Worst looking race-car ever | FerrariChat

Worst looking race-car ever

Discussion in 'Other Racing' started by Igor Ound, Feb 20, 2017.

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  1. Igor Ound

    Igor Ound F1 Veteran

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  2. Smiles

    Smiles F1 World Champ
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    #3 Smiles, Feb 23, 2017
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  3. Smiles

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  4. GuyIncognito

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    #5 GuyIncognito, Feb 23, 2017
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  5. WILLIAM H

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    #6 WILLIAM H, Feb 23, 2017
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  6. NürScud

    NürScud F1 Veteran

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    I'm going to agree about the Chaparral 2J but i disagree about the Tyrrell-Ford P34.

    :)
     
  7. Juan-Manuel Fantango

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    #8 Juan-Manuel Fantango, Feb 23, 2017
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  8. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
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    The Tank Bugatti was one of the first attempts to streamline a race car.

    This is a replica, the original cars were destroyed.
     
  9. GatorFL

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    It looks like Squidward from SpongeBob.
     
  10. Whisky

    Whisky Two Time F1 World Champ
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    The original Fernando
    Neither of those look awful.

    Go back to the 60's and you can see some really odd-shaped indy cars:

    Indy Car
     
  11. Jack-the-lad

    Jack-the-lad Six Time F1 World Champ
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    Nothing was ever as bad as those IMSA prototypes of a few years ago. So ugly I won't even post a picture. Not just ugly, they didn't even have any character.
     
  12. Isobel

    Isobel F1 World Champ

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  13. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
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    That was also an early attempt to bring aero into sports cars.

    It was even built by aircraft engineers, I think (Grumman?).

    Now, we find the design rather clumsy.
     
  14. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    Jaguar D & E also designed by aircraft engineers but def not ugly.
     
  15. Juan-Manuel Fantango

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    #16 Juan-Manuel Fantango, Feb 23, 2017
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    the tank is at simeone museum

    1936 Bugatti Type 57G Tank | Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum

    OUR CAR

    This car is the “aerodynamic mule,” the sole surviving 57G Tank. Apparently because of concerns that it might be confiscated as the Germans marched through France, in 1940 it was removed from the Molsheim Museum and hidden in Bordeaux. The car overturned on the way and suffered some damage to the hood. Back at the factory after the repatriation it was restored in house and a workman proudly painted, “Benoist” and “Wimille” on the fender.

    Information obtained from our Bart Loyens and Gene Cesari’s files indicates that pioneering European car dealer Jean DeDobeleer was somehow able to extract car from the Bugatti factory. Although Loyens file reveals that this was against factory policy, De Dobeleer refused to return it. This fractious relationship likely ended the factory’s cooperation with DeDobeleer whose contact in the United States was Gene Cesari, the importer of many wonderful cars in the 1960s and 1970s. Cesari’s files have proved priceless in elucidating the subsequent history of this Tank. He brought it to the States in 1961 and stored in pioneer collector Jerry Sherman’s barn for some time. Cesari had difficulty selling the car but a deal was finally made with Stephen Pitcairn but later Cesari got it back.

    After some negotiations, he sold it to Colonel Eri Richardson in 1968. To be domiciled with Richardson was the best thing that could have happened to the car at that time. This is particularly true since Fritz Schlumpf desperately wanted her but his meager offers were not accepted by Cesari. For several years thereafter Richardson devoted extensive efforts to bringing it to original condition. As far as I can tell from the correspondence, there were three trips to the remains of the Bugatti factory, which was still in existence, for Richardson to bring back valuable goodies. He retrieved the original tachometer, the special Bugatti carburetor, (of which only a few very were made), the unique head with three drives coming out of the rear (two tachometers and one for the center magneto drive), the oil cooler, and a variety of other bits and pieces which could have only belonged to this car, since by then the two other Tanks were long gone.

