A walk between cultures

Upon arrival, the unusually high temperatures for the time of year were already noticeable. Around 15 degrees Celsius are rare even for New York. Of course, one knows many neighborhoods and buildings from numerous films and publications. Nevertheless, the drive around Central Park to Columbus Circle is impressive. How we would love to sit in a classic Mercedes-Benz now, perhaps a Pagoda SL. If one wants, one can change on the spot to this day into a horse-drawn carriage, in order to experience the actually ultramodern metropolis decelerated. If you then arrive at Times Square, the perceived culture shock could hardly be greater. Just a moment ago, with hooves clattering on the move, now at a place where time never seems to stand still. A Tesla would probably fit better here than a Corvette C2. Passing Broadway with its theaters, one notices the green bike lanes separated from the main roadway that now connect large parts of New York. In fact, some streets have now been completely converted into pedestrian zones.

A visit to the Statue of Liberty

The good old automobile nevertheless continues to have a firm place in downtown New York. In the neighborhoods of China Town and Little Italy, founded by immigrants from the countries that gave them their names, a little of the old charm has been preserved. But what should you drive up in? Perhaps an Alfa Romeo Spider. The “Christmas in New York” store, which is open all year round, has a completely different atmosphere. Whether it can ever reach the Statue of Liberty as a tourist attraction is doubtful. We take a ferry across and visit this world-famous green lady as well as Ellis Island, from where we have a unique view of the skyline. One of the old torches of the Statue of Liberty in the Museum of the Statue of Liberty reminds us of the times of the immigration waves, when the first skyscrapers grew into the sky of New York. There wasn’t much sign of cars back then. To this day, there are always new buildings, while some classics are an integral part of the cityscape.

View from lofty heights

Whether you prefer the One World Tower or the Empire State Building is a matter of personal taste. However, you should visit both if you have the chance. Through our local contacts we got access through the VIP entrance of the Empire State Building. Here we would have liked to arrive with a Duesenberg. On the Observation Deck, we enjoyed an incredible 360-degree view of the entire city. It’s hard to believe that at the same time, countless offices were busy working on the floors below us. There is also an exhibition on the history of the building and, with a wink, the legendary attack of King Kong. The One World Observatory has a completely different flair. In the immediate vicinity of the 9/11 Memorial, it does justice to both its current purpose and the historical significance of this location. Digital media help guests discover New York sights from a bird’s eye view – especially appealing at sunset.

Automania at MoMA

But there was something, wasn’t it? We were in Manhattan for a reason. Right, the special exhibition “Automania” at MoMA. After the pleasure of having crossed the Brooklyn Bridge in both directions, we walked up 5th Avenue to the museum. It’s hard to find so much contemporary art under one roof. If you’re more into old masters, you’ll find them about 1.5 miles away at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. For us, however, it was all about works of art made of metal with four wheels. The special exhibition was small but nice. In addition to paintings and photos on the walls, it also featured a Cisitalia 202, a Volkswagen Beetle, a Jaguar E-Type and a camping trailer from Airstream. Next to them, there were design icons such as the divine Citroën DS, a Willys Overland Jeep and a Fiat 500. For a car museum, this selection would probably be a bit scarce. In an art museum, however, you rarely see so many classic cars together. All in all, our trip to NY was more than worth it.

Images: Empire State Realty Trust, One World Observatory, Fabian Linack

Der Beitrag Secret Classics goes New York erschien zuerst auf Secret Classics.

From year one I chose the Porsche 356 – designed by Erwin Komenda, in year two the Shelby Daytona Coupé – designed by Peter Brock and from this year the 1952 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL – designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut. These were the cars of looking back. Looking forward I selected the 1953 Jaguar C-Type, which will be the first installment for Automotive Art in 2022.

Each of these cars represent a designer that asked the same question: what if? A question that has been at the core of every innovation, every advancement and every new discovery known to man. Designers are artists whose creations have touched us all and this question also drives the direction and movements of the visual arts.

Pablo Picasso is one example. He was trained as a traditionalist artist who used that foundation as a spring board to departure, which gave birth to the Cubist movement. This evolved from the question, what if? I am certainly not Picasso but I do share one trait with the master, curiosity.

In this series I took the imagery I originally created and began to explore, always asking the question what if? What emerged is this new series of collage art that have a cubist feel but is rooted in my core style of image making. Resulting in a new look, a new perspective into the designers who created these amazing cars of history.

My intent is you will gain a new appreciation for the cars and the designers and that this art will simply be enjoyed.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

This series is available for purchase at https://www.v12enterprises.com/collageart.

Images and text: © by Bill Pack

Der Beitrag Automotive Art – Christmas Special erschien zuerst auf Secret Classics.

Into The Mind Of The Designer – by Bill Pack

It is easy to learn lots of facts and information about any automotive designer. We learn what great shops they worked for, what model of cars they designed and the innovations they have brought to the industry. We know about them, but we do not know them. With my imagery I attempted to get into the soul and spirit of the designer. By concentrating on specific parts of the car and using my lighting technique, I attempt to highlight the emotional lines of the designer.

1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3 – Designed by Vittorio Jano

In 1891 Vittorio Jano was born in San Giorgio Canavese, in Piedmont, to Hungarian immigrants, who arrived in Italy several years earlier. His father became the technician director of one of Turin’s two arsenals. Here we find the early influence of Vittorio’s life which lead him towards technical design. A design that would reshape and impact the racing world for years.

True innovators never stand alone, many times it is a chance to encounter that reshapes the world. At the time it doesn’t appear to be significant until it is played out in its entirety. We only realize or understand how this innovation or powerful force came to be when we look back through the lens of history.

Jano followed his father and studied engineering at Instituto Professionale Operaio in Turin. His first employment was as a draftsman for Rapid, a car and truck company. He joined Fiat in 1911 at the age of 20 and by the age of 30 he was head of the design team. At Fiat, Jano met a young factory driver named Enzo. Over time this meeting turned into a life long friendship and made them into legends of the motorsport world. It was Enzo who recommended Jano to Alfa Romeo, who was attempting to raise their profile by becoming a successful name on the track. Enzo’s and Alfa Romeo’s bet paid off big time.

Janos Alfa Romeo P2 won the very first Grand Prix world championship in 1925, while its successor, the P3, scored a staggering 46 race wins between 1932 and 1936. From here Jano’s engines powered cars from Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Ferrari and his career spanned over four decades. His cars won numerous Grand Prix races. The legendary Juan Manuel Fangio won his fourth Formula One world championship in Jano’s Lancia-Ferrari D50.

History has a way of repeating itself. The German Grand Prix of 1935 took place at the Nürburgring and had gone down as the greatest upset in racing history. It took place on July 28th. It was a dreary, rainy day, the Auto Union and the silver arrows of Mercedes-Benz were all but certain of success. They had a massive budget, the most advanced materials plus a 100 horsepower advantage over its rivals. It was to be a glorious day for the 300,000 spectators that were in attendance, including many Nazi officials and Hitler himself.

Enzo Ferrari had become the head of the Alfa Romeo racing team and is the reason the P3 carries the Scuderia Ferrari racing team badge. The driver that day was Tazio Nuvolari, Italy’s demonically gifted “Nivola.” In the three year old obsolete Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3, Tazio had matched the Germans fastest practice times. The gloomy weather didn’t dissuade Tazio Nuvolari, instead he smiled broadly and said to Enzo “Today I will win”.

