Greatest Racing Cars Of all time

Neale · 01-12-2010, 12:25 AM

I went to the Tasman Revival race meeting on the weekend & there was a great variety of great racing cars. It got me thinking what are some of the greatest racing cars of all time.

So lets see what you think are some of the greatest racing cars of all time.

I'll kick it off with some of mine. At the moment im interested in the 1930's to 1950's era GP cars. These were the most powerfull GP cars until the 1980's Turbo era cars. And would have been a handfull to drive with tonnes of power & no grip or breaks.

Running on Methanol & with supercharged engines that have so many cylinders you cant count them on both hands. But still weighing well less than most modern small cars. These Beasts would have killed you if you gave them half a chance. Just remember these were they days that safety was considered to be pussy.

Of these cars the ultimate were the Auto Union's C & D Type

1936/37 Auto Union C Type stats
Supercharged V16
520 bhp / 388 KW @ 5000 rpm
850 Nm / 627 ft lbs @ 2500 rpm
750kg
Top Speed - 314 km/h / 195 mph
Drum Brakes
Skinny Tyres
No Seatbelts or helmets

1938/39 Auto Union D Type stats
Supercharged V12
485 bhp / 362 KW @ 7000 rpm
850 Nm / 627 ft lbs @ 2500 rpm
850kg
Top Speed - 310 km/h / 193 mph
Drum Brakes
Skinny Tyres
No Seatbelts or helmets

wrongwaynorris · 01-12-2010, 03:59 AM

4.5 litre blower Bentley
Bugatti type 35
W 125
W 196
Jaguar D type
Cooper Climax
Ferrari 156
GT 40
Lotus 49
Porsche 917
Escort ( in its various twin cam guises )

Plenty of others but those spring immediately to mind

platinumXR · 01-12-2010, 07:43 AM

Pure automotive porn.

platinumXR · 01-12-2010, 08:07 AM

I remember a recent article in a motor rag, I cannot remember which one - but the article was about the Mercedes Stirling Moss Mclaren SLR and the original 300-SLR.

Funny that the Scribe noted (or words to the effect) that there was $26 Million dollars sitting in front of him...and the 2010 Mclaren SLR was only $2.6 Million of them

XWGT · 01-12-2010, 08:43 AM

These drivers were crazy

If you have ever raced the race simulator Grand Prix Legends which is based on the 1950's cars......you would understand how crazy they were.

Massive horsepower, zero grip, zero brakes, zero handling.

I think Jackie Stewart claimed only 5 drivers remained from the 200 or so he raced with in his era, the 30's and 40's and 50's were probably worse

**DJR-351** · 01-12-2010, 09:15 AM

McLaren MP 4-4 (1988)

Engine: Honda RA168-E 1.5L V6 Turbo 800hp
Drivers: Ayrton Senna - Alain Prost
1988 Season stats...
Won - 15 of 16 races
One-Two finishes - 10 of 16 races
Pole Positions - 15 of 16 races
And incredibly, of the 1031 laps of the 1988 season the McLaren led for 1003 of them..

Also the Bugatti Type 35 - the first real racing car sold to competitors in numbers during the 1920s. With a production total of 340 cars built, the famous Bugatti Type 35 is believed to have won over 1800 races worldwide during the 1920s.

aussie muscle · 02-12-2010, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJR-351

"In my day the tires were thin and the drivers were fat!"

wrongwaynorris · 02-12-2010, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

"In my day the tires were thin and the drivers were fat!"

In my day Sex was safe and Motor Racing was dangerous .

Big Bird 17 · 02-12-2010, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrongwaynorris

In my day Sex was safe and Motor Racing was dangerous .

Scott · 01-12-2010, 09:36 AM

The Tyrrell P34, not for it's success though that was pretty good for such a "frankenstein" but because it was so different at the time and in being so, was amazing that it could compete at the level it did:

Category Formula One
Constructor Tyrrell Racing Organisation
Designer(s) Derek Gardner
Technical specifications
Chassis Aluminium monocoque
Suspension (front) Unequal-length Double-Wishbone
Suspension (rear) Unequal-length Double-Wishbone
Length 4320 mm

Engine V8 Ford-Cosworth DFV. 485 hp = 362 kW at 10600 rpm, 363 Nm at 7000 rpm. Top speed 300 km/h 2993 cc V8 naturally aspirated Mid-engined, longitudinally mounted

Transmission Hewland FG400 5 speed (1977: 6 speed) Sequential manual transmission ZF differential

Weight 595 kg (1977: 620 kg)

platinumXR · 01-12-2010, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTP006

Engine V8 Ford-Cosworth DFV. 485 hp = 362 kW at 10600 rpm, 363 Nm at 7000 rpm.

Now THERE's an engine worth getting excited over.