    Convinced that he now had all of the original car, except for the block which came from a passenger car, Richardson set about a meticulous and sympathetic restoration with an uncompromising commitment to originality. Colonel Richardson, not a wealthy man, devoted extensive amount of time and a great percentage of his resources to the historical appreciation and refurbishment of his prize. Years later succumbing to a big offer he sold the car to Bugatiste extraordinaire Uwe Hocke and it finally ended up with Nicholas Seydoux.

    This was a car that I always lusted for. The only existing Bugatti sports car to ever win a major race, notably Le Mans. In 1939 a different one-off Tank also won at Le Mans but this car was destroyed in a tragic accident which took Jean Bugatti’s life. I had read about the car in contemporary French magazines, but never dreamed it would become available. In the meantime I had a non-racing Ferrari 212 Touring Barchetta on a long chassis. The Barchetta is one of the most beautiful designs ever and the archetype of the 1950s sports racer. The car was ordered by Henry Ford Jr. and allegedly formed the dimensional model for the 1955 Thunderbird. It languished at Ford styling for some time, then purchased by Dick Merritt when he worked there, and later ended up with me with less than 9000 miles on the clock. French collector, Henry Chambon took a liking to this car and, shepherded by dear friend Lukas Huni expressed his interest. I knew of the Tank’s existence and I knew that Seydoux may be selling, so we effected a three-way swap in which Chambon bought the Tank and I in turn traded the Ferrari to him.

    I have never been happier with a car. It runs smoothly, has great pickup, its style is radical but significant, and its history his unblemished. We’ve had it up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, it was on the lawn at the Pebble Beach where it won the Pebble Beach Trophy. It has appeared at many shows, always attracting a great deal of attention wearing a presentable 1960’s restoration.
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  16. BartonWorkman

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    #17 BartonWorkman, Feb 24, 2017
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  17. Jack-the-lad

    Jack-the-lad Six Time F1 World Champ
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  18. I'm presuming you meant Grand Am, not IMSA. IMSA was running the ALMS (ala FIA/ACO) at the time of the ugly, lo-tech DPs.

    (edit: Oooopppsss. 'Hadn't gotten to your second post. You did mean GA, obviously. IMSA had naught to do with those old uglies 'til the combine of GA and IMSA.)
     
  19. #21 lorenzobandini, Feb 24, 2017
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Bizarre not'ting. The P34 was a very clever, valiant effort by Derek Gardner at lowering frontal area. The still large rears diminished the gain and Goodyear's non-development of the tires nixed the effort.

    The original Shadow Can Am car had small wheels too. It was a big go-kart with 500 cubes in the back. None too pretty or successful, however.
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  20. Lotaz

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  21. BartonWorkman

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    #23 BartonWorkman, Feb 25, 2017
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    Wait a second, I'm confused...

    IMSA prototypes of a few years ago? What would we be referring to here?

    Comparing IMSA (NE: ALMS) prototypes to the NASCAR inspired GrandAm prototurtles
    is akin to blasphemy to the eyes of many (okay, me). In the early days of ALMS, the series
    was being favorably compared to the hey days of CanAm (where as we see, not all the cars
    were things of beauty) and interest in American sports car racing sky rocketed again.

    Whereas GrandAm was an attempt by NASCAR to turn the clocks back on sports car
    racing by thirty years, intentionally dumbed down to be slower than Cup cars and actually
    stating "We want to make the cars irrelevant" and draw their new "Man on the Street"
    audience and these new fans decided to stay away by the droves.

    Here he is, Cletus van Wanker, GrandAm's "Man on the Street Fan of the Year" at a GrandAm
    24 Hours of Daytona along with his many thousands of empty seats. Cletus came all the way
    from Deltona to attend the thrilling event.

    BHW
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  22. F1tommy

    F1tommy F1 World Champ
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    I think the Kremer Porsche K3 and K4 with IMSA Lola front end was dog ugly. That whole early 1980's era of sportscars was pretty ugly. Look at won Sebring in 1983 to understand!!
     
  23. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    #25 WILLIAM H, Feb 25, 2017
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