Post pics of the "best" racecars
 

I was doing some GISing for a new windows desktop, and was looking for some of the "best", "coolest", and "most famous" racecars. Add yours to the list, and why they count!

Jim Clark's 1967 Lotus 49 - Went a lap down at Monza due to a puncture, but was able to come back from 16th to take the lead on the last lap, only to run out of gas and coast to a 3rd place finish. Considered perhaps the greatest drive in the history of F1 by perhaps the greatest driver in F1.
http://b.f1-facts.com/ul/a/256

1966 Ford GT-40's - After Ford failed to buy Ferrari in the early 60's, Henry Ford II decided to beat Ferrari at Le Mans, and did it w/ his new GT-40 cars, taking 1-2-3 at the '66 24 race.
http://www.seccs.org/images/misc/GT40_1966_01.jpg

http://www.seccs.org/images/misc/GT40_00.jpg

Porsche 917 - Won the 1970 Le Mans race, and catipulted Porsche from being an underdog to the premier sports car builder of the next 30+ years.
http://www.racingsportscars.com/phot...-04-12-009.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...rsche_917C.jpg

http://www.carrollshelby.com/images/...obra427-03.jpg

Because they are still sexy!!!!

Not really an old one, but a new one.

The Porsche RS Spyder debuted a year ago in the ALMS series, as am LMP2 car and was challenging for all out wins. Here is the 2007 Model, unpainted w/o a title sponsor.

Red Xs on the GT-40s Scott, which is too bad because they possibly are the greatest race cars of all time.

fixed!

Mmmm, GT40...

And in the world of rally. In the Mid-80's came a whole slew of amazing rally cars, all of which were technological wonders. The arms race between many teams ramped up very quickly, and a lot of amazing cars were released in a few years.

The Audi Quattro which single handedly revolutionized the sport by showing what AWD could do. AWD was legalized in 1979 for WRC, and Audi started on development of the Quattro. It finally debuted for rallying in 1981 (after a few events as the course car in 1980, one where if it was actually competing it would have won by 9 minutes), and quickly became the car to beat in 1981 and 1982. Most manufacturers knew by then that AWD was going to dominate, and started developing new cars with AWD.

Then, in 1983 came Group B. The first to join race in Group B was the Lancia 037. It was still rear wheel drive, but it was more powerful and purpose built for rally competition. In fact, in 1983 the Lancia won the manufacturers championship, mostly due to the unreliability of the Quattro at the time.

Next up was the Peugeot 205 T16 debuting in mid-1984, which just decimated everyone. It was AWD, it was mid-engined (as opposed to the Audi front engine), better balanced, easier to drive and more powerful. Peugeot dominated 1985 winning nearly everything it competed in. Audi, in an attempt to come back debuted their new Quattro S1 at the end of 1985, along with a new Lancia Delta S4 (turbocharged and supercharged), Metro 6R4 and the Ford RS200, every car now sporting AWD.

But, the Group B ended after two incidents in 1986, one that claimed the lives of spectators and second one that claimed the lives of the driver, co-driver and spectators. Group B, and the still-in-development Group S, were both cancelled by the FIA for being unsafe.

The Audi Quattro


The Peugeot 205 T16.
http://www.neurosybir.net/nkoan/images/205-t16.jpg

The Lancia 037
http://www.neurosybir.net/nkoan/imag..._gr_b_01_m.jpg

The Ford RS200
http://www.neurosybir.net/nkoan/imag..._Blomqvist.jpg

The Lancia Delta S4
http://www.neurosybir.net/nkoan/images/juha.jpg

http://www.ams.gr/Racing/WRC/1998/98korsikis1b.jpg

ftw

I see the Gulf 917's and raise you the Group B car that never was..the Rothmans 959.

http://www.hooptywagon.com/img/user/...s-Dakarn1n.jpg

The classic CSL's.......becuase, hell, look at 'em

http://www.e-fotografija.com/artman/uploads/bmw_csl.jpg

Hakasuka (KPGC10) SKyline touring cars.......the new Skylines are technological marvels, yes, but this is now and will always be my favorite vintage Japanese car. Squat, purposeful, and it just looks like it's squaring its shoulders for a brawl.

http://press.nissan-global.com/COMMO...es_2005_18.jpg

And, of course...Moby Dick.

