Vintage Motorsport Newsletter 12/12/2014 by John L. Stein

Graham Hill's 1968 Lotus 56 Indy Turbine Car

To Be Offered at Barrett-Jackson 'Salon' Sale

Graham Hill wheels the Lotus 56/3 Turbine during the 1968 Indy 500 (photo: courtesy Barrett-Jackson)

Scottsdale, AZ -- One of the most innovative race cars to ever contest the Indianapolis 500 has been revealed as a late consignment to Barrett-Jackson's upcoming Scottsdale auction. The wedge-shaped, turbine-powered Lotus 56/3 that Graham Hill had running in 4th place in the 1968 Indy 500 until a minor crash forced him out on lap 110 will be on the block during primetime on Saturday, Jan. 17 as a highlight of the auction's reserve-priced "Salon" selections.

The iconic STP-liveried Lotus was one of four such cars built by Andy Granatelli and Lotus as a followup to the STP showman's 1967 Paxton turbine car, which Parnelli Jones qualified 6th and was leading the "500" by nearly a full lap until a $6 transmission bearing failure sidelined him with three laps to go. Mike Spence died of his injuries after a crash in one of the four Lotus 56s while testing at Indy in 1968.

In the 1968 race, Hill set a new qualifying record of 171.208mph until his teammate Joe Leonard in a sister car (No. 60) took the pole with a 171.559mph qualifying speed. In the race, all three of the Lotus Turbines (Art Pollard was driver of the No. 20 turbine) were running in the top 10. Leonard was on eventual winner Bobby Unser's tail most of the day and was leading on lap 191 (of 200) when a failed fuel pump driveshaft ended his day, three laps after the same malfunction sidelined Pollard's car. Hill's car lost a wheel and hit the wall in Turn 2 just past the midway point.

With 80% fewer parts than its competitors' piston-powered engines, and needing no radiator, the turbines allowed for a clean, aerodynamic wedge-shaped body with no nose intake. The lightweight aluminum monocoque chassis with double-wishbone suspensions, 1350-lb. weight and all-wheel drive made the Lotus 56 a potent threat at Indy. (A complete history of Granatelli's turbine Indy efforts can be found in Vintage Motorsport's May/June 2004 issue: to order visit www.vintagemotorsport.com then click on the "shop" button then "back issues" then "2004."

The Hill Lotus 56, which until just recently was on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum along with its turbine brethren, was owned by ...

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Get the Revs Up for the Arizona Auctions and Concours

1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider, Estimate: $8-$10 million.

(image � and courtesy of Gooding & Company; photo by Brian Henniker)

Scottsdale, AZ -- While most of the 322 million people in the U.S. are probably focusing on the Super Bowl in Phoenix next month, the truly illuminated will be laser-locking instead on nearby Scottsdale. That's because the annual Arizona collector car auction week will be on the cams here from January 10-18. Besides the growing prestige of the Arizona Concours d'Elegance, there will be six big auctions from Gooding & Company, RM, Barrett-Jackson, Russo and Steele, Silver and Bonhams.

No two auctions share the same venue, but they do share various dates, so you have to plan out what you want to see, on what days, for best effect. Barrett-Jackson has previews and/or auction action scheduled for nine days straight. Russo and Steele covers five days and Gooding has four days of activities. Offering previews and/or auctions on three days each are RM, Silver and Bonhams.

Gooding has a 1988 Porsche 959 Sport on the docket and a few amazing Ferraris, while RM is offering a 1993 Bugatti EB110 GT. More impressive, though, at least from a size standpoint, is Barrett-Jackson's offering of the STP Turbine Indy car (see above) bolstered by one of the highly stylized GM Parade of Progress tour buses, an art deco masterpiece. Accompanying it on the B-J roster is a famed '50s GM show car, the original Pontiac Bonneville. Historic stuff indeed. Way bigger in dollars is expected to be the Le Mans and Spa-winning 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Competizione offered by Bonhams. Count on some number of millions, and we're not talking pesos or yen here.

Here are some websites for more information:

Arizona Concours d'Elegance - http://www.arizonaconcours.com

Gooding & Company - www.goodingco.com

RM Auctions - www.rmauctions.com

Barrett-Jackson �- www.barrett-jackson.com

Russo and Steele - www.russoandsteele.com

Silver - www.silverauctions.com

Bonhams - www.bonhams.com

www.griotsgarage.com

Daytona Coupe Wins International Historic Motoring Award

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum's original-condition 1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe won 2014 "Car of the Year" honors from the International Historic Motoring Awards. It's the first American car to do so.

(photo: Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum)

Philadelphia, PA -- The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum's original-condition 1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe has won another prestigious award in the form of 2014 "Car of the Year" honors from the London-based International Historic Motoring Awards. Making this even more special, the Peter Brock-designed coupe was the first American car to be nominated for the award, and also the first American car to win it.

Through an esteemed panel of 22 automotive connoisseurs from the U.S. and abroad, the annual International Historic Motoring Awards selects candidates from within a small group of car categories. Five finalists from each category are then chosen and the awards are presented at a black-tie ceremony at the remarkable St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel every November. The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum is the only organization to have been awarded "Museum of the Year" (2011), "Publication of the Year" (2012), and now "Car of the Year" (2014) by the same organization.

Fall 2014 has been a good season for the museum's Daytona Coupe. In November, it became the first automobile ever inducted into the American National Historic Registry, an honor awarded in the past only to buildings, battleships and such. Winner of the 1964 Sebring 12 Hours, the car went on to post some two dozen speed and endurance records at Bonneville before being hidden away for 30 years. It is the only one of the six Daytona coupes remaining in original condition. The combination of innovative design, outstanding racing history, and superb state of preservation convinced the National Park Service to make it the inaugural National Registry car.

