Press "Enter" to skip to content

Category: Motorsports Monday

This site contains Ebay partner affiliate links, which may earn us a commission at no additional cost to you.

Motorsports Monday: 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR Replica

Published December 8, 2014 by Carter

2014 was an important year for Mercedes-Benz as it saw them return to 1950s form as World Driver’s and Constructor’s Champion with Lewis Hamilton and the incredible W105. The utter dominance of the new Silver Arrows mimicked the victories of the cars for which it was a namesake; notably, the 1934-1939 W25-W139 Grand Prix cars. The team that developed out of the change in the rules in 1932-33 redefined motorsport and indeed what it meant to race. If you’re a fan of modern Formula One, the blueprint was established here. Developed around brilliant designer Rudolf Uhlenhaut and team principal/public relations man Alfred Neubauer, the original Silver Arrows were only matched by their countrymen from Auto Union briefly and were overall much more successful than the other German firm. After the war, the dominance displayed by the German team returned with nearly the same lineup, and as today Mercedes-Benz sought to dominate not only the new Formula One series but also sports car racing. The car that was developed – the W196 – did just that, winning the driver’s championship with Fangio in both 1954 and 1955. While the 1955 season would ultimately see the withdrawal of Mercedes-Benz for many generations, Uhlenhaut utilized the W196 platform to also win at sports car racing. The famed 300SLR was developed and while it looked much like a stylized road going W198 300SL, the truth was that underneath it was really a Formula One car with headlights and two seats instead of just one. Famously, Sir Stirling Moss won the Mille Miglia in W196S 300SLR “722” – his starting time in the race, but a number that still holds weight in today’s world and lent its name to several iterations of the new McLaren SLR. The influence of these cars is undeniable; the modern day McLaren SLR and Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS are Only a handful of original W196Ss were made, and all are effectively priceless – a prime territory, then, for replicas:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR Replica on eBay

Read Our PostMotorsports Monday: 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SLR Replica
Comments closed

Motorsports Monday: Porsche 911 Twin Turbo Cup Conversion

Published November 24, 2014 by Carter

I’ve certainly been a big fan of the Porsche 911 Cup; today, it strikes me as not only one of the best deals going in racing Porsches, but perhaps the best all-around deal in the Motorsports world. The success of the 996 and 997 Cup chassis has to come close to the E30 M3 as one of the most raced and most winning German designs in history. They were so successful that they built a lot of them, making them today slightly devalued in the world of track cars. We’ve even seen full-blood, turn key factory race 911s up for auction below $50,000; simply staggering when you consider the original purchase price. Of course, also staggering are the running costs of the Cup cars; 40 hour engines are the max, and Porsche Motorsports recommends transmission refreshes as 20 hours. The costs add up; rebuilding your 996 or 997 Cup running gear will cost you between $15,000 and $30,000 – presuming nothing big is broken. Okay, so the purchase price is only the tip of the iceberg. But what if you took some of the aspects of the Cup design and incorporated them into the even faster and cheaper to run Turbo model?

CLICK FOR DETAILS: Porsche 911 Twin Turbo Cup Conversion on eBay

Read Our PostMotorsports Monday: Porsche 911 Twin Turbo Cup Conversion
4 Comments
Motorsports Monday: 1974 BMW 2002

Motorsports Monday: 1974 BMW 2002

Published November 24, 2014 by Carter

The BMW 2002 might just be the quintessential German race car. A squat 2-door sedan, it’s chunky looks match well with wide tires in a lowered race stance. The upright nature gives the driver great visibility, while short overhangs mean there’s not much to bash you and you judge where the front of the car is well. The engine is simple but effective; a torquey inline-4 that can be turned up for more juice if you’re willing to spend a little – or a lot. Of course, the manual gearbox and rear drive are enthusiast favorites. Plus, the 2002 wears the appropriate German national racing color – white – so well, it’s sometimes almost cliche but still looks great. The M-colors, though not age appropriate, always suit the design well, and of course you can just slap a set of Minilights on there. Our friends at Fast In Fast Out have a reoccurring Monday theme on Minilites, and my submission for the most frequent but never overused application of them is the 2002:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1974 BMW 2002 Race Car on eBay

Read Our PostMotorsports Monday: 1974 BMW 2002
2 Comments

Motorsports Monday: 1985 Audi Quattro Rally Car

Published November 17, 2014 by Carter

Few motorsport images are quite as evocative as the legendary period of Group B; flying machines spitting stones and belching flames as they skirted trees and rocks at breakneck speeds with crowds only inches away. The ever more powerful cars hurtled their drivers in increasingly lighter and more delicate evolutions of cars towards immovable objects – an act which is some cultures would probably be akin to ritualistic suicide. By 1985 the writing was on the wall; it was a deadly sport that needed to be reigned in. But perhaps more than any other period, this is the time that rally fans and motorsports fans in general identify as one of the most memorable and important periods in racing history. Obviously, the big winner of the period from a reputation standpoint was Audi. The car that helped to define and end the period of wild turbocharged excess, the Quattro has obviously been the spawn of many replicas, such as this one for sale today in England:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1985 Audi Quattro “Group B” Rally Car on eBay

Read Our PostMotorsports Monday: 1985 Audi Quattro Rally Car
7 Comments

Motorsport Monday: 2007 BMW M Coupe

Published November 17, 2014 by Carter

The E86 Z4 was a fairly radical departure from the E36/8 that it replaced. In many ways, the Z3 was born out of a series of spare parts and in some ways almost seemed an afterthought. It wasn’t as innovated as the Z1 and while the original M Coupe has become a fan favorite, the Z3 just overall seemed the odd-man out in the BMW lineup. On top of that, the design just overall hasn’t aged particularly well in my mind. But in 2002, the redesigned Anders Warming penned E85 Z4 roadster launched. It was bigger in every dimension, with cutting edge new styling that managed to incorporate both round and angular designs into one fluid package that somehow worked well. Over a decade on, it still looks quite new to me – one of the best tests of the staying power of a design. Also one of the best tests is that it was somewhat controversial at the time, but by 2006 and the launch of the M models most critics were convinced that it was a nice package. The addition of the stellar S54 powertrain certainly didn’t hurt, and with just 1,800 examples of the new Coupe design in the U.S., it was guaranteed classic status. But that hasn’t stopped some from converting the coveted Coupes into race cars, such as this Fall-Line Motorsports built wide body:

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 2007 BMW M Coupe on Race-Cars.com

Read Our PostMotorsport Monday: 2007 BMW M Coupe
3 Comments