Hydyne Motorsport 3 piece Ford Mustang wheel

Here is a small teaser of the Mustang wheel I posted earlier. Its all painted and ready for assembly! Color is a bit off in this light...its more a light gold than bronze.

Ford F3L 1968

The Ford P68 (or more commonly known as F3L) has to be one of the prettiest race cars ever built! Unfortunately its race career was not as pretty.

The P68 was unveiled in March of 1968. At the end of 1967 Ford withdrew from sportscar racing leaving several teams to carry on on their own with the somewhat outdated GT40. Some teams decided to update the GT40 and continue racing it, however Alan Mann Racing ( who had previously run both rally and racing programs for Ford with considerable success) decided to build a brand new prototype car around Ford Europe's recently introduced 3.0L DFV V8 Formula One engine. Raising sponsorship from Ford Europe, as well as Castrol and Goodyear they procured the services of leading Ford aerodynamicist Len Bailey, who had designed much of the GT40's bodywork, to work on their new car. With a Cd of only 0.27and a frontal area of 14ft² the 3.0L engine was sufficient to push the P68 to over 350km/h. However, former driver Frank Gardner has criticised Bailey's pursuit of aerodynamic efficiency at the expense of driver comfort. In order to keep the P68 on the road, Bailey incorporated a patented, vortex-generating tail scoop, intended to create downforce without adding to drag. However, although the car has since been shown to produce moderate downforce at speed, this is mostly over the front wheels. The resultant high-speed instability led to both John Surtees and Jack Brabham refusing to drive the car. Over the following months the P68 sprouted ever larger rear spoilers, and small chin spoilers, in an effort to stabilize the car.

The first competition appearance of a Ford 3L prototype was at the BOAC 500 race at Brands Hatch. Despite having good pace, the car was criticized for instability at high speeds and, due to mechanical and electrical failures, did not finish any of the races for which it was entered.

For the 1969 season the P68 was used as the basis for an aborted, fully open Spyder, dubbed the P69 which you can see in the last picture. The P69 sported large, free-standing wings mounted to the top of the suspension mounts. However, these were banned on safety grounds early in the season after similar systems failed on F1 cars rendering them completely unstable. Without these wings the design was considered unraceable, and since the cost to completely redesign the car to compete with the dominating Porsche 907s was deemed too high the development program was stopped.

Ford hot rod

Awesome looking hot rod!! Everything from the color to the wheels and stance is absolutely spot on! It was for sale recently on eBay but didnt reach the reserve. Definitively one of those cars that I would buy in a second!

Chevrolet Camaro 1973 autocross build

This is one of my all time favorite Camaro builds!! It just looks absolutely awesome with those fender flares. You can check out the whole build thread here...

http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=23997

Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar 1988

This Alfa Rome 164 as far as I know is the only car that was built for the ProCar series in 1988.

The ProCar Series was a child of the FOCA boss Bernie Ecclestone, who in the past used Alfa Romeo race engines in his Brabham-F1 cars and therefore had best of contacts to Alfa Romeo. These ProCars were to be built in the new group "S" (S = silhouette) and come as touring cars with F1- technology With this new series Bernie Ecclestone wanted to attract many of the major car  manufacturers, mostly to get new engine manufacturers for the Formula 1. According to the at this time valid FIA-requirements the engines had to have the same technical specs as the Formula 1 engines. This also applied to the rest of the Formula 1 technology, monocoque frames, carbon fibre brake discs, and a centrally located engine with a maximum displacement of 3,5 liters.

The body had to look like the original stock car, this meant that no aerodynamic devices were allowed, except a rear wing placed on the trunk lid. Alfa now tried to get a team together for this new Formula "S". This is how - with the help of Brabham (at this time owned by Bernie Eccleston) - the unique 164 ProCar was born. No other manufacturers showed any interest in the new series so not a single race was driven.

The chassis is F1 technology from the time using an aluminum-Nomex-honeycomb monocoque reinforced with Kevlar and carbon fibre. The bodywork is also made from Nomex, Kevlar and carbon fibre. The body was made in 3 parts. The front end is one piece just as the rear end. The rest of the bodywork, including doors, windshield,  and "A"-pillar make up the middle part. The doors are the same size and also function like the stock ones, except built in carbon fiber. Even the rear view mirrors, headlamps and bumpers are the same size and look like the stock ones.

