Image: The Cahier Archive

Motorsport in the 1970s was a knife-edge balance of speed, excitement, colour and danger. It was a brilliant, if unsustainable time, and there was plenty going on as the sport in its various forms developed at great pace.

There was so much going on, in fact, that you could fill a whole documentary with just a single year!

The Racing Years is a series of short films which takes a single year in motorsport and then goes in depth into the races, the drivers, the cars and the action.

This episode gets up close and personal with the 1974 Formula 1 season, and stops by Maine, France along the way to see what everyone got up to during the 1974 24 Hours of Le Mans.

On the Formula 1 side, Jackie Stewart had just won the 1973 World Drivers’ Championship, and then promptly retired following François Cevert’s fatal accident during the United States Grand Prix. Hesketh finally had their own car, and in it was James Hunt.

Drivers had fifteen championship races ahead of them, and at the end of it all there would be just three points separating World Champion and number two.

Going in to Le Mans Matra had won the previous two races and was looking for a third, Ferrari had retired from endurance racing and a road-derived Porsche was about to have a very good day.

The Racing Years: 1974 tackles the year in order and gives a brilliant race-by-race rundown of the action backed by glorious period footage and set to a soundtrack straight from the exhausts of the year’s finest racing cars.

Put the kettle on, relax and enjoy the sweet sights and sounds of 1974.

MORE: Video: A Pit Stop with Lauda in 1974

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Last month the Porsche Museum put on a very special show, with treasured race cars from throughout the marque’s history gathering to celebrate ‘the’ Porsche sound. October 25th saw a special event by the name of “Porsche Sound Nacht” held at the Porsche museum, a display which allowed lucky visitors to learn more about some of the brand’s most treasured historic race cars, straight from the mouths of drivers, engineering and mechanics.

MORE: Porsche 935 – Timeless

Porsche Sound Nacht also allowed attendees to drink in the raw noises that Porsches have been responsible for throughout the ages of motor racing. What a treat!

MORE: Porsche 917 – Looking back on a legend

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The once humble Formula One twirler has come a long way, as demonstrated by this look back on the history of McLaren F1 steering wheels.

Today’s Formula One steering wheel is an incredibly complicated piece of high-tech engineering. It relays to the driver a near unlimited volume of data, whilst simultaneously allowing them to fine the setup of the car on the fly.

We all know that in the early days of Grand Prix racing all the steering wheel had to do was steer left and right, but what about the years in between? This look back on McLaren F1 steering wheels breaks it down.

1969 – McLaren M7C – Bruce McLaren

As clean and simple as it gets. This was the wheel bolted directly to the steering column of Bruce McLaren’s M7C. It was non detachable and served two purposes – to steer left, and steer right.

1974 – McLaren M23 – Emerson Fittipaldi

Five years later not much had changed – a basic three-spoke design and a bit of padding was all it took for Emerson Fittipaldi to drive the M23 to the 1974 Formula One World Championship. There was one addition however, a simple kill-switch designed to be used in the event of a throttle sticking open.

1988 – McLaren MP4/4 – Ayrton Senna

This is up there with our favorite steering wheels of all time. The McLaren MP4/4 featured a timeless Personal three-spoke with boost and radio control mounted within thumbs reach.

1999 – McLaren MP4-14 – Mika Hakkinen

The 90s changed everything, and by the time the decade drew to a close the relentless march of technology had well and truly made itself felt in Formula One. This is what a Formula One wheel looked like at the close of the millennium: a paddle shifted, carbon fiber masterpiece which to the general population would look to be straight out of a science fiction film. It featured a Pit Land Speed Limiter button (“PLS”), and even drink control… how luxurious!

2008 – McLaren MP4-23 – Lewis Hamilton

2008 was the last year before the digital display dash was moved to the center of the steering wheel. The decade preceding this wheel had seen the focus in design priorities shift towards helping the driver make on the fly adjustments. The green function switches on each side were often used to make adjustments to various adjustable functions in the car following instructions from a track side engineer.

2014 – McLaren MP4-29 – Jenson Button

Modern Formula One is a technical game, and modern McLaren F1 steering wheels reflect this. A scrolling large LCD display, a rear-mounted DRS activiation switch and a rotating dial which manages traction settings depending on the tyre fitted. They need to remember how to drive whilst managing all this, too!

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Images: RM Auctions by Tim Scott

Only two Jaguar XJR-9s were purpose-built to IMSA specifications. Only one remains. This is it.

It’s going to head to auction at RM Auctions’ Amelia Island Sale in March of 2015 in the anniversary year of its 1990 Daytona 24 Hour victory, so that’s your chance!

