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Motorsports Monday Special: Racing to Sell – The ‘Silberpfeil’: Part 5

Motorsports Monday Special: Racing to Sell – The ‘Silberpfeil’: Part 5

Published April 6, 2015 by Carter

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A 1936 Auto Union Type C sits below a similarly streamlined Junkers JU-86 at an exposition

As we saw in the last few installments, Daimler-Benz and Auto Union had heavily engaged in racing – a massive investment for both, pushing the boundaries of existing technology and redefining how motor racing was to be undertaken. The question in today’s installment was who this methodical approach to racing benefited the most. Was the government’s investment in racing worthwhile? Was Auto Union’s gamble on building an unconventional race car a success? Were the extremes to which Daimler-Benz was willing to stretch its racing budget realized in results over the competition? Today we look at some of the more pragmatic reasons behind the motivations of both companies and some of the ideology behind government which helps explain the involvement of both.

Link to Part 1

Link to Part 2

Link To Part 3

Link To Part 4

FIVE: FOR COMPANIES, GOVERNMENT, COUNTRY?

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1969 BMW 2002Ti Alpina

1969 BMW 2002Ti Alpina

Published April 6, 2015 by Carter

It’s always a bit strange when highly sought cars come to market with few details. Today’s 2002Ti is a great example; the 2002Ti is already sought after model thanks to the dual-carb, high compression motor, and of course being a “Roundie” an early model 2002 like this is automatically more desirable. But start to throw in some of the other details, such as “Alpina”, “Race Car” and “Original” and the dollar figures start climbing. If, that is, it’s all to be believed:

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Motorsports Monday: 1969 Porsche 912

Motorsports Monday: 1969 Porsche 912

Published April 6, 2015 by Carter

The Porsche 912 was originally conceived as a budget model because the 911, quite simply, had become too expensive compared to the outgoing 356 model. On the surface, you got the updated looks of the 901 – but underneath was a more simple and frugal flat-4 similar to the unit from the outgoing 356. This helped to keep costs down but performance was less exciting, and for a long time the 912 was the “also ran” compared to 911. But stratospheric rises in prices – especially of early 911s – meant that it was no surprise to see the 912 get drawn up as well. The simplicity is almost more appealing than the 911 in some ways; as the adage goes, it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast, and a 912 is just the type of car that you can drive flat out without worrying about lighting your hair on fire and jumping backwards off a cliff. As with all Porsches, some of these 912 have been modified to race, such as this 1969 example:

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1986 BMW L7

1986 BMW L7

Published April 5, 2015 by Carter

With two exceptions, to me the 7-series has always been a bit of an awkward sell. The E32 and E38 being the outsiders, for the most part the translation of BMW’s sporting tradition to a large sedan format hasn’t always been a beautiful marriage. Newer models seem large and ungainly, ponderous rolling technological showrooms. I’m sure they’re impressive in their own ways, but since the introduction of the S8, Audi has always done the large sports sedan better and the AMG models have been nuttier than anything BMW offered. But back in the 1980s, the E23 was the large sedan out of place. Looking like a stretched E12 after one too many trips to the buffet, the E23 competed against the technologically advanced Audi 5000 Turbo quattro and the more luxury oriented standby W126 Mercedes-Benz lineup. And while it wasn’t about to get all nerdy to compete with the C3 Audis, BMW did attempt to sway the Mercedes-Benz faithful with upscale versions of the E23 and E24 – the L7 and L6 – to compete against the SEL and SEC. They sported mostly cosmetic upgrades and one heck of a leather-wrap job inside:

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2 Liter Terror: 1988 BMW 320is

2 Liter Terror: 1988 BMW 320is

Published April 4, 2015 by Carter

There’s something I can appreciate about the 320is versus the M3. On the surface, the M3 with its iconic boxflares and big wing is the DTM star you want, right? But if you’re a connoisseur and you’re looking for the driving experience, the narrow body 320is offered nearly the same experience. Sure, it was down a bit on power thanks to the destroked 2.0 S14 compared to its more illustrious brother. But it was lighter too, being a base model. The same thing happened in the Audi Coupe world in the 1980s; on paper, the Quattro was the model you wanted. However, if you were an enthusiast, the last of the 1987 Coupe GTs offered the same performance as the Quattro did thanks to their lighter weight and upgraded engine over earlier models. The result is that these narrow-body cars offer discrete performance in a less showy package for those in the know. aSo that means that the 320is is a lot cheaper than a normal M3, right? Not so fast….

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