Two Porsche racers and Audi's new DTM challenger ...
One of the big announcements to come out of this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans was Sir Stirling Moss' retirement from racing after a career that had lasted over sixty years. After just a single lap in practice he parked his car because he had scared himself and no longer felt up to competing. The car used on this momentous occasion was his recently acquired Porsche 718 RS 61. Built in 1961 this is the final evolution of a hugely successful range Porsche sports racers that had its origins in the 550 introduced back in 1953. Sporting a twin-cam version of the familiar flat-four engine, the cars scored numerous class and outright victories. Sir Stirling himself came very close to winning the Targa Florio outright in a sister car, which is why he bought the car at auction back in March of 2010. We captured chassis 718-070 at Le Mans with Sir Stirling completing his final lap and again a few weeks later when he demonstrated his Porsche at Goodwood. For good measure we have also included pictures and details of chassis 718-076, which won the 1963 European Hill Climb Championship and the 1964 South African Sports Car Championship.
Another exciting Porsche that starred at Goodwood this year was the unique 961. Based on the hugely sophisticated 959 road car this particular example was the only one prepared for circuit racing and remains the only four-wheel drive Porsche ever to compete at Le Mans. Its racing career lasted just three races and it was never really competitive due to the heavy and complicated all-wheel drive system as well as the lack of development. The final race ended prematurely due to a massive fire but the 961 has been fully restored and is today on permanent display in Porsche's fabulous museum.
Hot on the heels of the roll-out of BMW's upcoming DTM racer, Audi have released the first details of the A5 DTM. Also scheduled to compete in the 2012 series, it features a carbon-fibre monocoque and a V8 engine that produces over 460 bhp.
Enjoy the links:
2012 Audi A5 DTM - Images, Specifications and Information
1986 Porsche 961 - Images, Specifications and Information
1961 Porsche 718 RS 61 Spyder - Images, Specifications and Information
2011 Aston Martin Virage - Images, Specifications and Information
Last edited by Wouter Melissen; 07-19-2011 at 04:40 AM.
If you should see a man walking down a crowded street talking aloud to himself, don't run in the opposite direction, but run towards him, because he's a poet. You have nothing to fear from the poet - but the truth.
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