This XJR-9 is a works car, chassis #388 and was originally built for the 1988 IMSA GT Championship.

It was run by Tom Walkinshaw Racing, and it built up quite a reputation! Davey Jones and Jan Lammers had the pleasure of piloting it in 1988, never finishing outside of the top seven on the way to four podium finishes. This effort put the Jaguar team on the podium in the IMSA constructor’s championship with third place.

Life was similarly good in 1989, when Price Cobb and John Nielsen hopped in for a drive as well. The car finished on the podium for two-thirds of all of the races it completed in, including second in the 24 Hours  of Daytona. It claimed eight podium finishes and a pole position.

For 1990 #388 was developed into XJR-12 specification. Davey Jones, Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace shared driving duties for the 1990 24 Hours of Daytona, and they piloted this magnificent machine to a very popular victory. It wasn’t the car’s only trip to the podium, however, and it made the climb at Sebring as well.

Make sure to enjoy the video introducing the car, featuring the ever-loveable Martin Brundle effusing about the car and talking about what makes it so special.

RM Auctions’ Amelia Island Sale is the official auction of the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and will be held on the 14th of March, 2015 at the Ritz Carlton. Hit this link to head to the official site and learn more about this stunning machine.

Images: RM Auctions by Tim Scott

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Rare video showcases the awesome 1983 Sports Sedan Challenge, a support race held at Calder Park in support of the 1983 Australian Grand Prix.

A tremendous mix of Sports Sedan and GT vehicles take to the bends of Calder Park, Victoria Australia as part of the festivities surrounding the 1983 Australian Grand Prix.

With just over a thousand views on YouTube, this is one gem sitting a little bit more than just beneath the surface. We hope you all enjoy the 1983 Stafford Sport Sedan Challenge, we’ve set the video up to play from the opening of the 15-lap race. Feel free to rewind if you’d like to see the intro!

MORE: See what it’s like to ride onboard a Porsche 935 – BRUTAL! (video)

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Built in 1974, this stunning Brabham BT42 is a real Formula One beauty of a bygone era. Let’s spend a moment and relive the glorious sound of that three-liter Cosworth V8. History saw Brabham become one of the largest Formula Car builders, and it remains one of the most loved names in motor racing today. In the 1960s Jack Brabham paved the way, and by 1973 it was the Brabham BT42 which would be the marque’s flagship.

Although it’s not remembered as one of the most successful Brabhams of all time, it’s a special piece of Formula One history nonetheless. The car was debuted in 1973 and continued to be used by various teams right through the 1974 season. It was powered by a 3.0L Ford Cosworth V8 which revved to 10,800RPM.

Carlos Reutemann driving the Brabham BT42 at the 1973 Swedish Grand Prix (The Cahier Archive)

It was said to weigh just 575kg and produce around 450 horsepower. Just imagine how aggressive that would have been to drive!

MORE: One hit wonder – the Brabham fan car

Unfortunately the only footage we have of the Brabham BT42 doesn’t show it in action (if you’ve got some, we’d love to see it!), however the sound and presence alone of this thing is awesome.

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Listen to that little four-pot roar, as the beautiful Triplex Triumph Dolomite prepares for the 73rd Goodwood Member’s Meeting.

Take a moment out of your day to soak in the sights and sounds of a lesser known historic beauty, the Triumph Dolomite. Watch as it waits patiently in the pit area of Goodwood for its moment to come, and listen as the high compression of it’s little four-cylinder engine sends exhaust pulses shooting from the tail pipe.

MORE: 1980 Triumph TR7 (Gallery) 

We’re loving these little videos at Motorsport Retro lately; the kind when a terrific historic race car has been shot warming up, idling or being prepared to head out onto the circuit. This is a car which is doing what it was built to do, many years after most have been forgotten. For us, it’s a special moment.

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Images: Legends Automotive

This 1999 Honda Accord is not your average family car. It was built as a works Honda entry for the 1999 British Touring Car Championship and survived the rough-and-tumble series with aplomb.

This youngster represents an interesting new opportunity to get into historic racing, and it’s up for sale over at Legends Automotive.

The car, chassis FTEI 9901, was originally built by Foss Tech as Team Honda Sport’s factory entry in the 1999 British Touring Car Championship. Peter Kox had driving responsibilities for the season, with James Thompson driving the sister car.

Kox’ first step onto the podium would be at Croft Circuit where he claimed third. From there he went on to win the series’ first-ever night race at Snetterton. He followed that up with second at Knockhill and would take 7th overall in the series.