With seven laps to go Nuvolari was 1m 27s behind the leader, the aristocratic Manfred von Brauchitsch. He cut that down to 21 seconds in six laps and von Brauchitsch was feeling the pressure. The German was driving as fast as he could, putting massive wear on his tires. In the last lap the tires could hold on no longer. In front of the 300,000 spectators, one of the rear tires burst and Nuvolari roared by for the win. It was a victory that still stands today as the all time greatest upset in racing history.

While I was researching the history of Jano and his Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3, another epic battle was taking place on the track and history was beginning to repeat itself. The mighty silver arrows of Mercedes-AMG had the best car on the track and the greatest driver of F1. In a script that couldn’t have been written beforehand, just like the 1935 race, in the last lap the silver arrows were ahead, but Red Bull pulled off an improbable win over Mercedes, in what has to be a tie with the 1935 German Gran Prix for the greatest of all time racing upsets.

When you view this car you are looking at the soul of many. It is the history of Vittorio Jano and the innovations he brought to the sport. It is also where the story starts for Enzo Ferrari and the mighty collaboration with Jano that made Ferrari the most recognizable automotive brand in the world. It was the finest race of Tazio Nuvolari’s career.

It is where desire and passion of three men converged to triumph over a massive amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers (Auto Union) and Mercedes-Benz. This car and that day and these men became the legends of the Nürburgring.

Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3 – Details – by Matthias Kierse

When a new racing car is developed for the Formula 1 World Championship today, the respective team usually uses it for only one year. It is irrelevant whether it is a factory team or a private team. There was a rare deviation in 2021 due to the Corona pandemic and the resulting major rule change being moved back a year to 2022. All teams only used further developments of the 2020 cars. In the early decades of Grand Prix racing, this was significantly different. For one thing, the factory teams sold their cars to privateers after one year at the latest, and for another, new developments were still so expensive that many manufacturers couldn’t afford them on an annual basis.

This also applied to Alfa Romeo and the racing department headed by Enzo Ferrari. In 1924, the P2 was launched as a monoposto (single-seater) based on the 8C. After the competitiveness slowly decreased, Vittorio Jano was asked to develop a new car for 1932, which should have more power and less weight. For this purpose, Jano adapted the chassis of the Tipo A P2 to slight changes in the regulations. This continued use of parts of the predecessor led to the nickname “P3”. Officially, Alfa Romeo called the race car Tipo B. At the same time, a 2.6-liter version of the inline eight-cylinder engine with Roots supercharger was produced. The block and cylinder head were split to place all the auxiliary drives along the central crankshaft and thus reduce torsional vibrations. Initially, 215 hp was available.

In fact, Vittorio Jano and his team managed to reduce the overall weight to 700 kilograms. For the 1934 season, however, the minimum weight according to the regulations increased to 750 kilograms. In addition, the body now had to be 865 millimeters wide, which Alfa Romeo achieved by welding on some sheet metal. However, some of these parts were in the way of the airstream and thus reduced the topspeed. Since at the same time the displacement grew to 2.9 liters and thus the power increased to 255 hp, the further developed P3 was nevertheless still competitive. A special slipstream version was created for the high-speed race on the AVUS in Berlin. For 1935, there were two further engine modifications with first 3,165 and later 3,822 cc of displacement. With a maximum of 265 hp, the topspeed rose to as much as 170 mph.

The racing history of the Tipo B P3 makes excellent reading. As early as the first race in Monza in 1932, Tazio Nuvolari rolled across the finish line as the winner. Six more victories followed by the end of the year, split between Nuvolari and Rudolf Carracciola. The following year, Scuderia Ferrari, led by Enzo Ferrari, finally took over all racing activities from Alfa Romeo, where the in-house racing department was closed for financial reasons. Due to the restructuring, however, the team participated in only eleven events, of which they again managed to win six.

In addition to the AVUS race, where they competed with the streamlined version already mentioned, Scuderia Ferrari won five other races in 1934. These included the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, the Tripoli Grand Prix and the Targa Florio. From the middle of the year, however, the Auto Union Type A and the Mercedes-Benz W 125 dominated racing as much newer cars. Nevertheless, Alfa Romeo emerged with 18 victories from 35 racing events.

The technical superiority of the two German competitors was overwhelming in the 1935 season. In fact, the last major victory for the Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3 was at the Nürburgring. 16 more victories were achieved in smaller races that weren’t part of the Grand Prix World Championship. One car was modified with fenders, steering shifted to the right, a second seat, electric starter and a spare wheel for the Mille Miglia. There, road approval was necessary, which the modifications made it possible to apply for. A victory in 1935 was followed by a fourth place in 1936 as the final race result for a P3.

Next to Nuvolari and Carracciola, several racing greats were part of the factory team of the time. Among others, Giuseppe Campari, Baconin Borzacchini, Luigi Fagioli, Louis Chiron, Achille Varzi, Carlo Felice Trossi, Raymond Sommer, René Dreyfus or Vittorio Belmondo were at the wheel of the Tipo B P3. Nowadays, the few examples built easily reach seven-figure prices. For example, RM Sotheby’s auctioned a P3 in Paris in 2017 for more than 3.9 million euros.

Authors: Matthias Kierse, Bill Pack

Images: © by Bill Pack

Der Beitrag Automotive Art 34 – Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3 erschien zuerst auf Secret Classics.

Into The Mind Of The Designer – by Bill Pack

It is easy to learn lots of facts and information about any automotive designer. We learn what great shops they worked for, what model of cars they designed and the innovations they have brought to the industry. We know about them, but we do not know them. With my imagery I attempted to get into the soul and spirit of the designer. By concentrating on specific parts of the car and using my lighting technique, I attempt to highlight the emotional lines of the designer.

1961 Trevis-Offenhauser – Designed by A.J. Watson

The name on the car is Trevis-Offenhauser, but the DNA or origins of the car is all A.J. Watson.

In the summer of 1960 famed driver A.J. Foyt’s car was sponsored by the Bowes Seal Fast Company and co-owned by Robert Bowes and crew chief George Bignotti. Bignotti wanted a new car to campaign for 1961. At the time builder A.J. Watson’s roadster was tried, proven and in such high demand that none were available. Bignotti figured out how to solve this dilemma. He hired Floyd Trevis, because of his success as a builder and for his friendship with Watson.

Floyd Trevis was a famous car builder who had a knack for putting together the best elements of a car to secure success. He made two key decisions. The first was to use the 255 cubic-inch Offenhauser inline four-cylinder engine with dual overhead camshafts, fuel injection and methanol fuel. At the time there was no other name than Offenhauser to be considered for a serious race team. The second decision was to replicate what was a proven design. He understood at this time, and for this project, forward progress wasn’t possible. With wisdom he built a direct copy of the car from designer A.J. Watson’s plans.

In today’s world and especially in the US, this would have filled years of court calendars in endless litigation. What it really reveals, is the character of a man, who without a doubt was one of the greatest race car designers of his time. When Watson was unable to fulfill or take on new contracts, he would simply loan out his designs and blueprints to his friends. In part the reason Bignotti hired Trevis, or most likely the whole reason.

