Mario Andretti christened Austin’s Circuit of the Americas with his 1978 Formula 1 World Championship winning John Player Special Lotus 79. Listen to that Cosworth hum.

Thanks, Racer.

Gurney and Lotus Crack Nassau Record with Autolite Spark Plugs!

Autolite
Spark Plug Division · Toledo 1, Ohio

Here’s something you aren’t likely to see again: A team owner and his pit crew rebuilding a gearbox in pit lane.

Just because Colin Chapman was in a shirt and tie doesn’t mean he couldn’t get his hands dirty in a Hewland from time to time.

The new Lotus +2S 130 is the most superb package a man ever had waiting at his door. Here is all the incomparable roadholding and cornering for which Lotus is the acknowledged world leader. All the style and luxury with which the +2 has always been endowed. And something extra—a new 130 bhp BIG-valve engine and detailed improvements to the suspension and transmission that mean a more outstanding performance than ever. If you want for yourself the most enjoyable driving the world can offer, you want the Lotus +2S 130. Recommended price £2,744. See your nearest dealer now, listed opposite.

Lotus Cars Limited, Norwich, Norfolk, NOR 92W Tel: Wymendham 3411

Dig those bellbottoms.

Dear Speed Channel,
A humble request: more Victory by Design, less Pinks.

Sincerely,
The Chicane.

I headed to the InterMarque Spring Kickoff event this morning in St. Paul, MN, which had a very good turnout of vintage sportscars despite the gloomy weather. The highlight of the show for me was this homebuilt Crosley Special, garage-built in 1951 and with hillclimb and gymkhana history in Indiana going to back to the mid 50s. It was a stunning little car, and far and away my favorite of the day.

As gorgeous as this little Crosley was, it was by no means the only show-stopper on hand. There was a very strong showing from a variety of makes: Plenty of Citroens, MGs, Healeys, Triumphs, and Jags—with a few Maseratis, pre-war luxury cars, and a few vintage bikes as well. A wonderful mix of cars, in conditions ranging from Pebble Beach Competitors (the Daimler pictured below has competed there), to well preserved, to rusty and rattle-canned. Excellent variety of cars at virtually every level of collecting. The Vintage Foreign Motors of the Upper Midwest hosts a very fun event that has grown many-fold in recent years. Excellent!

Here’s a few more shots from the event.

Marc wrote in with another gorgeous model posing with a gorgeous model – this time a Lotus 47/Europa. Thanks Marc!

Have some more sports and racing cars at auto show displays to share? Send them along to tips@thechicaneblog.com

More footage from the John McClure archives, this time from the August 56 running of the Paramount Ranch road races. The footage here is nice and close, it seems John staked out the perfect spot for the featured Sunday races.

The under-1500cc consolation and feature races in the first half of the video has some great shots of Richie Ginther absolutely walking away with the feature race in his #211 Porsche 550 Spyder; the aftermath of Rex Huddleston’s crash in his #75 Maserati-powered Lotus; William Binney’s beautiful #359 Doretti; an interesting shot in the pits of someone’s front-engined(!) Porsche 4-cam powered racer (is it a Lotus 11?). Nice to see some Cooper Formula IIIs mixing it up with the road cars and specials in the low displacement race.

In the larger displacement race, there’s some nice shots of the lovely little battle between Eric Hauser, Bill Krause, and Harrison Evans. Each of them took 1st in their classes piloting their #70 Morgensen Special, #27 Jaguar D-Type, and #130 Ferrari Monza 750.

Seeing the track in use really highlights was an absolutely beautiful location Paramount Ranch was, even moreso than when we featured it in our Lost Tracks series.

Bon!

The Circuit Bugatti was quite unpopular at the time, but it looks lovely in this footage. It’s also fantastic to see open-wheel cars in the LeMans pits.