OMG Walter, this IS getting confusing. Marc, as I remember your article it was about SN 3001. In that article it was silver. So which car is the red one which you saw at the track when the 246 blew a tire. Number 3000 is now silver. It sounds like this is a different event than when you took a ride in #3001 as preparation for writing your article for SCI? Great pictures of the "red" car. Thanks to everyone. Bob S.
Bob, both (!!) car had been in red colorvat some time. The car in the closed parking lot (#3001) is still red and in need of a resto! Ciao! Walter
Still waiting for Marc to chime in on #3001 since he wrote an article about the car for Sports Car International and it wasn't red in 1996. More mystery then. Bob S.
Well I am about as fast to respond as Max Mosley is to quit: sorryBeen busy here! I have now scanned photos I took in the early 80's at Thepenier and that day at Dijon for the 100GT. They are not of great quality -I was 18, 20 years old running around with an instamatic but interesting nevertheless. This is 3000 at Dijon. More to come. STRICT COPYRIGHT Marc Sonnery thank you. Image Unavailable, Please Login
4 of four at Dijon, remember this is the mid 80's I thought it was 84 but Giotto may be right: please confirm the date: 84 I was still doing classic car events, 86 I was doing the French karting championshiop so I have a hard time beleiveing that I would have had the time for that but who knows. This shows that BBLM as well, there was tension in the air, the spitir of the battle was back! I did not take it seriously but those in the cars might have. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Now we go back in time to about 1983, at the Thepenier showroom in St Cloud, a suburb of Paris. Here is 3000 recently painted red photo 1 of about 3. It had obviously had a slight mishap, I asked them to sell me the "bident" since I felt it was off the last ever racing Maserati (that is how the gloomy future looked) but I never picked it up: guess I was thinking about a girl...actually I know I was.... Image Unavailable, Please Login
photo 2 of 3 in Thepenier showroom...again this is 3000, about 1983... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Photo 3 of of 3 of 3000 at Thepenier showroom about 1983ish...and what comes next is interesting. Image Unavailable, Please Login
These two are actually dated on the back of the photos: March 1982. They are horrible, again 18 year old with instamatic but they show a Thepenier Bora in full silver garb with stickers...for a long time I thought it was 3001 still there before it was sent back to the factory because no one could pay for it....but no according to Jean Guikas who has owned and sold 3001 several times 3001 was returned to the factory by Thepenier AND SOLD TO SAUDI ARABIA ON JULY 21 1975 (QUOTING GUKAS IN VIALE CIRO MENOTTI ARTICLE IN 1991 OR 1992 ARTICLE ON 3001) THEREFORE THIS IS 3000 JUST before it was painted resale red to attract a customer...which turned out to be that Frenchman Cornet Epinat. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Now we jump ahead maaaany years to the summer of 1995: 13 years later and I finally have a Bora GR4 in front of me for an article: the one in Sports car International. this is 3001 at the Jean Pierre Beltoise owned safety circuit at Trappes near Paris, when 3001 was owned by Frenchman Francois Fabre. That huge ball was there to be pushed onto the track so students would learn to safely swerve: it makes for a strange photo. This is just a low res sample the rest....you will see in my book in December. Note that 3001 is also the car tested by the excellent José Rosinski for French Magazine Sport Auto at Le Mans Bugatti circuit (the short one not the full 13kms 24 hour version) back when the car was still expected to do the Tour de France when it was a real rally (not a vintage event) and he commented how difficult it was to get used to the F1 Girling Citroen assisted hydraulic brakes with extremely short travel, though Francois Migault, the assigned driver showed him it could be mastered and then was bullet proof: you could not get it to fade! Paul Frére (whom I interviewed August 24 on the phone, 6 months to the day before he passed away) recalled driving a Bora Gr4 at Modena and being very impressed despite it being raw and unsorted but I have yet to establish which of the two cars it was: I beleive it was the first one, 3000 as it was still unfinished. Voila, I hope you enjoyed the show! I am going out to have a late dinner now! Best regards, Marc Image Unavailable, Please Login
Much appreciated Marc! Walter will certainly enjoy the comments about the Citroen brakes.;>) I've had my Bora on the track at Pocono 4 or 5 times and that is a high speed circuit with one extreme left hander requiring you to drop from top speed down to 30 mph to negotiate a 150 degree entrance to an infield portion. Even with standard pads I always had terrific braking power. High speed modulation wasn't the issue with the LHM system as much as the low speed stuff on wet roads. I wonder how the Bora and that BBLM compared on that day ... Bob S.
Bident? I think this might me more than two dents we're looking at here. Perhaps the missing portion is stuck in the ass of one BBLM?;>)
Thank you for you additional photos, Marc... Here's another one at Thépenier, in the middle of the 80's. I think it's just after the Bora was painted red. I confirm also the year of the Dijon event: 1986.
Bident because two spikes in the emblem not three as normal Note that the other car, 3001 was also red for a while but during its middle eastern spell and early on when it arrived in the US before Guikas bought it.
bravo guys... this is truly a treat to see these photos. the gr4 bora's are such a spectacular and rare sight. look how much lower and wider it is compared to that gr4 micholotto 308 so sad to here about Paul Frére passing away... i didnt know. I had a casual converstaion with him a couple of years ago. he had an incredible insight on how to capture a cars essence without resorting to technical and performance data like most of the other journalist. he will be missed dearly. here's a swiss merak with same gr4 bora flare treatment. the advert claims they where put on by the factory. anyone know the history behind this car? they said it was once owned by a Mr Saurer... not too crazy about the monochromatic paint and the elton john taillamps on the aftermarket bora wheels thats why i said "wheels almost look like gr4 campy's".... cheers on a great thread hf Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