The culture at Watson’s garage is a stark contrast from today’s contracted business world. Most of the people who worked on Watson’s cars worked for Lockheed and would come over after their day jobs and work on Watson’s car for the sole fact that it was A.J. Watson, never expecting payment. This was a carry over from his hotrod days in Glendale, where building was for the pure love of creating extraordinary machines.

Calling Watson’s cars “extraordinary machines” is putting it mildly. In the 1950s and 60s there was no other name that dominated the Indy 500. At times it seemed as though the whole field of 33 cars were either built by or had its origins from A.J. Watson.

Always a humble man, he never felt it necessary to be accredited for the wins of cars he didn’t build, but were built from his designs. This was the case in 1961 when A.J. Foyt won his first Indy 500 in the Trevis-Offenhauser built from Watson’s design. Partly it was because of who he was as a person, but on Gasoline Alley, everyone knew who was “The Man”. No words were needed because A. J. Watson “The Man” spoke through the power of his designs.

In this collection of images discover that powerful vernacular, that spanned the Indy 500 over two decades.

Trevis-Offenhauser – Details – by Matthias Kierse

Little is known about the Indianapolis 500 over in Europe. And if it is, most people only know that it is a counterclockwise oval race with a long tradition. Moreover, the “brickyard”, the start-finish line made of bricks, is quite famous. Its origin, on the other hand, is better known to US racing fans. In 1909, the entire race course in Indianapolis was made of crushed stones and tar. After various accidents due to the slippery road surface, they switched to bricks – 3.2 million bricks in total. The surface was correspondingly rough afterwards. Today, only the line at the level of the start and finish line remains, while the rest has long since been asphalted. In the early 2000s, an infield circuit was also built for Formula 1, using only Turn 1 of the four banked corners. However, the European top class of motorsports drove clockwise, which made Turn 1 the last corner before the start-finish straight.

1961, when A.J. Foyt competed in the Indy 500 in the Trevis race car designed by A.J. Watson and photographed by Bill Pack, was the last time they raced on the paved start-finish straight. A few months later, construction machinery arrived and asphalted this last area of the circuit as well – apart from the now famous strip. When you look at the comparatively narrow tires on the Trevis-Offenhauser, you really don’t want to imagine using them on changing surfaces from bricks to asphalt and back again twice a lap – at full speed in banked corners.

For the first time since 1949, the Indy 500 was no longer part of the Formula 1 World Championship calendar in 1961. Although it was only the 45th edition due to the war, the Indy 500 celebrated 50 years. Before the start, the first winner of the race, Roy Hardoun, who was 81 years old at the time, took a lap of honour in his 1911 Marmon Wasp. During qualifying practice, 25 drivers failed to qualify for the main race. This has been limited to a maximum of 33 participants for many years. Eddie Sachs was on pole position in 1961. The actual race favorite, Tony Bettenhausen senior, was killed during practice when the front axle of his race car collapsed.

As always, the actual race went over 200 laps to go the distance of 500 miles. Until the 94th lap, the lead kept changing between various drivers. Then A.J. Foyt and Eddie Sachs took the lead and fought out the race win among themselves. When Foyt headed for the pit lane on the 183rd lap to refuel, it looked as if Sachs would easily reel off the remaining race distance and win. But then a puncture on the right rear tire three laps before the end caused another change in the lead. Sachs had to settle for second place behind A.J. Foyt.

Unfortunately, another fatality occured on the 127th lap. Eddie Johnson had spun his race car in Turn 4 and hit the wall on the inside slightly. This caused a small fire, which a fire truck was dispatched to extinguish. One of the safety marshals sitting in the truck bed was John Masariu. During a turning maneuver, he apparently fell off and, tragically, was subsequently run over and fatally injured by the reversing fire truck.

There was also a novelty in the field of competitors that would be adopted by many teams in the following years and is taken for granted these days. Although the Indy 500 was no longer part of the F1 calender, Jack Brabham had imported a Cooper T51 from the UK and entered it for the race. Unlike all the other cars, this one already had a mid-engine layout with the engine behind the driver’s seat. Despite relatively low power, it managed a 13th place on the grid and ninth overall at the finish.

Authors: Matthias Kierse, Bill Pack

Images: © by Bill Pack

Der Beitrag Automotive Art 33 – Trevis-Offenhauser erschien zuerst auf Secret Classics.

Into The Mind Of The Designer – by Bill Pack

It is easy to learn lots of facts and information about any automotive designer. We learn what great shops they worked for, what model of cars they designed and the innovations they have brought to the industry. We know about them, but we do not know them. With my imagery I attempted to get into the soul and spirit of the designer. By concentrating on specific parts of the car and using my lighting technique, I attempt to highlight the emotional lines of the designer.

2013 Porsche 918 Spyder – Designed by Michael Mauer

Inspiration, and what influences an artist, are unique and different for each individual. As I delve into different designers backgrounds, I find that the inspiration and influences that have the greatest impact are often the subtle ones. For Michael Mauer, who is only the fourth Porsche lead designer, it is the subtle and often overlooked, that influences his design decisions.

Mauer was born in 1962 in the picturesque town of Rotenburg an der Fulda, Germany. In his early life he was an avid skier and surfer and became instructors in both. This time in the mountains and along the sea is where I believe his earliest design influences were formed.

In an interview with Jan Baedeker for Volkswagen AG Mauer references and credits Switzerland as the wellspring of his creativity. In his youth, before attending Pforzheim in the 1980s to study design, he spent his time in the mountians and at the sea, where many of his decisions about life were formed. It is no surprise that water, mountains and the beauty of Switzerland is the place Mauer retreats to solve complex design.

Mauer says in this interview: “One designer may get his inspiration from art, another may go on city breaks and fly to London every Friday after work. I see how we’re constantly being bombarded with information, which is why we have to give our minds more and more time to process all of this information. Whenever I’m here on the weekend and go skiing, ride my bike, hike, or simply sit on the deck for a couple of hours without thinking about anything particularly lofty, my subconscious uses this time to sort out information from the week just gone by, to process it, and to find solutions.”

There is a unique line of each mountain as it falls off to the water. That topography is recognizable and leaves its impression to all familiar with the area. When approaching a completely new model with no past heritage, Mauer explains the importance of retaining a familiar line. “Of course there are still some elements that are essential to our brand identity, which we intend to keep,” Mauer says: “For instance, the topography of the hood, which sweeps downwards so beautifully.”

As I photographed Mauer’s Porsche 918 Spyder, I was struck by the simplistic beauty of such a complex machine. As you view this collection of images find the simple, uncomplicated lines that evoke much passion, which is Michael Mauer.

Porsche 918 Spyder – Details – by Matthias Kierse

I can still remember how surprised I was on the eve of the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. A few minutes earlier, Porsche had presented the 918 Spyder as a wild concept study of a hybrid supercar at the Volkswagen press evening. While some experts had expected that there would be a successor to the Carrera GT sooner or later, not so soon. After all, the last examples of the V10 sports car had rolled off the production line in Leipzig just four years earlier.

In the following period up to 2013, Porsche further developed the 918 until it was ready for series production. For example, the exhaust tailpipes of the high-revving V8 engine were moved from the sidepipe position in front of the rear wheels to up behind the rollover bars. Above all, this ensured that the soundtrack passed much closer to the passengers’ ears.