**Polyal** · 01-12-2010, 10:29 AM

Im with you guys, the older stuff is just crazy to stop and think about. Do any companies make replicas like GT40's and Cobra's?

I went to the Historics day at Le Mans this year in July, (there is a thread with many pics in the showroom). I love the lines, sound and speed of the Porsche 917, Ferrari Daytona's, the Shelby Daytona's (see avatar). Just beautiful.

green_doctor · 01-12-2010, 10:53 AM

Plyal, there are a few companies around who make the replica GT40s, the easiest one to find last time I checked was roaring forties....

and +1 on the old school respect. At the historics last year, they fired up the 1960s Repco-Brabham F1 cars - still seriously quick beasts!

**DJR-351** · 01-12-2010, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

I went to the Historics day at Le Mans this year in July, (there is a thread with many pics in the showroom). I love the lines, sound and speed of the Porsche 917, Ferrari Daytona's, the Shelby Daytona's (see avatar). Just beautiful.

Do you remember seeing this Corvette...? a great story here....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx3p0BNInb4

**Polyal** · 01-12-2010, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJR-351

Do you remember seeing this Corvette...? a great story here....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx3p0BNInb4

Not that one in particular, there were many Id have to look through my archive. This is the thread;

http://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11303456

A quick look found this one..

Man I could go on forever, to make it fair Id have to put fav's into decades or something.

edit: Another favorite is the BMW 3.0 CSL "Batmobile".

**Polyal** · 01-12-2010, 11:04 AM

Doc, yeah I am aware of the GT40's, I meant real old school, like the Brabham you mentioned etc.

I had a look on my105 and cars of that ilk are not cheap!

XWGT · 01-12-2010, 11:35 AM

Scratch that..........looks like they have gone our of business

Fled74 · 01-12-2010, 12:17 PM

The Hudson Hornet .

mrghia · 01-12-2010, 06:18 PM

I love those hudson's. Also love the Dodge daytona

pauljh74 · 01-12-2010, 07:50 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brabham_BT19

Worth a mention

**Peuty** · 01-12-2010, 08:11 PM

Lotus 38

yanknbank · 01-12-2010, 09:22 PM

Perhaps the most beautiful, influential racing car of all time.
The low and sleek Lotus 79.

Have to agree with neale about those Auto Unions. In their day, absolutely staggering.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myxMudtFX6g

Make sure you've got the sound turned way up. Lovely to listen to.

**GasoLane** · 04-12-2010, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yanknbank

Perhaps the most beautiful, influential racing car of all time.
The low and sleek Lotus 79.

I'm with you on the Lotus JPS, but I always preferred the 72D

Neale · 01-12-2010, 09:37 PM

nice choices!!! GT40 legendary one of my all time faves.

And the Lotus 38 the car that revolutionised the Indy 500. Beautiful car!!

Heres another, The Cortina. These won everything in their prime from curcuit races & rallies, even the first 3 races at bathurst. in the GT500 & Lotus guise were some of the first homologation specials

TRRTRY · 01-12-2010, 09:45 PM

the original R32 Nissan GTR

came from literally nowhere and upset everyone

Neale · 01-12-2010, 10:22 PM

these two aswell changed Touring Cars in Aus forever. Without them we wouldnt have V8 only races. How else could they win a race

trippytaka · 02-12-2010, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neale

these two aswell changed Touring Cars in Aus forever. Without them we wouldnt have V8 only races. How else could they win a race

That R32 was a GOD of a car! Some brilliant in-car footage of it on the net. I loved that thing.

smoo · 02-12-2010, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neale

these two aswell changed Touring Cars in Aus forever. Without them we wouldnt have V8 only races. How else could they win a race

This is a myth, the GTRs success coincided with the demise of Group A racing, despite what rice boys like to believe.
It's not really a favourite, but worth a mention, the BMW E30 M3, most successful touring car to date.
I'm a fan of the F5000 series which seems to have had a revival lately, covered by AMC quite often, will be seeing these race early next year

http://www.f5000.co.nz/

Bearman · 02-12-2010, 10:24 AM

God damn, those pre WWII Auto Unions were just absolute beasts. Real steel balls driving from Bernd Rosemeyer and Tazio Nuvolari, the only 2 drivers to ever really get a handle on those monsters.

I would have loved to have been at a Grand Prix when these monsters were on the track. Crazy stuff!!

mrbaxr6t · 02-12-2010, 10:38 AM

this

and this

rally rules!

and the original turbocharged racecar ran by renault in the early 1900s open wheeler wooden frame seat mounted BEHIND the rear wheels also made of wood NO SEATBELTS with a piece of leather and goggles on yer head for protection this thing was so insane that it slaughtered the competition and was outcries banning it, my father has a book with it inside it lifts the front wheels coming out of corners, the thing is a extremely fast coffin.. interwebs have no pix I looked