http://www.hooptywagon.com/img/user/...ydick_1n1n.jpg

It won LeMans the same year that I owned my RX2. I was obsessed with the 787B....then GT3 came along and its all that I wanted to drive in that darn game.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n..._01/787b-1.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...le_01/787b.jpg

From Wikipedia:
The Mazda 787B was a prototype racing car built for the 24 hours of Le Mans auto race, replacing the 767. It used a 4-rotor 26B Wankel engine which produced over 700 hp (522 kW). The 787B's 1991 win at Le Mans was historic in two ways: It marked the first (and only) victory for a Japanese manufacturer, and the first (and only) overall victory for a car powered by a Wankel rotary engine. The 787B was built in Britain and was designed by Englishman Nigel Stroud. Three 787B's were entered for the 1991 event, placing first, sixth, and eighth.
In order to win the 1991 race, Mazda engineers and the 787B had some new and significant obstacles to overcome. First, a year prior, two new chicanes had been installed on the Hunaudières Straight, breaking the nearly 3-mile long straightaway into three shorter segments, thus reducing top speeds from over 240mph (370 km/h) to roughly 210mph (338 km/h). This increased stress and wear on the brakes, having to stop the car from more than 200mph three times instead of just once as on the old layout, but reduced the chances of a tire blowout which was the purpose of the chicanes.
Second, the 1991 race was run to a fuel consumption formula. Teams were allotted a specific amount of fuel, which was to be used for the entire race event - practice, qualifying and the race itself. Fuel economy would play a key part in the 787B's win.

To increase the chance of winning, Mazda installed legendary six time winner Jacky Ickx as consultant, who then hired French outfit Oreca to run the team. Ickx felt the car was running on too much weight and continued to persuade the FIA to allow the car to run with less weight than previously.


The 787B's 4-rotor Wankel powerplant was specifically developed for this race and featured Peripheral Porting in order to achieve the high levels of power from a naturally aspirated motor. (Road cars utilizing two-rotor engines, such as the Mazda RX-7, more often use turbochargers to obtain a high power output.)
The 787B's 26B Wankel engine benefitted from a variable intake system, optimizing air intake for certain vehicle speeds. Two periscope-shaped air intakes were mounted ahead of the rear wing. Each intake assembly was mated to a telescoping-pulley system which was able to vary the height of the protruding periscopes through a stroke of approximately six inches. The extension and retraction of the intakes was governed by the car's ECU computer depending on vehicle speed. At high speed, the intakes were retracted to decrease drag and smooth airflow over the rear wing, and to reduce the restrictions on the air flow into the engine. At lower speeds, the intakes were extended in order to provide maximum positive pressure to the charge entering the rotors.

Engine speed (RPM's) were deliberately kept low for longevity under the extreme stresses incurred during a 24-hour automobile endurance race. The 787B was reported to have a redline around 9000rpm. However, interviews with Mazda's 787B race engineers revealed that the power of the quad-rotor increased dramatically above 9000rpm. One engineer stated that the car could develop more than 930hp with a redline around 10,500rpm. Engineers also commented that during the post-race inspection and tear-down of the quad-rotor engine they discovered that all aspects of the engine were still in excellent condition and could have run another 24-hour race. This is a polarizing testament to the reliability and performance of the modern Wankel rotary engine.


....how funny is it that Washoe Medical Center is now called 'Renown'?

Ohhhh yeah. I love those.

Every time I see/ hear that I think of the Renown Mazda! :D

It makes me think of adult diapers or an airline. I hate my new namebadge. Purple & yellow FTL...

My suspension is Purple and Yellow FTW!!! :D

Also, this is the FIA Group C Mercedes, driven by Michael Schumacher, among others, in the early 90's.

I love this car.

Yum..

http://www.fantasyracingexperience.com/gatorade125.jpg

I had to. :D

Are you sure you don't mean..
http://www.barrett-jackson.com/about...teCarlo_tt.jpg

Are you sure you don't mean:

http://www.thesundayhauler.com/store...89DE3IROC1.jpg

Yeah, I 'm sure that Iroc is the gayest race series ever.

Dude it's the international race of CHAMPIONS, not gays. Sheesh.

A le Mans dominator when it was allowed to race.

Post 10 chris. ;)

Oh