 The whole brake system is also straight out of F1 with monoblock calipers  and carbon fibre discs. The engine was built to latest F1 specs, it's a 73° V-10 with 4 overhead camshafts and 4-valve technology. The engine was placed in the center of the car and bolted together with a 6 speed transmission (plus reverse gear). In its last version, V10 Alfa Romeo engine produced 620hbp at 13300rpm, with a max torque of 39kgm at 9500rpm. all this powering a car that weighs 750 kg (1655 lbs)!

The Alfa Romeo V10 engine alone deserves another post of its own. It was actually the first F1 engine to introduce the modern V10 layout...a month before Honda debuted its version. Unfortunately it wasn't nearly as successful...

On September 9th 1988, during the weekend dedicated to the Italian Grand Prix, the 164 Pro-Car made its debut on the Monza track. It was just a few laps, but which showed all the potential of a fantastic car. Driven by Brabham driver Riccardo Patrese, it reached a speed of 329 km/h, faster than that reached by the F1 cars entered in the Grand Prix! This was due to the 164 having much slipperier aerodynamics than the F1 cars of the time.

'33 Coupe

Heres a couple of awesome pics by Mike Hamel...the lonely road, the 33 coupe, the sunset...all straight out of a cult like road movie!

Sukhoi T-50

Sukhoi T-50 prototype for the PAK-FA stealth fighter 2010. Always thought the Russian milatary airplanes displayed an out of the box design…not to mention that they look mean as hell!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_PAK_FA

I think the 70s was a great time for racecar design. Rules were extremely flexible and manufacturers were willing to make bold designs a reality. This Ford Mustang GTP is one of my favorite cars from that era. Its like a mix between a coupe based racecar and an all out Group C car.

After the late 70s energy crunch, increasing safety and emission requirements and rising fuel cost, Ford turned to its profitable European operations for the way forward. Walter Hayes moved from the UK to Dearborn to run the company’s public relations.

Hayes understood that small cars were not understood in North America. He felt that a racing program based on the small Ford 4-cylinder engine should be used to demonstrate that handling and balanced performance provide a more interesting driving experience than straight-line speed.
In September of 1980 Walter Hayes transferred Michael Kranefuss from Ford of Germany to Michigan to run Special Vehicles Operation (SVO). SVO had three assignments; first, develop and race cars in multiple North American series. The second was to develop competition parts for customer purchase. Last the division was to design and build high-performance road cars.

SVO setup offices in Allen Park, not far from Ford’s world headquarters in Dearborn. Michigan. The group was starting from ground zero. When Ford exited racing in the early seventies they had gotten rid of everything. By 1983 there would be over thirty engineers all hired from within Ford on staff. While the group was building up, Kranefuss had Zakspeed ship one of its Capris from Germany to the states. The German tuning firm had build cars for both Division 1 and 2 in the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (DRM) series. The team had won the DRM championship for Ford.
The Zakspeed car and entered in the IMSA GTX class by Bill Scott and Tom Milner. The GTX car was a stopgap project until Ford could build a competitive car. The car, equipped with a 1.7-liter four-cylinder engine, had been re-bodied to look like a Mustang and was driven by German Klaus Ludwig. The team won its class at the 1981 Sears Point and Brainard IMSA races.

During 1982 Zakspeed-Roush entered selected IMSA races. The only success being a repeat of Ludwig’s win at Sears Point. SVO was hiring staff and creating plans for the successor to the Zakspeed car. The team was creating a high-perfomrance version of the Mustang road car powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. At the end of 1982 SVO was prepared to announce Ford’s Performance Equipment Program (PEP). The intention of PEP was to follow the profitable European Rally/Sport program that Kranefuss had created. PEP would first introduce high-performance parts to the racing teams and then make them available to the public. Chevrolet has been successful in racing through the manufacturing and supply of competitive equipment. PEP was Ford’s attempt to emulate their competitor’s success.
SVO first reported to Hayes’s public relations department. This was similar to the Total Performance program of the sixties. While very successful, Total Performance was budgeted and managed as a public relations and advertising program. For the Mustang GTP program, Ford was soon to establish an upper-level management committee to oversee SVO activities. Although he was a racer, Kranefuss understood that racing should be viewed by Ford, not by management getting excited about racing, but what racing can do for the company.

