Pictures of cars

• Le Mans 24 hour race, 1995 I went and watched the whole 24 hours at the track (didn't have a hotel room in town ;-) ), rain and all.
• Oldtimer Grand Prix, Nurburgring 1995. I try to make the OldTimer grand prix every year. There are always awesome numbers of beautiful cars, off track as well as on.
• Retromobile 1998. At the annual classic-car show in Paris, I got some pictures of one of the two Mercedes 300 SLR coupes built. The 300 SLR is basically a W196 Grand Prix car with a sports-prototype body on top. The coupe had a hard-top and gull-wing doors. Do not be deceived by the looks, this is a much leaner and meaner machine than the "regular" Mercedes 300 SL...

The 24 hour race at Le Mans, 1995

Ford GT40, part of a small show of cars which had played a part in Le Mans history.

Marcos The english Marcos was a popular favourite (because of the sound of the V8). One notes the Apple Computer sticker on the wing-mirror. Having a front engine, they coped well with the wet weather and ran faster than most of the Porsches during the night. Come day, they started breaking down and spend some time on the pits. One did however cross the finishing line after the 24 hours.

McLaren F1GTR The third place finishing McLaren. I'd like to think that I shot it as Derek Bell drove it, but I can't say I made a mental note at the time. The McLarens won because they were able to run faster than the prototypes in the rain.

Old Timer Grand Prix at Nurburgring, 1995

Ferrari 250LM from David Piper Racing. David Piper brings gorgeous cars. And he drives them fast, too

D Piper in a Ferrari wanting to pass a slower car before the entry to a slow turn.

Can-Am cars entering corner at end of the fast straight. These cars make the loudest noise every year, they also make the fastest lap times. The cars in this picture are all McLarens, M6s and M8s.

Retromobile 1998

In reality, this is a pure race car beneath the skin. Only two were ever made, one for the personal use of the Mercedes team manager, Uhlenhart (who was a very competent driver).

A minimum of comforts (added weight) and a maximum of race technology makes this one of the most mouth-watering "specials" of the 50s - in my opinion.

This is a side view of the Mercedes 300 SLR coupe. The long hood and the extreme exhaust system (ear-plugs are not optional) are two external give-aways that this is no "mere" 300SL...
The front view shows the different hood. The two slight bumbs of the 300SL are replaced by a small intake to the left of this picture (not visible).
This is the reason the hood is so long...

A straight-eight engine with mechanical fuel injection and desmodromic valve drive. A slightly detuned Grand Prix engine, really.
The W196 / 300SLR was of the last generation of racing cars with drum brakes. To fit sufficiently large brakes, they were positioned well inside of the wheels, and so there was most of a complete drive system at the front.

This is the front of the engine compartment. The brakes take up a significant amount of room.