Hips Don’t Lie

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Iconic

Something about the legendary shape, the color scheme, the graphic design, that makes this truly a classic. Who knows if the JDM stuff we covet today will be as timeless 30 years on.

Classic

A 917K with the famous Martini Livery. Modern race cars seem to have given up the whole livery thing, with a few examples. Such a shame. Teams need to bring some old school back!

Presents!!!

Channukah Harry was on point this year, and it was very car-centric

Just some of the cool stuff I got

From my awesome girlfriend:

Aston Martin DBR9 – “After Race” Version (this is the car that won the GT1 class at LeMans)

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Can Am DVD (narrated by Sam Posey) – awesome footage !

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Porsche Martini Shirt (maybe next year, the actual car! But for now, I'll settle for the sweater 😉 )

From my younger brother, Jonathan (he’s much a car nerd as I am):

Also from Jonathan – this thing is simply awesome!

1/18 scale Exoto (Racing Legends Collection) 935, 1976 spec, driven by Jacky Ickx, Jochen Mass.

Yes Please

If I ever strike it rich and can indulge in buying/racing classic cars, this would be at the top of my wish list

Italian Couger

Lately I’ve been looking lovingly at some of the great race cars of the 70’s. What I like best is that they resemble what comes mind when I think of what a modern race car is, yet they do so with a raw, seat of the pants flair. They were purposeful looking, and the 70’s were a time where the manufacturing processes finally began to catch up to the engineering knowledge base.

So, here is today’s entry – the Lancia Beta Montecarlo. Lancia’s have always been a bit of an eccentric marque, and despite all the nightmare stories of ownership, who wouldn’t want one of these in their garage? I’m also a sucker for that Martini Livery, as it’s just looks so damn good on just about any sports car.

Don’t let all the wild bodywork fool you. Underneath lurks a 4 cylinder engine. This tour-de-force packed a whole 7:1 compression ratio – pretty standard for the day, as this was the infancy of turbochargers in full competition use. The weighed less than 1800 lbs, and power ranged from the mid to high 400’s….wheeeeeee !!! Later versions developed by Abarth made over 500 hp.

Just listen to the engine wail – heavenly!

This is an awesoe in-car video I found from last years Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Now I’m going to hunt online for some Group 5 Books/DVD’s to grab up before F1 starts! If anyone knows of any good ones, let me know!