Porsche also relaunched various classic racing liveries on the pre-production prototypes. These included the Martini stripes and the Hippie design of the 917 as well as the characteristic stripes of the Porsche Salzburg team. The latter took the first overall Porsche victory at Le Mans with the 917 K in 1970. At least the Porsche Salzburg and Martini stripe designs were eventually adopted as exclusive wrap designs for series production. They were available exclusively for vehicles with the optional Weissach package. This reduced the weight by 40 kilograms and provided carbon sideblades on the side of the rear bumper as clear optical indication.

The production version of the 918 Spyder was limited by Porsche to 918 numbered copies. Two metal badges on the left and right of the center tunnel and a digital number in the left round instrument indicate the respective vehicle number. The origins of the 4.6-liter V8 engine are derived from the RS Spyder in the LMP2 category. In combination with one synchronous electric motor per axle, the combined system output is 652 kW/887 hp. A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission takes care of power transfer. The sprint to 62 mph takes just 2.6 seconds, the topspeed is 214 mph. An additional € 71,400 was added to the base price of € 768,026 for the Weissach package.

If you wanted more optional extras, the price could go up significantly more. The most expensive option was special paintwork with more than one color. Only twelve cars received this elaborate procedure at the same paint shop that also painted the other 918 Spyders. Since the special graphics, such as the Hippie livery, had to be masked off and painted on by hand, it took more than twice as long for these cars to return to production in Zuffenhausen. Three 918 Spyders were given the well-known colors of the American oil company Gulf Oil. The bright blue and orange stripes as well as the Gulf logos repeatedly adorned racing cars all over the world from the 1960s onwards, including numerous Porsches.

Production of the 918 Spyder lasted from November 2013 to June 2015. In the meantime, used vehicles are at least reaching their original sales prices again. For cars with Paint to Sample or Leather to Sample options, the value increases significantly. However, none of the twelve vehicles with multicolored special paintwork has so far ended up on the open market.

Authors: Matthias Kierse, Bill Pack

Images: © by Bill Pack

Der Beitrag Automotive Art 32 – Porsche 918 Spyder erschien zuerst auf Secret Classics.

Welcome back to a new part of our monthly Automotive Art section with photographer and light artisan Bill Pack. He puts a special spotlight onto the design of classic and vintage cars and explains his interpretation of the styling ideas with some interesting pictures he took in his own style.

Into The Mind Of The Designer – by Bill Pack

It is easy to learn lots of facts and information about any automotive designer. We learn what great shops they worked for, what model of cars they designed and the innovations they have brought to the industry. We know about them, but we do not know them. With my imagery I attempted to get into the soul and spirit of the designer. By concentrating on specific parts of the car and using my lighting technique, I attempt to highlight the emotional lines of the designer.

1958 Scarab Mk.I – Designed by Chuck Pelly

A Moveable Feast – I have had the rare privilege of being commissioned by the Phoenix Art Museum to travel the United States and create my Automotive Art Imagery for the exhibition, “Legends of Speed”. This exhibition ran through March 15, 2020 and featured 22 iconic race cars. It spanned the years 1911 through 1978.

Each car has been driven in significant races by iconic drivers. From Sir Stirling Moss to Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti, racing from Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 to the Italian Gran Prix and many more. The history is rich and storied.

My part of the story was a twelve thousand mile Gran Turismo that took me to all four corners of the Unites States into some of the most coveted and significant private collections in the world.

One of these destinations was in the southwest of the U.S. where I spent the day with Chuck’s creation, the 1958 Scarab Mk.I.

Chuck Pelly is without a doubt one of the greatest industrial designers in the world. In 1972 he formed DesignworksUSA which is regarded as one of the top 10 industrial design consultancies. He has touched almost every aspect of modern life and the diversity of design is astounding. From Nokia phones, John Deere tractors, dental chairs, set design for the “Lost in Space” TV show, Porsche 911 4dr sedan, Condi Furniture to BMW, the list goes on and the awards are endless.

Chuck was born in the early 40s and spent most of his life in Southern California. He studied design at the famed Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where at an early age he revealed glimpses of his future. Before he graduated he penned, what is considered the most beautiful race cars ever built. He was 18 years old.

Description of the Scarab given on the Chuck Pelly website:
“Its classic voluptuous body form, among the first of its kind, featured the long sweeps of the front fender that flowed into the tightly formed rear fender in conjunction with the high lifted round rear, providing a long-lasting memorable look.”

It took the collaboration of many to create this legend and in Southern California in the early 1950’s, more specifically in Culver City, a circle of people specialized in unique abilities to produce some of the rarest, fastest and most attractive automobiles in the world.

The nucleus of one such circle was Lance Reventlow. He was a young man with a taste in all things beautiful and fast. He also had the means to fund this passion, leading to the creation of the Scarab Mk.I, winner of the 1958 Riverside Grand Prix.

Through the experience with Lance Reventlow in creating the Scarab Mk.I, Chuck learned many valuable principles that guided his approach to design and design teams throughout his career.

In this collection of images you will gain insights into the thinking and mind of the 18 year old Chuck Pelly, at a moment in time when he was unknowingly poised for greatness and to have a major impact upon the world. His design and its effects upon us, have gone far beyond the impact of a race car Reventlow named Scarab.

Scarab – Details – by Matthias Kierse

What do you do if you are a racing driver with specific ideas for your own sports car? In the 1950s, there was an opportunity to live out the dream and build your own sports car brand – provided you had the financial background. Lance Reventlow had both the racing skills and necessary finances, as he was one of the heirs to the Woolworth empire. Among other things, he competed in Formula 2. On a tour of the major European sports car manufacturers, he quickly discovered that his wealth wouldn’t help him. The teams kept the best cars for themselves and at best sold the previous year’s cars to private drivers like him.

So ther was only one solution: have a race car developed and produced himself. To do this, he bought Warren Olson’s sports car workshop in Los Angeles and founded Reventlow Automobiles Inc. (RAI). With the help of young designer Chuck Belly and a featherweight tubular space frame from Troutman & Barnes, the beautiful Scarab was created. A bored-out V8 smallblock engine from Chevrolet and a manual gearbox from the then-current Corvette were mounted behind the front axle.

A total of three examples of the Scarab were produced, two Mk.Is and a slightly improved Mk.II. Privateers used them for SCCA races throughout North America. Until the early 1960s, there were only few competing cars that could seriously compete with this American car. However, since there was never a financial strong factory team, there was no real comparison to European race cars on European race tracks. The Scarab also never took part in major racing events on other continents. Only at the 1958 Riverside Grand Prix the US car was able to demonstrate its capabilities against European works teams such as Ferrari with Phil Hill.

Under the management of Lance Graf von Haugwitz-Hardenberg-Reventlow, as his full birth name was, Scarab attempted to enter Formula 1 in 1960. Two corresponding race cars were specially built for this purpose, but their front-engine layout made them obsolete before their first start. In addition, the four-cylinder engines with desmodromic valve train developed in-house couldn’t withstand the many vibrations and movements on the race track. The team took part in five races, but only managed to cross the finish line in tenth place at the home race in Riverside.