For more info go to www.simeonemuseum.org.

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Le Mans Legends Field Expands for 2015

Suffolk, England -- Le Mans Legends, the annual vintage support race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is expanding its grid next year. Scheduled for Saturday, June 13, the event will feature an impressive 61 historic cars on the full 8.5-mile Le Mans circuit. Better still, the race will occur just a few hours before the start of the modern 24 Hours. You can't top that for a vintage race.

For 2015, the annual Le Mans Legends vintage race field has been expanded to 61 cars from 1949-'68. The event will run just hours before the start of the 24 Hours (photo: Motor Racing Legends).

The expansion was made possible by widening the age range for cars, which now extends from 1949 through 1968. This allows in such iconic cars as the Ford GT40, Porsche 908 and 910, and Alfa Romeo T33/2 into the mix -- in addition to the event's customary sports and GT cars from the 1950s and early 1960s.

Organized by British vintage-racing organizer Motor Racing Legends, the highly nostalgic (but also hugely competitive) Le Mans Legend is inarguably one of the jewels in the crown of historic motorsports worldwide. "We are extremely excited about this new aspect of the race," said Duncan Wiltshire, the chairman of Motor Racing Legends. "It means that spectators will be able to see cars from 20 years of Le Mans history all racing at the same time -- a moving motorsport museum!"

In deference to the huge performance gap between the fastest and slowest cars encompassing a 20-year span, organizers will restrict entries of earlier cars to the ones they believe are capable of lapping Le Mans in a reasonable time. For example, the expected machine range runs from Jaguar C-types and Allard J2s up to cars like the Ford GT40.

Besides this once-a-year Le Mans Legend event, Motor Racing Legends produces four other historic series including the Royal Automobile Club Woodcote Trophy, the Stirling Moss Trophy, the Motor Racing Legends Pre-War Sports Car Series, and the Historic Touring Car Challenge.

For further information on the 2015 Le Mans Legend race (or to register interest as a participant) go to www.motorracinglegends.com

http://www.goodingco.com

MG Vintage Racers Head to VIR on April 10-12

Above: MG Vintage Racers has selected the Vintage Drivers Club of America's race weekend at Virginia International Raceway as its "Focus Event" for next year (photo: MG Vintage Racers).

Burlington, CT -- The longstanding single-marque group MG Vintage Racers (MGVR) has selected the Vintage Drivers Club of America's race weekend at Virginia International Raceway, in Alton, VA, as its "Focus Event" for next year. The dates are April 10-12, 2015.

Founded in 1981, the MGVR is dedicated to active racers of MGs and MG-powered specials. Every year the group chooses one particular vintage race as their designated "Focus Event," working with the sanctioning body to include some "all-MG" races in addition to the regular run groups. Amping things up even further, MGVR adds its own MG awards and MG socials to the event. Dating back to 1996, this annual tradition has drawn large turnouts of racing MGs, with 97 participating at the 2014 Focus Event at Watkins Glen last September.

Details are still being worked out, but the MGVR invites all MG racers and MG enthusiast to attend. Go to www.mgvr.org for more information.

Harleys Galore, Plus The Best British Leakers

At Bonhams Las Vegas Motorcycle Sale January 8

A selection of important prototype, racing and road models are to be featured

at the Bonhams Las Vagas sale Jan. 8 with a dozen cut-away engines and associated memorabilia

San Francisco -- Following the recent news of an impressive assortment of early consignments to Bonhams January 8th auction -- including motorcycles from the estates of Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda -- Bonhams has announced the addition of another truly renowned collection, that of Herb Harris.

For years the Herb Harris Collection of Texas has been synonymous with the absolute finest in premium, classic British motorcycles, particularly Vincent HRD. A Harris Vincent came to mean a motorcycle of flawless quality.

The Motorcycles
Motorcycles consigned from this famous collection include the 1946 Vincent "1X" Rapide B Prototype, the first post-War Vincent produced and the first series B Rapide ever created. The subject of a feature article in the September 2013 issue of Cycle World, 1X had been lost for nearly half a century until it was discovered, researched and reinstated back as a motorcycle once again by Harris.

Other models include an exquisitely restored 1949 Vincent Rapide C with matching Blacknell Bullet Sidecar in striking Chinese Red, a 1957 BSA B34 Works Racer, a 1962 Matchless G50 CSR Silver Eagle with a spare engine, and an early 1949 AJS 7R, among others.

The Cut-Aways
Harris is also known for his extensive collection of rare cut-away, or sectioned, motors -- complete motorcycle engines sliced open with precision in order to show the internal workings. These factory-made educational pieces are very scarce today and Bonhams will be offering a dozen of Harris' from marques Ariel, BSA, Matchless, New Imperial, Norton, Sunbeam and Triumph.

Truly one of the greatest names in British motorcycle collecting, the Herb Harris Collection will, as reported, share center stage with another collection of renown, the Jack Silverman Collection of Italian motorcycles. These two headlining collections will be supported by a 30+-strong private collection of American motorcycles, specifically Harley-Davidson.

Go to www.bonhams.com/vegas to download a PDF of the auction catalog.

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Videos for This Week

1967 Baja 1000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVs9V0oRD-Q

1956 DeSoto at Pike's Peak Hill Climb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F47HPS4vxwY

1989 Ascot Park Figure 8 Racing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2FQD3dsM_E

http://www.vintagemotorsport.com/