Straightspeed photo

  Classic Driver Magazine  are featuring this stunning Michelotto built Ferrari 512 BB LM and being offered for sale by Mécaniques Modernes & Classiques from Paris. "As the last of a batch of 25 units completed by Michelotto, this Ferrari 512 BB LM bearing chassis number 44023 was completed only in late 1982 – as it turned out, too late to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans the following year. Up to and including 1982, the BBs entered by the likes of Charles Pozzi or N.A.R.T had been fixtures and crowd pleasers at La Sarthe. Featuring 470-hp, five-liter naturally aspirated V12 engines and displaying stunning Pininfarina-styled long-tail bodywork, their greatest success came in 1981 with a fifth spot overall" More photos and a potted history are available  here .

  Words & Photos: Isaac Western for  NZV8 Magazine The Ferrari F40, Porsche Carrera GT, and the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing — what do these cars all have in common? They’re all common as muck. Seriously, when you compare them to this Dodge Charger 500, you’d easily find about three F40s for every one of these. So how many were made then? Well, it depends on who you ask … An official Chrysler VIN list from 1972 states that 392 cars exist, with a letter supporting the fact. Although another letter also from Chrysler in 1971 confirms that 548 were built. To make matters worse, a letter from NASCAR founder Bill France Sr confirms that 540 cars were built, and Mopar guru Galen Govier claims that he has a complete VIN list of 580 cars — but you’ll just have to take his word for it. Whatever the production number, it’s hellishly low, and the original paper records were lost to a fire in the ’70s, so the actual figure may never be uncovered. As most of you would know, in the beginning...

  Middlehurst Garages  recently shared this rarer than rare UK specification R34. What a machine. 1 of 6 Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R V-Spec officially made as UK specification. 'T6 GTR’ is one of the original six Nissan GB press cars and was featured on Top Gear with @jeremyclarkson1!  All 6 of the press cars had 11 digit Japanese VIN numbers and were all UK specification cars, with Connolly leather interior.  Of those original 6, only 4 are believed to remain, as chassis BNR34-001450 was crashed and wrote off in approx. 2002 (We believe to be T7 GTR, and BNR34-001463 does not exist anymore to our knowledge? Some photos from the January 2000 issue of GT-R magazine (0030) in the last few photos, enjoy! 

  The Rudge ‘bitsa’, built by Jean-Claude Barrois. This bike has had a chequered life, starting out as a 1928 Soyer—a French brand that produced motorcycles between 1920 and 1935.Soyer used a variety of engines for their motorcycles, including 
JAP, Sturmey Archer and Chaise. This particular Soyer 07S had a JAP engine but the frame was wrecked, so Barrois built his own frame—and eventually replaced the JAP motor with the 500cc Rudge unit you see here. photo : guerrypratimages Featured on  BikeEXIF  back in 2010, the build still looks fresh. All unnecessary parts have been removed to make it lighter—including the front brake—and a new quarter-gallon tank has been added, along with a “suicide knee” gearshift. Since this photo session two small fenders have been added, and the tires have been changed for modern high-speed Avons. After optimizing the ignition system to gain a better spark, Jean-Claude packed the Rudge into a container and flew to Salt Lake City for the Bonnev...

  Found on  Datsun.org  an interview with Peter Brock of  BRE Datsun  fame on racing the long gone and mostly forgotten Hino Contessa. PB: "The first BRE project after I left Shelby's was the 998cc four door Hino Contessa sedan I built for an American named Bob Dunham who was living in Japan and who wanted to do a season of racing in the US. At that time the SCCA did not have any sedan racing , but a bunch of locals in the Southern California area wanted to race their Minis, Cortinas, VWs, Volvos, etc and formed an organization called the "Good Guy Sedan Racers". We prevailed upon the rival California Sports Car Club to sanction some races. They agreed provided that we could put together a decent field of cars, and that's how sedan racing began in the US. It was a motley assortment of tin tops but it was cheap and fun. "Bob Dunham was an actor in Japanese movies and also did a bit of auto journalism as a correspondent to the foreign press. Dunham had been co...