For 1961, a new formula race car with an Offenhauser engine was built and raced by Chuck Daigh in the International Formula in Europe. This car was destroyed in a serious accident during a race in the UK and another monoposto was built for 1962. The Buick engine now used sat behind the driver. However, at the same time the FIA changed the rules for the largest Formula class, which meant that the new Scarab could never be used in Europe. In fact, it was only used once: in the Sandown International Cup, a Formula Libre race in Australia.

In 1963, the final project was a two-seater racing car that again featured a Buick V8 engine behind the seats. Lance Reventlow was so enthusiastic about this car that he somehow convinced the California licensing authorities and actually obtained license plates for the race car so that he could test drive it in traffic. Despite a second-place finish at Santa Barbara, however, he increasingly lost interest in his sports car brand. He then sold the company to Texan John Mecom jr. who had already been running his Mecom Racing Team since 1960. After a Chevrolet engine was mounted in the final Scarab, A.J. Foyt raced it to a number of victories at the 1963 Nassau Speed Week in the Bahamas. The following year, Walt Hansgen won the Bridgehampton 500.

Lance Reventlow shifted his interest to other business areas and got a pilot’s license. In 1972, he and business partners planned a ski resort in Aspen, Colorado. On a sightseeing flight with Reventlow and partners aboard, an inexperienced pilot steered the private Cessna into a blind canyon during a thunderstorm. However, while attempting to steer the aircraft out by climbing, he overshot, causing the plane to crash. All occupants were killed.

Authors: Matthias Kierse, Bill Pack

Images: © by Bill Pack

Der Beitrag Automotive Art 31 – MK1 Scarab erschien zuerst auf Secret Classics.

Into The Mind Of The Designer – by Bill Pack

It is easy to learn lots of facts and information about any automotive designer. We learn what great shops they worked for, what model of cars they designed and the innovations they have brought to the industry. We know about them, but we do not know them. With my imagery I attempted to get into the soul and spirit of the designer. By concentrating on specific parts of the car and using my lighting technique, I attempt to highlight the emotional lines of the designer.

1959 Porsche 356 A Convertible D – Designed by Erwin Komenda

20 feet from stardom, this phrase describes the life of Erwin Komenda who developed the body of the VW Beetle and the most important three number sets in history: 356, 550, 901, and the lightweight fiberglass body of the 904. Yet history doesn’t readily reflect this information. Why?

He was born on April 6, 1904 in Jauern am Semmering. His father was the technical director for the first power station in Semmering and Weyer-Enns, where the family relocated in 1913. Erwin studied at the higher technical institute for iron processing in Steyr from 1916 to 1920. He made a switch in direction in 1920 and worked as an automotive designer in the Wiener Karosseriefabrik. Between 1920 and 1926 Erwin completed a bodywork design course at the Vienna Technological Museum of Trade.

In 1926 Ferdinand Porsche came to Steyr as Technical Director after leaving the Daimler-Benz AG. It was here that Erwin and Ferdinand first met. In 1929 Erwin became the chief designer of the experimental and body development department of Daimler-Benz AG in Sindelfingen. In 1933 Erwin joined forces with Ferdinand Porsche as head of the bodyworks department at the engineering and design company of Porsche. A position he retained until he passed in 1966.

As the new generations of the Porsche family started to rise in the company, a continuous change in the relationship between Erwin and the Porsche family developed. This fraction was most evident in the development of the 901. Erwin wanted to hold to the lines of the 356 while Butzi Porsche wanted more sporty modern lines. In the end it became a blending of ideas that gave birth to the most famous lines in the automotive world, the 911.

As you view this example of the 1959 Porsche 356 A Convertible D, get to know and discover Erwin Komenda. The man who drew the famous lines of the 356.

Porsche 356 A Convertible D – Details – by Matthias Kierse

Erwin Komenda’s life’s work isn’t the only thing that is virtually unknown. The same applies to the company Drauz, where the Convertible D was once produced. The Porsche 356 A Convertible D itseld is also one of the lesser-known variants of this sports car model. The basic design corresponds to the 356 Cabriolet and the 356 Speedster. The latter, as is well known, was created at the behest of the then US importer Max Hoffman, who wanted an inexpensive entry-level version for racing-mad private customers. What once appeared on US price lists as the cheapest version of the 356 is now one of the most expensive ways to own a Porsche 356.

However, Porsche kept the 356 Speedster in its model lineup only until 1957. It had exceeded expectations and made the small German sports car brand famous in the US and other parts of the world. In Zuffenhausen, however, they considered that there was still room for a second open-top variant alongside the classic Cabriolet. For this purpose, the company teamed up with the coachbuilder Drauz in Heilbronn. Carriages and eventually bodies for NSU had been built here since 1900. After World War 1, Drauz specialized in the production of convertibles and acquired Fiat and Adler as new customers, as well as Ford from 1929. In the same year, the company also took over its competitor Kellner from Berlin.

In addition to convertibles, Drauz also built steel truck cabs on the assembly line from 1933. This range was expanded four years later to include buses and trailers. In 1944, bombs destroyed the production facilities. Thus, after the war, production continued only with wooden hand trucks. It wasn’t until 1947 that sufficient production resources were available again to produce bus bodies for Büssing and Henschel again. Even before Kässbohrer, the company developed a self-supporting bus body in 1951. In addition, NSU and Ford remained as customers for convertibles or the Ford FK 1000 light commercial vehicle.

Porsche ordered a light and sporty convertible from Drauz with the basic design of the Speedster. The change was a higher windshield, which offered more protection from the weather and also allowed a proper soft top. The Speedster had previously only had an emergency soft top or, alternatively, a tarpaulin, the latter being mainly suitable for the parked car. Porsche called the new model “Convertible D” (D for Drauz). It was also given crank windows instead of the plug-in windows of the Speedster. The driver and passenger sat on the normal seats from the 356 Coupé and Cabriolet. Between 1958 and 1961, 3,514 examples were built, representing around 16.7 percent of total Porsche 356 A production.

Drauz’s body department was taken over by NSU in 1965, while the rest of Drauz concentrated on plant and tool construction. Further mergers, restructuring and sales of the company led to its renaming as Krupp Drauz and finalle ThyssenKrupp Drauz. Today it continues to exist as ThyssenKrupp System Engineering.

Authors: Matthias Kierse, Bill Pack

Images: © by Bill Pack

Der Beitrag Automotive Art 30 – Porsche 356 A Convertible D erschien zuerst auf Secret Classics.

Into The Mind Of The Designer – by Bill Pack

It is easy to learn lots of facts and information about any automotive designer. We learn what great shops they worked for, what model of cars they designed and the innovations they have brought to the industry. We know about them, but we do not know them. With my imagery I attempted to get into the soul and spirit of the designer. By concentrating on specific parts of the car and using my lighting technique, I attempt to highlight the emotional lines of the designer.

1914 Duesenberg Rickenbacker Indy – Designed by Fred and Augie Duesenberg

A Moveable Feast – I have had the rare privilege of being commissioned by the Phoenix Art Museum to travel the United States and create my Automotive Art Imagery for the exhibition, “Legends of Speed”. This exhibition ran through March 15, 2020 and featured 22 iconic race cars. It spanned the years 1911 through 1978.

Each car has been driven in significant races by iconic drivers. From Sir Stirling Moss to Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti, racing from Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 to the Italian Gran Prix and many more. The history is rich and storied.

