Porsche 908/3 and unique HRG Airline Coupe headed for auction ...
Hedging their bet, Porsche prepared two distinctly different cars for the 1970 World Championship; the 917 K for the long distance, high speed events and the far more agile 908/3 built specifically for the Targa Florio and Nurburgring 1000 km. Applying lessons learned with the 909 hill-climb racer, almost all of the weight of the very compact 908/3 is concentrated within the wheelbase. The deceivingly simple and compact machine proved more than up to the task and duly won both races in 1970. Bad luck ended the run at the Targa Florio early a year later but the German manufacturer bounced back with a 1-2-3 at the Nurburgring. Privateers continued to race the cars with considerable success and even turbocharged engines for many more years. Today most of the surviving cars are part of prominent collections but one (chassis 908/3 - 004) will be offered at RM's Amilia Island Auction next week. This prompted us to explore our archive, which resulted in this spectacular 78-shot gallery, featuring nine different examples. Among them is the one headed for auction and also the one car that won all three major races and is today part of Jerry Seinfeld's formidable Porsche collection.
Also due to cross the block in less than a fortnight, is this lovely HRG Airline Coupe, which will be offered by Gooding. Built in 1938 by the 'H' in HRG, Major Edward Halford, this machine is unique in more ways than one; it was the only fixed head HRG and the only one ever powered by a Triumph engine. Intended as a production prototype, it was not followed up on when the Major left the company soon after it was completed. It was later used as a daily driver for two decades before it was stored for many more years in boxes. Following a complete restoration, the very elegant HRG Airline Coupe did not re-surface until very recently. Gooding's sale represents the first time in nearly 50 years that the car is on the market.
Enjoy the links:
[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/5464/HRG-Airline-Coupe.html"]1938 HRG Airline Coupe - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]
[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/815/Porsche-908-3.html"]1970 - 1971 Porsche 908/3 - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]
[url="http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/5467/Maserati-GranTurismo-MC-Stradale.html"]2013 Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale - Images, Specifications and Information[/url]