James Thompson in the sister car collected fourth in the drivers’ championship, and their combined efforts were enough to take Honda to second in the manufacturer’s championship.

FTEI 9901 has been freshly-reconditioned with all major components addressed. The car has a Neil Brown Engineering-prepared engine, has enjoyed an Xtrac gearbox refresh and has had wheel bearings, springs, rose joints and steering rack all prepared for racing.

It’s enjoyed some historic racing action, with James Dodd putting it on pole at the opening round of the Historic Super Touring series at Thruxton early in 2014.

This competitive car is but a babe in the world of historic motorsport, and we’re excited to see it, and younger series like the HSCC Super Touring series grow and develop in the historic racing scene.

For more information head to Legends Automotive’s website here.

Images via Legends Automotive

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One of the best historic racing events in the world, compressed down to two minutes of footage. These are the Goodwood Revival Highlights of 2014.

Sit back and enjoy the very best that the 2014 Goodwood Revival had to offer, with this tightly-packed, high value highlights reel produced by Goodwood Road and Race themselves.

MORE: The 2014 Goodwood Revival in widescreen glory

Famous faces, action packed races and of course, an unbelievable collection of racing machinery descended upon Goodwood for the Revival in 2014. This video showcases the Goodwood Revival Highlights – the most captivating and interesting moments. Enjoy.

MORE: Goodwood Revival – Photo Gallery

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Italian rally master Gigi Galli demonstrates how to round a World Rally Championship hairpin bend at high speed, in style.

Watch in awe as Gigi Galli manages to squeeze a piece of his spectacular driving style into the WRC whilst piloting a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

MORE: Paolo Diana – Onboard with a sideways madman! (Video)

The Italian is well known for his wild style behind the wheel, and on this occasion he certainly lived up to his reputation!

MORE: Retro Drift – The craziest use of weight shift you’ll ever see (Video)

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Image: LAT Photographic archive from the Motorsport Retro Store

This LAT Photographic image was made during practice for the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix. Ayrton Senna’s Lotus-Renault 97T and the Brazilian super star waiting to be picked up.

He went on to take pole position and utterly dominate in the rain to claim his first Grand Prix Victory. A lap ahead of everyone except for Michele Alboreto, who was a minute behind.

Quiet contemplation, focus and determination. Marks of a champion, and a good reminder to have up on the wall. Grab yours here.

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American racing legend Dan Gurney recently received the Edison-Ford Medal for innovation. Awarded by the Henry Ford Museum, the tribute was accompanied by this terrific video piece.

The Henry Ford put the video together to assist in the honoring of Gurney on the night he was awarded his second Edison-Ford Medal. NBC News’ Brian Williams narrates the tribute, which traces the amazing story of Dan Gurney right back to his earliest days racing Hot Rods in California.

MORE: Dan Gurney – Triumph from Tragedy (video)

MORE: Dan Gurney returns to SPA (video)

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Images: Bonhams

This 1972 Chevron-Ford B20 has plenty of pace with looks and history to match. It’s also estimated at a very reasonable £25,000 – 30,000 for when it goes to auction at Bonhams‘ Collectors’ Automobilia and Motor Cars Sale this December.

The car, B20-72-9, was the last B20 to be sold from Chevron’s Bolton factory. John Green bought it in early 1973 and sold it on to the Schollum brothers in New Zealand, who brought Steve Millen on board to take on driving duties for 1974 and 1975.

“Whenever there was a twisty bit, we could out-handle and out-brake the F5000 cars.” - Steve Millen

It was in Steve’s hands that it established the Chevron name in open-wheeled racing in Asia as well as in the Tasman Series. He took a shine to harassing the Formula 5000 cars in the 1975 New Zealand Tasman Series, consistently competing above the B20’s pay grade. The pair claimed 5th at Bay Park and secured an F2 class record at Teretonga.

In Asia Steve and B20-72-9 raised their game again, climbing onto the podium steps three times.

Steve Millen would go on to race in IMSA Camel GT and to win the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring, his career kickstarted in this car.

After Steve’s time Ian Grey acquired the Chevron and continued to race it up to 1977. He sold it on to Dick Ward in 1979 and it went to its current owner in 1990.

B20-72-9 was fully restored by Garry Simkin in Sydney, Australia in the early ’00s. The motor is a fully blue-printed 1790cc Chevron factory Cosworth-Ford FVC four-cylinder racing engine and that has been rebuilt by Rodney Gibbs of Superior Automotive with the support of Peter Molloy.