My part of the story was a twelve thousand mile Gran Turismo that took me to all four corners of the Unites States into some of the most coveted and significant private collections in the world.

One of these destinations was at the “Brickyard” where I spent the day with the brothers creation, the 1914 Duesenberg Rickenbacker Indy.

The scheduling for the Grand Tour around America was by careful planning and design. However what was not factored in was the date we arrived in Indianapolis to photograph the Duesenberg. It happened to be the testing week at the Indy 500. We spent two days at the famous track creating imagery of three iconic Indy cars for “Legends of Speed”, while testing for the weekends time trials was in progress. The engine notes of the modern Indy cars were reverberating throughout the space as I was creating imagery of iconic cars of Indy’s past. It is an experience I will never forget.

Fred and Augie immigrated from Germany in the mid 1880s to the small town of Rockford, Iowa. With no formal training, but a natural sense of how things worked, Fred began working on farm equipment and windmills. The brother’s journey towards cars was through bicycles and motorcycles. True to hallmark of German design, the brothers priced efficiency and practicality. They complemented each other, Fred had the head for design and Augie had the business sense and the craftsman eye.

The brothers almost qualified for the Indy 500 on their first try in 1912 with a Mason badged four-cylinder engine. They then left Iowa in 1913 and moved to Minnesota setting up the Duesenberg Motor Company. Fred’s natural ability as an engineer was said to even be beyond that of Harry Miller which we featured in Automotive Art 22, which is high praise indeed.

The story gets an infusion of texture and fame when Eddie Rickenbacker became their factory driver in 1914 for the Indianapolis 500. They finished tenth in this race, but the fame began with the next race, a 300-mile race at Sioux City, Iowa on Independence Day 1914.

With a crowd of 42,000, Rickenbacker got off to a good start, by the 20th lap he was in third. By the 30th lap he was in second with only 17 seconds separating him from the leader Spencer Wishart. They were neck and neck throughout the rest of the race. Wishart had a bad pitstop and Rickenbacker took the lead. Eddie realized he was low on oil with 5 laps to go. He turned to inform his mechanic but found him to be unconscious with a big brush forming on his forehead. Not knowing if he had survived or not Rickenbacker reached over his mechanic and pumped the oil himself. They finished the race a mere 48 seconds ahead of Wishart. The mechanic woke up in the pits finding out they had won the race.

The win in Sioux City cemented Rickenbacker reputation as a driver and began a illustrious auto-racing history for Fred and Augie. In these curated images, discover the early design of Fred and Augie that became the legend of Duesenberg.

Duesenberg Rickenbacker Indy – Details – by Matthias Kierse

Nowadays, it sounds unimaginable to have a co-driver in the car at a speedway race. Whether you look at the current Indy Car or Nascar series, it’s always single-seater racing cars. Before World War 1, it was a different story. As can be seen in the text portion of Bill above, Edward ‘Eddie’ Vernon Rickenbacher (he didn’t have the spelling changed to Rickenbacker until 1917) had a mechanic with him for his first major victory as well as shortly before at the Indy 500. This was necessary because at that time there were neither electric gasoline nor oil pumps. Instead, the ‘Schmiermaxe’ (lubricating Max), as he was fondly called in the German-speaking world, had to ensure by hand that enough lubricant reached the engine. In races on winding terrain, he also served as a counterweight for the driver and sometimes had to lean far our of the moving car.

It all sounds a bit like times long gone. For some readers of the lines, even the 1914 Duesenberg migh simply be an ancient car that you might leave unnoticed in a museum. However, it is precisely these vehicles that sometimes tell highly exciting stories. One of them is the race in Sioux City on July 4, 1914, the American Independence Day. At the time, Duesenberg entered two cars that had already been painted in the colors of the American flag for the Indy 500 shortly beforehand and also displayed this flag on the side of the hood. Alongside Rickenbacker, a driver named Alley drove the second car. During a pit stop, this Duesenberg caught fire briefly, slightly injuring Alley in the face. Rather than retiring this car, Duesenberg accepted the offer of a competitor. Ralph Mulford had actually started with a Peugeot, but had had to park it shortly before with engine failure. As he had been a works driver for Duesenberg in the previous year, he knew the team well and now offered to continue driving the only slightly damaged car. In the end, he finished third.

In fact, the young Duesenberg car brand wasn’t doing particularly well financially in mid-1914. Shortly before the race in Sioux City, an important investor withdrew. This left the company with its back to the wall. However, the victory of Eddie Rickenbacker in combination with third place by Alley and Mulford brought in prize money of US$ 12,500, which was a large sum at the time. In addition, there were non-cash prizes and, of course, the trophies, which could be used for promotional purposes.

Normally, the Indianapolis 500 race takes place around Independence Day. In 1914, however, this date was relinquished to Sioux City, where the new speedway with a length of around two miles was inaugurated with this race. While European manufacturers such as Peugeot showed off and took victories at the Indy for the first time in that era, most of these cars dropped out early at Sioux City. This allowed American brands to shine on this important national holiday.

In the early laps, Bob Burman was in the lead. After a tire blowout, he lined up again in fourth place and offered his competitors a decent fight for positions. However, experts had already predicted before the race that his car wouldn’t last the distance. And so it came to pass. Engine problems caused a retirement. Thus Wishart in a Mercer took the lead ahead of Mulford (still driving the Peugeot at this point) and Barney Oldfield in a Stutz. Eddie Rickenbacker took a more cunning approach to the 300-mile race. He didn’t drive at the limit, preferring to set consistent lap times. As a result, he constantly worked his way forward and benefited from the defects of his faster rivals. Oldfield, for example, also retired with engine failure after 100 miles.

At the 200-mile mark, Rickenbacker was already in front, followed by Wishart and Mulford, who was meanwhile driving the second Duesenberg. After his final pit stop, Eddie Rickenbacker finally let his race car off the chain and showed the potential of the design by setting top lap times. After he had crossed the finish line as the winner, his interest was entirely focused on his personal mascot. For several races, a cat followed him wherever he went.

In later years, Eddie Rickenbacker became a flying ace in the United States Air Force during World War 1. This came about through a contract with the British Sunbeam racing team for the 1917 season, which took him to the parent plant in Wolverhampton. Even before he left the US, he was joined by two agents from Scotland Yard, who kept tabs on him until he returned to the United States. The reason for this was a falsely researched article in the Los Angeles Times in 1914, in which Rickenbacker was described as the disinherited son of a Prussian baron. Since the UK was at war with the Prussians, they didn’t want to get a spy into the country and therefore took no chances with Rickenbacker. He, on the other hand, saw Royal Flying Corps planes in the air above his hotel and decided that if the USA would enter the war, he too would be a pilot.

His idea of training race car drivers and mechanics to become pilots and co-pilots was ignored by the military. They preferred to have educated college graduates in the flying squadrons. Rickenbacker did eventually acquire flight training while in the military in France and shot down five enemy aircraft in the first month, promoting him to a flight ace. As leader of the 94th Squadron, he provided more victories and a previously unknown sense of teamwork among the pilots. Although he officially left the Army as a major, he always used his rank as captain, which he felt was more appropriate.