Ford’s racing program would support the company’s marketing efforts and because Ford produced front-engine cars the new GTP car would be required to have a front-engine. Kranefuss would ultimately regret the decision, but at the time the decision was made to go with a front engine car.
Bob Riley was selected to design the Ford Mustang GTP. Riley’s resume included working on NASA Saturn rocket project and A’J’ Foyt’s Coyote. The design objective was to create a car that generated as much downforce as possible.

Ford’s marketing department wanted a close tie-in with the SVO Mustang street car and assigned Bruce Young, to create the Mustang street car identity. The tie-in to a production car was not important to Riley and none of Young’s concept was used in the GTP car. When the car did compete it generated significant crowd interest and met Ford’s objectives without the visual connection to the SVO street car.

At the GTP car’s introduction Ford chairman Philip Caldwell talked about how the car’s technology would help Ford move forward as a world class car manufacture. Kranefuss acknowledged that having the introduced the car made the entire program a bit more special and visible within the company.

Ford acknowledged that the front engine placement was marketing driven. It was anticipated that this would increase the tie-in with the road cars. Although the Mustang GTP is a front-engine car, this is only in reference to its being positioned in front of the driver. The engine is entirely behind the centerline of the front wheels. Designer Riley discovered that it provided an aerodynamic advantage. He was able to include a ground-effect tunnel the entire width of the area between the rear wheels. Initial wind tunnel results indicated more down force than an Indycar. The results were close to the recently banded full-skirt Formula One cars.
Kranefuss was determined to use as many in-house resources as possible in the design of the Mustang GTP car. Unlike other car manufactures that contract with a specialty manufacture, Ford wanted to demonstrate its abilities and technologies. When Chevrolet announced its GTP car, it was a re-bodied Lola T600 GTP car.

Ford Aerospace and Communications Corporation (FACC) assisted with the design of the carbonfiber chassis. FACC fabrication technicians at its Palo Alto, California facility built the monocoque. Harold Hillesland, FACC senior staff scientist, worked with Riley to determine the loads that would impact the car. Using FACC’s CAD system they added Riley’s torsional-stiffness requirements and the location of load inputs.

The result of this space-age work was a massive-looking chassis made of carbon-fiber honeycomb panels bonded with special adhesives. At the back of the chassis above the fuel cell the material is relatively thin. However where the suspension is mounted there are multiple layers of carbon-fiber. The design took FACC three months to complete.

Protofab was responsible for mounting the bits to the chassis and John Mills made the bodywork. Other Ford divisions were also involved with the car. The glass division created a windshield that was half the thickness of a standard windshield. Zakspeed supplied the four-cylinder engine. Zakspeed operated out of Roush’s race shop in Lavonia, Michigan.

Based on extensive wind tunnel testing, Don Kopka from Ford’s Design Staff was instrumental in creating the body shape. Ford’s Glass Technical Center built the low-distortion high-strength windshield.
Early testing was positive although further development was required. Excessive heat was an issue. Additional insulation was required to protect the composite panels.
After alterations the cars were entered in the Road America 500 mile race. Zakspeed driver, Ludwig partnered Tim Coconis with Geoff Brabham and Bobby Rahal driving the second car. Surprisingly the cars finished first and third. The Ludwig/Coconis car won, assisted by the rain, which allowed the engines to run with less stress.

The drivers complained of the heat and the engine was weak. Chassis development would be hampered because it was difficult to keep the car running long enough. Unfortunately there was little budget to spend on development.

The car was campaigned in the 1984 IMSA season. The best results were a fifth place by Ludwig at Sears Point. In mid-season the motor capacity was increased from 1.7 to 2.1 liters. This didn’t help and the car would retire for various reasons, There was fuel injection failure, engine mounting bolts shearing, and throttle linkage failures.