With its nut-and-bolt restoration complete, the Chevron returned to racing at Eastern Creek International Raceway in 2007. From there it was campaigned extensively in Australia, returning to New Zealand in 2010 to compete at Hampton Downs and on the New Zealand Grand Prix course at Pukekohe.

The car itself has only completed 11 race meetings since its restoration, with the rebuilt engine only re-installed in 2010, and having just six events on it since then. To the best of its owner’s knowledge it has never been crashed in its entire career.

It’s in wonderful ready-to-race condition, with a CAMS logbook and extensive spares package, and looks like a stunning entry into the historic racing scene.

It will be auctioned at Bonhams’ Collectors’ Automobilia and Motor Cars Sale on December the 7th, 2014. Head to Bonhams’ official website here for more information.

Images via Bonhams.

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Just wait ’till you hear this thing! (Go to 1min 56sec)

This video shows some of the build and first firing of the FIAT S76 land speed record car. The first time the car has run in 100 years.

Despite its age, the engine features  four valve-per-cylinder, multi-spark, overhead cam technology and an incredible displacement of 28.5 litres.

With no exhaust we get to experience the joy of 300HP of internal combustion violently shooting straight out of the exhaust ports.

Mega!

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Images: Jayson Fong

Low, Sleek and intensely fast even by today’s standards, we take a closer look at the Nissan R90CK – one of  the most memorable sports car racers from the grand era of Group C.

Developed together with the master builders at Lola Cars International the R90CK was an evolution of the existing and problematic R89C that failed to succeed both in terms of reliability and pace during the 1989 season. Although many aspects of the R89C’s design were fundamentally unchanged for the R90, the differences were in the detail of increasing aerodynamics and the black art of downforce.

Together with its Nissan twin-turbo V8 engine, which is capable of over 1100hp, the car achieved the highest straight line speed on the Mulsanne Straight at 366km/h (226.9mph) following the installation of the chicanes.

To this day, the R90CK’s straight line speed remains unquestionably fast. At the 2014 Le Mans 24Hr supporting race, Group C again took to La Sarthe and the R90CK again astonished crowds by achieving the 3^rd highest speed of the entire weekend with a 338.1km/h (210.1mph) pass. Remarkably, only 2 cars from the official 2014 24hr event surpassed the R90CK with speeds 1km/h faster.

In 1990, The R90CK’s place in history would be cemented because of its blistering speed, especially evident during its pole position lap for the year’s Le Mans 24hr.

Pictured is the #25 JECS R90CK used during the 1990 season by Nissan Motorsports International for competition in the World Sportscar Championship. Today the car’s racing spirit lives on as a competitor in the Group C Racing Series (www.groupcracing.com).

Even 24 years later, the legendary straight-line monster remains, indeed, a devastating weapon.

Images and words by Jayson Fong, Form & Function

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The awesome story of how Ford, AC, Carroll Shelby and a team of Californian hot rod builders created the iconic Shelby Cobra.

Before Carroll Shelby decided to build one of the greatest American sports cars, the AC Cobra was a fantastic chassis without an engine to equal it. Ford had a brilliant new engine. Shelby brought them together, and the rest is history.

MORE: Tribute to Carroll Shelby

Before Shelby knew it, Ford were turning to him to help improve on the Mustang. Then came Le Mans, and the GT40. This video follows the story of Carroll Shelby in his post-racing career, and features Pete Brock, Ken Miles and Dan Gurney putting the GT40 through its paces.

MORE: In his own words – Carroll Shelby

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Images: Bonhams

Kick off your 2015 in style by picking up this gorgeous Le Mans class-winning Scuderia Filipinetti Ferrari 275 GTB Competizione at Bonhams’ January Scottsdale Auction.

The 275 GTB Competizione was developed for competition, enjoying a new lighter and stronger chassis, reinforced wheel hubs and wider wheels. Twin saddle-mounted alloy fuel tanks with quick-access exterior fuel and oil filler caps gave it the legs and maintenance access an endurance racers needs.

The gorgeous body was formed out of thin alloy to reduce weight further, and under the hood was a new Tipo 213 Competition motor. This was developed from the previous year’s power plant and the dry-sump 3.3-liter V12 featured many upgrades. It also sat lower and further back to provide the perfect weight distribution.

Chassis 09079 was delivered new to Georges Filipinetti as the eleventh of twelve 275 Gran Turismo Berlinetta Competizione Scagliettis. It was bought to race, and race it did.

The car contested three consecutive years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1967 to 1969, winning the GT class in its first year with the Filipinetti team and Rico Steinmann and Dieter Spörry at the wheel.

