Who are your automotive heroes?

By “hero” I don’t necessarily mean someone you idolized, but someone whose tastes and accomplishments in driving, motor sports, collecting, mechanical skill, etc influenced your own automotive pursuits.

Could be an F1 driver, actor, friend…

1.
2.
3.



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1. Kirk White - neighbor, foreign car/Ferrari sales guy, inventor of the Barrett-Jackson style auto auction before BJ had a clue. Drove past my house each afternoon in some sort of hot, interesting sports car. He's the guy who inspired my eventual purchase of a Dino, many, many moons later. I was in contact with him until his death a couple years ago. Great guy, shared all of his knowledge. Google Kirk F. White Auction if you're interested in the details. I attended both of his auctions as a teen.

2. More so as someone I idolized as a kid, and got to see race once at Watkins Glen and once at Pocono. - Mario Andretti. Drove 'em all, won in 'em all.

3. Niki Lauda - for his bravery, for his guts and for his driving skills.

D

 

Hard to list only three, but these came to mind:

1. James Dean. I was born after he died in 1955, but he had a great eye for sports cars and piqued my interest in vintage Porsche. He had the short-lived good fortune to be part of Southern California’s golden era of amateur racing. Lee Raskin’s automotive biography of Dean is fascinating. My favorite car book.

2. No surprise, but Michael Schumacher: I knew of Ferrari from Magnum and Miami Vice, but Schumacher got me into F1 and brought the Ferrari legend to life for me. I hadn’t watched F1 prior to his dominance. It’s now the only sport I follow closely.

3. Skip Shirley: PCA 356 guru who transported my 328 up to Concorso Italiano in 2007. Skip had had everything from a Countach to a 356 Speedster and coached me on all things classic and vintage. He would invite me over to his garage/shop and it was a college course on Porsche.



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Definitely Lauda, but I learned about him much later. Legendary courage and talent.


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1 - Colin Chapman, for obvious reasons

2 - Nigel Mansell. Favourite driver. Not so much off the track but I cut him some slack because he is English after all

3 - My mechanic

 

1. Piero Taruffi, as a top driver and particularly for his book "The Technique of Motor Racing" which was inspirational when I started racing in SCCA.
2. Denise McCluggage, whose seat time deeply informed her writing.
3. Any machinist who can bore an engine to within 0.0003" variation across all cylinders at every cylinder measurement point.

 

1. Carroll Shelby
2. Peter Egan. Probably equally motorcycle hero, but I devour everything he writes.
3. Woolf Barnato. Bentley Boy, 3 for 3 at LeMans and what a name for a racing driver!

(I'm assuming Enzo Ferrari is a gimme, here?)

 

Gordan Murray, Adrian Newey, Dietrich Mateschitz

 

Egan is a brilliant writer. His was my favorite column in Road & Track when I was in school.


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I also was a big fan of LJK Setright + Henry Manney.
Doug DiMuoro pales in comparison.

 

I would have to say Enzo for satisfying my artistic mechanical passion, Luca Di Montezemolo for seeing and understanding Enzo’s footsteps, Gordon Murray for his mechanical ability; he just creates cool stuff.

 

AYRTON SENNA

NIKI LAUDA

ENZO FERRARI

VALENTINO ROSSI

KENNY ROBERTS

EDDIE LAWSON

PINAN FARINA CO

NIGEL MANSELL

LUCA D

 

ENZO
LUCA D,
Colin Chapman
Jim Clark
Paddy Hopkirk
Ferdinand Porsche
Derek Bell

 

Setting aside Mr. Ferrari himself:

1) Carroll Shelby, for obvious reasons

2) Rick Hendricks. He brought so many new drivers into NASCAR, he was the force behind the legendary T-Rex car

3) Jason Miller

4) Aaron Bunch

 

1) Mario Andretti
2) Carroll Shelby
3) Enzo Ferrari
4) Ferruccio Lamborghini
5) Colin Chapman
6) Ayrton Senna
7) Niki Lauda
8) Phil Hill
9) Jackie Stewart
10) Jim Clark

 

Chapman is a fascinating figure. He shaped the Lotus marque, and you can see his influence even in cars they produced after his passing. I’m a big admirer of the “add lightness” philosophy in all sports cars, and no doubt Chapman was the embodiment of that.

It’s hard to think of Jim Clark without Colin Chapman, but both were giants.


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Picking just three is very difficult, putting an order even more... so my today's list may differ from yesterday's of tomorrow's, but just for this evening the three names are:
Michèle Mouton - she was a successful rally driver in the 80s, when I was a student in my 20s, and her accomplishments (as a French female driver, competing with some of the best all-times drivers in the craziest rally cars - the Group B cars - of all times) really impressed me
Michael Schumacher - no need to elaborate here I guess...
Jean Todt - for his personal "growing" from efficient rally co-driver to successful team manager with Peugeot (in various categories), up to rebuilding Scuderia Ferrari to make it win again

 

Henry Ford
Lee iacocca
Enzo.

 

Being Scottish, Jim Clark is top of my list (though not just for that reason alone). Chapman was a genius too, and what they did together was an epoch of F1. Lotus 25, 49, 38 etc.

The 1961 Lotus 21 was the first F1 car where the driver 'laid down' like a bathtub, and I am lucky enough to own this one, which Clark won 3 GP races in 61/62 inc the South Africa Grand Prix. Ferraris come and go, this will stay with me for life!
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James Hunt
Lewis Hamilton
Ken Miles
Lauda of course!

 

I really thought Stirling Moss was a special guy. I was shocked when I walked up to him to say "hi" and he gave me his time and seemed very sincere in his interest in me. He talked much longer than I expected. His behavior has affected the way I interact with people who approach me the same way I did him.

My grandfather fixed his own cars. He didn't have much money but, to me, his garage was filled with magic. The cars he fixed weren't fancy -- gutless old Ford sedans and such -- but he "babysat" me in his garage and let me hold the light, play on the creeper or work the hydraulic jack. That has stuck with me and motivated me to make car mechanics a hobby. Self-taught, I feel like I am getting pretty good at it.

As for a third choice, I can only pick the general body of people who I admire. There are many writers who take me on great adventures -- Peter Egan, P.J. O'Rourke, Satch Carlson, etc -- there are many FChat home mechanics -- Brian Harper, kcabpilot, Black Horse, etc -- who fearlessly pull things apart (get them back together) and there are drivers who take their cars far and wide without concern for what might happen along the way. There are so many cool people to make a third choice.

 

Henry Ford
Niki Lauda
Mario Andretti although Johnny Rutherford is an unsung driver of equal caliber .

 

Bruce Mclaren. He died when I was 5 but I grew up around the family. Still see his sister on and off.
Enzo.
Senna.

 

I don’t really have heroes, but my most admired….



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I was reminded by another thread to include this man…driver, architect, writer, painter, raconteur, model train expert and bravely facing down Parkinson’s for many years. My review of his book, “Where the Writer Meets the Road” is at www.speedreaders.info


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