Spearing through the spectacular Scottish Highlands towards the western isle of Skye. Negotiating the challenging rural gravel roads of Romania as you meander towards Istanbul, the gateway to Asia. Snaking up towards the summit of Vietnam’s Hai Vân Pass, the tranquillity and majesty of the seascape below you enchanting more and more with every passing mile.
‘Big-banger’ sports car racing, the ultimate expression of which was the Can-Am championship in the late 1960s, was attractive to manufacturers for myriad reasons, not least the virtually limitless regulations and the extremely generous prize money. But Colin Chapman had another thing on his mind when he threw his hat into the high-capacity ring with the Lotus 30: good, old-fashioned payback.
Remember when our friends Giorgio Schön and Enrico Guggiari popped some brave pills and embarked on a 36-day 8,500-mile journey halfway around the world from Peking to Paris, driving a rally-spec Ferrari 308 GT4? The feat of endurance was nothing short of epic and we’re not sure we know many people who’d have the huevos to tackle such a trip with a notoriously fragile 1970s Ferrari.
Back in the spring of 2002, spirits in Maranello were especially high. The German boy wonder Michael Schumacher had helped to return Ferrari to winning ways, clinching the Scuderia the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Formula 1 Constructors’ World Championships. Furthermore, he was well on his way to securing the team its fourth consecutive title, and in record time.
John Coombs’ ‘4 WPD’, Peter Lumsden and Peter Sargent’s ‘49 FXN’ and Peter Sutcliffe’s ‘YVH 210’. There are several registration numbers woven into the legend of the Jaguar E-type, though arguably none more famous than ‘CUT 7’, the metallic grey and blue Fixed Head Coupe owned and raced with great success by the one-eyed war hero Richard ‘Dick’ Protheroe in 1962.
“No-one could keep up with Clark; he put Lotus and Cosworth right on top at the beginning of what should be an exciting season.” That’s how Motor Sport magazine described Jim Clark’s crushing victory in the 1968 South African Grand Prix, held at Kyalami on New Year’s Day.
Even the most seasoned motorsport crews need to refocus ahead of a new season. For the IWC Racing Team, a heart-racing drive across the frozen lake of St. Moritz with its 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL ‘Gullwing’ was just the chance to do so.
American racing drivers have long been fascinated by the challenge of Le Mans, but constructors from across the pond have been fewer and further between. That’s not to say American cars haven’t left an indelible imprint on the history of the great race. From the bizarrely shaped Cadillac ‘Le Monstre’ to the imperious Chevrolet Corvette to the downright exotic Panoz Esperante, the ground-shaking thunder of the perennial American V8 has seared itself into the memories of Le Mans-goers for decades – and we sincerely hope it will continue to do so for decades to come.