306/2 Bartoletti

Fiat 306/2 Bartoletti transporter at the Le Mans Classic 2016

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Fiat, Turin, Italy.   This is a very famous and much travelled racing car transporter.  Maserati actually owned it first and had Bartoletti convert the 1956 Fiat bus chassis into a racing car transporter.   After Maserati withdrew from F1 racing in 1957 they sold the transporter to Lance Reventlow who needed one for his Scarab cars. Scarab raced in F1 in 1960 and in Formula intercontinental in 1961. In 1962 Scarab folded and the transporter was bought by Caroll Shelby. Shelby added the third axle which was needed for the weight of his Cobras.  After Shelby stopped using it, it went to Team Lotus and then Alan Mann Racing.   The next owner was David Piper, who rented it to Steve McQueen for the film Le Mans.  In the film it appears in a number of different colour schemes!  The Fiat originally had a Fiat 12 cylinder engine but at some stage that was replaced by a 11.5 litre Leyland 6 cylinder.   

1957 Fiat 642 RN2 Bartoletti

Superb 1957 Ferrari Transporter at the 2016 Le Mans Classic

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For more photos of the 2016 Le mans Classic, click here.

Fiat, Turin, Italy.  The best off-track display at the 2016 Le Mans Classic was undoubtedly that of the racing car transporters, including this beautiful Fiat truck used by Scuderia Ferrari.  This Fiat bus chassis was bought by the Scuderia Ferrari in 1957 and transformed by coachbuilder Bertoletti at Forli into their race car transporter which was used until the early sixties.   As well as transporting the cars it gave the mechanics a portable workshop and a place to sleep.  So much more inspiring than the modern versions! The Fiat had a 92hp 6 cylinder diesel engine and it could transport three GP or sports racing cars around Europe to famous tracks such as Spa, Monaco and the Nurburgring.  Must have been amazing to see one of these fully laden on the road.  Unlike the Ferraris it carried it had a very modest top speed of just 85 kph.

1937 Delage D6-70 Cabriolet Le Dandy Chapron

Beauiful Delage D6-70 Cabriolet Le Dandy Chapron in the car park at the Le Mans Classic 2016.

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For more photos of the 2016 Le Mans Classic pre-war cars, click here.

Delage, Paris, France.   The D6-70 was produced between 1937 & 38 and was a follow on from the D6-60S.  This was the era when Delages shared many parts with Delahayes but this model had a 2.7 litre 6 cylinder Delage engine.   Bodies were offered by a number of coachbuilders including the Chapron cabriolet version seen here with its torpedo wings.  Only about 3 of this particular example were made.  Henry Chapron had a coachbuilding business in Lavalois-Perret where Delage started off.  The Le Dandy name was used later on a number of Citroen DS Cabriolets produced by Chapron.