At the end of the season the car’s career was over. The car wasn’t doomed for its innovation, but for the lack of engine power and reliability. Regardless of the lack of racing success, the car did succeed in attracting the racing fans and media attention, which. after all, was the marketing aim of the program.
Drivetrain

Portland IMSA

Matra Laser 1971

The Matra Laser is a one-off car designed and built by Michelotti in 1971. The Matra Laser was shown at the 1971 Geneva Show and after making some minor design changes, it was displayed at the Montreal Auto Salon in 1972. The car was built on the French made mid-engine sports car Matra M530 chassis. Its overall height is extremely low at 1080mm. To aid body strength and to channel the cooling system, it has a very wide side sill and features gull-wing doors. The car was displayed at the 2nd Tokyo Concours D'Elegance.


There's something about this concept I really like, there's lot of details I don't, but in general it looks like it could be an affordable baby Lamborghini.

Lamborghini Portofino 1987

Back in 1986, Kevin Verduyn developed the Navajo, a concept car for Chrysler, but the project never got beyond the clay model. By refining some details, the Navajo was transformed into the Portofino, a show car to symbolize the Chrysler takeover of Lamborghini, the badges on the car show the raging bull inside the famous Chrysler logo.
The Portofino was built on a Jalpa chassis, which had to be lengthened by 66 cm to allow the space for four seats. The Jalpa engine and transmission were also used, but the main attraction were the four horizontally hinged doors, the two front ones opened just like on the Countach, while the two rear doors were hinged in the rear, and also opened upward, thus eliminating a door sill.
The exterior styling was aerodynamic, a bit heavy for a real Italian sports car, but the Portofino could seat four passengers, and at speeds true to a real Italian car.
The Portofino was built by Coggiola in Turin and was unveiled to the public on the late 1987 Frankfurt Auto Show. The Portofino prototype traveled all over the world and was put on display on various Auto Shows before it disappeared. The interior of this car was very well finished, with hand-sewn leather seats and a completely adjustable cockpit, this meant the seats, the instrument pod, the steering wheel and even the switchgear.
The idea behind the Portofino can be compared with the Marzal, but it is very unlikely that either company will ever produce the Portofino, the Portofino was however used to create the Eagle Optima, a show car for the Nineties, used by Chrysler. The Portofino was actually completely functional, and could travel at a 240 Km/h. top speed.
The Portofino was wrecked in the late Eighties while it was being transported, however the actual car was rebuilt by Metalcrafters in Costa Mesa, California. During this rebuild, the Portofino has been fitted with real glass instead of the plexiglass used on the prototype, also the windscreen was now laminated glass.

Lamborghini Faena by Frua 1978

You dream of an Espada but your 2 kids and the dog are stopping you? Here is your answer. The Italian coach builder Pietro Frua created the only four-door Lamborghini in existence in 1978, the Frua Faena was created on a reinforced 1974 Espada Series II chassis (nr. 18224). It took Pietro Frua 8 months to create his four door Lamborghini, he stretched the standard Espada chassis 178 mm (7 in) to accommodate the rear seats and ended up with a car totalling 4586 mm (18 ft) in length which added 200 Kg (440 pounds) to the total weight, the wheelbase went to 2830 mm, with a width of 1900 mm and a total height of only 1250 mm, the Faena really looked impressive.

This 'special' was revealed on the 57th Salone internazionale dell'Automobile, in Turin during the spring of 1978, it was shown again to the public on the 1980 Geneva Auto Show. The car's lines looked clean at the front, with big headlights mounted in twin pop-up units, but the rear design spoiled the car, it did however include a sliding sunroof unlike the weird looking glass panel found on one specific Espada.
The Frua Faena didn't prove a success, although it was very nicely built, and Pietro Frua hoped it could be produced in small quantities, but this show car was the only one ever produced. Presented 30 years before the Estoque, its the very first 4-door Lamborghini

Its oddly proportioned for my tastes but there seems to be a lot more rear leg room compared to the new sporty sedans from Aston Martin and Porsche. I do however really like how the dash is canted towards the driver...a bit out of place in a sedan but it looks great! With that V12 up front running it in the Autobahn must be a real experience for the kids. Also you have to love how back in the 70s a coupe could be turned into a one off sedan with no concern for crash tests!