Autoblog

Historic Jaguars to go on display at Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Drew Phillips — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 12:03:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Jaguar

Earlier this year the Monterey Motorsports Reunion announced that Jaguar would be the featured marque for the 2011 event. Dozens of Jags will be featured in many of the races, including the C-Type, which will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of its win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as the XK120, D-Type and E-Type.

In addition to the cars on track, the Monterey Motorsports Reunion will display a collection of historical Jaguars in the paddock. Perhaps the most notable example will be the 1950 Jaguar XK120 that Phil Hill drove to victory at the very first Pebble Beach Road Race, an event that later relocated to Laguna Seca and evolved into today's Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Also on display will be a 1951 C-Type (again, driven by Phil Hill), an SCCA championship-winning 1974 E-Type, a 1978 Trans-Am XJS and the XJR-9 race car that won Le Mans outright in 1988. We'll have photos of the cars during our live coverage of Monterey Car Week next month, but until then ,enjoy the gallery below or read more about the gathering of historic Jaguars after the jump.

Historic Jaguars to go on display at Monterey Motorsports Reunion originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 23 Jul 2011 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'55 Ferrari 750 Monza speeds from show stand to race track to silver screen to auction block

Noah Joseph — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Convertible, Performance, Auctions, Ferrari, Racing

1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Spider chassis #0492M - Click above for high-res image gallery

Classic cars change hands all the time. What brings them to the spotlight is usually one of several factors. It might have a track record distinguished by race wins. It might be in particularly good shape. It might have had a starring role in a major motion picture. It might be a particular rarity from a small production run, or maybe it served to showcase the manufacturer's offerings at a major auto show. Having all these factors come together on one specific automobile is a rarity, but that's what we're looking at with this stunning 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Spider.

One of only 35 built, Ferrari displayed this Spider at the 1955 Brussels Motor Show, after which it was brought to America by famed importer Luigi Chinetti who sold it to his rival Porsche importer John von Neumann in Los Angeles. Neumann set the Monza on an aggressive race program up and down the West Coast that saw it win twice and score another nine podiums at various sportscar racing events, bringing on board, among others, no less a talent than Phil Hill to man the wheel.

Most notably, the car was driven by Fred Astair in a fictionalized post-apocalyptic grand prix in the movie On The Beach. Since then, chassis 0492M has been part of several prestigious collections, but after a comprehensive two-year restoration is now heading to the auction block at Pebble Beach, where RM Auctions will be putting it up for grabs with prices reportedly expected to top $3 million. With a 260-horsepower 3.0-liter DOHC four similar to that found in the 500 TRC that RM sold for $4 million at Villa d'Este, this Monza Spider is described by one noted Ferrari expert as the best she's ever seen.

Follow the jump for more details in the auction listing and scope out the spectacular high-resolution images in the gallery for a closer look.

Continue reading '55 Ferrari 750 Monza speeds from show stand to race track to silver screen to auction block

'55 Ferrari 750 Monza speeds from show stand to race track to silver screen to auction block originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumormill: Ferrari 599 GTO? EVO says 700-hp bruiser is on the way

Jonny Lieberman — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:27:00 EST

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Europe, Ferrari, Rumormill

Ferrari 599XX - click above for hi-res image gallery

Few words have greater impact when mashed together than "Ferrari" and "GTO." While there are rivals at times, the most expensive car in the word for the last three decades has been the original, Daytona Coupe battling, Le Mans winning Ferrari 250 GTO. Designed by Giotto Bizzarrini and raced into history by Phil Hill, few cars wear the moniker "legendary" quite as well. After all, only 39 were ever made.

But, like Leah, there is another. The mighty Ferrari 288 GTO. Developed -- like Porsche's 959 and 961 -- for Group B action, few if any cars set our hearts so totally on fire. Know nothings might scoff at the 2.85-liter displacement, but those of us in the know will point to the two turbochargers, two intercoolers and 400 stampeding horses. We might even tell them that if they turned the boost pressure up from 11.6 psi to something a bit higher, 600 hp is well within reach. However, the 288 GTO isn't, as just 272 examples (though some say 273) were made. Compare that to the 1,315 Ferrari F40s that were built. A car we should point out, that's basically a 288 GTO with a body kit.

Now there might be three. EVO is reporting that Ferrari is about to let loose a new GTO upon the world in the form of a 700 horsepower monster called the 599 GTO. Obviously, it's an evolution of the street 599, and in fact EVO's claiming it's the racetrack only 599XX for the street. During a recent interview, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa told the Brit mag that when the 458 Italia debuted, the 599 was internally reassigned to the "Sports Car" division, instead of where it used to reside, as a "GT."

More interestingly, should it come to fruition, the 599 GTO will have specs to make Enzo owners smack their own foreheads. 700 hp will come from the raising the 6.0-liter V12's redline to a stunning 9,000 rpm. A faster transmission should shave gear change times down from 100 milliseconds to an essentially F1 quick 60 milliseconds. And it will be light. Everything should add up to a 3.2 second dash to 60 mph and an Enzo-matching top speed of 217 mph. Though if the 599 GTO went a little bit faster than that, we wouldn't be all that surprised. Tip of the Ferrari branded $50 Kimi Räikkönen baseball cap (no, really) to Kevin!

