Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada

 

 

 

The Bizzarrini Strada also 5300 GT Strada and 5300 GT, is a sports car produced by Bizzarrini from 1964 to 1968. Sold as a low slung, two-seat coupé, roadster, and track-tuned "Corsa" racer, it proved to be Bizzarrini's most successful model. Designed by ex-Ferrari chief engineer Giotto Bizzarrini in 1963, the Strada was launched by his company in 1964. It was similar in concept to the Iso Grifo, also designed by Bizzarrini, and even used the Grifo name while in the planning stage, as well as the welded unibody platform of the Iso Rivolta 300.

The Strada which adopted a Front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout – was powered by a 327 Chevrolet small-block engine displacing 5.4 L and rated at 365 hp to 385 N⋅m of torque in the road legal version and 400 hp in the Corsa.  The engine was intentionally placed as far back over the front axle as possible, to improve weight distribution and handling. The car could accelerate 0–100 km/h in less than 7 seconds, and attained a top speed of 280 km/h. In later models, the 5,358 cc engine was replaced by a larger 7,000 cc unit, fitted with a Holley carburetor.

 

Dunlop four-wheel disc brakes, a BorgWarner T-10 four-speed manual transmission, de Dion tube rear suspension, and limited slip differential were also used. The Giorgetto Giugiaro influenced Bertone styled aluminum body, was striking in its day and still regarded in the 21st century as "gorgeous"[2] and an "absolute masterpiece".

 

A total of 133 examples were produced from 1964 through 1968.

Maserati 450S Over the top

 

When you delve deeper into the history of the Maserati 450S, you find the stories that make the story of this incredible Maserati even better, more beautiful, more exciting. The story of Tony Parravano must be told, not only because he made the 450S possible, but also because he was one of the most enigmatic personalities in racing in the 1950s. And to bring up the right keyword to attract the necessary attention: Mafia. Tony came to racing more by chance. His friend Jack McAfee (also worth a story) invited him to a race – and the virus struck mercilessly. Parravano didn’t want to drive himself, but financed McAfee a Cadillac with which he was able to drive the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico in 1950. A Jaguar XK120 followed – and after the Carrera in 1951, the first Ferrari, a 340 America. And so it went on and on, Tony bought more and more fast cars, hired fast drivers, including Carroll Shelby, Phil Hill, Masten Gregory and Ken Miles – and was quite successful... (More : Here)

Frank Lloyd Wright’s cars

Frank Lloyd Wright’s passion for cars took many forms. Tucked into the McDowell Mountains is Taliesin West. Taliesin West was the winter quarters of noted architect Frank Lloyd Wright, where he also founded the Taliesin Fellowship, an apprentice program, in 1932.  Frank Lloyd Wright, his wife Olgivanna and their architectural apprentices traveled to Arizona from Taliesin, the architect’s summer home and studio in Wisconsin, often utilizing a number of Wright’s prized vehicles, including a 1937 AC 16/80 Competition Sports and five 1949 Crosley Hotshots for the journey.

Like his appreciation for fine architecture and art, Wright loved automobiles that represented thoughtful design, elegance and performance. Over the years, these included cars from Jaguar, Packard, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz, as well as a 1953 Bentley R-Type, a modified 1940 Lincoln Continental and sentimental favorites of Wrights, two Cord L-29s (Phaeton and Cabriolet). The 1929 Cabriolet, as well as a 1952 Crosley Super Roadster owned by Wright, are now part of the permanent collection at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, Indiana. 

In 1924, he designed the Gordon Strong Automobile Objective, an entertainment facility for the motorist that featured a planetarium inside and an incredible spiral roadway on the outside. Later that decade, he developed a plan to build standardized gas stations nationwide, a franchising concept that was ahead of its time. Wright designed two filling stations: One, designed for downtown Buffalo, New York, was never realized but lives on in the city’s Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum, and the other, built in the 1950s, still exists in Cloquet, Minnesota. 

As early as the 1930s, Wright began using the carport as a means of protecting automobiles efficiently and inexpensively, and in 1945 – again, ahead of his time – he came up with a plan for an unrealized drive-up laundry that offered speedy curbside service. He also visualized drive-up banking way before it became a reality, although his 1947 plan for a Tucson, Arizona, bank was met with less than enthusiasm by conservative bankers, who thought it preposterous to think anyone would conduct banking business from a car.

Wright also designed two automobile showrooms, one for a Packard dealer in 1947 and another for a New York City-based importer of Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz vehicles in 1954. Sadly, the latter, which featured a spiral ramp and turntable interior, was demolished in 2013. The architect also developed several innovative concepts for cars of his own design. In the 1920s, he sketched out a vehicle he referred to as the “Automobile with Cantilevered Top,” which featured a horizontal bar, anchored to the trunk, that cantilevered toward the front, supporting the roof. Among the car’s innovations were headlights that turned with the steering wheel and louvers over the driver’s window and the windshield.

Later, in 1955, the architect designed the “Road Machine.” More taxicab than personal car, the vehicle was based somewhat on an International Harvester tractor that Wright owned on his farm in Wisconsin, with one center wheel in the front and two larger wheels in the back. There was a separate compartment for the driver, located behind and above the passengers. Wright said at the time that his general goal was to produce a vehicle that had more flexibility in traffic. “Most American cars are designed like shoeboxes going down the highway,” he once said. “But a car should be designed with sleek lines, like fish in a school of fish.” As an early Wright apprentice, John deKoven Hill, once told a reporter, “The car was part of his stance, his outward appearance as far as the world was concerned. It was a matter of his persona – how he looked, what he stood for – his artistic judgment. The cars he drove and the way he dressed were all part of a general picture of presenting himself and his work in the right light.”

