July 31 CORSO pics

Same cars, different photos!

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A significant display in the museum is devoted to John Surtees, who George Barber admits is one of his major heroes. The MV Agusta in which Big John won 4 of his world championships is on display, as is the Ferrari 158 in which John spent most of his racing time heading for the 1964 title.

A display case includes parts from one of the Ferrari V-8 engines, and one of the later Team Surtees TS20s is adjacent. I included a photo of my own 1/18 LookSmart model of the same Ferrari, in which Surtees won the Italian GP in '64. The blue & white 158 shown in a photo above is a running replica.

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Nearby is a small exhibit devoted to another hero, Dan Gurney. It features the Lotus 29 which Dan drove in the 1963 Indianapolis 500, the race in which teammate Jim Clark, in an identical type 29 (but painted green and yellow) took 2nd place, thus launching the "European invasion" of mid-engined cars that completely eclipsed the resident roadsters. There are also 3 of the innovative Alligator motorcycles that Dan designed.

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Jim and David,

Thanks for the photos and great of y'all to come out on such a hot day! If you want please also post them here if you can: https://www.facebook.com/CoppaAlpina/?ref=page_internal

 

Of course, the museum has one of the world's largest collections of Lotus cars, probably only exceeded by Classic Team Lotus itself. The first photo shows the beginning, with the types 1, 2, 3 and 4 (at least one is a replica). The gullwing coupe version of the type 11 is a rare version that I had not seen before. They have all the early F1 cars, the types 12, 16, 18 (not shown) and 21. (The 21 is similar to the car in which Jim Clark collided with Wolfgang von Trips at Monza in 1961, resulting in the latter's death.)

When it comes to F1, the collection has an 18-year void that follows, including such iconic cars as the types 25/33, 49, 72, 77, 78 and 79; I presume that George is on a continuing quest to get some of these. The collection does have quite a few of the contemporary cars from the lesser formulae like F2, F3 and F Jr, for which Lotus sold a lot of customer cars. I did not photograph those, however. The only F1 car from that period on display is the four-wheel-drive type 63 of 1969, which was not particularly successful.


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A couple of interesting Lotuses from the same period as the type 63. The infamous type 64 was a four-wheel-drive car that Mario Andretti was supposed to drive in the 1969 Indy 500. It crashed during practice due to a structural defect in a hub carrier, and since the other parts on hand were similarly suspect, the car was parked and Mario went on to win the race in his backup, the Brabham-based Brawner Hawk. Both cars were powered by a turbocharged version of the same Ford V-8 that had won the race in 1965-67.

The winged car is the type 70 that comedian Dick Smothers drove in the 1970 SCCA F5000 series, powered by a 5-liter Chevrolet V-8. Smothers was a decent racer who did not embarrass himself.

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Great pics Jim. I never get tired of going to that museum!

 

As a scale modeler, I got a kick out of these 1/1 scale "sprues" of a Ferrari 250 GTO and an Aston Martin DBR1. I think they were inspired by a similar "kit" of a Spitfire done in England some years earlier.

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I live just a few miles away and I haven't been in it in probably 10 years. I cannot believe how much it has changed.

 

Y'all don't forget that the Savoy Automotive Museum is opening in Cartersville, GA this fall. From all indications, this will be a first-class operation!

 

Looks like it was a great time!! I need a more modern Ferrari so that I can go on these longer trips. Did you guys get out on the track for a parade lap?

 

Nice F40, would have enjoyed seeing that!

 

Nah, just a handful of extra tools and some luck.

sjd

 

No Track time, but a private tour with one of the Docents.... way too hot that day! but good to see everyone. Drew for bringing the f-40 is a trooper!

 

Enjoyed the lunch afterwards at Rusty's BBQ. Did go thru a few showers on my way home, but only in Alabama; Georgia was completely dry.