After attempting to fly nonstop across the USA four times, he sought new fields of endeavor. Together with Ray McNamara, he introduced the first Rickenbacker automobile in New York in 1922. However, his car brand only lasted until November 1924. Three years later, Eddie Rickenbacker acquired the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Over the next decade and a half, he provided modernized buildings around the course and other improvements. In 1941, the last Indy 500 before World War 2 took place. Eddie was forced to close his beloved circuit because further racing events would have consumed fuel, rubber and other materials necessary for the war efforts. Four years later, he sold the property to Anton Hulman junior.

These are just a few stages in the life of Eddie Rickenbacker. An enterprising businessman, he was involved in many companies, often serving in executive positions, and was also well connected to General Motors through his marriage. He narrowly survived a plane crash in 1941, wrote the story for a comic book popular in the US, and finally survived an emergency ditching of a military plane in the Pacific in 1942. He also visited the Soviet Union while World War 2 was still in progress and brought back important insights to the West. On July 23, 1973, he died in Zurich, Switzerland, after suffering a stroke followed by pneumonia. He had actually traveled there to seek health support for his wife. She took her own life four years later to follow her husband.

Authors: Matthias Kierse, Bill Pack

Images: © by Bill Pack

Der Beitrag Automotive Art 29 – Duesenberg Indy erschien zuerst auf Secret Classics.

Into The Mind Of The Designer – by Bill Pack

It is easy to learn lots of facts and information about any automotive designer. We learn what great shops they worked for, what model of cars they designed and the innovations they have brought to the industry. We know about them, but we do not know them. With my imagery I attempted to get into the soul and spirit of the designer. By concentrating on specific parts of the car and using my lighting technique, I attempt to highlight the emotional lines of the designer.

1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale – Designed by Franco Scaglione

Franco Scaglione was a true renaissance man, as he loved classical music and animals. He had an incredible eye for detail that is known throughout the automotive design industry. His designs were timeless in their beauty and elegance. His creations of the Alfa Romeo’s B.A.T trilogy concept cars are often referred to as some of his greatest successes. Franco Scaglione’s early years began with sketching clothing for Italian fashion houses. This imprint shaped his design philosophy of refinement that has become synonymous with the name Franco Scaglione.

Nuccio Bertone hired Scaglione in 1951 and recalled the meeting with Scaglione: “He had no auto background, but in his heart he wanted to become a designer. He came from an old, respectable family, spoke four languages and was intelligent. I proposed he work for me, on the condition that he would adapt his somewhat revolutionary ideas to my practical observations to keep them realistic.”

From the beginning, one can observe a rift forming between Bertone and Scaglione: A classic battle of art versus commerce. Despite this conflict, or because of it, what was created during that period still stands as pure beauty. Despite Bertone’s backhanded compliments, Scaglione was already an active automotive designer when the two met.

When you look at his designs, it’s clear that Scaglione had an incredible design intuition. From his creative and refined eye, his left hand drew what he saw in his mind into existence. Giovanna, his daughter said of him, “aerodynamics were his muse, but he always combined them with elegance. He reconciled his technical training as an aeronautical engineer with an innate taste for beauty.“

I believe the phrase “an innate taste for beauty” is what makes Scaglione stand out. His designs had to be technically sound, but they also needed to look beautiful. As you view my art imagery of the Giulia Sprint Speciale, rediscover Franco Scaglione’s in the lines of his design and that “innate taste for beauty.”

Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale – Details – by Matthias Kierse

The history of the Giulia Sprint Speciale goes back to 1954. Under the internal abbreviation 750, Alfa Romeo presented the new mid-range Giulietta model at the Turin Motor Show. In addition to the classic sedan, there was also a coupé called Sprint. Its shape was the result of cooperation between Mario Felice Boano of Ghia and Franco Scaglione of Bertone, where this version was eventually built. The open Spider with bodywork by Pinin Farina followed in the summer of 1955. Absolute rarities remained the Sprint Zagato and the station wagon called Promiscua. They were joined by the Sprint Speciale with the exciting shapes of Scaglione.

Compared to the B.A.T. models, the Sprint Speciale was much more toned down. Clearly Nuccio Bertone influenced the creative genius of Scaglione. However, a few playful details such as the taillights and the pointed front end remained. Under the hood was a 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine. Compared to the normal Giulietta, Alfa Romeo ensured a power increase to 74 kW/100 hp through higher compression and two twin carburetors. In combination with the manual five-speed transmission, this made a topspeed of 133.5 mph possible.

Alfa Romeo showed the first prototype of the Giulietta Sprint Speciale at the 1957 Turin Motor Show. It wasn’t until 1959 that the model reached production status and also the German market, where it was priced relatively high at DM 23,000. The first 101 cars received a lower ‘nose’ to homologate the model for motorsport. Some of them were made with aluminium bodies at special customer request. The rest came with steel bodies and doors and hoods made from aluminium. In the later series (internally Tipo 101.20) steel doors were used. Up to 1961, 1,366 units were built. The name was then changed to Giulia Sprint Speciale (internally Tipo 101.21). The reason for this was the market launch of the new Giulia Berlinetta as the successor to the Giulietta.

Although Franco Scaglione’s design no longer reflected the typical taste of the time, the Giulia Sprint Speciale was built around 1,400 times until 1966. A 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with 84 kW/114 hp was now installed under the hood. Disc brakes on the front axle were available at extra cost. Inside, the Giulia Sprint Speciale received a new dashboard with leather underside and a modified glovebox.

Authors: Matthias Kierse, Bill Pack

Images: © by Bill Pack

Der Beitrag Automotive Art 28 – Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale erschien zuerst auf Secret Classics.

Into The Mind Of The Designer – by Bill Pack

It is easy to learn lots of facts and information about any automotive designer. We learn what great shops they worked for, what model of cars they designed and the innovations they have brought to the industry. We know about them, but we do not know them. With my imagery I attempted to get into the soul and spirit of the designer. By concentrating on specific parts of the car and using my lighting technique, I attempt to highlight the emotional lines of the designer.

1911 Franklin Model D – Designed by H.H. Franklin and John Wilkinson

A Moveable Feast – I have had the rare privilege of being commissioned by the Phoenix Art Museum to travel the United States and create my Automotive Art Imagery for the exhibition, “Legends of Speed”. This exhibition ran through March 15, 2020 and featured 22 iconic race cars. It spanned the years 1911 through 1978.

Each car has been driven in significant races by iconic drivers. From Sir Stirling Moss to Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti, racing from Le Mans, Indianapolis 500 to the Italian Gran Prix and many more. The history is rich and storied.

My part of the story was a twelve thousand mile Gran Turismo that took me to all four corners of the Unites States into some of the most coveted and significant private collections in the world.

One of these destinations was in prairie lands of the US where I spent the day with a creation by H. H. Franklin and John Wilkinson, the 1911 Franklin.

I must admit that my eye is drawn towards the stylistic lines of Giorgetto Giugiaro, Pietro Frua, Malcolm Sayer, Franco Scaglione and Sergio Scaglietti to name a few. Most people are drawn to a type of art, music and cars, generally from a certain decade in their life. This car and its story told to me by the owner changed that for me.

When I hear the term ‘air cooled engine’, Porsche comes to mind. When I hear the term ‘endurance racing’, I think of Le Mans. For ‘off road racing’ it is the Baja 1000. The roots for all of these iconic races and innovations reside in this one race car from the early part of the 1900s. The short story is in 1901 John Wilkinson, the engineer inventor of the first self-starter for an automobile, built an air-cooled engine for a car. He then met H. H. Franklin who at the time made die-cast cars. The H. H. Franklin Manufacturing Company with Wilkinson made the bold pivot to building actual cars.