Remembered fondly by many, ’69 was a great year for the car. In its first and only outing at Spa-Francorchamps Jacques Rey and Edgar Berney drove it to a class victory in the 1000 Kilometers of Spa-Francorchamps. They repeated the feat at Imola, winning their class in the Imola 500.

During the ’70s and ’80s 09079 enjoyed a break from racing and spent time in respected American collections.

In 1985 a garage fire damaged the body, but left internals untouched, so the car was shipped to Italy where its bodywork was treated to a meticulous restoration to factory specifications by Carrozzeria Brandoli. It was then given certification by Ferrari Classiche to confirm it as a matching-numbers car.

It has since appeared at shows and events, participating in the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Le Mans Classic, Silverstone Classic and Tour Auto. It was specially-selected as one of 60 Ferraris from around the world for the 60th anniversary of Ferrari in Beverly Hills.

The car will head to auction at Bonhams’ Scottsdale Auction on the 15th of January, 2015. Head to Bonhams’ website here for the official word.

Images via Bonhams

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Rally aces Bjorn Waldegard and Hannu Mikkola getting completely sideways whilst testing the Ford Escort and Fiesta rally cars in the winter of 1978. Beautiful tandem drifting unfolds when Bjorn Waldegard and Hannu Mikkola are let loose on a frozen lake. It was winter (obviously) in 1978, and it looks as if the entire team turned out for a little bit of testing, and a whole lot of fun.

MORE: Ford Escort – Rally Legend

A translation to the discussion between Hannu and Bjorn at the beginning comes thanks to one keen YouTuber:

“H:Now that they´ve plowed it´s easier to drive. B: Yes, It looks really nice when you have good snowbanks around the track. Will I see you in Portugal on Monday? H:Yes or in Copenhagen (Kastrup Airport probably) B: Oh, yes Copenhagen, I really should´nt fly with you.”

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Monaco in 1985. This huge accident happened right after Piquet and Patrese crossed the start- finish line.

Piquet attempted to pass Patrese, the two cars touched and Patrese crashed violently and collected Piquet, whose Brabham’s rear suspension broke during the collision.

Both men were unhurt and lived to fight another day.

A lucky one at Monaco

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We all know Ducati’s beautiful bikes, but the company’s been around since the ’20s, and they’ve dipped their toes into many other designs over the decades. Even (cover your ears) vehicles with four wheels.

Ducati got its start in the late 1920s building on the patents of Adriano Ducati to create equipment for radio. During 1943 the company’s Borgo Panigale factories were taken over by the German army to produce fuses and shells for the war effort. This caused Allied intelligence to identify the area as a munitions depot. They targeted it during Operation PANCAKE bombing raids in 1944, razing it.

After the destruction of those factories the Ducati brothers felt that they would not be able to recover producing their traditional equipment, but they had ideas of where to take the business.

During the war Aldo Farinelli had developed a prototype for the Cucciolo – an auxiliary motor designed to be fitted to a bicycle – it was this motor which changed the direction of the company, allowed it to recover from the destruction it had endured during the war and eventually become the Ducati we know today.

Image: Ducati

It was also during this time that Ducati was looking at producing an automobile as a way to pull them through post-war economic recovery. To this end they designed a the Ducati DU4, which would use a 90° L-twin cylinder four-speed 250cc motor. This saw a single prototype put together in 1946 in Milan, but the project went no further. At that time the Cucciolo was seeing great success and they saw no need to face the additional risk represented by a completely new product line.

Their next four-wheeled adventure would result in something bigger and badder – the motor you see up the top.

With the deaths of three drivers in 1960; Chris Bristow, Harry Schell and Alan Stacey, major rule changes were afoot in Formula 1 and maximum engine capacity was reduced from 2.5-litres to 1.5-litres. Inspired, Fabio Taglioni designed and built an eight-cylinder desmodromic V-shaped engine for Osca Maserati, who was looking for an engine to use in a racing car.

The resulting motor is this 1.5-litre Ducati V8 F1 engine, which produced a competitive 170bhp. One engine was built, but the project didn’t go any further and it didn’t find its way into a competing race car.

And safety in Formula 1 still had a long way to go, with the sport losing three more drivers in 1961 – Giulio Cabianca, Shane Summers and Wolfgang von Trips.

These early days of motorsport were a dangerous time and came at far too great of a cost, but they were also an exciting and eclectic time which produced wonderful stories of ingenuity and progress. Artefacts like the Ducati V8 F1 engine are examples of this, and we hope the highly-regulated world we live in today still leaves a little room for genius dreamers to come up with something completely left field.

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