Autoblog

Most drivers love to see themselves in Sports Illustrated. It means they did something important like win the Indy 500. Danica Patrick appears in the most recent issue, but it's not for winning a race. Rather, her hot bod has landed the IndyCar driver in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. We're not sure how many shots of her appear in the actual issue, but the magazine's website has posted 44 images of her climbing out of a driving suit wearing a teency weency bikini, an image that will no doubt be conjured by many men when they see her race next.

Danica is a polarizing figure in motorsports because she doesn't shy away from her sexuality, and if anything uses it to her advantage. She's the first female in motorsports to not only be talented on the track, but also shrewd in business and able to capitalize on her money-making image. We'd all be kidding ourselves to think that Junior sells his expensive t-shirts to female fans just because he's a great driver, so it's hard to fault Danica for capitalizing on her looks, as well. On the other hand, it's also more difficult to take her seriously as a driver when she's topless.

[Source: Sports Illustrated]

For a bit of year-end nostalgia, it would be hard to beat reading Steve McQueen reviewing eight grand tourers in the August, 1966 issue of Sports Illustrated. The cars that get the nod from the man behind Bullitt and Le Mans are the Jaguar E-type 2+2, Aston-Martin DB6, Ferrari 275 GTS, Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider, Porsche 911, Mercedes 230 SL, Corvette Sting Ray, and 427 Cobra.

And, of course, he starts off just as you would expect, saying that having only two American cars is about right in a field of eight, because American makers "have been a little backward about building sports and Grand Touring cars." He also talks about a lot of the cars he's owned, as well as his time racing. He doesn't choose a particular favorite among the cars he drives -- none of them appears to make him as happy as the Jaguar XK-SS he has in his own garage.

Our two favorite quotes: on the Alfa Romeo Duetto, "McQueen also admired its looks but would have liked more power from a $4,000 car"; and on the Porsche 911, "The Porsche 911 delighted McQueen with predictable handling in furious cornering, proving that Porsche has solved [the] oversteer problem Steve remembered from [his] racing days." And incredibly, the only car that Steve drives without a helmet: the 427 Cobra. Click the link to get the full story from The Cincinnati Kid himself.

[Source: McQueen Online via Chuck Goolsbee]