Part two of the story takes place in Los Angeles with the renowned Southern California Franklin distributor Ralph Hamlin, who excelled as a promoter. “It was not easy to sell air cooling,” he wrote in ‘Five Years on the Desert’, “my competitors, all of whom sold water-cooled cars, would tell my prospects that if air cooling was so good, the rest of the cars would be using it.” So as promoters had been, if not since time immemorial, then at least for a few years, he decided to race the car to prove it. “I entered any event that came along. When the desert race was suggested, it was my chance to put air cooling on top, if I could win.” And win he did.

He was not only an early supporter of the air cooled cars in general, but also in automotive endurance. How better to promote endurance and sell cars than an endurance race. The Desert Race was a 500-mile road race from Los Angeles to Phoenix. Believed to be the most grueling race in American history, it consisted of 80 miles of dirt roads and 420 miles of stagecoach or cattle trails.

Tamlin teamed up with Earle Anthony, a famous Packard dealer; and John Bullard, the attorney general for the Territory of Arizona and president of the Maricopa Automobile Club, as the originators of the derby. Hamlin and Anthony organized the Motor Car Dealers Association and worked with Bullard to organize the first Desert Race in 1908. Hamlin and Anthony sought to prove the reliability of automobiles, while Bullard’s motivation was to promote the need for better roads.

Hemmings writes: “The car was right in 1911, and it’s still right today.” The Times called it “one of the snappiest engines ever turned out by the Syracuse factory,” accurate in more than one sense, as it’s the most pummeling, staccato engine noises we’ve ever heard. The exhaust pulses are distinct and, thanks to the Franklin exhaust valve at the bottom of the cylinder, slightly irregular. Just at idle, it’s akin to having someone toss lit firecrackers at your head–snap, snap, snap, snap, snap. You can feel the air compressing as exhaust explodes from the six little and two big, wicked open pipes, pummeling you back a step.

The owner fired it up and took it for a spin before we began the shoot. There’s no way anyone would ever think “car,” because “low flying warplane” is what comes to mind. It’s a wall of pure power.

This story and car has changed my appreciation for pre-war cars, and this automobile and the people around it birth many innovations and automotive sports that we enjoy today.

1911 Franklin Model D – Details – by Matthias Kierse

For readers born after 1970, pre-war cars are probably no longer part of their everyday picture. They aren’t seen in traffic, in the garage at home, or even as posters in the teenagers’ room – unless your family has a personal history with them. If grandpa and dad have fun with these wild cars and maybe even a small collection is available, one finds a faster access to this topic than if one knows automobiles only with catalytic converter, power steering and ABS. But all these conveniences, which are taken for granted today, had to be invented first.

On the European side of the Atlantic, the Franklin race car is an almost unknown phenomenon. Even the 500-mile race across the desert of Arizona will probably have been unheard of for many of our readers. And yet this car and its history represent important building blocks on the road to our world today. If it weren’t for such pioneering efforts, who knows what today’s cars would look like – if they existed at all. Hamlin’s car often bore the brush-on nickname Greyhound, referring to its agile driving performance.

Our pictures show a Model D from 1910. It demonstrably took second place in the Desert Race that year and was subsequently used for only a few other racing events. Whether this included the Desert Race in 1911 cannot be said for sure. In subsequent years until 1970, the Franklin sat unused in the showroom of a car dealer in Oklahoma. The following owner put the car in storage for about two more decades. It has since been owned by a collector. To date, no restoration has ever taken place, giving this race car an authentic demonstration of what it must have been like to drive through the desert in the early 1900s. Especially with a theoretically possible topspeed of 85 mph, without seat belts, roof or large windshield. Do you now guess why the racers of that time are often described as ‘heroes’?

Nowadays, no other car is known to exist that participated in the Desert Race back then. Since they were racing cars, they were often driven until they broke down and then scrapped. Sentimental or even monetary value was attributed to such cars only decades later. As is well known, this development also occured much later with cars such as the Ferrari 250 GTO. The value of the Franklin Model D today is difficult to quantify, as there is no comparable second example.

Incidentally, there was never an official name for the Desert Race. In the press at the time, the name ‘Desert Race’ was accompanied by ‘Cactus Derby’ or ‘Sand Party’. Among the participating drivers, however, it was the ‘Los Angeles to Phoenix Desert Race’ or just the ‘Desert Race’. It was held once a year from 1908 to 1914. The route to be taken changed each time, resulting in driving times of between 16 and 35 hours. Between sandy dunes and rocky passages, the route also went through steep canyons and over passages with sharp stones.

Tire failures were as much a part of the daily routine as mechanical defects due to heat and overuse. However, it could get so cold at night that even snow wasn’t uncommon. Sandstorms sometimes blew during the day. In some years, rivers burst their banks due to heavy rainfall. And on some passages of the route the drivers had to negotiate with Indian tribes to cross rivers. Not to be compared with today, when you can drive from Los Angeles to Phoenix in about five and a half hours on the well-developed Interstate 10.

History of the Desert Race

Only in the first race held on November 9, 1908, all four competitors did actually finish. In addition to the air-cooled Franklin, there were two water-cooled cars and a steam-powered Steamer, for which water tanks were hidden along the route for refilling. Since Ralph Hamlin lost his way in the darkness towards the end of the day, he finished in last place.

In 1909, ten cars took part, including three drivers from the first edition. However, only four participants reached the finish line. Hamlin destroyed the rear axle housing when driving too fast over a railroad crossing. In 1910, the Franklin finally took second place among 14 participants. Only three cars failed to finish. To allow more live spectators to see this event, the ‘Howdy Train’ was driving along parallel to the track, stopping at certain points. In addition, the ‘Howdy Band’ greeted all participants at the finish line. Already at the start in Los Angeles, about 100,000 people were on site – at 11 pm at night!

The following year, 1911, the organizers shifted the route initially southward via San Diego and eventually even partially across the border into Mexico and back again. Of 16 cars that went on that 542-mile tour, 10 finished. Hamlin again reached second place after losing a lot of time along the way due to a damaged suspension. For 1912, the field dropped to 12 participants, of which only six rolled to the finish line. Hamlin with his Franklin won. He then made good on a promise to his wife: if he ever won the Desert Race, he would end his racing career.

On November 8, 1913, 25 cars set out on a 564-mile race. Only eight were to reach Phoenix. The first place finisher outclassed the other drivers by over two hours. Finally, in November 1914, the final edition of the Desert Race covered 696 miles and had 27 entrants. Once again, only eight finished. Barney Oldfield used his Stutz race car, with which he had finished fifth in the Indy 500 that same year. Although it was considered unfit, he ended up winning the race with it. On the way, the drivers first had to deal with rain and muddy roads. A snowstorm followed at El Cajon Pass and a hailstorm just before the Mojave Desert. The Howdy Train missed a participating Ford by just a few meters at a railroad crossing.

Authors: Matthias Kierse, Bill Pack

Images: © by Bill Pack

Der Beitrag Automotive Art 27 – Franklin Model D erschien zuerst auf Secret Classics.