If you get the chance while attending the Scottsdale Auction, a trip to Taliesin West is well worth the time. A variety of tours is offered of the site, varying in length and scope, with full descriptions and reservation information available at FrankLloydWright.org/Taliesin-West.

words by Barbara Toombs via : https://www.barrett-jackson.com/

Thanks to Tom Sappington 

Björn Envall a Master in Design

Björn Envall is a Swedish retired automobile designer was head of the design department at Saab. He started his career in the 1960s at Saab as an apprentice under Sixten Sason, especially helping with the design of the Saab 99 and the ill-fated Saab Catherina sports car. 

Sixten Sason

In fact, after the failure of that design to be accepted by Saab, he designed a further and progressive two-seater, which was never built. After a two years spell at Opel he took over Sason's work at Saab, in 1969, following Sason's death. He held this position until 1992. 

Björn Envall on the wright

Among his designs there was the Saab EV-1, Saab 98, the Saab 99 Combi Coupé, the Saab 900 and the Saab 900 convertible. He also guided the co-operation project with Fiat, that led to the Saab 9000. He made the original drawings of the 'new generation' Saab 900, in 1988, before the involvement of General Motors in the company.

I owned 4 Saab 900 i and 9àà turbo and I don't want to go back on the tragic history of design at Saab, but how can we explain the disappearance of this emblematic brand without thinking of the person in charge who, one day, decided to stop the design of the 900 and not to make it evolve as Porsche did with the 911 ?

1935 Voisin C28 Aérosport

Avions Voisin was a French luxury automobile brand established by Gabriel Voisin in 1919 which traded until 1939. Gabriel B. Voisin was an aviation pioneer and manufacturer who in 1919 started producing cars using Knight-type sleeve valve engines at Issy-les-Moulineaux, an industrial suburb to the southwest of Paris. Former student of the Fine Arts School of Lyon and enthusiast for all things mechanical since his childhood, Voisin's uncompromisingly individual designs made extensive use of light alloys, especially aluminum. One of the company's most striking early designs was the Voisin Laboratoire Grand Prix car of 1923; one of the first cars ever to use monocoque chassis construction and utilising small radiator-mounted propeller to drive the cooling pump. The characteristic Voisin style of 'rational' coachwork he developed in conjunction with his collaborator André Noel. Noel prioritized lightness, central weight distribution, capacious luggage boxes and distinctively angular lines. The 1930s models with underslung chassis were strikingly low. In the early 1930s, Gabriel Voisin could not pay all of his draftsmen any more and a young creative engineer named André Lefèbvre quit, recommended by Gabriel to Louis Renault. Lefèbvre finally entered Citroën where he led three particularly significant car projects: the Traction Avant, the 2CV and the DS, using a lot of Gabriel's lessons. Pictures via : delessencedansmesveines

Koehler-Escoffier Restoration by Heroes Motorcycles

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One of the most spectacular sports this world has seen is moto-ball: it was popular in france back in the 1930’s, and was similar to polo but replaced the popular sport’s horses with motorcycles. the field has the same dimensions as a soccer pitch, however the ball is larger than a size five soccer ball. the often forgotten game also brought with it some truly remarkable bikes, and this Koehler-Escoffier by los angeles based fabricator Heroes Motorcycles is a pristine example. (via designboom.com) Koehler-Escoffier is a French motorcycle brand founded by Marcel Koehler and Jules Escoffier, a former mechanic at Magnat-Debon, founded in 1912.

Toyota RV 2

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 The RV-2 was a 2-door wagon concept car shown during the October 1972 Tokyo Motor Show and the April 1973 New York International Auto Show. Styling was up-to-date with sharply formed edges and large rectangular headlights. The front bumper covered only the corners, allowing the grill to be much more prominent than normal. The roof line terminated behind the large door on each side. Above the rear waistline were a pair of side hinged clam shell doors covering the entire rear section. An integrated roll bar terminated the body work and also formed a place for the clam shell doors to seal. The clam shell doors met each in the middle of the roof with no centre support. When the doors were raised you could stretch a tent between them. Two adults could sleep in the tent section and another two adults could sleep on the front seats, which could fold down flat. Finally, the rear section included a full width tail gate with a wind-down window nestled under the rear roll bar. Larger than the 1971 RV-1, some sources say the RV-2 was based on the Mark II while others say it was based on the Crown. Both the Mark II and the Crown shared major mechanical parts with the RV-2 (4M engine, transmission, suspension), so either could be true. The RV-2 uses wheels with 5 studs, just like the Crown and unlike the 4 stud Mark II wheels but these parts are easy to swap between the cars. The 2600 cc 4M engine was uprated to include SU carburettors to give 190 km/h. A fully working prototype in RHD was shown at the Tokyo Motor Show and reviewed in the August 1973 issue of Penthouse magazine. Toyota also printed a large number of a brochure for the USA market in order to gauge the market reaction. It was generally well received but apparently not enough to put it into production. The brochure included sketches with the steering wheel clearly shown on the left hand side but the photographs of the real vehicle hid the steering wheel - which was on the right hand side.