Gallery: Geneva 2009: Ferrari 599xx

[Source: EVO]

Rumormill: Ferrari 599 GTO? EVO says 700-hp bruiser is on the way originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Phil Hill's race-winning Jaguar C-Type on the block at Pebble Beach

Noah Joseph — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Auctions, Jaguar

Phil Hill's 1952 Jaguar C-Type - Click above for high-res image gallery

The upcoming auctions at Pebble Beach are shaping up to be the stuff of legends. Which should come as no big surprise as legends are exactly what will be up for grabs. In addition to the highly anticipated launch of the new "Grand Bentley" amidst the field of lust-worthy machinery on display, auctioneers will be putting such notable classics on the block as Ettore Buggati's own Type 57C, the one-of-a-kind Miller V16 racing car, and this historic 1952 Jaguar C-Type.

The first C-Type Jaguar to be imported into the United States, model XKC-007 was sent straight to the race track where it was driven by no less a talent than the legendary Phil Hill. The World-Champion-to-be took this particular C-Type to three victories at Elkhart Lake, Torrey Pines and Watkins Glen, the former scoring as the first victory for the iconic C-Type in its storied history. After being retired from active duty, XKC-007 passed through several collections before undergoing a full restoration in 1986, after which it won numerous awards on the vintage concours circuit - including a reunion date with Phil Hill to commemorate Jaguar's 50th anniversary in 2002. XKC-007 will be up for auction at RM's three-day Sports & Classics of Monterey event from August 13-15. Details in the press release after the jump and images in the gallery below.

Gallery: 1952 Jaguar C-Type #XKC-007 ex-Phil Hill

[Source: RM Auctions]

Continue reading Phil Hill's race-winning Jaguar C-Type on the block at Pebble Beach

Phil Hill's race-winning Jaguar C-Type on the block at Pebble Beach originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tobey Maguire to play Phil Hill in The Limit

Noah Joseph — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:20:00 EST

Filed under: Celebrities

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines. The late, great Formula 1 racer Phil Hill is poised to come back to life in the near future on book shelves and the silver screen. First up is "Limit", a book by Michael Cannell that chronicles the relationship between Hill and his Scuderia Ferrari teammate Wolfgang von Trips over the course of the 1961 F1 season. That season saw (spoiler alert!) Hill crowned World Champion and von Trips killed in crash at the penultimate Italian Grand Prix. But for those of us who are too A.D.D. to crack the spine of a book, the movie rights are already being acquired for big screen production.

The project is being spear-headed by Maguire Entertainment, the production company headed by Tobey Maguire of Spiderman fame, who is slated to take the wheel as the legendary Phil Hill. Screenwriters and producers are already being lined up, but no word on who would co-star as the ill-fated von Trips. Given all that goes into a major Hollywood production these days, don't expect The Limit, as the film will be billed, to come to a theater near you quite so soon, but when it does, we hope it'll be closer to McQueen's Le Mans than to Stallone's Driven.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter | Image: Noah Graham/Getty]

Tobey Maguire to play Phil Hill in The Limit originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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American racing legend, Phil Hill, dies at 81

Damon Lavrinc — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:57:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports

Phil Hill, the only American-born driver to win a Formula One title, passed away last night of complications associated with Parkinson's disease at the age of 81. Aside from his success with Ferrari in F1 during the 1961 season, Hill was also the first American to win at the 24 hours of Le Mans, taking the title twice more and winning the 12-hours of Sebring three times.

Described by friends and colleagues as reserved and genteel, Hill was a breath of fresh air in the international racing scene and finally inducted into the International Motorsport Hall of Fame in 1991.

He is survived by his wife Alma, son, two daughters and four grandchildren, all of whom have our heartfelt condolences.

[Source: Autoweek]

American racing legend, Phil Hill, dies at 81 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Chaparral 2E continuation racer

Dan Roth — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 11:09:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Technology, Videos

Many would argue that the golden-age of racing improving the breed has passed. We still see innovation and clever engineering out there on the closed course, but it takes forever to get to the open road. Back in the 1960s, Chaparrals were arguably the most innovative racers out there. The company practially invented modern aerodynamic practices as they apply to automobiles, and the cars were full of other trick touches as well. Winding Road's James Morse has spent some time with Chaparral's James Musser, walking around one of the company's continuation cars and following it to a presentation at the GM Tech center. A continuation car is basically an exact a reproduction of the original as possible. Musser offers great commentary explaining how the 2E's innovations came about, and it's enthralling to see how items like the rear wing are implemented. Not only that, but the thing sounds positively evil in the best of ways. There are three videos after the jump for your viewing pleasure.

Thanks to tipster Chuck!

[Source: Winding Road]

Continue reading VIDEO: Chaparral 2E continuation racer

VIDEO: Chaparral 2E continuation racer originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Jan 2007 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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